Post by catcouger30 on Mar 15, 2009 4:06:13 GMT -5
This is actually the second thread for this I've made because I've modified the prologue a bit and would like people to look at it...
Well to start off I am planning to eventually publish this 0.0. So I'd like help with punctuation, grammical errors ect. {I admit that my grammar is horrible at times.
Also I'm not sure if you allow comment threads, if so then I'd rather have a comment thread related to this one. That way I can simply keep posting parts of the story and the thread won't be muddled with anything else {Just an idea ^^}
If not then that's alright. I'll also try to fit each chapter in one post. {If I am able to.}
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Close your eyes, picture a world of serene beauty, one where the sky is like a translucent silver climbing high into the depths of space. The trees in this world stand tall with lush green leaves that seem to dance when the warm breeze passes them. Within the trees can you see a lake? With water as still as glass, in the center of the lake is a small ripple. Could it be a fish? Or a faerie of some sort dancing to an unknown tune. Beyond the lake is a mountain range, in which strange animals roam. Now open your eyes, can you imagine what this world would be like if darkness ruled over it-
Thunder roared outside as rain pelted the glass windows, wind whistled past the trees brushing them up against the glass. A boy woke up, his blue eyes scanning the room. It was dark, but this is what Rayne was used to. Dark blue curtains were covering the windows and a small bookshelf stood against the wall at the far end of his room. Everything was just as it had been when he fell asleep. Was it just a dream? He thought to himself as he sat up in bed. It was late, Rayne looked up at the silver clock hanging on the wall above his bed.
“Rayne?” came a voice from the hallway. His door opened letting in a stream of light. A beautiful woman stood at the entrance to his doorway. “What's wrong? We could hear you from the other room.”
Rayne stared into his mother's red eyes, “it was. . . just a dream.” he said as he lay back down. Rayne however, did not see it as being just a dream. He saw it as a message to his people, a message that the evil in their hearts would bring about destruction and chaos to their world and to their own race. In his dreams, a snarling beast would visit him.
Claiming to have been sent by the god Fenhir himself, this evil creature would go on to talk about how the evil within the Drakere hearts would corrupt the very soil they stood on.
This dream however, was different. The wolf had not visited this time, but rather he saw it. Rayne stood there and watched horrified as the trees began to rot. The grass and flowers had begun to whither and die, until eventually Perrin disappeared into the void. Never to be seen, forgotten in time.
With a look of understanding on her face, Moon moved to sit beside her son. Rayne seemed to be relaxed despite the horrible dream he had just woken up from. Her long white hair flowed gracefully giving her the appearance of an angel. “Is it a message from Fenhir?” she asked concerned.
“No, it's not a god. It was an evil demon whom I believe was born from the darkness in our hearts,” his voice was trembling. “He claims to have been sent here by the god Fenhir, often making threats. Saying that if we didn't change, our world would be doomed. The Time Guardians would come and destroy whatever it is that we have left.”
The Drakere held special characteristics which defined them as a race. Everyone would be born with white hair, red eyes and dragon or faerie type wings. Believing that white meant purity and hope, they built their small towns and cities with a white granite type rock, and fashioned their clothes from a white silk which was soft to the touch.
As a religious race, they worshiped four gods whom were thought to have created the world they live in. Fenhir was on top, taking the form of a large wolf or an elf. He control and watched over the forests and all living things on the ground. They believed that Fenhir and three other gods created this world for them in hopes of creating the perfect society. Soon however, the gods would reveal that this was not the case.
Fenhir became angry the moment he discovered a dreadful secret the Drakere were hiding. Once every few years a special child would be born. In the attempt to keep only white in their world, they'd sacrifice any child born with black hair, blue eyes and black feathered wings.
Discovering this horrible secret, the angered wolf hid himself within the white forests of Perrin. He spread an evil miasma which would soon spread and consume the hearts of anyone it encountered. Over time the evil in their hearts gave birth to a demonic wolf who had haunted Rayne's dreams, sending him Fenhir's warnings.
Moon smiled, brushing aside the fears she had about this dream she leaned over and kissed him gently on the forehead. “Well, in any case I must take your younger brother to school tomorrow. Therefore I should be going to sleep.” she stood up and strolled out the door, exiting the room.
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Rayne woke up to bright rays of light shining through the dark blue curtains. It was mid afternoon, Blaze might already be at school. Remembering that he had been meaning to see his brother off to school, Rayne quickly tossed his sheets aside and jumped out of bed. Picking up a black shirt lying on top of his dresser, he promptly put it on as he exited the room.
“Mom!” he called out as he trampled down the staircase.
Moon came walking out of the kitchen on the left. “My my Rayne, there's no need to holler. I'm right here,” she replied looking up at him.
“You've already taken Blaze to school?” Rayne said continuing down to the ground floor. “I wanted to wish him luck.”
“I'm sorry but I took him to school hours ago,” she was holding a plate in one hand and a towel in the other. “Relax Rayne, school will be done for him in a couple of hours. While you're waiting, why don't you read a book?”
“Why didn't you wake me?”
“I thought with those strange dreams of yours, you might need the extra sleep,” Moon walked back into the kitchen, humming a lullaby as she went back to drying the dishes.
With a sigh of annoyance, Rayne grabbed a book from another bookshelf placed carefully against the wall. He took it into their family room, sat in the nearest chair and began to read.
This was what his entire life had been like, black haired children were forbidden among the Drakere race. By law they were to be executed at birth or exiled at the age of five, his parents did not agree with this. They kept his birth a secret from the rest of the society and kept him locked up in the house. Unable to even walk out the front door, all Rayne could do was stay inside and read.
It was because of this that he wasn't physically strong and his skin was pasty and pale, but to make up for lack of strength he was smarter than most of the people in this world.
I wonder if he'll be all right on his own, Rayne pondered as he gazed out the window behind him.
Outside was a dense forest filled with great oak trees and the rare silver pine trees. Their house had been built in the center of a forest. A path lead from their house, through the forest until it would eventually stop at an enormous cliff. The sides of the cliff would be ragged and unstable, making climbing up and down dangerous. The only way to get down to the village bellow safely would be by flight.
It was nearing the end of the day and Blaze, Rayne's five year old brother sat in his desk looking out the window. At first he was afraid to be separated from his mother, afraid of those kids who stared at him as they approached the school and afraid of the stranger that greeted them as they entered the classroom. As the day went on he had calmed down somewhat and became ready to accept this new environment, but why did the kids stare at him?
His thoughts wandered to a strange site he saw through the window. Sitting on a thin branch attached to a great oak tree was a white eagle. Sure white eagles used to be common in this world, but months before his older brother had explained that they were now rare creatures. They became rare when the Drakere began to hunt them for meat. If the Drakere were its predators then why was it here, wasn't it afraid?
“Child, when that bell rings you must go home. Do not wait for your mother,” it seemed to be talking. Blaze took a quick glance around the room to see if any of his classmates had noticed. No one had acknowledged her yet. He shook his head before looking back to the window, she was gone. Maybe it was just a strange day dream.
The bell rang, all the students hurriedly picked up their bags and walked out of the classrooms and into the hallway. Blaze followed suit, thinking hard about whether or not he should do as the bird had instructed him to. Through the glass doors he noticed dark clouds had started to form in the sky, they appeared to be rain clouds but formed much more quickly. This was not normal.
Finally coming to a decision, Blaze slung the school bag he was holding over his back and opened the door, stepping outside. Looking around, Blaze recognized the church he and his mother had past by on their way here. Taking a deep breath he started to walk in that direction. Something was unusual, Blaze scanned the area unable to hear any sounds. The area was empty, not a soul to be seen. But school had just finished, surely there should be one or two kids still around.
A feeling of dread suddenly came over him as Blaze quickened his pace. He made it to the church, now where? A few miles ahead he noticed an enormous cliff, that was it! The way home. Blaze paused for a moment thinking of how he might get up there without wings. Shrugging, he began to walk again. That was something to be thought up on the spot.
As he walked the temperature in the air dropped, sending sudden chills down his spine. The cliff now towered above him. This would be troublesome. Blaze grabbed onto the nearest piece of rock he could find and attempted to push himself up, no good. It loosened from the side of the cliff, throwing Blaze to the ground.
“Blaze watch out!” Rayne came crashing to the ground with a huge thump. Promptly getting to his feet, Rayne was staring at something behind some trees. “You should have stayed in school! That's the safest place for you right now brother!”
“But, someone told me I should go home!” the younger brother protested as he stood up and brushed himself off.
Rayne scowled as he averted his gaze from his brother to the tree. Another Drakere had been hiding, stalking Blaze as he walked. “What do you want?”
“I heard there was a black haired kid living among us, I had to see it with my own eyes,” the man sneered as he slowly approached the two boys. “You do know black haired children are forbidden? Right?”
“This was a law passed down from someone who doesn't even really know anything! My heart is more pure than the rest of yours, why? Because I have never killed, nor have I thought of killing for selfish gain,” taking immediate action, Rayne turned around and grabbed his brother. Jumping into the air, huge black wings protruded from his back.
“Brother, what's happening?” Blaze was tired and confused.
“I should have realized this earlier, I believe that an evil miasma had been spread throughout our world. It's only visible in the forest. The purpose of it I think, was to bring out the true nature of the people in our race,” Rayne flew with great speed to the top of the cliff. The man was close behind them.
They had a good head start but there wasn't much time before he would catch up to them. Rayne landed on the forest floor and spoke softly to his younger brother. “Blaze, I know it's dangerous but you must go home. Nothing will be able to harm you there, not even Dark.”
“Dark?”
“He's an evil demon who has been haunting my dreams,” Rayne looked behind himself cautiously, making sure that they were still safe. “You are too young to be tainted by evil. Therefore the miasma cannot harm you. Please, go and I'll do my best to stall him.”
Shaking his head Blaze looked into his brother's eyes with sorrow. “No! I won't leave you!”
“You have to!” a branch snapped behind them. He jerked around to see the man standing there, a knife in his hand. “Fool! You know that weapons are not allowed in our world!”
“Haha, they are if we plan to use them to get rid of little brats like you,” he stepped forward. Without warning the knife came flying towards Blaze who stood there wide eyed and motionless.
“Brother!” tears coming from his eyes, Blaze stood over Rayne who was kneeling on the ground in great pain.
“It's alright,” he uttered trying to shake off the pain. “It's merely a scratch, I'll be alright.” he carefully removed the blade from the flesh in his arm where it had hit. “Lucky it didn't hit an artery, and thank you for the weapon,” he stood up strait and faced the man who had thrown it.
“You're right kid, it didn't hit a vital organ. But you see, no one is around to help you anymore. Even your parents are dead,” he cackled and walked even closer. “With time you will loose a lot of blood and be weakened by it.”
“That may be true, but I still have enough strength to take care of you!” blinded by rage, Rayne charged forward with the knife in hand. The man caught his hand as Rayne was about to stab him. “Run Blaze! You must escape while you still can!” he struggled to regain control of the knife he was holding.
“No! I won't leave you!” Blaze turned and ran behind some bushes to watch this horrible seen. The evil man had kicked Rayne's feet, tripping him and causing him to drop the knife. Rayne struggled to grab the knife again, but it was already too late. The man had it in both hands, and came on top of the boy stabbing his other arm. Letting out a loud scream of pain, Rayne kick sending the man flying off the cliff. Now was his chance, he tore the knife from his skin and tossed it, the knife came intact with one of the man's wings creating enough pain preventing him from flyng back to the top of the cliff they were on.
Blaze bolted from his hiding place to comfort his older brother. “Rayne! Are you gonna be alright?”
Rayne was kneeling on the soft forest floor once again, trying to recover from what had just happened. He raised a hand and placed it on his brother's head, “it'll be alright. Like I said...it's just a scratch.” he forced a smile and ruffled Blaze's hair. “Blaze why the frown?” he was now showing a wide grin. “Ah, you just need an up beat attitude. Here's some advice from me to you,” he paused for a moment, catching his breath. “Always look on the bright side of things, everything will turn out alright in the end.”
“You child should not still be in this forest,” it was the same voice Blaze had encountered earlier from the eagle. Blaze looked around frantically trying to spot her. “If you do not go home now then they will not be able to find you. You will be doomed with the rest of your cursed race.” her voice was not harsh, but rather soothing.
His gaze halted at a white pine tree, “who are you?”
“I am neither a friend, nor an enemy. Just a messenger doing her job,” she flapped her wings and ascended into the air. “Go home now, that is the safest place for you.” her voice trailed into the unknown.
“We should listen to what that eagle said,” Rayne struggled to stand up, his arms covered in blood. “Come on little brother, let's go.”
It amazed Blaze that Rayne too, could hear her voice. When she spoke to him earlier that day, none of his classmates seemed to acknowledge her existence. Blaze clung to Rayne's chest as he promptly pushed himself into the air, this time struggling to stay aloft. Their house was now a few meters bellow them, but something didn't seem right.
Rayne landed with a light thump, letting go of his brother his gaze fell on the window in the house. A shadowy figure could be seen, but though he strained his eyes he could not make out what it was. Blaze did not hesitate to rush in the door. “Blaze, stop! It's dangerous!” he ran after his brother.
The door was already open and Rayne stepped inside. It was a narrow hallway that led into the kitchen. As he walked forward, his foot landed in something he was only half expecting. Blood. Startled he jumped back in surprise and nearly fell to the ground. Regaining his balance, Rayne walked cautiously forward. There was Blaze.
There he was, Blaze was pressed against the wall trembling as he stared forward at what appeared to be an over sized wolf. Underneath the wolf was the body of their dead mother. “B-brother!” he bolted from the wall to hide behind Rayne who was staring with paralyzing fear on his face.
“What...what have you done?”
Blood was dripping from his snout as he turned his head to look at Rayne who stood there. “I have not done anything fool! Your mother is dead because of your pathetic excuse for a father.”
“You're wrong! Our father loved her, he'd never do something like this to our mother!” Rayne's gaze moved from the wolf to their mother's carcass, those were not just bite marks but stab wounds as well.
“You believe what you want to kid, but this is his true nature. You can thank that miasma outside for revealing it,” the wolf bent his head and mockingly began to rip flesh from their mother.
“Stop it! Have you no pride?” Rayne shouted as the wolf continued to eat their mother. He charged forward, forgetting one thing. Rayne no longer had a weapon, he had given the knife back to that awful man who was stalking his brother. A massive tail flew at him, knocking him hard into the nearby wall. Rayne fell to the ground motionless, unable to move.
“I'm a wolf born from the darkness in your hearts, no I have no pride,” he looked up and started to trot over to where Rayne was. “My name is Dark,” he bent over putting his head directly in front of Rayne's.
Deep in his heart Rayne knew that what the wolf said was true, it all made perfect sense. This was the true purpose of the miasma, it would spread a poison which would engulf their world. It would allow the gods to see what was in the hearts of this race. “That...miasma, who spread it?” he was struggling to breath.
“It was Fenhir. The darkness revealed by the miasma, it gave birth to me,” Dark smiled creepily as he turned to where Blaze was now standing. Alone and vulnerable. “Though bringing out the nature of people was only one part of what that miasma can do. Look outside and you'll see that the trees have begun to rot, the flowers and grass have started to whither and die. Your world is coming to an end boy!”
Light entered the room as to figures approached the three of them. These were strange men who didn't belong in this world, but who were they? “So, which kid were we supposed to bring with us again Shaine?” one of the men spoke. He turned to look at the wolf, his long red hair swinging behind him.
“Raizex, it was the white haired kid,” Shaine said sounding slightly annoyed. “Now ignore that beast, get the kid and let's go.”
“But. . .eh. Fine,” as Raizex tried to approached Blaze, he slowly backed away. “It's alright, we are not going to hurt you.”
To Blaze, this whole day had been a confused mess. Now some strangers were going to take him home with them? “L-leave me alone!”
Raizex shrugged sarcastically as he reached forward and grabbed Blaze's arm, “let's go kid, the gods are waiting for us.” he turned to Rayne, then looked up at Dark who was now on top of the boy. Turning back to Rayne he said in an almost playful way, “I'm sorry but we can't take you with us. Maybe next time okay?” in a sarcastic, yet meaningful gesture, Raizex raised a hand and saluted before he made his way through the door after his partner.
Blaze fought against Raizex who forcefully carried him out the door. As Rayne lay there watching them go, he thought he saw a small glimpse of a white eagle follow them out.
Our world has always been an illusion, a world we thought was filled with good and harmonious music. It became clear to us however, that this was just a myth. Something my people had always imagined. The sky, was once beautiful, but no longer. A breeze was not warm but hot and made the trees whither. The lake had been filled by our polluted wealth and the faerie on the lake was simply an evil spirit created by our sins over the years. It was our sins that eventually lead the gods into destroying whatever remained of my people, or. . . so I thought.
{Alright that's it fer the prologue, time for me ta work on chapter one ^^}
Well to start off I am planning to eventually publish this 0.0. So I'd like help with punctuation, grammical errors ect. {I admit that my grammar is horrible at times.
Also I'm not sure if you allow comment threads, if so then I'd rather have a comment thread related to this one. That way I can simply keep posting parts of the story and the thread won't be muddled with anything else {Just an idea ^^}
If not then that's alright. I'll also try to fit each chapter in one post. {If I am able to.}
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Destiny: Awakens
Close your eyes, picture a world of serene beauty, one where the sky is like a translucent silver climbing high into the depths of space. The trees in this world stand tall with lush green leaves that seem to dance when the warm breeze passes them. Within the trees can you see a lake? With water as still as glass, in the center of the lake is a small ripple. Could it be a fish? Or a faerie of some sort dancing to an unknown tune. Beyond the lake is a mountain range, in which strange animals roam. Now open your eyes, can you imagine what this world would be like if darkness ruled over it-
Thunder roared outside as rain pelted the glass windows, wind whistled past the trees brushing them up against the glass. A boy woke up, his blue eyes scanning the room. It was dark, but this is what Rayne was used to. Dark blue curtains were covering the windows and a small bookshelf stood against the wall at the far end of his room. Everything was just as it had been when he fell asleep. Was it just a dream? He thought to himself as he sat up in bed. It was late, Rayne looked up at the silver clock hanging on the wall above his bed.
“Rayne?” came a voice from the hallway. His door opened letting in a stream of light. A beautiful woman stood at the entrance to his doorway. “What's wrong? We could hear you from the other room.”
Rayne stared into his mother's red eyes, “it was. . . just a dream.” he said as he lay back down. Rayne however, did not see it as being just a dream. He saw it as a message to his people, a message that the evil in their hearts would bring about destruction and chaos to their world and to their own race. In his dreams, a snarling beast would visit him.
Claiming to have been sent by the god Fenhir himself, this evil creature would go on to talk about how the evil within the Drakere hearts would corrupt the very soil they stood on.
This dream however, was different. The wolf had not visited this time, but rather he saw it. Rayne stood there and watched horrified as the trees began to rot. The grass and flowers had begun to whither and die, until eventually Perrin disappeared into the void. Never to be seen, forgotten in time.
With a look of understanding on her face, Moon moved to sit beside her son. Rayne seemed to be relaxed despite the horrible dream he had just woken up from. Her long white hair flowed gracefully giving her the appearance of an angel. “Is it a message from Fenhir?” she asked concerned.
“No, it's not a god. It was an evil demon whom I believe was born from the darkness in our hearts,” his voice was trembling. “He claims to have been sent here by the god Fenhir, often making threats. Saying that if we didn't change, our world would be doomed. The Time Guardians would come and destroy whatever it is that we have left.”
The Drakere held special characteristics which defined them as a race. Everyone would be born with white hair, red eyes and dragon or faerie type wings. Believing that white meant purity and hope, they built their small towns and cities with a white granite type rock, and fashioned their clothes from a white silk which was soft to the touch.
As a religious race, they worshiped four gods whom were thought to have created the world they live in. Fenhir was on top, taking the form of a large wolf or an elf. He control and watched over the forests and all living things on the ground. They believed that Fenhir and three other gods created this world for them in hopes of creating the perfect society. Soon however, the gods would reveal that this was not the case.
Fenhir became angry the moment he discovered a dreadful secret the Drakere were hiding. Once every few years a special child would be born. In the attempt to keep only white in their world, they'd sacrifice any child born with black hair, blue eyes and black feathered wings.
Discovering this horrible secret, the angered wolf hid himself within the white forests of Perrin. He spread an evil miasma which would soon spread and consume the hearts of anyone it encountered. Over time the evil in their hearts gave birth to a demonic wolf who had haunted Rayne's dreams, sending him Fenhir's warnings.
Moon smiled, brushing aside the fears she had about this dream she leaned over and kissed him gently on the forehead. “Well, in any case I must take your younger brother to school tomorrow. Therefore I should be going to sleep.” she stood up and strolled out the door, exiting the room.
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Rayne woke up to bright rays of light shining through the dark blue curtains. It was mid afternoon, Blaze might already be at school. Remembering that he had been meaning to see his brother off to school, Rayne quickly tossed his sheets aside and jumped out of bed. Picking up a black shirt lying on top of his dresser, he promptly put it on as he exited the room.
“Mom!” he called out as he trampled down the staircase.
Moon came walking out of the kitchen on the left. “My my Rayne, there's no need to holler. I'm right here,” she replied looking up at him.
“You've already taken Blaze to school?” Rayne said continuing down to the ground floor. “I wanted to wish him luck.”
“I'm sorry but I took him to school hours ago,” she was holding a plate in one hand and a towel in the other. “Relax Rayne, school will be done for him in a couple of hours. While you're waiting, why don't you read a book?”
“Why didn't you wake me?”
“I thought with those strange dreams of yours, you might need the extra sleep,” Moon walked back into the kitchen, humming a lullaby as she went back to drying the dishes.
With a sigh of annoyance, Rayne grabbed a book from another bookshelf placed carefully against the wall. He took it into their family room, sat in the nearest chair and began to read.
This was what his entire life had been like, black haired children were forbidden among the Drakere race. By law they were to be executed at birth or exiled at the age of five, his parents did not agree with this. They kept his birth a secret from the rest of the society and kept him locked up in the house. Unable to even walk out the front door, all Rayne could do was stay inside and read.
It was because of this that he wasn't physically strong and his skin was pasty and pale, but to make up for lack of strength he was smarter than most of the people in this world.
I wonder if he'll be all right on his own, Rayne pondered as he gazed out the window behind him.
Outside was a dense forest filled with great oak trees and the rare silver pine trees. Their house had been built in the center of a forest. A path lead from their house, through the forest until it would eventually stop at an enormous cliff. The sides of the cliff would be ragged and unstable, making climbing up and down dangerous. The only way to get down to the village bellow safely would be by flight.
It was nearing the end of the day and Blaze, Rayne's five year old brother sat in his desk looking out the window. At first he was afraid to be separated from his mother, afraid of those kids who stared at him as they approached the school and afraid of the stranger that greeted them as they entered the classroom. As the day went on he had calmed down somewhat and became ready to accept this new environment, but why did the kids stare at him?
His thoughts wandered to a strange site he saw through the window. Sitting on a thin branch attached to a great oak tree was a white eagle. Sure white eagles used to be common in this world, but months before his older brother had explained that they were now rare creatures. They became rare when the Drakere began to hunt them for meat. If the Drakere were its predators then why was it here, wasn't it afraid?
“Child, when that bell rings you must go home. Do not wait for your mother,” it seemed to be talking. Blaze took a quick glance around the room to see if any of his classmates had noticed. No one had acknowledged her yet. He shook his head before looking back to the window, she was gone. Maybe it was just a strange day dream.
The bell rang, all the students hurriedly picked up their bags and walked out of the classrooms and into the hallway. Blaze followed suit, thinking hard about whether or not he should do as the bird had instructed him to. Through the glass doors he noticed dark clouds had started to form in the sky, they appeared to be rain clouds but formed much more quickly. This was not normal.
Finally coming to a decision, Blaze slung the school bag he was holding over his back and opened the door, stepping outside. Looking around, Blaze recognized the church he and his mother had past by on their way here. Taking a deep breath he started to walk in that direction. Something was unusual, Blaze scanned the area unable to hear any sounds. The area was empty, not a soul to be seen. But school had just finished, surely there should be one or two kids still around.
A feeling of dread suddenly came over him as Blaze quickened his pace. He made it to the church, now where? A few miles ahead he noticed an enormous cliff, that was it! The way home. Blaze paused for a moment thinking of how he might get up there without wings. Shrugging, he began to walk again. That was something to be thought up on the spot.
As he walked the temperature in the air dropped, sending sudden chills down his spine. The cliff now towered above him. This would be troublesome. Blaze grabbed onto the nearest piece of rock he could find and attempted to push himself up, no good. It loosened from the side of the cliff, throwing Blaze to the ground.
“Blaze watch out!” Rayne came crashing to the ground with a huge thump. Promptly getting to his feet, Rayne was staring at something behind some trees. “You should have stayed in school! That's the safest place for you right now brother!”
“But, someone told me I should go home!” the younger brother protested as he stood up and brushed himself off.
Rayne scowled as he averted his gaze from his brother to the tree. Another Drakere had been hiding, stalking Blaze as he walked. “What do you want?”
“I heard there was a black haired kid living among us, I had to see it with my own eyes,” the man sneered as he slowly approached the two boys. “You do know black haired children are forbidden? Right?”
“This was a law passed down from someone who doesn't even really know anything! My heart is more pure than the rest of yours, why? Because I have never killed, nor have I thought of killing for selfish gain,” taking immediate action, Rayne turned around and grabbed his brother. Jumping into the air, huge black wings protruded from his back.
“Brother, what's happening?” Blaze was tired and confused.
“I should have realized this earlier, I believe that an evil miasma had been spread throughout our world. It's only visible in the forest. The purpose of it I think, was to bring out the true nature of the people in our race,” Rayne flew with great speed to the top of the cliff. The man was close behind them.
They had a good head start but there wasn't much time before he would catch up to them. Rayne landed on the forest floor and spoke softly to his younger brother. “Blaze, I know it's dangerous but you must go home. Nothing will be able to harm you there, not even Dark.”
“Dark?”
“He's an evil demon who has been haunting my dreams,” Rayne looked behind himself cautiously, making sure that they were still safe. “You are too young to be tainted by evil. Therefore the miasma cannot harm you. Please, go and I'll do my best to stall him.”
Shaking his head Blaze looked into his brother's eyes with sorrow. “No! I won't leave you!”
“You have to!” a branch snapped behind them. He jerked around to see the man standing there, a knife in his hand. “Fool! You know that weapons are not allowed in our world!”
“Haha, they are if we plan to use them to get rid of little brats like you,” he stepped forward. Without warning the knife came flying towards Blaze who stood there wide eyed and motionless.
“Brother!” tears coming from his eyes, Blaze stood over Rayne who was kneeling on the ground in great pain.
“It's alright,” he uttered trying to shake off the pain. “It's merely a scratch, I'll be alright.” he carefully removed the blade from the flesh in his arm where it had hit. “Lucky it didn't hit an artery, and thank you for the weapon,” he stood up strait and faced the man who had thrown it.
“You're right kid, it didn't hit a vital organ. But you see, no one is around to help you anymore. Even your parents are dead,” he cackled and walked even closer. “With time you will loose a lot of blood and be weakened by it.”
“That may be true, but I still have enough strength to take care of you!” blinded by rage, Rayne charged forward with the knife in hand. The man caught his hand as Rayne was about to stab him. “Run Blaze! You must escape while you still can!” he struggled to regain control of the knife he was holding.
“No! I won't leave you!” Blaze turned and ran behind some bushes to watch this horrible seen. The evil man had kicked Rayne's feet, tripping him and causing him to drop the knife. Rayne struggled to grab the knife again, but it was already too late. The man had it in both hands, and came on top of the boy stabbing his other arm. Letting out a loud scream of pain, Rayne kick sending the man flying off the cliff. Now was his chance, he tore the knife from his skin and tossed it, the knife came intact with one of the man's wings creating enough pain preventing him from flyng back to the top of the cliff they were on.
Blaze bolted from his hiding place to comfort his older brother. “Rayne! Are you gonna be alright?”
Rayne was kneeling on the soft forest floor once again, trying to recover from what had just happened. He raised a hand and placed it on his brother's head, “it'll be alright. Like I said...it's just a scratch.” he forced a smile and ruffled Blaze's hair. “Blaze why the frown?” he was now showing a wide grin. “Ah, you just need an up beat attitude. Here's some advice from me to you,” he paused for a moment, catching his breath. “Always look on the bright side of things, everything will turn out alright in the end.”
“You child should not still be in this forest,” it was the same voice Blaze had encountered earlier from the eagle. Blaze looked around frantically trying to spot her. “If you do not go home now then they will not be able to find you. You will be doomed with the rest of your cursed race.” her voice was not harsh, but rather soothing.
His gaze halted at a white pine tree, “who are you?”
“I am neither a friend, nor an enemy. Just a messenger doing her job,” she flapped her wings and ascended into the air. “Go home now, that is the safest place for you.” her voice trailed into the unknown.
“We should listen to what that eagle said,” Rayne struggled to stand up, his arms covered in blood. “Come on little brother, let's go.”
It amazed Blaze that Rayne too, could hear her voice. When she spoke to him earlier that day, none of his classmates seemed to acknowledge her existence. Blaze clung to Rayne's chest as he promptly pushed himself into the air, this time struggling to stay aloft. Their house was now a few meters bellow them, but something didn't seem right.
Rayne landed with a light thump, letting go of his brother his gaze fell on the window in the house. A shadowy figure could be seen, but though he strained his eyes he could not make out what it was. Blaze did not hesitate to rush in the door. “Blaze, stop! It's dangerous!” he ran after his brother.
The door was already open and Rayne stepped inside. It was a narrow hallway that led into the kitchen. As he walked forward, his foot landed in something he was only half expecting. Blood. Startled he jumped back in surprise and nearly fell to the ground. Regaining his balance, Rayne walked cautiously forward. There was Blaze.
There he was, Blaze was pressed against the wall trembling as he stared forward at what appeared to be an over sized wolf. Underneath the wolf was the body of their dead mother. “B-brother!” he bolted from the wall to hide behind Rayne who was staring with paralyzing fear on his face.
“What...what have you done?”
Blood was dripping from his snout as he turned his head to look at Rayne who stood there. “I have not done anything fool! Your mother is dead because of your pathetic excuse for a father.”
“You're wrong! Our father loved her, he'd never do something like this to our mother!” Rayne's gaze moved from the wolf to their mother's carcass, those were not just bite marks but stab wounds as well.
“You believe what you want to kid, but this is his true nature. You can thank that miasma outside for revealing it,” the wolf bent his head and mockingly began to rip flesh from their mother.
“Stop it! Have you no pride?” Rayne shouted as the wolf continued to eat their mother. He charged forward, forgetting one thing. Rayne no longer had a weapon, he had given the knife back to that awful man who was stalking his brother. A massive tail flew at him, knocking him hard into the nearby wall. Rayne fell to the ground motionless, unable to move.
“I'm a wolf born from the darkness in your hearts, no I have no pride,” he looked up and started to trot over to where Rayne was. “My name is Dark,” he bent over putting his head directly in front of Rayne's.
Deep in his heart Rayne knew that what the wolf said was true, it all made perfect sense. This was the true purpose of the miasma, it would spread a poison which would engulf their world. It would allow the gods to see what was in the hearts of this race. “That...miasma, who spread it?” he was struggling to breath.
“It was Fenhir. The darkness revealed by the miasma, it gave birth to me,” Dark smiled creepily as he turned to where Blaze was now standing. Alone and vulnerable. “Though bringing out the nature of people was only one part of what that miasma can do. Look outside and you'll see that the trees have begun to rot, the flowers and grass have started to whither and die. Your world is coming to an end boy!”
Light entered the room as to figures approached the three of them. These were strange men who didn't belong in this world, but who were they? “So, which kid were we supposed to bring with us again Shaine?” one of the men spoke. He turned to look at the wolf, his long red hair swinging behind him.
“Raizex, it was the white haired kid,” Shaine said sounding slightly annoyed. “Now ignore that beast, get the kid and let's go.”
“But. . .eh. Fine,” as Raizex tried to approached Blaze, he slowly backed away. “It's alright, we are not going to hurt you.”
To Blaze, this whole day had been a confused mess. Now some strangers were going to take him home with them? “L-leave me alone!”
Raizex shrugged sarcastically as he reached forward and grabbed Blaze's arm, “let's go kid, the gods are waiting for us.” he turned to Rayne, then looked up at Dark who was now on top of the boy. Turning back to Rayne he said in an almost playful way, “I'm sorry but we can't take you with us. Maybe next time okay?” in a sarcastic, yet meaningful gesture, Raizex raised a hand and saluted before he made his way through the door after his partner.
Blaze fought against Raizex who forcefully carried him out the door. As Rayne lay there watching them go, he thought he saw a small glimpse of a white eagle follow them out.
Our world has always been an illusion, a world we thought was filled with good and harmonious music. It became clear to us however, that this was just a myth. Something my people had always imagined. The sky, was once beautiful, but no longer. A breeze was not warm but hot and made the trees whither. The lake had been filled by our polluted wealth and the faerie on the lake was simply an evil spirit created by our sins over the years. It was our sins that eventually lead the gods into destroying whatever remained of my people, or. . . so I thought.
{Alright that's it fer the prologue, time for me ta work on chapter one ^^}