Post by Morgan Pendragon on Jan 4, 2009 14:39:58 GMT -5
((Because I have decided that if I don't start writing, I'll keep on saying I'll write a novel 'someday', I am going to write as much as I can starting now. I will post each chapter as it's finished. Critique is not only allowed, but welcomed with open arms.))
“Get up, Worm!” The order was harsh, delivered by an even harsher voice. The emaciated man lying on the cold marble floor in nothing but tattered bits of cloth obeyed. His hair was knotted, tangled, sparse, and filthy. His skin was as dry and brittle as old parchment, and was much the same color. Only his eyes looked alive. They were green, and even now, they were fresh and clear, like a child’s. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get so much as a syllable out, he was struck and fell back to the icy floor.
“Get! Up!” Each word was punctuated by a kick to his ribs. He muttered a prayer to his goddess as he stood, and earned a deadly look from his captor, but at least he wasn’t struck again. He continued his prayer mentally, ‘Dear Delia, Goddess of the Earth, grant me strength to endure this trial, or, if I am not meant to endure this, at least grant me my freedom. Let me join you in the Eternal Wilderness.’ His captor looked ready to strike again, likely, he’d been mouthing the words he so desperately thought.
“Enough!” He was spared another trip to the floor by a haughty-voice. This voice was attached to a woman who walked with an authority that was unparalleled, even by his vicious and brutal captor. Her hair was a clean and shining blond color, like tangible sunlight, and her eyes were as pools of molten gold. Her clothes were of a strange design, but obviously very fine, stitched as they were in silver and gold thread. “Captain, let me talk to him. Oh, and tell the General I’d like to see him.”
The Captain bowed in an abrupt movement, and exited the room. The other guards followed him, only two remaining, outside the doors, and safely out of earshot. He swallowed convulsively. The Captain had been bad enough, but this woman, who didn’t look nearly as tough, none the less seemed much more dangerous. He wondered what she could possibly want of him.
“So, are you another one who has come to see what lies beyond the desert? Congratulations, you’ve found us. This country is called Nuefo, and I am the Empress. My name will be of little concern to you, since you will address me only as Empress, or M’Lady, or another term of respect. As you may have guessed, you’re not the first of your countrymen to wander here, although, you all seem so different from each other, it becomes hard for me to think that you all come from the same country. I want to know why some of you look like us, and why others have pointed ears, or are unusually tall or short in stature, or are attached to horses. Are you all outcasts, cursed by a magician?”
Realization dawned on him then, and in his utter relief, he threw his head back and laughed. The sound echoed weirdly around the room, and it made him feel more alive than he had in days. The Empress shot him a threatening look, and he sobered quickly. “My dear Empress, are there no other races but human here? Where I come from, we have many races, Human, Elf, Dwarf, Unicorn, Centaur, Dragon, Faerie, Merfolk, and plenty of others. Do they not exist here?”
“No, they do not.” Her expression was unreadable, “You Will tell me of them, and about your country.” She smiled at him, her face made even more beautiful with the gentle expression. He nodded, and started explaining things at once.
Prologue
“Get up, Worm!” The order was harsh, delivered by an even harsher voice. The emaciated man lying on the cold marble floor in nothing but tattered bits of cloth obeyed. His hair was knotted, tangled, sparse, and filthy. His skin was as dry and brittle as old parchment, and was much the same color. Only his eyes looked alive. They were green, and even now, they were fresh and clear, like a child’s. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get so much as a syllable out, he was struck and fell back to the icy floor.
“Get! Up!” Each word was punctuated by a kick to his ribs. He muttered a prayer to his goddess as he stood, and earned a deadly look from his captor, but at least he wasn’t struck again. He continued his prayer mentally, ‘Dear Delia, Goddess of the Earth, grant me strength to endure this trial, or, if I am not meant to endure this, at least grant me my freedom. Let me join you in the Eternal Wilderness.’ His captor looked ready to strike again, likely, he’d been mouthing the words he so desperately thought.
“Enough!” He was spared another trip to the floor by a haughty-voice. This voice was attached to a woman who walked with an authority that was unparalleled, even by his vicious and brutal captor. Her hair was a clean and shining blond color, like tangible sunlight, and her eyes were as pools of molten gold. Her clothes were of a strange design, but obviously very fine, stitched as they were in silver and gold thread. “Captain, let me talk to him. Oh, and tell the General I’d like to see him.”
The Captain bowed in an abrupt movement, and exited the room. The other guards followed him, only two remaining, outside the doors, and safely out of earshot. He swallowed convulsively. The Captain had been bad enough, but this woman, who didn’t look nearly as tough, none the less seemed much more dangerous. He wondered what she could possibly want of him.
“So, are you another one who has come to see what lies beyond the desert? Congratulations, you’ve found us. This country is called Nuefo, and I am the Empress. My name will be of little concern to you, since you will address me only as Empress, or M’Lady, or another term of respect. As you may have guessed, you’re not the first of your countrymen to wander here, although, you all seem so different from each other, it becomes hard for me to think that you all come from the same country. I want to know why some of you look like us, and why others have pointed ears, or are unusually tall or short in stature, or are attached to horses. Are you all outcasts, cursed by a magician?”
Realization dawned on him then, and in his utter relief, he threw his head back and laughed. The sound echoed weirdly around the room, and it made him feel more alive than he had in days. The Empress shot him a threatening look, and he sobered quickly. “My dear Empress, are there no other races but human here? Where I come from, we have many races, Human, Elf, Dwarf, Unicorn, Centaur, Dragon, Faerie, Merfolk, and plenty of others. Do they not exist here?”
“No, they do not.” Her expression was unreadable, “You Will tell me of them, and about your country.” She smiled at him, her face made even more beautiful with the gentle expression. He nodded, and started explaining things at once.