FatHairyApe
Joined: 15 Jul 2008
Posts: 118
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:22 pm Post subject: Prologue & Chapter One |
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Prologue
Hi, my name is Dendrin, and I am a Weatherwarden... well... almost. If you're not familiar with the term, a Weatherwarden is one who keeps the sky elements under control. He is constantly extinguishing Lighting Fires and pushing storms. It is the Warden's job to make sure the weather is going according to plan. I am still a little bit new at this, so I am not exactly sure what we do, but that is definitely the jist.
An apprentice is picked from each of the seven cities of Skyward to serve under Head Weatherwarden Hiergo von Briggs. He instructs us on Warden-like contact, educates us on the job itself, and teaches us the magic we need to know to be effective. I represent the city called Nialbitrus--the center-most city in our floating region of Skyward. Personally, I think my city is the most beautiful: it is entirely marble and just rests buoyantly in air.
The tradition of the Weatherwarden is one that goes back thousands of years. Ever since the Great Flood, I believe. See--before, back in those ancient times--the sky and everything in it was let free to do what it might. Eventually, tensions soared and the Lighting Clans fought with those of the Thunder Guild while the Wind Peoples battled the Village of Rain. Soon a war developed--one that lasted 100 years. The war itself never really ended. The last we know was that the Village of Rain unleashed a secret weapon never before encountered. It poured for an entire year in every single place on this planet. Lighting raped the sky in defiance and tornadoes pillaged the earth. Life itself stood on the threshold.
Ultimately, Rain won. All life in its entirety was destroyed by the elemental battle that took place right here in Skyward. The essences of soul rested in the dimensions invisible to our own, though--spirits of every life lost vanished to the lost Realms of Never. Scribes here believe that their utter mysticism radiated and encouraged a single plant to sprout. From there, life began anew.
But back to me. Like I said, I am Dendrin. My dabbling in magic is strictly weather-bound, although I do try to learn basic jinxes and the like. If you're not familiar with magic, I suppose I should enlighten you on that as well. See, here, magic is something that is in us all. It is not necessary, but it is helpful. While basic spells are free, the stronger they get they can require some sacrifices on the caster's part. He might not know this until... it's too late, too. I am not that familiar with it--as I mentioned I have only dabbled--but Hiergo should be able to teach me more.
This is the story of me and journey as a Weatherwarden. This is where it will take me and who I will meet along the way. This is in no way larger than life--this is just a story of what is done where no one cares to look.
Chapter One
The most important rule of Weathewardening is to never be caught. At least, that is what Hiergo said we would be learning today.
I assembled with the six other apprentices at our Warden Headquarters--a dusty, abandoned inn that had permanent cloud cover. It was invisible to the naked eye.
"Glad to see you all up so e'rly," Hiergo von Briggs grunted. He had a way of choking on syllables. "You 'll be'er listen up because today's less'n is important."
I surveyed the scene. My best friend at the Warden Institute or whatever you wanted to call it was from Vultaan--just outside of Nialbitrus. We had attended school together as well. Her name was Raish. Like me, she had moppy brown hair--though mine was much shorter than hers. The others, at this point, I didn't really know. The name of the boy to my right was Yurg or Yag or something like that. In all honesty, I didn't care. I was here to Warden.
"It is our miss'on to control the skies," our teacher continued. "It is also our miss'on to op'rate much like nature does: automatically and in flow with the rest o' it. For a thousand years we have gone unde'ected by those down below."
A girl to the left side of the room raised her hand. She was the annoying one that always giggled and asked stupid questions. "Excuse me, but why do we want to be undetected again? They have magic too--there're no suprises."
We all sighed, but Hiergo answered her.
"After the Great Flood there was an even great'r debate. Ult'mately, the factions broke down into those of the sky and those of the earth. The soil-bound peoples felt that we would be able to take ad'antage of the el'ments and use it against them to make more floods at will. The nego'ations ended in shambles and nothing was ever re'olved. We, 'specially of Skyward, understood the gravity of the sit'ation. Thus, we began to select a chosen few to op'rate as Wardens to patrol the skies and make sure they were safe. The last thing we want to do is start 'nother debate with them. The concept now is untouch'ble... that is unless they find out."
It was sad that our world was in this state. Everything was merely an argument put to rest--an argument tabled until something else added to the concoction. It was a whole mess just waiting to explode, in my opinion.
"But back on with the less'n," Hiergo said, clapping his hands together. "We'll st'rt off with you kids's fav'rite stuff: magic."
He waited for our cheers to die down.
"Now I s'ppose our first less'n will re'olve around how to stay undetect'ble. A handy spell is: invisibility!"
Something hit me. Metaphorically, of course. Even the great masters of magic could barely grasp invisibility. How could he be teaching it to us... children? He must have noticed my confused expression, because he called me up to the front of the room.
"Alright, Dind'n--"
"Excuse me, Sir. It's Dendrin. I don't mean to be rude." I said.
Hiergo just grumbled.
"Now there are a variety of ways to become in'isible. One of the most help'ul is cloud cover. Bein' in the sky, clouds 'ill be 'round you all the time. Now, if you move your right hand toward 'ur body while pullin' your ring fing'r in--yes, Bareena, that is your ring fing'r--you should be able to pull clouds 'round you. Once you pract'ce it 'nough, it should be second nat're--heh heh, 'scuse the pun.
"If you need help, you can whisper the Yurnic name for cloud: Jhe. I know it's s'mple, but you won't prolly need 't."
It took me a minute to register what he said. Then, I remembered: the Yurnic language. It is the most ancient of tongues--especially popular before the Great Flood to our knowledge. It is what all magical texts are written in, all runes inscribed in, and all everything mystical created with. Maybe I should learn it.
I replicated what he said. I pulled my hand in, unfortunately eying my scrawny little biceps in the process. There was no time for self-loathing, though. I had to Warden! So, I muttered Jhe under my breath as I did the motion.
It was really amazing to witness. Simple, fluffy grey clouds were pulled out of the air around me and twisted around my body in the same direction as my hand. I turned around and saw the same happening for my classmates. All, expect for her annoyingness: Bareena. Riash's technique was expert; I could see Hiergo eying her cloud cover. Soon, though, I lost sight of everything.
"Now y'all may no'ice that cloud cover blinds you as well." Hiergo said. "For that, you'll all need to learn about piercing vision. We'll get into that next lesson though. All of you get out of your covers by reversin' the motion."
It took us all a few moments to remove what we had done. Once we were all set, Hiergo clapped his hands together like always.
But before he could speak there was a terrible crash. The entire inn heaved inwards. Once the dust cleared and I identified myself among the rubble, I saw what happened.
"Jhe!" screamed Hiergo. He jumped up and withdrew a sword from his belt. "All of ya--cover!"
We were surrounded by Windfolk. There were ten of them, each masked head to toe in swirling, grey garments that never stopped moving. They had piercing blue eyes that were surrounded by long, flowing hair on all--ever waving in the breeze. Each stood with his arms out in front, ready to strike.
I was about to cover myself in clouds when all of a sudden I looked to my side and saw Raish, unconscious in the debris.
Decision Point: What does Dendrin do?
So what did you guys think? I am new here, and this story was rather... eh... spontaneous. Anyways, I am so excited to join the community, and I love criticism/support/etc. :D Anyways--more to come! It will get better and better. Wohoo. Also, if you could bold your direct responses to the DP, that'd be great. |
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