Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

okay, so here is the 1st chapter of my hopefully new novel. it is told in the perspective of two people, Sanae and Helori, and the two POV's are separated by the ~*~*~*~*~*~* things.

Chapter 1- We both find each other and also learn giant snakes aren’t that hard to beat
I had to run, I had to hide. But where was I supposed to go? No one knew of me, no one knew who I was or where I came from, so it was like I didn’t exist. If I were to go somewhere… I didn’t have any money, so the attempt to hide myself was futile. Stopping behind a giant oak tree, I whipped around its trunk and grabbed onto a low hanging branch, swinging myself up. Thank god for those four years of acrobatics. After I had climbed to the top, I sighed contentedly, looking at the beautiful sunset beyond the horizon. The normally blue sky was splattered with vibrant pinks and oranges, with a deep purple at the center, where the bright sun slowly caught its last breath, fading. If only everything were this easy, this peaceful. Suddenly, the sound of clattering footsteps broke the holy silence, signaling it was my time to hide. I crawled across my branch, lying in between it and another, invisible to the normal eyes. But these weren’t normal eyes searching for me. These eyes, cold and heartless, were the eyes of pure terror in form. Muscularly built bodies were draped in black robes and armor, and their hands, covered in metal chain gloves, carried arrows, spears, or worse, swords. Their ugly faces were covered by cloths or helmets, and thank god, because normally those who died did so because they had to stare at those wretched visages. Just thinking about it made me shudder, bad idea. The leaves shook slightly, and an arrow whisked so close to my head I shot back, falling. Falling, falling, falling, I hit the ground behind them with a thud. No, a thud would be an understatement, to them; it was like the ringing bell for shooting practice. In front of those hideous creatures, the Zeshrek, was a purely normal man, dressed in black hunting gear under his long Mage’s robe, and with all of the features of one, black long hair, and beautiful features, except for the fact his eyes were that of a serpent, frozen blooded and ruthless.
“Well well…. Lookie what we have here boys…. We’ve finally got her.” He said in a serpentine hiss, his small tongue flicking in and out. “His Highness will be most pleased….” And there went that annoying tongue thing again.
“Shut up Ravenswood.” I spat, scrambling off the ground to glare at him eye to eye. He was about a head taller, yet I had no fear for this man. He had pursued me for weeks… months even, I didn’t bother to count, and still he was too stupid to catch a 14 year old girl. The wind blew, and my long, brunette hair shifted, hiding the anger and loathing in my eyes from the raw hatred in his. “I cannot stress to you how annoying your little games are getting, so why not just shoot me now while you have the chance?”
At this Ravenswood the Mage laughed his wicked, snake-like laugh. I cringed slightly.
“Do you really think my objective is to kill you Sanae? Do you REALLY?” he crooned, making me wonder. He had been chasing me for god knows how long, killing almost everyone in his path to get me… isn’t that what he wanted to do to me?
“You… don’t?” I asked shakily, stepping back, but returning to my position when the Zeshrek growled.
“No no darling, His Highness King Veere only wishes for me to capture you… and my subordinates to capture those LIKE you so that we may--”
“Those LIKE me?! You mean orphans?! Is that what you are doing Ravenswood you are taking ORPHANS away?!” I screamed, cutting him off. If this is what he was doing to me, let alone OTHER CHILDREN, I had to kill him now. I slipped my hand into my back pocket withdrawing a special dagger I had stolen from a street vender. Acrobatics, thievery, I had many talents; all of them came in handy when I was fighting for my life. The red blade glinted in the sun. The Dagger of Daeger, the man had said, the special knife forged by the God of Fire Daeger himself. He had also said that it burned a mortals hand at the touch, which is how I knew he was lying. It felt like cool metal under mine. Ravenswood staggered a little at the blade, his slits of eyes widening at it.
“Where did you get that…?” he whispered, a low hiss emanating from the back of his throat. The sun had gone down now, and the Zeshrek were stirring. I knew that soon…. I would have to fight.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The sun had fully sunk down below the horizon. The lake’s crystal composure dimmed, and the waves seemed to resonate with the intensity of this very moment. I faced her with pure hatred.
“There’s nowhere to run now Medrina.” I called across the clearing, watching her cackle.
“Is there nowhere? Really you little brat,” her voice ran through me like one million arrows, a spell. She was trying to use it to make me falter, but I wouldn’t, I would never back down. “This is where I take you back to His Highness… then Ravenswood promotes me to deputy.” She screeched her laugh again, another spell.
“Just shut up!” I yelled, pulling out my crossbow and loading it with those arrows I had found in the water. They shone like ice, but were hard as metal. Medrina gasped.
“Where did you find the Arrows of the Water Goddess Assos?!” she gasped, stepping back. “They should be water right now!” now it was my turn to laugh.
“Don’t you know of the legend? Those who are children of Assos can conjure water into a form different than originally intended. That must make me special… right?”
“Damn you Helori, Damn you straight to the pits of hell which burn your flesh.” She spat, raising her sword. It shone a dark copper, Wolves-Deomon Copper. It could pierce almost anything straight through. My plan to just shoot her faltered, I had to think of a backup. A ripping scream shifted through the trees, and both of us turned behind me to listen. People, this far away from civilization? A snake hiss sounded loudly, and Medrina tore through the trees past me, running toward it. Something was up, and I wasn’t missing any action. I passed her with my speed and agility, but she ran faster. It was now a race between the two of us to get to the unknown finish.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I screamed harder than my adolescent lungs could withstand. Ravenswood, now atop a giant snake, cackled with laughter. The Zeshrek had disbanded on Ravenswood’s orders; apparently he wanted to take me in himself.
“Try this on for size you b***h!” he screamed, snapping. The giant snake lunged forward, missing me by an inch. I jumped across the way, falling with about as much grace as a wingless bird. Another lunge, and this time I jabbed the Dagger of Daeger into its nose, making Ravenswood wail in pain. That’s when it hit me. The snake… was A PART OF RAVENSWOOD! Maybe if I kill the snake…. I could kill him! But just as I was about to lunge at the snakes open chest, BAM! I felt like I was shot with a bullet the size of a human. Knocked to the ground, I pushed the woman off of me, catching my breath.
“What the--! Ravenswood!” she yelled, scrambling to her feet and staring up at him in pure admiration. She straightened her blazing red hair and continued looking up, even when Ravenswood rolled his eyes.
“What are you doing here Medrina?” he asked, glaring at her with obvious dislike in his eyes.
“Well, I was catching that Helori brat like you had ordered me sir.” The woman Medrina said, pointing to a boy who had emerged silently through the trees. He looked ragged and worn down, just like me. Wait…. JUST LIKE ME?! Ravenswood began rambling to her about keeping us apart from each other, and I scooted toward him quickly.
“Helori? That’s your name right?” whispering I asked, trying not to be heard.
“Yeah…. And you?”
“Sanae.”
“Cute. Um… why is there a snake-like man riding a giant snake?”
“Long story short, I’m on the run from the king. And yourself?” as we made small talk, I looked up at his eyes; they were like glistening pools of crystalline, peaceful sea water, full of understanding and a little bit of fear. Good thing I wasn’t the only one.
“Oh my… you too?” he looked at me, obviously surprised. “Medrina… she has been chasing me ever since that one kid was found… the one who could breathe fire. Judging from that… I must be like him, special.” He said each word like he had gathered all of this information over a long period of time, even though the boy had been found naught but a few months ago. Around the time… around the time Ravenswood had first came to ‘get’ me. I sighed in frustration. The boy, Cliffget, he had burned down a whole town just with his breath. It was concluded he wasn’t human, so he was burned at the stake. Maybe he did have something to do with Helori and myself… maybe we were just like him. Why couldn’t I have thought of it before?!
“Hey!” Ravenswood’s piercing voice rang through my head painfully, unlike anything I had ever heard before. Helori just flinched slightly, compared to my drastic reaction of wincing violently and covering my ears. Maybe he was used to it?
“Stay away from each other!” the snake lunged again, missing both of us by a fragment of a second. Grabbing the Dagger of Daeger, I rushed back, jabbing the snake in the head. Children more than I had died because of people like him. A guy as nice as Helori had endured worse from that woman than I had from Ravenswood because of stupid persecution for nothing we were even aware of! Just the thought of such a horrendous act…… it pissed me off to no end! My anger… it seemed to grow and grow… but it wasn’t me… what was fueling such hate? Suddenly, flames erupted out of the Dagger, making the snake catch fire. This was a good thing, this way we would win. I jerked the blade away, willing the flames to reach farther and farther along its body, engulfing the snake in flames. Helori watched as I jumped down, landing straight on my feet. Instantly, the flames seemed to take over my vision as I was lost in a strange feeling.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I watched the girl Sanae. She was so fast and agile, much better of a fighter than I was. Though I figured my brains could outlast hers instantly. She fell gracefully, like a ballerina falling from leaping into the air. But I could conclude that a battle was her stage, and she was its star actress. Her long red hair--! Wait! Her hair was brunette just a second ago… maybe this was…! No! That blade, the Dagger of Daeger! But her hands should be covered in third degree burns by now… maybe she was like me? The flames seemed to follow her will as her hand flicked to the right, and they swerved, beginning to encircle the man called Ravenswood.
“Sanae! Wait!” I called, grabbing my quiver of arrows and running over to her, whipping her around. Her eyes had turned a bloody crimson, just like her hair. And a snarl was creeping through her mouth like the fire on the snake.
“How dare you touch me mortal!” she screeched in a voice that was hers… though with almost a divine echo. This was not the girl… this was not Sanae. This was Daeger himself… the God of Fire had possessed her spirit. She turned back, moving her hands in a fluid motion and commanding the fire to move. The man Ravenswood just stared in awe at her.
“You… he WAS right…. You ARE his child…..” he whispered. The snake finished its coating of fire, burning into ashes and making Ravenswood plummet to the ground. Sanae/Daeger walked past me, standing directly over Ravenswood.
“You have pissed me off for the last time Ravenswood.” The voice said, chuckling slightly. “I will not have either you OR Veere terrorizing my children any longer. First you…. Then him.” Sanae/Daeger growled, waving her hand over the now cringing man. I watched on in horror as his body began leaking flame where the blood poured out of his torn, pale, and dirty flesh. It was then I realized, among his screams and Medrina’s wails, that she was turning his blood into pure flame.
“Please… look at me with the eyes of my true foe… I-I beg of YOU!” he screamed, looking up at the girl with a deathly glare.
“Why not, after all, if you did survive this long without me killing you…” Sanae’s voice lost its divine after-rhythm, her hair turning back into its normal brunette shade, and I think her eyes returned back into their glossy hazel glow, but I couldn’t be sure due to the fact she wasn’t facing me. “You must be a formidable foe… Ravenswood.” I slowly walked over, grabbing Sanae’s shoulder and squeezing it lightly. She was crying, I could tell.
“I didn’t want to kill him, he just… he just KILLED so many people just to get to me and I… I snapped!” she sobbed, falling onto her knees next to the dying man-snake. “Ravenswood… this is your punishment… and mine.”
“You…. b***h…” he wheezed, and finished his last breath with a hiss. Medrina, who had remained silent until now, screamed.
“YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED RAVENSWOOD!” she shouted, more to the heavens than to us. “I will send.” She began to speak a spell, knowing it hurt Sanae more than it did me. “You. Straight. To. Hell!” each syllable she spat seemed to be containing one ton of anger, one ton of revenge. Sanae faltered, falling next to his body. I could tell she wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. Taking one of my Arrows of Assos, I loaded it into my bow and shot, hitting her square in the chest.
“GYA-!” she fell unto the soft moss-strewn floor, blood pouring out of her body as she lie there, dead. Sanae stood up with my help, holding her head.
“That really hurt.” She said, still wincing a little bit.
“That will be nothing compared to what we will face.” I reminded her, putting my Arrows back in my quiver. She nodded slightly, sheathing the Dagger in her pocket.
“So what happened back there anyway?” I asked, placing my hand on her shoulder to stop her from moving.
“I don’t really know myself. I just…. Got really angry and… the fire kept going and going, I didn’t even know what was happening…” her voice trailed off as she looked into the star-strewn sky. “I felt… something, or SOMEONE inside of me… angrier than myself, and with less control. But when I stabbed that snake… when the fire erupted from its skin, it came out, and wanted just to KILL!” her breathing became heavy, and she sat down on the forest floor.
“You are weak, I’m sure that experience took a lot out of you. We should rest for the night. There is a freshwater lake around where I was and I can lead you there.” I offered, squatting down next to her. She looked at me, sadness in her eyes. I don’t think she WANTED to kill Ravenswood; it was too harsh for her to handle. All she wanted to do was evade him, not truly kill him. Or… that was MY opinion. But I didn’t even know this girl; I had no right to make assumptions.
“Sure then. I guess that’s okay.” She was about to take my hand, when she gave me a nervous expression. “So we are going to stay together? I am so used to being a loner in this whole… Battle you could call it…”
“Well, it’s all over so--”
“You actually think it’s all over?!” she shouted at me, glaring into my eyes.
“You don’t? I mean… Ravenswood AND Medrina are dead, they were the Kings best soldiers… wouldn’t he be afraid to send out more?”
She sighed at me exasperatedly. “Really, you think THEY were the best the king could create? You’re callow.”
“Well, even if he DOES send out more, I’m sure we could take them.” I pointed out, rolling my eyes. “After all, we just need you to send out Daeger again and everyone, even the King is toast!” she looked at me, her mouth open and malice coating her expression like a heavy rainfall.
“WHAT?! What do you think I am just some vessel to use for your personal gai-”
“Don’t forget that this is for your gain AND mine!” I yelled back, my anger flourishing. Just that arrogant look on her face, she looked like she didn’t understand any of this!
“Maybe… NO! Screw this!” she jolted up, beginning to walk in another direction completely. “I don’t need you… that’s plainly obvious. Which means I don’t need to stick around with you!” she continued to yell, her back toward me.
“We are both dead if we don’t stick together, you know that!” I screamed back, walking away from her. “But I don’t think I will regret leaving a brat like you!” I stalked away, back toward the lake. I was still staying with my frame of mind of resting. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I didn’t even look back at her, hoping that I would never have to see her stubborn face again. But little did I know I would be seeing her sooner than I ever wanted to.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~