here it is. give me your opinions in the comments. there is only 1 rule: dont be a pussy. give me your honest opinions. anything less is an absolute waste of time. ................................................................................................... The crown of palatine book 1: the city of starlight Chapter 1: godric The country moved beneath his horses feet, and shadows played in the corner of his eye. Twinges of fear came with every shadow, and he struggled to remember his name. Finally, when his mind et the fear, and superstition rise, he remembered. “godric” he said to himself. that was his name. it was strange to hear it in his head after four years of forgetting. He had spent so many months hiding it under a title, not thinking about it. “quickly now!” screamed his thin, bald brother in arms. Seamsplitter had urged him on throughout their journey. “we have three days to catch up to them longstrider!” godric ran further down the tight road to catch up to him. trees tightly hugged Every log hall, and village in the forest kingdom of Vora. The country looked the same from end to end. The only unique structure in the vora was the mountain keep godrics queen called home. Otherwise, Vora was a land of green and brown. Every man was simple, and every inch he traveled was the same as the last. Without a companion, he would be lost. And the damned trees. They clawed at him as he pressed through the biting, stinging air with seemsplitter. Its winters did not like to leave. Summer did its best to seep through the trees but they were nearly as stubborn as those who lived beneath them. The sun still shined through to feed the grass, but the forest seemed to hold the wind within it, even when every inch of snow had left. Seamsplitter and godric were two of twelve, and he was the only foreigner among their ranks. Were it not for his companions, he would have returned to Erragris…to his father, long ago. Disgusted as he was with his father, he could not deny that the lands of his birth were breathtaking. Every mountain was unique. Every field was lush and lively with the tottering of livestock, and the screams of playful children. Life was gentle, and serene, and colorful. A gust of wind shot at him through an opening in the trees “how many leagues are left?” “many” seamsplitter spat. By now Godric had known that the men of vora spat every word they spoke. it took only a breath to say most things, and names passed elegantly across their tongues. Longstrider, flyheart, oathbearer. They had a reverence when it came to names, and living things. For a people who lived died, and killed in rags, they seemed far better, and nobler than most other realms. In godrics realm the beauty of the world surrounded greedy hearts. These people let it fill theirs. Still, they were a finicky people. He could not give his name to others. Longstrider was all they could call him, nothing else. There were no family names. Bloodline meant less than dirt to all but the royal line, and even they did not care much for its purity. Only Godric and his brothers knew the royal family’s name. An honor given to them for their oaths. They were the proven. The only warriors capable of defending the queen of Vora. “you’ll like the dwellings of these greenbloods longstrider.” He smirked. “Loose women, and loose stone. Some of these keeps are so poorly defended you could slip an army through them. godric laughed. “they should call you longstrider. I only made one journey from Erragris. You have seen far more keeps than I have.” Seamsplitter had slipped through every keep and castle known to man. his smile lowered on his face, but his eyes still had joy in them. ”I have been to a few cities, but I have never lived in any. You have lived in mountains!” “I have lived atop mountains, never in them. but you were born for cities seamsplitter. Trees, and log halls do not suit you. He looked at the lands around them. taking them in as they passed behind. “I live in these lands. The cities of the world are full of wonders, but these lands are still and silent.” Seamsplitter was not like the lands he lived in. He had many talents for things he did not enjoy. He mostly made made use of those talents to have his way with women. Such a waste, godric thought. He would’ve made a wonderful thief, or assassin in other realms, but these lands turned him away from those professions. on the day he took his oath His queen had told him “if you wish to take something, or kill someone, do it where other men can see. A deed is not worth doing if it fades from memory after your death.” A beam of sunlight came down on seamsplitter. “We will cross into the greenhearts lands soon” most of the trees on the fringes of Vora grew shorter, and thinner than the rest. they let in more sunlight closer to the ground. There had been flecks of light coming down on them all along their journey, but the road was too narrow in most places for the trees to provide a wide opening for the sun. Seamsplitters horse caught some light in its eye and shook its head. Godrics own horse was a gentle thing. He hardly even noticed it was under him until he had to sped it up. The sunlight had hardly touched him, but it did help settle an uneasy feeling. They had seen shapes playing with the shadows under the trees for much of the day. they heard rumors from peasants in strangely shrunken villages who had seen the same before losing some of their townsfolk. They had not spoken of it while they were alone. When godric looked into seamsplitters eyes, he could see the fear that had kept them both from doing so. “what will we tell the queen ?” seamsplitter looked away from him while saying it. “we will tell her what we know. The people have seen strange things, and there have been disappearances. Anything more is mere conjecture.” “I’m serious longstrider. Stop trying to impress me with your fancy words.” He paused for a long moment “That is a good idea though. We must tell her only what we have seen.” “I apologise” if only the men of Vora had the same schooling as his people. Vorans did not speak like fools as so many peasants did in other realms. seamsplitter did not understand what conjecture meant, but he was quick enough to figure it out. “We should make haste. though we know little, there is certainly something happening. The queen must decide on what course of action to take.” Seamsplitter nodded, but before they could press on, a shape in the corner of his eye began to move. At first he thought it was like the shapes he had seen throughout his journey, but When he turned to face it, it did not stop moving. He brought his horse to a halt. Seamsplitter did the same and what in gods…” his silence told godric that he had seen it as well. the shape began walking towards them until it had come into view.it stood in the woods ten paces away from. It stared at godric as seamsplitter got off of his horse and walked as close to godric as he dared. The shape did not flinch, even when seamsplitter called it. “What you want!?!? You lost!?” the words came out of his throat as they came from a boy before his balls dropped, for he must’ve seen what godric could clearly see before him. It was a man dressed in rags. at first glance he looked like any other LANDNAMER, though its robes were a bit more tattered than Vorans were, and branches shot out of a few holes in the fabric. But the thing that turned a proven of Vora into a prepubescent boy before it was its face. its skin was pale as milk, and inhumanly smooth, like a pearl. Its lips were so thin and small that they could barely cover its gums. Its teeth were nearly as white as its face, but it had no tongue as far as godric could see. Its eyes were fixed on godric, but he did not feel them upon him. it seemed like It was staring at some invisible thing that was right in front of its eyes. Perhaps it was the thick black color that covered the entire eye, but godric did not ponder it long. The creature stepped slowly towards them. More shapes began to move in the distance, unafraid of being seen as they had been throughout the journey, and a blue light flickered in the distance.. Seamsplitter drew his blade and turned back to godric. “Find the queen. She must know what we have seen.” There was fear in his eyes for the first time as he slapped godrics horse. Blue light shimmered off of his needle like sword as he sped away. He looked back, and as seamsplitter grew smaller and smaller in the distance, he saw the shapes coming out of the trees. When he could no longer see him he turned his ears back. But when he did, he heard no screams. He heard music.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 16:53:13 +0000