Post by S0L!D S/\/@KE on Apr 4, 2005 12:58:34 GMT -5
I've been working on a novel (no it won't be on a grand scale like LOTR) and have been waiting to post it. Yes, this is a work in progress so changes may be made to the chapters of my novel.
Chapter 1:
It was a perfect sunny morning, no signs of danger or any signs of any coming storm. That was all about to change for one boy…<br> Responding to the bright rays of the sun shining through his window, Mark rose out of his bed. Sniffing for the scent of food he smelled the delicious aroma of acorn cereal. Practically breaking down his door he rushed to the table and grabbed a s!. Before he could touch his cereal, however, he heard the familiar gruff voice of his uncle Werris.
“Hold on there Mark,” Said his uncle.
Mark slowly lowered his s! into the bowl and waited for another response from his uncle.
“You forgot to pray for your food,” his uncle slowly said.
Hearing those familiar words from his uncle he lowered his head and prayed to God.
“Now you may eat,” said his uncle.
Mark grabbed the s! and quickly devoured his now cold acorn cereal.
Knowing that today was his weekly combat lesson; he went back to his room too don his old, worn leather armor. After changing into an old set of clothes he went out of the house and grabbed his knife which he always kept in box right outside the door. Running as fast as his small legs could take him he arrived at his uncle’s blacksmith shop.
“So you remembered,” said his uncle.
“Yep,” replied Mark.
Seeing his uncle in his leather armor was quite impressive to see. Although his uncle was at the good old age of forty-two he stood at a good six feet and was quite muscular as well. As always Mark was glad he never had to be struck with those rippling muscles of his uncle.
“Today Mark I’ve decided to devote this whole day to combat training,” said his uncle with his usual smile on his face.
“Yea,” yelled Mark with happiness.
“I’ve seen how well you’ve handled yourself with that knife of yours during our lessons so I’m going to finally teach you advanced combat,” said his uncle.
“Really?” replied Mark in amazement.
“Yes of course Mark. I would never lie to you. But enough chit-chat, lets get down to business,” said his uncle.
His uncle showed him several advanced moves. The first being a spectacular trip with the leg and then with the opponent down his uncle brought down his axe upon the wooden dummy which was smashed into two. Mark tried the move several times but he finally succeeded on the fourth try. Throughout the morning his uncle taught him various moves and when lunch came they decided to take a break.
“You did quite well today Mark. I’m very proud of your combat prowess. Make sure to memorize those moves I taught you and with those you can take on almost any foe. Oh, I almost forgot,” said his uncle.
His uncle went inside the blacksmith shop for a short while. He finally came out clutching a small box wrapped with parchment.
“Here, take it,” said his uncle with a big smile on his face.
Mark slowly grabbed the gift, unwrapped it, and opened up the box. To his amazement, it was a large combat knife with beautiful inscriptions on the blade and the handle. Also enclosed in the box was a fine-looking necklace.
Before Mark could ask where his uncle had obtained such wonderful gifts a screaming villager quickly ran up to his uncle.
“Calm down Salla. Now tell me what on earth is going on,” said Werris
“The militia’s scouts spotted an unknown enemy approaching the village perimeter,” screamed Salla in panic.
“Go tell all the militia to meet by the village gate. Hurry! We don’t have much time,” said the uncle with some panic in his eyes.
Mark couldn’t believe what filled his ears. The village had only been attacked twice before and every time his uncle would finish the enemy off with ease. Since he knew his uncle was once a hardened warrior in the Royal Platinum Guard of Mancel and knew more about combat than the whole village combined he couldn’t imagine a defeat. His mind soon was filled with thoughts of himself wiping out a good number of enemies and being praised by the village.
“Mark grab your knife and meet me and the militia by the gate,” commanded his uncle
Being the good boy that he was he girded the rest of his armor, grabbed his knife, and ran to gate.
Mark soon arrived at the gate and climbed to the top of the wall to peer at the battlefield. Due to his small stature he could see very little but the small sight that he saw scared him. He saw a dark figure atop his black stallion which seemed to gaze deeply on Mark. For a moment it seemed to him that he was as solid as stone, but he finally was able to break his gaze on the figure and focus on the coming army. From the little he could see at his vantage point he could see that the soldiers were not like the goblins and orcs his uncle and the militia had fought before. The soldiers seemed to look like men but their heavy armor obscured any other details hinting at what race they were. Unlike their village militia these soldiers held tall rectangular shields and wielded pikes, swords, axes, and bows. Thankfully he couldn’t see any mounted horseman other than their commander which if they had any would spell defeat for their poorly armed but skillfully trained militia. Having seeing enough of the battlefield Mark climbed back down to the ground and waited for his uncle.
Shortly after, his uncle arrived with many more militia members following. They then organized themselves into units and after arming the militia his uncle gave a rousing speech. After this speech the gate was opened and the small army marched out to meet their attackers.
Mark found himself in the last line of the division but he favored the position now because he feared that he would be run over by the fairly large soldiers. He now saw the enemy responding to the small militia by forming into an organized division. His uncle now rode out on their best horse and approached the front of the division where he gave another rousing speech. The dark figure then raised his sword into the air which sent his army on a collision course with the militia. Responding to this his uncle took up his lance and sent the militia charging into the opposing army. When it came for the last line to charge, Mark had let out a fiery war cry and charged along with the others.
Metal clashed with metal and shields shook against the blows of weapons. Mark now felt the indescribable excitement of battle which now overtook him sending him upon his enemies. As he ran up to some enemy warriors and he overtook his prey with the advanced fighting skills his uncle had taught him that day. Throughout the battle he tried to keep track of his uncle but unfortunately he lost sight of him in the chaos of war. Suddenly his uncle resurfaced and it appeared he had some nasty wounds. Caught up with taking down as many warriors as he could, Mark didn’t realize that the enemy had taken down more than half of their army. It wasn’t until he heard the horn of retreat that he saw how many casualties the militia had taken.
“Enemy Archers! Retreat! Retreat! Retreat,” announced Werris.
Knowing full well what advantage an army has with archers Mark ran as fast as he could back to the village. As he retreated with the other soldiers he looked behind and saw the archers as they released their deadly volley of arrows. The arrows whistled in the air and they hit their targets with a Whack! Mark looked around at the carnage and saw that the archers had cut the remaining militia down by half once again. Once in the safety of the village the men secured the village gate using the village’s special emergency procedures.
“What will we do now uncle,” asked Mark.
“I know what they want Mark. We’ll have to lead them away from the village and into the forest,” replied his uncle.
Werris announced his plan to the militia. Seeing that they had no choice left the rest of the men agreed but before they could move a rain of fire arrows sliced through the air and they set the village ablaze. The men then hurried and evacuated the women and children to safety. While all this was happening the enemy army was smashing through the gate. With the enemy occupied with burning the village, Werris led the villagers to the edge of the forest. Surprisingly the dark figure appeared with a small elite unit of warriors. Ordering the villagers away from the forest the uncle sent one villager to call for help. After the villager was safely away the remaining villagers and militia were quickly surrounded by the enemy. In an attempt to lead the enemy warriors and their commander away, Mark and his uncle made a bee-line for the forest.
Mark and his uncle were now heading straight for the warriors and they knocked them down with a loud, sickening THUD!
“Come on! Move, screamed Werris to the villagers but they were quickly cut down by the elite warriors. Half of the enemy warriors stayed with the villagers and they quickly killed them in a pool of blood. Filled with grief over this loss Mark and his uncle continued leading the rest of the warriors away from the village and into the forest. Knowing that he wouldn’t be alive for too long Werris decided to split up with his nephew.
“Mark! We’re approaching a fork in the road and I to split up. Understand,” said the uncle with saddened, weary filled eyes.
“But uncle…” replied Mark.
“NO Mark! You can’t come where I’m going. Help is coming soon. Now LEAVE!” angrily said the uncle.
Shocked by these words, Mark obeyed his uncle and headed down the opposite path leading away the enemy soldiers. He finally came to a dead end. As he heard the soldier’s and commanders heavy footsteps he waited and hoped help would come.
Chapter 1:
It was a perfect sunny morning, no signs of danger or any signs of any coming storm. That was all about to change for one boy…<br> Responding to the bright rays of the sun shining through his window, Mark rose out of his bed. Sniffing for the scent of food he smelled the delicious aroma of acorn cereal. Practically breaking down his door he rushed to the table and grabbed a s!. Before he could touch his cereal, however, he heard the familiar gruff voice of his uncle Werris.
“Hold on there Mark,” Said his uncle.
Mark slowly lowered his s! into the bowl and waited for another response from his uncle.
“You forgot to pray for your food,” his uncle slowly said.
Hearing those familiar words from his uncle he lowered his head and prayed to God.
“Now you may eat,” said his uncle.
Mark grabbed the s! and quickly devoured his now cold acorn cereal.
Knowing that today was his weekly combat lesson; he went back to his room too don his old, worn leather armor. After changing into an old set of clothes he went out of the house and grabbed his knife which he always kept in box right outside the door. Running as fast as his small legs could take him he arrived at his uncle’s blacksmith shop.
“So you remembered,” said his uncle.
“Yep,” replied Mark.
Seeing his uncle in his leather armor was quite impressive to see. Although his uncle was at the good old age of forty-two he stood at a good six feet and was quite muscular as well. As always Mark was glad he never had to be struck with those rippling muscles of his uncle.
“Today Mark I’ve decided to devote this whole day to combat training,” said his uncle with his usual smile on his face.
“Yea,” yelled Mark with happiness.
“I’ve seen how well you’ve handled yourself with that knife of yours during our lessons so I’m going to finally teach you advanced combat,” said his uncle.
“Really?” replied Mark in amazement.
“Yes of course Mark. I would never lie to you. But enough chit-chat, lets get down to business,” said his uncle.
His uncle showed him several advanced moves. The first being a spectacular trip with the leg and then with the opponent down his uncle brought down his axe upon the wooden dummy which was smashed into two. Mark tried the move several times but he finally succeeded on the fourth try. Throughout the morning his uncle taught him various moves and when lunch came they decided to take a break.
“You did quite well today Mark. I’m very proud of your combat prowess. Make sure to memorize those moves I taught you and with those you can take on almost any foe. Oh, I almost forgot,” said his uncle.
His uncle went inside the blacksmith shop for a short while. He finally came out clutching a small box wrapped with parchment.
“Here, take it,” said his uncle with a big smile on his face.
Mark slowly grabbed the gift, unwrapped it, and opened up the box. To his amazement, it was a large combat knife with beautiful inscriptions on the blade and the handle. Also enclosed in the box was a fine-looking necklace.
Before Mark could ask where his uncle had obtained such wonderful gifts a screaming villager quickly ran up to his uncle.
“Calm down Salla. Now tell me what on earth is going on,” said Werris
“The militia’s scouts spotted an unknown enemy approaching the village perimeter,” screamed Salla in panic.
“Go tell all the militia to meet by the village gate. Hurry! We don’t have much time,” said the uncle with some panic in his eyes.
Mark couldn’t believe what filled his ears. The village had only been attacked twice before and every time his uncle would finish the enemy off with ease. Since he knew his uncle was once a hardened warrior in the Royal Platinum Guard of Mancel and knew more about combat than the whole village combined he couldn’t imagine a defeat. His mind soon was filled with thoughts of himself wiping out a good number of enemies and being praised by the village.
“Mark grab your knife and meet me and the militia by the gate,” commanded his uncle
Being the good boy that he was he girded the rest of his armor, grabbed his knife, and ran to gate.
Mark soon arrived at the gate and climbed to the top of the wall to peer at the battlefield. Due to his small stature he could see very little but the small sight that he saw scared him. He saw a dark figure atop his black stallion which seemed to gaze deeply on Mark. For a moment it seemed to him that he was as solid as stone, but he finally was able to break his gaze on the figure and focus on the coming army. From the little he could see at his vantage point he could see that the soldiers were not like the goblins and orcs his uncle and the militia had fought before. The soldiers seemed to look like men but their heavy armor obscured any other details hinting at what race they were. Unlike their village militia these soldiers held tall rectangular shields and wielded pikes, swords, axes, and bows. Thankfully he couldn’t see any mounted horseman other than their commander which if they had any would spell defeat for their poorly armed but skillfully trained militia. Having seeing enough of the battlefield Mark climbed back down to the ground and waited for his uncle.
Shortly after, his uncle arrived with many more militia members following. They then organized themselves into units and after arming the militia his uncle gave a rousing speech. After this speech the gate was opened and the small army marched out to meet their attackers.
Mark found himself in the last line of the division but he favored the position now because he feared that he would be run over by the fairly large soldiers. He now saw the enemy responding to the small militia by forming into an organized division. His uncle now rode out on their best horse and approached the front of the division where he gave another rousing speech. The dark figure then raised his sword into the air which sent his army on a collision course with the militia. Responding to this his uncle took up his lance and sent the militia charging into the opposing army. When it came for the last line to charge, Mark had let out a fiery war cry and charged along with the others.
Metal clashed with metal and shields shook against the blows of weapons. Mark now felt the indescribable excitement of battle which now overtook him sending him upon his enemies. As he ran up to some enemy warriors and he overtook his prey with the advanced fighting skills his uncle had taught him that day. Throughout the battle he tried to keep track of his uncle but unfortunately he lost sight of him in the chaos of war. Suddenly his uncle resurfaced and it appeared he had some nasty wounds. Caught up with taking down as many warriors as he could, Mark didn’t realize that the enemy had taken down more than half of their army. It wasn’t until he heard the horn of retreat that he saw how many casualties the militia had taken.
“Enemy Archers! Retreat! Retreat! Retreat,” announced Werris.
Knowing full well what advantage an army has with archers Mark ran as fast as he could back to the village. As he retreated with the other soldiers he looked behind and saw the archers as they released their deadly volley of arrows. The arrows whistled in the air and they hit their targets with a Whack! Mark looked around at the carnage and saw that the archers had cut the remaining militia down by half once again. Once in the safety of the village the men secured the village gate using the village’s special emergency procedures.
“What will we do now uncle,” asked Mark.
“I know what they want Mark. We’ll have to lead them away from the village and into the forest,” replied his uncle.
Werris announced his plan to the militia. Seeing that they had no choice left the rest of the men agreed but before they could move a rain of fire arrows sliced through the air and they set the village ablaze. The men then hurried and evacuated the women and children to safety. While all this was happening the enemy army was smashing through the gate. With the enemy occupied with burning the village, Werris led the villagers to the edge of the forest. Surprisingly the dark figure appeared with a small elite unit of warriors. Ordering the villagers away from the forest the uncle sent one villager to call for help. After the villager was safely away the remaining villagers and militia were quickly surrounded by the enemy. In an attempt to lead the enemy warriors and their commander away, Mark and his uncle made a bee-line for the forest.
Mark and his uncle were now heading straight for the warriors and they knocked them down with a loud, sickening THUD!
“Come on! Move, screamed Werris to the villagers but they were quickly cut down by the elite warriors. Half of the enemy warriors stayed with the villagers and they quickly killed them in a pool of blood. Filled with grief over this loss Mark and his uncle continued leading the rest of the warriors away from the village and into the forest. Knowing that he wouldn’t be alive for too long Werris decided to split up with his nephew.
“Mark! We’re approaching a fork in the road and I to split up. Understand,” said the uncle with saddened, weary filled eyes.
“But uncle…” replied Mark.
“NO Mark! You can’t come where I’m going. Help is coming soon. Now LEAVE!” angrily said the uncle.
Shocked by these words, Mark obeyed his uncle and headed down the opposite path leading away the enemy soldiers. He finally came to a dead end. As he heard the soldier’s and commanders heavy footsteps he waited and hoped help would come.
