Post by venema on Nov 2, 2011 14:19:58 GMT -5
Starting this for NaNoWriMo. I might not reach the word count, but I'll do my best to finish the story this time.
“Brother, where are we going?” Vahjir asked nervously as he moved through the thick tangle of therakau, an obnoxious little vine which clung to anything that it touched, and shone with a deep blue hue. In the pitch black of the emptiness that was their world, illuminated only by the bioluminescent flora that grew there, and the bioluminescent people that lived there, surprises were hardly ever pleasant. This was even truer for Vahjir, given his anxious nature, and his little fits of paranoia
“You’ll see when we get there,” Kaziah, Vahjir’s older brother, responded, clearly annoyed by his little brother’s constant insistence on spoiling the surprise. “It’s not much farther, I promise! Sjahn hevadie!” he shouted, the last phrase being a polite way of saying “shut your mouth.”
As they began to move uphill, the therakau patches began to thicken, clearly impeding the two young boys’ progress, but despite this, they pressed on. Kaziah was determined to share his new discovery with his brother.
Finally, they rounded the top of a cliff that rose high over the landscape, ending in a sharp ledge that fell straight down.
There would be no tumbling if one of them were to fall.
Over the rise, a fine line could be seen where the land belonging to the Ziahn, the race which Vahjir and Kaziah belonged to, ended, and the land belonging to the Gokk, a race that could be described as a living shadow, began.
Besides that, there was a patch of kilsjir, a beautiful flower that glowed brighter than most other plants. Its hue shifted constantly, and as Vahjir gazed at the kilsjir, he felt an overwhelming sense of calm. Suddenly, the discovery his brother had made seemed less daunting, and almost nothing to worry about. But this was the plant’s effect on all living creatures. It was dangerous to allow it to calm you into sleep.
The wilds were not without their dangers.
Suddenly, Kaziah hit Vahjir roughly on the arm. Vahjir was about to cry out, but Kaziah put a finger, glowing bright silver, to his black lips. “Look,” he whispered, “Down there.”
Vahjir moved slowly toward the edge of the cliff, breathing heavily as he did so. The kilsjir’s effect had worn off, and Vahjir was as anxious as ever.
Little did Vahjir know, as he peered over the rise watching for some form of movement, something was watching him.
Then he saw it. Something was moving along the border of the two lands, slowly, but surely, as though pacing the great barrier, and as it did so, the lights of the flora, off of which the Ziahn lived, were going out. Vahjir sucked in a breath he had not been aware that he was holding.
“We have to tell the Elder!” he cried, and he and his brother turned to leave, but before they could, something stepped in their path. Vahjir whimpered, and both brothers began backing up.
“Hey, listen, we’ll keep our mouths shut about this, we swear! Just please do-“ Kaziah nearly finished, but was cut off when as he stepped wrongly, and plummeted off the cliff. Vahjir had stopped just in time, but now the thing was closing in. He dropped to his knees, and began to sob.
The thing did not even pause. It continued toward the boy slowly, sure of his defenselessness, but a voice stopped him.
“Well, well, well. What have we here?”
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Shadow Walker
Prologue
“Brother, where are we going?” Vahjir asked nervously as he moved through the thick tangle of therakau, an obnoxious little vine which clung to anything that it touched, and shone with a deep blue hue. In the pitch black of the emptiness that was their world, illuminated only by the bioluminescent flora that grew there, and the bioluminescent people that lived there, surprises were hardly ever pleasant. This was even truer for Vahjir, given his anxious nature, and his little fits of paranoia
“You’ll see when we get there,” Kaziah, Vahjir’s older brother, responded, clearly annoyed by his little brother’s constant insistence on spoiling the surprise. “It’s not much farther, I promise! Sjahn hevadie!” he shouted, the last phrase being a polite way of saying “shut your mouth.”
As they began to move uphill, the therakau patches began to thicken, clearly impeding the two young boys’ progress, but despite this, they pressed on. Kaziah was determined to share his new discovery with his brother.
Finally, they rounded the top of a cliff that rose high over the landscape, ending in a sharp ledge that fell straight down.
There would be no tumbling if one of them were to fall.
Over the rise, a fine line could be seen where the land belonging to the Ziahn, the race which Vahjir and Kaziah belonged to, ended, and the land belonging to the Gokk, a race that could be described as a living shadow, began.
Besides that, there was a patch of kilsjir, a beautiful flower that glowed brighter than most other plants. Its hue shifted constantly, and as Vahjir gazed at the kilsjir, he felt an overwhelming sense of calm. Suddenly, the discovery his brother had made seemed less daunting, and almost nothing to worry about. But this was the plant’s effect on all living creatures. It was dangerous to allow it to calm you into sleep.
The wilds were not without their dangers.
Suddenly, Kaziah hit Vahjir roughly on the arm. Vahjir was about to cry out, but Kaziah put a finger, glowing bright silver, to his black lips. “Look,” he whispered, “Down there.”
Vahjir moved slowly toward the edge of the cliff, breathing heavily as he did so. The kilsjir’s effect had worn off, and Vahjir was as anxious as ever.
Little did Vahjir know, as he peered over the rise watching for some form of movement, something was watching him.
Then he saw it. Something was moving along the border of the two lands, slowly, but surely, as though pacing the great barrier, and as it did so, the lights of the flora, off of which the Ziahn lived, were going out. Vahjir sucked in a breath he had not been aware that he was holding.
“We have to tell the Elder!” he cried, and he and his brother turned to leave, but before they could, something stepped in their path. Vahjir whimpered, and both brothers began backing up.
“Hey, listen, we’ll keep our mouths shut about this, we swear! Just please do-“ Kaziah nearly finished, but was cut off when as he stepped wrongly, and plummeted off the cliff. Vahjir had stopped just in time, but now the thing was closing in. He dropped to his knees, and began to sob.
The thing did not even pause. It continued toward the boy slowly, sure of his defenselessness, but a voice stopped him.
“Well, well, well. What have we here?”
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