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| SeraphimRhapsody (profile) wrote, on 3-8-2004 at 11:00pm | |
| Current mood: so very confused~ why must life be so complicated Music: Something Corporate Subject: Fair is Fair in Love and War... What more do you want from me? |
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| Loved the benefit gala last night!! Got snuck in the back and it was so much fun! Hopefully more on that later.. Kaykay... here's the newest story. It's another rough draft. Haven't reread it once yet. Again, if you read it: you must give reactions, comments, criticisms, views, opinions, etc. ( Reminders, you are not allowed to see already posted comments until you post your own. You hear me?? ) Sorry Amanda, no questions yet for the challenged. ^.~ Took a good several hours to write this.. much better than homework huh? Maybe.. 3? A good few hours. Oh and let's see.. this piece was half request half going off of what was being discussed at the time. So as to the dedication of inspiration, you know who you are. Though I told you you probably won't like it. Ah well, it was in my head for a bit and the ending finally came to me this morning. That's the end of that. The quest was simple: infiltrate the fortress. The goal was worthwhile: find the center, find the source; whatever you find you can keep. The risks were numerous but they only added to the thrill of the hunt. Lining the fortress was only a mesh fence meant to keep out the lightest buffers of the world. It was there that the competition started. Men and women of all sorts signed their names to the wavers and took up positions. Each dressed to represent themselves and carried whatever they saw fit to defend themselves with. There were a variety of army and military members, feeling their valor and training would allow them to breeze through this test. Adventurers ready for a thrill unrivaled joked with each other, guessing at the surprises the fortress must hold. Knights and the chivalrous common men stood quietly, impressed at the daunting problem ahead of them but ready to overcome whatever lie ahead. The gun raised and the blast racketed through the air. With the signal, everyone present charged the keep, ripping down the first mesh barrier. When it came clear off the ground the whole area seemed to lurch, a silent cry. In a wave the people stormed over the next barrier, a simple chain fence, and jumped over the next two barbed-wire fences. The following towering wooden walls seemed scaleable and that’s just what the people did. However this wooden wall was the first warning at what lie ahead. Once one sat at the top of it, they could see what obstacles were constructed between there and the actual beginning of the fortress. It was awe-inspiring, or for a great deal, fear inspiring. Now it was a great deal more difficult than they had anticipated. Several chose right there to slide back down the wall and return home. Others sat and deliberated. The rest plowed onward. Bogs, hidden pits, obstacles, and dead ends were only a few of the warnings nature gave to the trespassers. Beyond that there were the walls. Never ending walls. These barriers took all shapes and forms. Some were easy to cross over, merely a line in the sand. Others were complicated signs that pointed all ways and no ways and left the searcher to use intuition or merely guess at where to turn. There were constant screams of surprise or fear or uselessness as the treasure seeking numbers dwindled, caught by nature’s protectiveness. As the remaining members grew closer to the guarded tomb, new obstacles arose. Nature grew more violent, forming fences of rose thorns and ravines that seemed to stretch just out of reach. Also there were sounds. Before, the ground would simply lurch each time a seeker destroyed a wall or cut down a part of the natural defenses. Now in addition to that, heaving breathing haunted the men and few women remaining from behind every boulder or shadow. At dead ends, one of the knights was the first to encounter the horrific beast that caused the labored breathing. It was a sudden attack, but the knight survived with a deep slash of his sword. The fallen creature let loose a howl while the blood pouring from its wound seemed to seep away into the very earth. More of these nightmarish creatures began to appear, taking down a number of the people. Blood seemed to be spilt everywhere and those that finally made it across to the single strip of green grass along the fortress walls were no exception. They were at least splashed with it, most covered. The remaining looked carefully at each other, a few congratulating each other, the rest reflecting on what was ahead or those that were left behind. All were men. It seemed a surprising distribution of the original types: an equal number of adventurers, bounty hunters, knights, military oriented, and common men. They turned to look at the outside wall. Each man was truly for himself now and each was deciding how to enter. One wandered to the actual iron-wrought gate but upon clearing it was instantly struck down with an arrow. The fortress would defend itself in many ways. Now it seemed obvious the invaders caused it pain and if they still dared to enter then they would have to force their way in. A few scaled the wall. A few busted through the gate and deflected arrows. Half made it over the first wall. Within the court there were stars drawn in glowing paint on the tiles. Exactly the number as those that made it over the wall. Once all stood in a star, the arrows stopped and things quieted, giving them a chance to look around. It seemed like a game. The fortress was overgrown and dilapidated, aged with much wear and tear. A painful feeling permeated the area and a few men shuddered. There was some foreboding sense that weighed heavily over all of them. Slowly the men crept from their sacred stars, dashing into the ‘safety’ of the halls. It seemed a race against each other for the main prize, a race against time. The fortress though, would not make it easy on any of them. Many halls were dead ends. Most ended in an unfortunate surprise. However this inner area was where much more difficult of defenses was used. Invisibility cloaked the passageways. Some walls held obvious passages that were so easily missed by the treasure-craved men. Other walls were completely unseen, meant to trap the unsuspecting deep within. Along with this however, there were also invisible doors. The lucky leaned against the cold stonewall for support, falling into a secret chamber at the next level. Yet again there were screams that echoed through the narrow halls, but never faded. Perhaps it was the dying men’s pain that remained echoing in the fortress.. still there seemed to be much older screams of pain that had never faded. At the heart of the keep, three men met each other, each coming from different directions and none unscathed. All were out of breath, bedraggled, and injured, splattered in the blood of even more dangerous nightmare-like creatures as well as their own. They eyed each other and then turned to the dull glow radiating from the single archway remaining. They followed the glow into the next room and gaped. There at the center was a golden half sphere of light. It was opaque, completely impenetrable to human sight. All the men saw was the brilliant gold, seemingly solid throughout but glowing with a life of it’s own. The knight, the bounty hunter, and the chivalrous man stepped forward slowly in wonder. The knight placed a light hand on the sphere; it was freezing to the touch. The bounty hunter surged forward and ran his hands strongly over the glimmering gold. It filled his eyes and he fumbled in his bag for a pick of sorts. The common man stood frozen for a moment, millions of thoughts running through his mind at what riches this could be and if there could be something underneath. As soon as possible the bounty hunter was picking away at the sphere, trying to dislodge some gold or force his way into the true center. With each strike the room rattled and the foggy painful feeling grew. The knight knocked against the shield, one hand pulling out his sword. The third man moved to the opposite side of the two and knelt to the floor. He gently felt along the sphere’s chilling surface, maybe for a crack or a semblance of inner life. He felt it shudder as the two men violently tried to destroy the shield as they had the others. But the chivalrous man knew that would not work this time. Something was inside and pain was not the answer to get it. He embraced the sphere of golden light caringly. Stroking it soothingly, the third man whispered sweet thoughts of a safe future for whatever lay ahead. Slowly but surely the light faded then turned to crystal. With one more strike from the bounty hunter’s pick, the crystallized shield shattered and the true inside was shown. The bounty hunter scrambled for the crystal remnants that glittered like gold, but nothing so beautiful could be found in that dark dilapidated fortress. The knight looked over what was inside but saw nothing special, so he turned to gather up a few pieces of the former shield. The hunter did not like this at all and vied with the knight for the sparkling pieces. They fought and it one guttering yell they impaled each other, spilling more blood in the already blood soaked room. The chivalrous man watched them in horror, repulsed that they had gotten so far only to throw it away over some shards. Instead he looked to what was not uncovered from within the light. Eyes widened as he realized there were two things that were hidden. One was a pile of translucent red pieces... pieces of something long since broken. The other was a girl, a young girl who was completely devoid of emotion or light. She was dark and huddled over, resembling almost of the fortress itself. The girl sat beside her broken heart, clutching her knees to her chest with eyes glazed over as they watched nothing and everything. Those eyes seemed to know the Truth, secrets never told. They could quite possibly have been able to bore right into a man’s soul if the girl was not so dead. However she was aware of nothing now. Out of defenses she had nothing to stop the world from attacking her. The chivalrous common man went over to her broken heart first. He wrapped up the pieces with patient attention. Tucking it into his shirt, he moved to the girl. The man tried to lift her, careful of causing her any further pain. She went remained rigid, clutching her knees while her eyes reflected no light inside of her. He hugged her closely, the treasure hidden within the fortress. Thinking of anything that might revive her inner light, he kissed her softly on the forehead, thinking back at all he had fought to overcome to find her. With the kiss, the girl’s eyes fluttered and color seemed to slowly flow into her. Her body grew less rigid and she melted in the man’s arms. Still, life had not fully returned to her eyes. The man began to leave the center of the fortress, trying to find his way back out to the light. However the second he stepped out of the innermost chamber, an arrow flew through the air and pierced him, directly hitting the bundle of broken pieces of the girl’s heart. He gasped, not fully grasping what had happened. The chivalrous man fell forward to his knees, then collapsed sideways. Instantly the light dimmed in the girl. She would not face what had just happened. Tears streamed down her face though she wasn’t exactly crying. The golden light grew from where she was and covered them both in a thin shield. It would grow denser in time. The girl was lost in her own mind, in the labyrinth that was her fortress. No person would be able to get too near to her. For when they finally touch her soul, they will have no strength left to move on with her. GAME OVER No, you didn't get that far. ~*~ |
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DragonSpeaker | 03-09-04 10:59pm I'll give you the first bit that I annotated like a good little IB loser. That's 3D lah-ser.
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SeraphimRhapsody | Re:, 03-09-04 11:48pm Strong alliance I indeed could muster..
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