Rikku8
Rikku8
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- Posted: Sat, 20 Apr 2013 03:31:54 +0000
Idk if my pm made it to you so I'm posting it here too for insurance sweatdrop
The Prince
Prince Tynes did not destroy the town of Neak. Not yet. Before dawn, a white flag waved atop the highest tower of the stone wall and the gate opened. A man sat ahorse in a white cape, waiting for the prince and his men to enter. The prince smiled. As he passed the siege towers and catapults, he felt a pang of regret at not getting his first taste of battle, but it could wait. He had a more uncertain game to play now.
He called upon three hundred men of the two thousand that stood outside of Neak to enter with him. Tynes looked at the bald man that rode to the right of him. Drummel nodded his head slowly. His gray bushy brows furrowed deeply forming a unibrow. The prince sensed that Drummel anticipated an ambush. He expected Drummel to advise him against entering the town. A man who thinks too much before he acts is likely not to act at all. Tynes’s remembered his father saying of Drummel when Tynes chose him as his advisor. Tynes looked askance at the bald man. The prince’s pride would not allow to him to be wary. He relied on the old man to take precaution for him.
“My name is Schiff, leader of the people of Neak” the man in the white cape said when Tynes and his men reached him. “We offer you our allegiance and an apology for our rebellion if you would accept it.” The prince sat up straighter on his brown horse.
“I will consider it. Take us through the town.” Tynes ordered examining Schiff. Schiff Creech, the b*****d son of of the false king, Marcum Creech. The older man’s matted brown hair reached his sallow jaw. Puffiness encased his eyes. He sat tall on his horse, but the prince could see fatigue wearing on the thin man. Tynes expected more of a Creech, perhaps a stocky man with hard features and a square face, not the lanky crane that rode before him.
Tynes trotted slowly behind the last son of Marcum Creech. What could this man be thinking? The prince thought looking at Schiff’s neck. The sword on Tynes's hip felt heavy, his task burdening him.
As Tynes entered the town, he crossed his arm over his face. The smell of s**t and urine invaded his nostrils with such hostility he wanted to turn back through the gates. He rubbed his nose fiercely and snorted, before turning to Drummel.
“They call Neak strong town, it should be called pigshit town by the smell of it.”
“Not pigshit, your grace, human s**t.” Drummel said and wiped his nose before spitting to his right. Tynes scrunched up his nose in distaste. Tyne’s aunt advised him to block trade routes leading into Neak instead of charging into war. With nothing moving in or out of the stone town, Neak starved. Tynes spent two months in Dhaes with his father’s sister waiting for Neak to surrender. His aunt advised that he wait longer to avoid bloodshed, but with pressure from his father, no sign of imminent surrender, and his troops growing restless Tynes decided to journey eastward and start the siege. He arrived only two days ago and expected the last of the siege towers to be constructed today so they could lay waste to the lady in grey. They let themselves starve instead of surrender and then they surrender anyway. The prince leaned over to Drummel and said,
“We blocked their trade routes not their sewage drains.” As they walked through the town, Tynes looked down at the faces covered in dirt and dust around him. All looked thin, but their bellies were not bloated. There was something, scarce as it was, to fill them. He saw an old woman looking at him with a hard and quizzical stare. They are judging how closely I resemble my father. He thought angrily. Tynes looked nothing like the king. The king’s hair was long, straight and black. Thaneses also has deep blue eyes and fair skin. Tynes’s hair was as coarse as sheep’s wool, which was cropped neatly like a hedge close to his head. His hair was black like his father’s, but also bore a shade of blonde, like his brother Tytos. Tyne’s shaved his head on the sides, leaving only a plateau of wool in the middle. Yet the hazelnut color of his skin was the greatest contrast to the king.
Behind his back, Tynes knew his people called him the black prince. His three brothers were all lighter than he was. Yet he was shades lighter than his mother and her brother, Kadokechi. He, like them, had the blood of the dragon in him. For this reason, he did not mind his nickname. His older brothers Tytos and the b*****d, Talin, couldn’t boast the blood of the dragons running through their veins. Only his younger brother Tyro could. Yet Tyro’s blood earned him the nickname the untamed dragon, a name Tynes was happy not to have.
When they reached the town square, Tynes noticed a statue in the center. He remembered the image of it in his history books. The head was shaped like a dragon. Its long neck stretched straight as an arrow and its fearsome mouth with steel teeth opened wide, roaring at the sky. The statue’s torso was a man’s. It had a chiseled chest, taut abs and legs curved like the hind legs of a wolf. Its arms raised to the sky had veins bulging and muscles like a man, but were clutched into fits and claws like a bear.
“Mercy my lord,” a woman in rags said clutching her child. Mercy. Tynes knew the word well. It was precisely what his mother liked to say that his father lacked. I have done nothing to these people. They have done all of this to themselves and yet they ask me for mercy. Still the woman’s fearful glance was far more pleasing to him than the look on the face a young boy, who stood next to her. The boy held his head high and glared defiantly up at Tynes. I could ride my horse right over you. Tynes thought as he rode closer to Drummel and said,
“Look at how those young boys stare at me? One word and their heads would adorn my spear,” Tynes said pointing at the spear that hung from his back. Drummel shook his head.
“You are your father’s son, but if you would like to keep this town as he did not it would be best to employ…”
“Mercy,” Tynes interrupted and annoyed. He did not like to be called his father’s son. “Already I have been advised of it twice, once by you and once by some beggar woman.” He was tired of looking upon the forlorn faces of the Neakians. Instead he looked at the buildings that surrounded him, everything was made of stone. Neak was a fortress. Even the homes were made of stone. When he learned of its history, he remembered Hypnar, his history teacher, calling Neak the lady in grey. Now he saw why. There was hardly any color in this town, but grey.
They finally reached the short and stout castle. At each corner of it, dragon’s necks extended outwards. Their eye holes filled with orbs of amethyst. The stone on parts of the castle. like other buildings they passed along the way, was blackened in spots. Tynes noticed that the ground beneath them was flat and grassless, where stone did not cover. Tynes figured it must be true that nothing could grow on the grounds of Neak. The clouds coalesced and the sky turned gray. It will rain. Better to wash away the blood, if a need for blood should arise.Tynes thought.
Schiff dismounted his horse and Tynes called an order to Bedar, a tall man with a long gray beard. He told Bedar to station two hundred men outside of the castle. He and Drummel dismounted their horses as did the remaining one hundred and entered the castle’s hall where far less Neakian men stood. The men were kneeling and looked up at their lord and at him. Their cloaks were gray except for Schiff. Schiff knelt beside a stone throne that he offered to Tynes. The men were unarmed. No shields, no swords, no armor. That was a good sign. Drummel taught Tynes that men who mean to ambush you will be armed for it. He gave a quiet order to Drummel to have his men stand behind the men of Neak. Better to test their loyalty with swords at their back. He thought, but did not say. He ascended the stairs of the dais and sat upon the stone throne.
Schiff and his men did not rise as he sat. Instead Schiff looked up at him from below and said, “We are yours, my liege. We recognize our folly in standing against you and your father and ask for your forgiveness.”
“You are wise to do so, but this township turns like the tide. Why should I believe your fidelity to us now?” Tynes asked staring at the kneeling men around him. He searched their eyes for the truth. He saw worry in the eyes of one man and defiance in another’s, despite their proposed fealty.
“We spilt no blood, none of yours. Most of the damage is to our own due to our delay.”
“And why the delay? Did it require the sight of completed siege towers to remind you what your rebellion meant?” Tynes asked. Schiff looked down and began to bite his lip. The answer is no. Tynes knew siege towers meant nothing to them. He did not need the man to say it to know the truth. “I should have your head for this.” Schiff looked up solemnly. His eyes told Tynes that Schiff already considered and accepted the prospect. Tynes unsheathed his sword, staring at the man’s neck as he did so. Then he let his eyes dance upon the men around him.
One man forgot himself and grabbed at his belt, only to remember nothing was there. Loyal my a**. Tynes thought. He noticed a man with clutched fists and gritted teeth looking away. He guessed that many would have rather died in combat than for it to come to this. How they arrived at bending the knee in their counsels, he did not know. He should have all their heads for his spear. He looked at Schiff’s neck, but his mind was wandering.
What would my father do? Tynes knew well that his father would not question whether or not to kill this Creech. He ordered it of Tynes. His father would have rolled and kicked Schiff’s head like a ball from the gate to the town square. Then he would have given the castle over to Drummel or Bedar.
What would my mother do? Tynes thought, holding the sword with both hands. He raised it only inches away from the man’s neck. Then he leveled the foible over the neck and the forte over Schiff’s head as if about to split Schiff’s head in half. The b*****d Creech did not flinch. He stared at the ground as still as a statue.
“Before I descend upon you and make an end of the man known as Schiff, tell me why you and your men decided to die on your knees rather than in combat?” Tynes said.
“For our people, your grace. They are starving and it would cost more lives than were already lost.” Schiff answered with no hint of fear.
“It could still cost them their lives if I am not a good man,” Tynes said, wanting to plant a seed of doubt in this b*****d son of Marcum Creech.
“That is a chance we were willing to take, my liege. Probable death over sure death.” Tynes heard enough. He raised the sword high and descended it upon the man without another word. In the descent he shifted the sword to the flat of the blade and hit it on Schiff’s left shoulder. He moved the flat of the blade to Schiff’s right shoulder and sheathed his sword. Then he spoke,
“You knelt before me as Schiff the rebel, but now you will rise as Lord Schiff, lord of Neak and servant to your king. Before you rise you must stake your life and the lives of your people on your loyalty and theirs. If any of you shows even a glimmer of betrayal, this town will be occupied by nothing more than ash and dust. No one will ever be able to claim that they have the blood of Neak. Swear it to me.” Schiff looked up at Tynes. He looked confused but said with certainty,
“I am yours.”
“And all of you?” Tynes said looking around at the kneeling men.
“We are yours,” they said in unison.
“Good. Now make good on your promise and tell every man, woman and child of their fealty to the king. If they are not loyal, it will be their heads and the heads of their neighbors.” The true power of a king is to show mercy, his mother told him. Do not expect anyone to be loyal to a merciless king. His father was merciless, but Tynes did not need to be. He would not make his father’s mistakes. The men stood and filed out and as they did Drummel walked over to him. “I will have the eldest son of all of the highest families. They are to be treated with respect and taught as squires by our men so that we can bridge the gap between us and Neak.” Drummel nodded, looking distressed. Tynes waved a hand for his men to leave. He wanted a moment alone with his new lord of Neak.
“We will have a feast in your honor my king,” Lord Schiff said as he stood.
“I am not the king and with what food? Have you forgotten that your trade routes are blocked and your people are starving?” Schiff was silent. He had forgotten. Tynes laughed and then told him that he would release the hold on the trade routes to make sure the people were fed. “Your eyes are clouded in confusion, Lord Schiff. Speak freely.” But not too freely, he thought. Tynes was judging every word that came out of his new lord’s mouth.
“Forgive me your grace but I fear how you will have us prove our loyalty to you. I heard that you require hostages, but you are taking no revenge for our rebellion or for Saskar, who we have slain.” Schiff said and Tynes’s thought of Saskar, his brother Tytos’s best friend. Saskar was a true and utter brute of a man He was as outwardly cruel as his brother was subtly. From the rumors spread about Saskar’s short rule, Tynes believed the man ought to have died. He hated him even in Izla, where Saskar’s eyes were glued to the parts of women even of the noblest birth. His eyes were not the only things he heard glued to those women. Without the restraint of courtesy that forced Saskar’s exploits to be hidden behind a veil in Izla, Saskar satiated his sexual appetite here in Neak, dining especially on men’s wives.
“I do not need you to prove anything Lord Schiff. My brother had Saskar and threats to make you fear him. I know that the people of Neak are loyal to each other and I rely only on that loyalty to hold you. When one man of Neak forsakes the other it will be the end of all and you know that is true because Neak remembers. And if they forget they need only to look upon the blackened stone of their castle, the gargoyles, statue and my brown face to remember. This town is shadowed by its history Lord Schiff; I see it on every stone faced building and every road within and without.”
“You need not fear our disloyalty. Neak remembers,” said Schiff.
“And if they ever forget, I will not hesitate to remind them,” Tynes said and he thought but did not say, I am my mother’s son.
The Prince
Prince Tynes did not destroy the town of Neak. Not yet. Before dawn, a white flag waved atop the highest tower of the stone wall and the gate opened. A man sat ahorse in a white cape, waiting for the prince and his men to enter. The prince smiled. As he passed the siege towers and catapults, he felt a pang of regret at not getting his first taste of battle, but it could wait. He had a more uncertain game to play now.
He called upon three hundred men of the two thousand that stood outside of Neak to enter with him. Tynes looked at the bald man that rode to the right of him. Drummel nodded his head slowly. His gray bushy brows furrowed deeply forming a unibrow. The prince sensed that Drummel anticipated an ambush. He expected Drummel to advise him against entering the town. A man who thinks too much before he acts is likely not to act at all. Tynes’s remembered his father saying of Drummel when Tynes chose him as his advisor. Tynes looked askance at the bald man. The prince’s pride would not allow to him to be wary. He relied on the old man to take precaution for him.
“My name is Schiff, leader of the people of Neak” the man in the white cape said when Tynes and his men reached him. “We offer you our allegiance and an apology for our rebellion if you would accept it.” The prince sat up straighter on his brown horse.
“I will consider it. Take us through the town.” Tynes ordered examining Schiff. Schiff Creech, the b*****d son of of the false king, Marcum Creech. The older man’s matted brown hair reached his sallow jaw. Puffiness encased his eyes. He sat tall on his horse, but the prince could see fatigue wearing on the thin man. Tynes expected more of a Creech, perhaps a stocky man with hard features and a square face, not the lanky crane that rode before him.
Tynes trotted slowly behind the last son of Marcum Creech. What could this man be thinking? The prince thought looking at Schiff’s neck. The sword on Tynes's hip felt heavy, his task burdening him.
As Tynes entered the town, he crossed his arm over his face. The smell of s**t and urine invaded his nostrils with such hostility he wanted to turn back through the gates. He rubbed his nose fiercely and snorted, before turning to Drummel.
“They call Neak strong town, it should be called pigshit town by the smell of it.”
“Not pigshit, your grace, human s**t.” Drummel said and wiped his nose before spitting to his right. Tynes scrunched up his nose in distaste. Tyne’s aunt advised him to block trade routes leading into Neak instead of charging into war. With nothing moving in or out of the stone town, Neak starved. Tynes spent two months in Dhaes with his father’s sister waiting for Neak to surrender. His aunt advised that he wait longer to avoid bloodshed, but with pressure from his father, no sign of imminent surrender, and his troops growing restless Tynes decided to journey eastward and start the siege. He arrived only two days ago and expected the last of the siege towers to be constructed today so they could lay waste to the lady in grey. They let themselves starve instead of surrender and then they surrender anyway. The prince leaned over to Drummel and said,
“We blocked their trade routes not their sewage drains.” As they walked through the town, Tynes looked down at the faces covered in dirt and dust around him. All looked thin, but their bellies were not bloated. There was something, scarce as it was, to fill them. He saw an old woman looking at him with a hard and quizzical stare. They are judging how closely I resemble my father. He thought angrily. Tynes looked nothing like the king. The king’s hair was long, straight and black. Thaneses also has deep blue eyes and fair skin. Tynes’s hair was as coarse as sheep’s wool, which was cropped neatly like a hedge close to his head. His hair was black like his father’s, but also bore a shade of blonde, like his brother Tytos. Tyne’s shaved his head on the sides, leaving only a plateau of wool in the middle. Yet the hazelnut color of his skin was the greatest contrast to the king.
Behind his back, Tynes knew his people called him the black prince. His three brothers were all lighter than he was. Yet he was shades lighter than his mother and her brother, Kadokechi. He, like them, had the blood of the dragon in him. For this reason, he did not mind his nickname. His older brothers Tytos and the b*****d, Talin, couldn’t boast the blood of the dragons running through their veins. Only his younger brother Tyro could. Yet Tyro’s blood earned him the nickname the untamed dragon, a name Tynes was happy not to have.
When they reached the town square, Tynes noticed a statue in the center. He remembered the image of it in his history books. The head was shaped like a dragon. Its long neck stretched straight as an arrow and its fearsome mouth with steel teeth opened wide, roaring at the sky. The statue’s torso was a man’s. It had a chiseled chest, taut abs and legs curved like the hind legs of a wolf. Its arms raised to the sky had veins bulging and muscles like a man, but were clutched into fits and claws like a bear.
“Mercy my lord,” a woman in rags said clutching her child. Mercy. Tynes knew the word well. It was precisely what his mother liked to say that his father lacked. I have done nothing to these people. They have done all of this to themselves and yet they ask me for mercy. Still the woman’s fearful glance was far more pleasing to him than the look on the face a young boy, who stood next to her. The boy held his head high and glared defiantly up at Tynes. I could ride my horse right over you. Tynes thought as he rode closer to Drummel and said,
“Look at how those young boys stare at me? One word and their heads would adorn my spear,” Tynes said pointing at the spear that hung from his back. Drummel shook his head.
“You are your father’s son, but if you would like to keep this town as he did not it would be best to employ…”
“Mercy,” Tynes interrupted and annoyed. He did not like to be called his father’s son. “Already I have been advised of it twice, once by you and once by some beggar woman.” He was tired of looking upon the forlorn faces of the Neakians. Instead he looked at the buildings that surrounded him, everything was made of stone. Neak was a fortress. Even the homes were made of stone. When he learned of its history, he remembered Hypnar, his history teacher, calling Neak the lady in grey. Now he saw why. There was hardly any color in this town, but grey.
They finally reached the short and stout castle. At each corner of it, dragon’s necks extended outwards. Their eye holes filled with orbs of amethyst. The stone on parts of the castle. like other buildings they passed along the way, was blackened in spots. Tynes noticed that the ground beneath them was flat and grassless, where stone did not cover. Tynes figured it must be true that nothing could grow on the grounds of Neak. The clouds coalesced and the sky turned gray. It will rain. Better to wash away the blood, if a need for blood should arise.Tynes thought.
Schiff dismounted his horse and Tynes called an order to Bedar, a tall man with a long gray beard. He told Bedar to station two hundred men outside of the castle. He and Drummel dismounted their horses as did the remaining one hundred and entered the castle’s hall where far less Neakian men stood. The men were kneeling and looked up at their lord and at him. Their cloaks were gray except for Schiff. Schiff knelt beside a stone throne that he offered to Tynes. The men were unarmed. No shields, no swords, no armor. That was a good sign. Drummel taught Tynes that men who mean to ambush you will be armed for it. He gave a quiet order to Drummel to have his men stand behind the men of Neak. Better to test their loyalty with swords at their back. He thought, but did not say. He ascended the stairs of the dais and sat upon the stone throne.
Schiff and his men did not rise as he sat. Instead Schiff looked up at him from below and said, “We are yours, my liege. We recognize our folly in standing against you and your father and ask for your forgiveness.”
“You are wise to do so, but this township turns like the tide. Why should I believe your fidelity to us now?” Tynes asked staring at the kneeling men around him. He searched their eyes for the truth. He saw worry in the eyes of one man and defiance in another’s, despite their proposed fealty.
“We spilt no blood, none of yours. Most of the damage is to our own due to our delay.”
“And why the delay? Did it require the sight of completed siege towers to remind you what your rebellion meant?” Tynes asked. Schiff looked down and began to bite his lip. The answer is no. Tynes knew siege towers meant nothing to them. He did not need the man to say it to know the truth. “I should have your head for this.” Schiff looked up solemnly. His eyes told Tynes that Schiff already considered and accepted the prospect. Tynes unsheathed his sword, staring at the man’s neck as he did so. Then he let his eyes dance upon the men around him.
One man forgot himself and grabbed at his belt, only to remember nothing was there. Loyal my a**. Tynes thought. He noticed a man with clutched fists and gritted teeth looking away. He guessed that many would have rather died in combat than for it to come to this. How they arrived at bending the knee in their counsels, he did not know. He should have all their heads for his spear. He looked at Schiff’s neck, but his mind was wandering.
What would my father do? Tynes knew well that his father would not question whether or not to kill this Creech. He ordered it of Tynes. His father would have rolled and kicked Schiff’s head like a ball from the gate to the town square. Then he would have given the castle over to Drummel or Bedar.
What would my mother do? Tynes thought, holding the sword with both hands. He raised it only inches away from the man’s neck. Then he leveled the foible over the neck and the forte over Schiff’s head as if about to split Schiff’s head in half. The b*****d Creech did not flinch. He stared at the ground as still as a statue.
“Before I descend upon you and make an end of the man known as Schiff, tell me why you and your men decided to die on your knees rather than in combat?” Tynes said.
“For our people, your grace. They are starving and it would cost more lives than were already lost.” Schiff answered with no hint of fear.
“It could still cost them their lives if I am not a good man,” Tynes said, wanting to plant a seed of doubt in this b*****d son of Marcum Creech.
“That is a chance we were willing to take, my liege. Probable death over sure death.” Tynes heard enough. He raised the sword high and descended it upon the man without another word. In the descent he shifted the sword to the flat of the blade and hit it on Schiff’s left shoulder. He moved the flat of the blade to Schiff’s right shoulder and sheathed his sword. Then he spoke,
“You knelt before me as Schiff the rebel, but now you will rise as Lord Schiff, lord of Neak and servant to your king. Before you rise you must stake your life and the lives of your people on your loyalty and theirs. If any of you shows even a glimmer of betrayal, this town will be occupied by nothing more than ash and dust. No one will ever be able to claim that they have the blood of Neak. Swear it to me.” Schiff looked up at Tynes. He looked confused but said with certainty,
“I am yours.”
“And all of you?” Tynes said looking around at the kneeling men.
“We are yours,” they said in unison.
“Good. Now make good on your promise and tell every man, woman and child of their fealty to the king. If they are not loyal, it will be their heads and the heads of their neighbors.” The true power of a king is to show mercy, his mother told him. Do not expect anyone to be loyal to a merciless king. His father was merciless, but Tynes did not need to be. He would not make his father’s mistakes. The men stood and filed out and as they did Drummel walked over to him. “I will have the eldest son of all of the highest families. They are to be treated with respect and taught as squires by our men so that we can bridge the gap between us and Neak.” Drummel nodded, looking distressed. Tynes waved a hand for his men to leave. He wanted a moment alone with his new lord of Neak.
“We will have a feast in your honor my king,” Lord Schiff said as he stood.
“I am not the king and with what food? Have you forgotten that your trade routes are blocked and your people are starving?” Schiff was silent. He had forgotten. Tynes laughed and then told him that he would release the hold on the trade routes to make sure the people were fed. “Your eyes are clouded in confusion, Lord Schiff. Speak freely.” But not too freely, he thought. Tynes was judging every word that came out of his new lord’s mouth.
“Forgive me your grace but I fear how you will have us prove our loyalty to you. I heard that you require hostages, but you are taking no revenge for our rebellion or for Saskar, who we have slain.” Schiff said and Tynes’s thought of Saskar, his brother Tytos’s best friend. Saskar was a true and utter brute of a man He was as outwardly cruel as his brother was subtly. From the rumors spread about Saskar’s short rule, Tynes believed the man ought to have died. He hated him even in Izla, where Saskar’s eyes were glued to the parts of women even of the noblest birth. His eyes were not the only things he heard glued to those women. Without the restraint of courtesy that forced Saskar’s exploits to be hidden behind a veil in Izla, Saskar satiated his sexual appetite here in Neak, dining especially on men’s wives.
“I do not need you to prove anything Lord Schiff. My brother had Saskar and threats to make you fear him. I know that the people of Neak are loyal to each other and I rely only on that loyalty to hold you. When one man of Neak forsakes the other it will be the end of all and you know that is true because Neak remembers. And if they forget they need only to look upon the blackened stone of their castle, the gargoyles, statue and my brown face to remember. This town is shadowed by its history Lord Schiff; I see it on every stone faced building and every road within and without.”
“You need not fear our disloyalty. Neak remembers,” said Schiff.
“And if they ever forget, I will not hesitate to remind them,” Tynes said and he thought but did not say, I am my mother’s son.
unfortunately millie
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- Posted: Sun, 21 Apr 2013 08:58:29 +0000
Deadline was two days ago but I've gotten numerous requests to extend deadline...
Hmm..
Hmm..
Deathbed Confessions
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- Posted: Fri, 26 Apr 2013 03:21:44 +0000
unfortunately millie
Deadline was two days ago but I've gotten numerous requests to extend deadline...
Hmm..
Hmm..
you should heart
calwri
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- Posted: Sun, 28 Apr 2013 02:44:23 +0000
I PMed you two more stories.
youknowimaidiot
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- Posted: Wed, 01 May 2013 22:15:35 +0000
Is the deadline extended or is it not. If it is extended if not, then good luck everyone else!
calwri
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- Posted: Wed, 08 May 2013 19:40:14 +0000
When's the deadline? surprised
cfgvhjb8mlfghbjnkm8
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- Posted: Fri, 10 May 2013 11:15:53 +0000
Dramatica Angeliqua
When's the deadline? surprised
kartacali
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- Posted: Fri, 10 May 2013 11:26:23 +0000
Is this contest going to conclude?
Hakizimana Inu
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- Posted: Sat, 11 May 2013 21:52:16 +0000
kaaylaahx3
Have you ever seen hell ? If you really think about it, what is hell? What is earth? Have you ever took time and sat in a empty room just to think about random stuff ? I have. It wasnt a very good idea. it was 11 at night an hour before halloween. I had my camera recording every minute of my day as usual. i posted the videos on my Tumblr blog. I went inside this white big room on the last floor o...f my house it had no window i sat my camera in a corner of the room. I sat in a chair in the middle of a big empty room and closed my eyes. While there i started thinking about random stuff and and thought about something i read that said "Have you ever been in a really quiet room? and have you heard a very annoying sound ?well that sound is actually the effect od your ear of being in a place with no sound. If you listen to it very quietly, you will start hearing wispering voices and if you you keep listening you will be able to understand them, what are those voices? They are the future and sometimes the past !. And once you start noticing them they will start to notice you.." I instantly opened my eyes then slowly closed them again" I sat there for a few minutes thinking about random stuff again, and out of nowhere i heard that sound very thin & annoying witch each second got more louder. I started to listening to the noise as i read when suddenly i heard voices wispering, my skin got cold and i felt a very cool breeze, then i thought to myself "but theres no window !" I didnt open my eyes my explanation was "Probably came from under the door" i kept listening to the noise. I started listening to the voices. One of the voice started getting clear and it was a little girl she kept giggling and "Have you ever seen hell?" i couldnt understand the other voice i tried as hard as i could then i finally understood it. It sounded like a big tall man and he said " What is hell? what is hearth? Theres no future, there no past, but what there is, is death always by your side" it really creeped me out how they both kept repeating the same thing over and over, the noise got louder and louder i still heard the man but not the girl... Then i heard more voices repeating the same thing as the men. Alot of them whispered, as if they were scared. I heard kids crying, even men as if they were scared, as if someone were terrified of someone. My eyes were still closed, i kept listening to the voices and they got louder and then i thought "where is the little girl?" The voices kept repeating themselves "What is hell? what is hearth? Theres no future, there no past, but what there is, is death always by your side" when suddenly a very different voice said "becareful!" I said what "what?" Thats when i felt a cooler breeze as if i was sitting inside a refrigerator. My eyes were still closed, i heard the noise again it was very loud and it really bothered my ears. Then i heard the little girl again? And said "Are you looking for me?" I got gosebumps i could feel them they were hard as rocks. The girl giggled, then i heard the men say " Be careful!" As if he was talking to me. The noise got really loud and very loud and suddently it stopped ... And I felt a very cold breeze. My eyes were still closed, I didn't hear the noise anymore. Then I heard the men and the girl talking again and they kept repeating themselves I heard them so loud as if they were next to me. When suddently I heard a very loud scream. I was too scared. I never felt anything so real, so Then I decided to open my eyes. The room felt different as if there was a crowd there and had just left. I went right to sleep the next day i posted the video then i decided to watch it. I couldnt believe what was seeying in the video there was a group of people surrounding me. It got really scared i kept watching the video then a very tall man with no face stood next to me and said " becareful" everything that happened thr night before was on video. I was shyting bricks when suddenly i hear a scream and i hear a knock i fast look to my window and seen a little girl and she said " Why are you looking for me?" ..... After that halloween night i never been in a quiet room or by myself or even touched a camera.
I worked kind of hard on that story.. Sorry if you don't like it though.
I actually like this. I would to see it fleshed out and novelized.
Hakizimana Inu
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- Posted: Sat, 11 May 2013 22:12:45 +0000
Rikku8
Idk if my pm made it to you so I'm posting it here too for insurance sweatdrop
The Prince
Prince Tynes did not destroy the town of Neak. Not yet. Before dawn, a white flag waved atop the highest tower of the stone wall and the gate opened. A man sat ahorse in a white cape, waiting for the prince and his men to enter. The prince smiled. As he passed the siege towers and catapults, he felt a pang of regret at not getting his first taste of battle, but it could wait. He had a more uncertain game to play now.
He called upon three hundred men of the two thousand that stood outside of Neak to enter with him. Tynes looked at the bald man that rode to the right of him. Drummel nodded his head slowly. His gray bushy brows furrowed deeply forming a unibrow. The prince sensed that Drummel anticipated an ambush. He expected Drummel to advise him against entering the town. A man who thinks too much before he acts is likely not to act at all. Tynes’s remembered his father saying of Drummel when Tynes chose him as his advisor. Tynes looked askance at the bald man. The prince’s pride would not allow to him to be wary. He relied on the old man to take precaution for him.
“My name is Schiff, leader of the people of Neak” the man in the white cape said when Tynes and his men reached him. “We offer you our allegiance and an apology for our rebellion if you would accept it.” The prince sat up straighter on his brown horse.
“I will consider it. Take us through the town.” Tynes ordered examining Schiff. Schiff Creech, the b*****d son of of the false king, Marcum Creech. The older man’s matted brown hair reached his sallow jaw. Puffiness encased his eyes. He sat tall on his horse, but the prince could see fatigue wearing on the thin man. Tynes expected more of a Creech, perhaps a stocky man with hard features and a square face, not the lanky crane that rode before him.
Tynes trotted slowly behind the last son of Marcum Creech. What could this man be thinking? The prince thought looking at Schiff’s neck. The sword on Tynes's hip felt heavy, his task burdening him.
As Tynes entered the town, he crossed his arm over his face. The smell of s**t and urine invaded his nostrils with such hostility he wanted to turn back through the gates. He rubbed his nose fiercely and snorted, before turning to Drummel.
“They call Neak strong town, it should be called pigshit town by the smell of it.”
“Not pigshit, your grace, human s**t.” Drummel said and wiped his nose before spitting to his right. Tynes scrunched up his nose in distaste. Tyne’s aunt advised him to block trade routes leading into Neak instead of charging into war. With nothing moving in or out of the stone town, Neak starved. Tynes spent two months in Dhaes with his father’s sister waiting for Neak to surrender. His aunt advised that he wait longer to avoid bloodshed, but with pressure from his father, no sign of imminent surrender, and his troops growing restless Tynes decided to journey eastward and start the siege. He arrived only two days ago and expected the last of the siege towers to be constructed today so they could lay waste to the lady in grey. They let themselves starve instead of surrender and then they surrender anyway. The prince leaned over to Drummel and said,
“We blocked their trade routes not their sewage drains.” As they walked through the town, Tynes looked down at the faces covered in dirt and dust around him. All looked thin, but their bellies were not bloated. There was something, scarce as it was, to fill them. He saw an old woman looking at him with a hard and quizzical stare. They are judging how closely I resemble my father. He thought angrily. Tynes looked nothing like the king. The king’s hair was long, straight and black. Thaneses also has deep blue eyes and fair skin. Tynes’s hair was as coarse as sheep’s wool, which was cropped neatly like a hedge close to his head. His hair was black like his father’s, but also bore a shade of blonde, like his brother Tytos. Tyne’s shaved his head on the sides, leaving only a plateau of wool in the middle. Yet the hazelnut color of his skin was the greatest contrast to the king.
Behind his back, Tynes knew his people called him the black prince. His three brothers were all lighter than he was. Yet he was shades lighter than his mother and her brother, Kadokechi. He, like them, had the blood of the dragon in him. For this reason, he did not mind his nickname. His older brothers Tytos and the b*****d, Talin, couldn’t boast the blood of the dragons running through their veins. Only his younger brother Tyro could. Yet Tyro’s blood earned him the nickname the untamed dragon, a name Tynes was happy not to have.
When they reached the town square, Tynes noticed a statue in the center. He remembered the image of it in his history books. The head was shaped like a dragon. Its long neck stretched straight as an arrow and its fearsome mouth with steel teeth opened wide, roaring at the sky. The statue’s torso was a man’s. It had a chiseled chest, taut abs and legs curved like the hind legs of a wolf. Its arms raised to the sky had veins bulging and muscles like a man, but were clutched into fits and claws like a bear.
“Mercy my lord,” a woman in rags said clutching her child. Mercy. Tynes knew the word well. It was precisely what his mother liked to say that his father lacked. I have done nothing to these people. They have done all of this to themselves and yet they ask me for mercy. Still the woman’s fearful glance was far more pleasing to him than the look on the face a young boy, who stood next to her. The boy held his head high and glared defiantly up at Tynes. I could ride my horse right over you. Tynes thought as he rode closer to Drummel and said,
“Look at how those young boys stare at me? One word and their heads would adorn my spear,” Tynes said pointing at the spear that hung from his back. Drummel shook his head.
“You are your father’s son, but if you would like to keep this town as he did not it would be best to employ…”
“Mercy,” Tynes interrupted and annoyed. He did not like to be called his father’s son. “Already I have been advised of it twice, once by you and once by some beggar woman.” He was tired of looking upon the forlorn faces of the Neakians. Instead he looked at the buildings that surrounded him, everything was made of stone. Neak was a fortress. Even the homes were made of stone. When he learned of its history, he remembered Hypnar, his history teacher, calling Neak the lady in grey. Now he saw why. There was hardly any color in this town, but grey.
They finally reached the short and stout castle. At each corner of it, dragon’s necks extended outwards. Their eye holes filled with orbs of amethyst. The stone on parts of the castle. like other buildings they passed along the way, was blackened in spots. Tynes noticed that the ground beneath them was flat and grassless, where stone did not cover. Tynes figured it must be true that nothing could grow on the grounds of Neak. The clouds coalesced and the sky turned gray. It will rain. Better to wash away the blood, if a need for blood should arise.Tynes thought.
Schiff dismounted his horse and Tynes called an order to Bedar, a tall man with a long gray beard. He told Bedar to station two hundred men outside of the castle. He and Drummel dismounted their horses as did the remaining one hundred and entered the castle’s hall where far less Neakian men stood. The men were kneeling and looked up at their lord and at him. Their cloaks were gray except for Schiff. Schiff knelt beside a stone throne that he offered to Tynes. The men were unarmed. No shields, no swords, no armor. That was a good sign. Drummel taught Tynes that men who mean to ambush you will be armed for it. He gave a quiet order to Drummel to have his men stand behind the men of Neak. Better to test their loyalty with swords at their back. He thought, but did not say. He ascended the stairs of the dais and sat upon the stone throne.
Schiff and his men did not rise as he sat. Instead Schiff looked up at him from below and said, “We are yours, my liege. We recognize our folly in standing against you and your father and ask for your forgiveness.”
“You are wise to do so, but this township turns like the tide. Why should I believe your fidelity to us now?” Tynes asked staring at the kneeling men around him. He searched their eyes for the truth. He saw worry in the eyes of one man and defiance in another’s, despite their proposed fealty.
“We spilt no blood, none of yours. Most of the damage is to our own due to our delay.”
“And why the delay? Did it require the sight of completed siege towers to remind you what your rebellion meant?” Tynes asked. Schiff looked down and began to bite his lip. The answer is no. Tynes knew siege towers meant nothing to them. He did not need the man to say it to know the truth. “I should have your head for this.” Schiff looked up solemnly. His eyes told Tynes that Schiff already considered and accepted the prospect. Tynes unsheathed his sword, staring at the man’s neck as he did so. Then he let his eyes dance upon the men around him.
One man forgot himself and grabbed at his belt, only to remember nothing was there. Loyal my a**. Tynes thought. He noticed a man with clutched fists and gritted teeth looking away. He guessed that many would have rather died in combat than for it to come to this. How they arrived at bending the knee in their counsels, he did not know. He should have all their heads for his spear. He looked at Schiff’s neck, but his mind was wandering.
What would my father do? Tynes knew well that his father would not question whether or not to kill this Creech. He ordered it of Tynes. His father would have rolled and kicked Schiff’s head like a ball from the gate to the town square. Then he would have given the castle over to Drummel or Bedar.
What would my mother do? Tynes thought, holding the sword with both hands. He raised it only inches away from the man’s neck. Then he leveled the foible over the neck and the forte over Schiff’s head as if about to split Schiff’s head in half. The b*****d Creech did not flinch. He stared at the ground as still as a statue.
“Before I descend upon you and make an end of the man known as Schiff, tell me why you and your men decided to die on your knees rather than in combat?” Tynes said.
“For our people, your grace. They are starving and it would cost more lives than were already lost.” Schiff answered with no hint of fear.
“It could still cost them their lives if I am not a good man,” Tynes said, wanting to plant a seed of doubt in this b*****d son of Marcum Creech.
“That is a chance we were willing to take, my liege. Probable death over sure death.” Tynes heard enough. He raised the sword high and descended it upon the man without another word. In the descent he shifted the sword to the flat of the blade and hit it on Schiff’s left shoulder. He moved the flat of the blade to Schiff’s right shoulder and sheathed his sword. Then he spoke,
“You knelt before me as Schiff the rebel, but now you will rise as Lord Schiff, lord of Neak and servant to your king. Before you rise you must stake your life and the lives of your people on your loyalty and theirs. If any of you shows even a glimmer of betrayal, this town will be occupied by nothing more than ash and dust. No one will ever be able to claim that they have the blood of Neak. Swear it to me.” Schiff looked up at Tynes. He looked confused but said with certainty,
“I am yours.”
“And all of you?” Tynes said looking around at the kneeling men.
“We are yours,” they said in unison.
“Good. Now make good on your promise and tell every man, woman and child of their fealty to the king. If they are not loyal, it will be their heads and the heads of their neighbors.” The true power of a king is to show mercy, his mother told him. Do not expect anyone to be loyal to a merciless king. His father was merciless, but Tynes did not need to be. He would not make his father’s mistakes. The men stood and filed out and as they did Drummel walked over to him. “I will have the eldest son of all of the highest families. They are to be treated with respect and taught as squires by our men so that we can bridge the gap between us and Neak.” Drummel nodded, looking distressed. Tynes waved a hand for his men to leave. He wanted a moment alone with his new lord of Neak.
“We will have a feast in your honor my king,” Lord Schiff said as he stood.
“I am not the king and with what food? Have you forgotten that your trade routes are blocked and your people are starving?” Schiff was silent. He had forgotten. Tynes laughed and then told him that he would release the hold on the trade routes to make sure the people were fed. “Your eyes are clouded in confusion, Lord Schiff. Speak freely.” But not too freely, he thought. Tynes was judging every word that came out of his new lord’s mouth.
“Forgive me your grace but I fear how you will have us prove our loyalty to you. I heard that you require hostages, but you are taking no revenge for our rebellion or for Saskar, who we have slain.” Schiff said and Tynes’s thought of Saskar, his brother Tytos’s best friend. Saskar was a true and utter brute of a man He was as outwardly cruel as his brother was subtly. From the rumors spread about Saskar’s short rule, Tynes believed the man ought to have died. He hated him even in Izla, where Saskar’s eyes were glued to the parts of women even of the noblest birth. His eyes were not the only things he heard glued to those women. Without the restraint of courtesy that forced Saskar’s exploits to be hidden behind a veil in Izla, Saskar satiated his sexual appetite here in Neak, dining especially on men’s wives.
“I do not need you to prove anything Lord Schiff. My brother had Saskar and threats to make you fear him. I know that the people of Neak are loyal to each other and I rely only on that loyalty to hold you. When one man of Neak forsakes the other it will be the end of all and you know that is true because Neak remembers. And if they forget they need only to look upon the blackened stone of their castle, the gargoyles, statue and my brown face to remember. This town is shadowed by its history Lord Schiff; I see it on every stone faced building and every road within and without.”
“You need not fear our disloyalty. Neak remembers,” said Schiff.
“And if they ever forget, I will not hesitate to remind them,” Tynes said and he thought but did not say, I am my mother’s son.
The Prince
Prince Tynes did not destroy the town of Neak. Not yet. Before dawn, a white flag waved atop the highest tower of the stone wall and the gate opened. A man sat ahorse in a white cape, waiting for the prince and his men to enter. The prince smiled. As he passed the siege towers and catapults, he felt a pang of regret at not getting his first taste of battle, but it could wait. He had a more uncertain game to play now.
He called upon three hundred men of the two thousand that stood outside of Neak to enter with him. Tynes looked at the bald man that rode to the right of him. Drummel nodded his head slowly. His gray bushy brows furrowed deeply forming a unibrow. The prince sensed that Drummel anticipated an ambush. He expected Drummel to advise him against entering the town. A man who thinks too much before he acts is likely not to act at all. Tynes’s remembered his father saying of Drummel when Tynes chose him as his advisor. Tynes looked askance at the bald man. The prince’s pride would not allow to him to be wary. He relied on the old man to take precaution for him.
“My name is Schiff, leader of the people of Neak” the man in the white cape said when Tynes and his men reached him. “We offer you our allegiance and an apology for our rebellion if you would accept it.” The prince sat up straighter on his brown horse.
“I will consider it. Take us through the town.” Tynes ordered examining Schiff. Schiff Creech, the b*****d son of of the false king, Marcum Creech. The older man’s matted brown hair reached his sallow jaw. Puffiness encased his eyes. He sat tall on his horse, but the prince could see fatigue wearing on the thin man. Tynes expected more of a Creech, perhaps a stocky man with hard features and a square face, not the lanky crane that rode before him.
Tynes trotted slowly behind the last son of Marcum Creech. What could this man be thinking? The prince thought looking at Schiff’s neck. The sword on Tynes's hip felt heavy, his task burdening him.
As Tynes entered the town, he crossed his arm over his face. The smell of s**t and urine invaded his nostrils with such hostility he wanted to turn back through the gates. He rubbed his nose fiercely and snorted, before turning to Drummel.
“They call Neak strong town, it should be called pigshit town by the smell of it.”
“Not pigshit, your grace, human s**t.” Drummel said and wiped his nose before spitting to his right. Tynes scrunched up his nose in distaste. Tyne’s aunt advised him to block trade routes leading into Neak instead of charging into war. With nothing moving in or out of the stone town, Neak starved. Tynes spent two months in Dhaes with his father’s sister waiting for Neak to surrender. His aunt advised that he wait longer to avoid bloodshed, but with pressure from his father, no sign of imminent surrender, and his troops growing restless Tynes decided to journey eastward and start the siege. He arrived only two days ago and expected the last of the siege towers to be constructed today so they could lay waste to the lady in grey. They let themselves starve instead of surrender and then they surrender anyway. The prince leaned over to Drummel and said,
“We blocked their trade routes not their sewage drains.” As they walked through the town, Tynes looked down at the faces covered in dirt and dust around him. All looked thin, but their bellies were not bloated. There was something, scarce as it was, to fill them. He saw an old woman looking at him with a hard and quizzical stare. They are judging how closely I resemble my father. He thought angrily. Tynes looked nothing like the king. The king’s hair was long, straight and black. Thaneses also has deep blue eyes and fair skin. Tynes’s hair was as coarse as sheep’s wool, which was cropped neatly like a hedge close to his head. His hair was black like his father’s, but also bore a shade of blonde, like his brother Tytos. Tyne’s shaved his head on the sides, leaving only a plateau of wool in the middle. Yet the hazelnut color of his skin was the greatest contrast to the king.
Behind his back, Tynes knew his people called him the black prince. His three brothers were all lighter than he was. Yet he was shades lighter than his mother and her brother, Kadokechi. He, like them, had the blood of the dragon in him. For this reason, he did not mind his nickname. His older brothers Tytos and the b*****d, Talin, couldn’t boast the blood of the dragons running through their veins. Only his younger brother Tyro could. Yet Tyro’s blood earned him the nickname the untamed dragon, a name Tynes was happy not to have.
When they reached the town square, Tynes noticed a statue in the center. He remembered the image of it in his history books. The head was shaped like a dragon. Its long neck stretched straight as an arrow and its fearsome mouth with steel teeth opened wide, roaring at the sky. The statue’s torso was a man’s. It had a chiseled chest, taut abs and legs curved like the hind legs of a wolf. Its arms raised to the sky had veins bulging and muscles like a man, but were clutched into fits and claws like a bear.
“Mercy my lord,” a woman in rags said clutching her child. Mercy. Tynes knew the word well. It was precisely what his mother liked to say that his father lacked. I have done nothing to these people. They have done all of this to themselves and yet they ask me for mercy. Still the woman’s fearful glance was far more pleasing to him than the look on the face a young boy, who stood next to her. The boy held his head high and glared defiantly up at Tynes. I could ride my horse right over you. Tynes thought as he rode closer to Drummel and said,
“Look at how those young boys stare at me? One word and their heads would adorn my spear,” Tynes said pointing at the spear that hung from his back. Drummel shook his head.
“You are your father’s son, but if you would like to keep this town as he did not it would be best to employ…”
“Mercy,” Tynes interrupted and annoyed. He did not like to be called his father’s son. “Already I have been advised of it twice, once by you and once by some beggar woman.” He was tired of looking upon the forlorn faces of the Neakians. Instead he looked at the buildings that surrounded him, everything was made of stone. Neak was a fortress. Even the homes were made of stone. When he learned of its history, he remembered Hypnar, his history teacher, calling Neak the lady in grey. Now he saw why. There was hardly any color in this town, but grey.
They finally reached the short and stout castle. At each corner of it, dragon’s necks extended outwards. Their eye holes filled with orbs of amethyst. The stone on parts of the castle. like other buildings they passed along the way, was blackened in spots. Tynes noticed that the ground beneath them was flat and grassless, where stone did not cover. Tynes figured it must be true that nothing could grow on the grounds of Neak. The clouds coalesced and the sky turned gray. It will rain. Better to wash away the blood, if a need for blood should arise.Tynes thought.
Schiff dismounted his horse and Tynes called an order to Bedar, a tall man with a long gray beard. He told Bedar to station two hundred men outside of the castle. He and Drummel dismounted their horses as did the remaining one hundred and entered the castle’s hall where far less Neakian men stood. The men were kneeling and looked up at their lord and at him. Their cloaks were gray except for Schiff. Schiff knelt beside a stone throne that he offered to Tynes. The men were unarmed. No shields, no swords, no armor. That was a good sign. Drummel taught Tynes that men who mean to ambush you will be armed for it. He gave a quiet order to Drummel to have his men stand behind the men of Neak. Better to test their loyalty with swords at their back. He thought, but did not say. He ascended the stairs of the dais and sat upon the stone throne.
Schiff and his men did not rise as he sat. Instead Schiff looked up at him from below and said, “We are yours, my liege. We recognize our folly in standing against you and your father and ask for your forgiveness.”
“You are wise to do so, but this township turns like the tide. Why should I believe your fidelity to us now?” Tynes asked staring at the kneeling men around him. He searched their eyes for the truth. He saw worry in the eyes of one man and defiance in another’s, despite their proposed fealty.
“We spilt no blood, none of yours. Most of the damage is to our own due to our delay.”
“And why the delay? Did it require the sight of completed siege towers to remind you what your rebellion meant?” Tynes asked. Schiff looked down and began to bite his lip. The answer is no. Tynes knew siege towers meant nothing to them. He did not need the man to say it to know the truth. “I should have your head for this.” Schiff looked up solemnly. His eyes told Tynes that Schiff already considered and accepted the prospect. Tynes unsheathed his sword, staring at the man’s neck as he did so. Then he let his eyes dance upon the men around him.
One man forgot himself and grabbed at his belt, only to remember nothing was there. Loyal my a**. Tynes thought. He noticed a man with clutched fists and gritted teeth looking away. He guessed that many would have rather died in combat than for it to come to this. How they arrived at bending the knee in their counsels, he did not know. He should have all their heads for his spear. He looked at Schiff’s neck, but his mind was wandering.
What would my father do? Tynes knew well that his father would not question whether or not to kill this Creech. He ordered it of Tynes. His father would have rolled and kicked Schiff’s head like a ball from the gate to the town square. Then he would have given the castle over to Drummel or Bedar.
What would my mother do? Tynes thought, holding the sword with both hands. He raised it only inches away from the man’s neck. Then he leveled the foible over the neck and the forte over Schiff’s head as if about to split Schiff’s head in half. The b*****d Creech did not flinch. He stared at the ground as still as a statue.
“Before I descend upon you and make an end of the man known as Schiff, tell me why you and your men decided to die on your knees rather than in combat?” Tynes said.
“For our people, your grace. They are starving and it would cost more lives than were already lost.” Schiff answered with no hint of fear.
“It could still cost them their lives if I am not a good man,” Tynes said, wanting to plant a seed of doubt in this b*****d son of Marcum Creech.
“That is a chance we were willing to take, my liege. Probable death over sure death.” Tynes heard enough. He raised the sword high and descended it upon the man without another word. In the descent he shifted the sword to the flat of the blade and hit it on Schiff’s left shoulder. He moved the flat of the blade to Schiff’s right shoulder and sheathed his sword. Then he spoke,
“You knelt before me as Schiff the rebel, but now you will rise as Lord Schiff, lord of Neak and servant to your king. Before you rise you must stake your life and the lives of your people on your loyalty and theirs. If any of you shows even a glimmer of betrayal, this town will be occupied by nothing more than ash and dust. No one will ever be able to claim that they have the blood of Neak. Swear it to me.” Schiff looked up at Tynes. He looked confused but said with certainty,
“I am yours.”
“And all of you?” Tynes said looking around at the kneeling men.
“We are yours,” they said in unison.
“Good. Now make good on your promise and tell every man, woman and child of their fealty to the king. If they are not loyal, it will be their heads and the heads of their neighbors.” The true power of a king is to show mercy, his mother told him. Do not expect anyone to be loyal to a merciless king. His father was merciless, but Tynes did not need to be. He would not make his father’s mistakes. The men stood and filed out and as they did Drummel walked over to him. “I will have the eldest son of all of the highest families. They are to be treated with respect and taught as squires by our men so that we can bridge the gap between us and Neak.” Drummel nodded, looking distressed. Tynes waved a hand for his men to leave. He wanted a moment alone with his new lord of Neak.
“We will have a feast in your honor my king,” Lord Schiff said as he stood.
“I am not the king and with what food? Have you forgotten that your trade routes are blocked and your people are starving?” Schiff was silent. He had forgotten. Tynes laughed and then told him that he would release the hold on the trade routes to make sure the people were fed. “Your eyes are clouded in confusion, Lord Schiff. Speak freely.” But not too freely, he thought. Tynes was judging every word that came out of his new lord’s mouth.
“Forgive me your grace but I fear how you will have us prove our loyalty to you. I heard that you require hostages, but you are taking no revenge for our rebellion or for Saskar, who we have slain.” Schiff said and Tynes’s thought of Saskar, his brother Tytos’s best friend. Saskar was a true and utter brute of a man He was as outwardly cruel as his brother was subtly. From the rumors spread about Saskar’s short rule, Tynes believed the man ought to have died. He hated him even in Izla, where Saskar’s eyes were glued to the parts of women even of the noblest birth. His eyes were not the only things he heard glued to those women. Without the restraint of courtesy that forced Saskar’s exploits to be hidden behind a veil in Izla, Saskar satiated his sexual appetite here in Neak, dining especially on men’s wives.
“I do not need you to prove anything Lord Schiff. My brother had Saskar and threats to make you fear him. I know that the people of Neak are loyal to each other and I rely only on that loyalty to hold you. When one man of Neak forsakes the other it will be the end of all and you know that is true because Neak remembers. And if they forget they need only to look upon the blackened stone of their castle, the gargoyles, statue and my brown face to remember. This town is shadowed by its history Lord Schiff; I see it on every stone faced building and every road within and without.”
“You need not fear our disloyalty. Neak remembers,” said Schiff.
“And if they ever forget, I will not hesitate to remind them,” Tynes said and he thought but did not say, I am my mother’s son.
I REALLY LIKED YOUR STORY.
ok slut
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- Posted: Sat, 11 May 2013 22:49:19 +0000
Hakizimana Inu
kaaylaahx3
Have you ever seen hell ? If you really think about it, what is hell? What is earth? Have you ever took time and sat in a empty room just to think about random stuff ? I have. It wasnt a very good idea. it was 11 at night an hour before halloween. I had my camera recording every minute of my day as usual. i posted the videos on my Tumblr blog. I went inside this white big room on the last floor o...f my house it had no window i sat my camera in a corner of the room. I sat in a chair in the middle of a big empty room and closed my eyes. While there i started thinking about random stuff and and thought about something i read that said "Have you ever been in a really quiet room? and have you heard a very annoying sound ?well that sound is actually the effect od your ear of being in a place with no sound. If you listen to it very quietly, you will start hearing wispering voices and if you you keep listening you will be able to understand them, what are those voices? They are the future and sometimes the past !. And once you start noticing them they will start to notice you.." I instantly opened my eyes then slowly closed them again" I sat there for a few minutes thinking about random stuff again, and out of nowhere i heard that sound very thin & annoying witch each second got more louder. I started to listening to the noise as i read when suddenly i heard voices wispering, my skin got cold and i felt a very cool breeze, then i thought to myself "but theres no window !" I didnt open my eyes my explanation was "Probably came from under the door" i kept listening to the noise. I started listening to the voices. One of the voice started getting clear and it was a little girl she kept giggling and "Have you ever seen hell?" i couldnt understand the other voice i tried as hard as i could then i finally understood it. It sounded like a big tall man and he said " What is hell? what is hearth? Theres no future, there no past, but what there is, is death always by your side" it really creeped me out how they both kept repeating the same thing over and over, the noise got louder and louder i still heard the man but not the girl... Then i heard more voices repeating the same thing as the men. Alot of them whispered, as if they were scared. I heard kids crying, even men as if they were scared, as if someone were terrified of someone. My eyes were still closed, i kept listening to the voices and they got louder and then i thought "where is the little girl?" The voices kept repeating themselves "What is hell? what is hearth? Theres no future, there no past, but what there is, is death always by your side" when suddenly a very different voice said "becareful!" I said what "what?" Thats when i felt a cooler breeze as if i was sitting inside a refrigerator. My eyes were still closed, i heard the noise again it was very loud and it really bothered my ears. Then i heard the little girl again? And said "Are you looking for me?" I got gosebumps i could feel them they were hard as rocks. The girl giggled, then i heard the men say " Be careful!" As if he was talking to me. The noise got really loud and very loud and suddently it stopped ... And I felt a very cold breeze. My eyes were still closed, I didn't hear the noise anymore. Then I heard the men and the girl talking again and they kept repeating themselves I heard them so loud as if they were next to me. When suddently I heard a very loud scream. I was too scared. I never felt anything so real, so Then I decided to open my eyes. The room felt different as if there was a crowd there and had just left. I went right to sleep the next day i posted the video then i decided to watch it. I couldnt believe what was seeying in the video there was a group of people surrounding me. It got really scared i kept watching the video then a very tall man with no face stood next to me and said " becareful" everything that happened thr night before was on video. I was shyting bricks when suddenly i hear a scream and i hear a knock i fast look to my window and seen a little girl and she said " Why are you looking for me?" ..... After that halloween night i never been in a quiet room or by myself or even touched a camera.
I worked kind of hard on that story.. Sorry if you don't like it though.
I actually like this. I would to see it fleshed out and novelized.
Thank you lol I forgot all about this post surprised
Hakizimana Inu
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- Posted: Sat, 11 May 2013 23:25:00 +0000
kaaylaahx3
Hakizimana Inu
kaaylaahx3
Have you ever seen hell ? If you really think about it, what is hell? What is earth? Have you ever took time and sat in a empty room just to think about random stuff ? I have. It wasnt a very good idea. it was 11 at night an hour before halloween. I had my camera recording every minute of my day as usual. i posted the videos on my Tumblr blog. I went inside this white big room on the last floor o...f my house it had no window i sat my camera in a corner of the room. I sat in a chair in the middle of a big empty room and closed my eyes. While there i started thinking about random stuff and and thought about something i read that said "Have you ever been in a really quiet room? and have you heard a very annoying sound ?well that sound is actually the effect od your ear of being in a place with no sound. If you listen to it very quietly, you will start hearing wispering voices and if you you keep listening you will be able to understand them, what are those voices? They are the future and sometimes the past !. And once you start noticing them they will start to notice you.." I instantly opened my eyes then slowly closed them again" I sat there for a few minutes thinking about random stuff again, and out of nowhere i heard that sound very thin & annoying witch each second got more louder. I started to listening to the noise as i read when suddenly i heard voices wispering, my skin got cold and i felt a very cool breeze, then i thought to myself "but theres no window !" I didnt open my eyes my explanation was "Probably came from under the door" i kept listening to the noise. I started listening to the voices. One of the voice started getting clear and it was a little girl she kept giggling and "Have you ever seen hell?" i couldnt understand the other voice i tried as hard as i could then i finally understood it. It sounded like a big tall man and he said " What is hell? what is hearth? Theres no future, there no past, but what there is, is death always by your side" it really creeped me out how they both kept repeating the same thing over and over, the noise got louder and louder i still heard the man but not the girl... Then i heard more voices repeating the same thing as the men. Alot of them whispered, as if they were scared. I heard kids crying, even men as if they were scared, as if someone were terrified of someone. My eyes were still closed, i kept listening to the voices and they got louder and then i thought "where is the little girl?" The voices kept repeating themselves "What is hell? what is hearth? Theres no future, there no past, but what there is, is death always by your side" when suddenly a very different voice said "becareful!" I said what "what?" Thats when i felt a cooler breeze as if i was sitting inside a refrigerator. My eyes were still closed, i heard the noise again it was very loud and it really bothered my ears. Then i heard the little girl again? And said "Are you looking for me?" I got gosebumps i could feel them they were hard as rocks. The girl giggled, then i heard the men say " Be careful!" As if he was talking to me. The noise got really loud and very loud and suddently it stopped ... And I felt a very cold breeze. My eyes were still closed, I didn't hear the noise anymore. Then I heard the men and the girl talking again and they kept repeating themselves I heard them so loud as if they were next to me. When suddently I heard a very loud scream. I was too scared. I never felt anything so real, so Then I decided to open my eyes. The room felt different as if there was a crowd there and had just left. I went right to sleep the next day i posted the video then i decided to watch it. I couldnt believe what was seeying in the video there was a group of people surrounding me. It got really scared i kept watching the video then a very tall man with no face stood next to me and said " becareful" everything that happened thr night before was on video. I was shyting bricks when suddenly i hear a scream and i hear a knock i fast look to my window and seen a little girl and she said " Why are you looking for me?" ..... After that halloween night i never been in a quiet room or by myself or even touched a camera.
I worked kind of hard on that story.. Sorry if you don't like it though.
I actually like this. I would to see it fleshed out and novelized.
Thank you lol I forgot all about this post surprised
No problem!
Are you going to do anything with the concept? If you aren't could I perhaps do something with it? I really got racing with the mind when it came to ideas that his could be brought to.
Rikku8
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- Posted: Sun, 12 May 2013 01:26:03 +0000
Hakizimana Inu
Rikku8
Idk if my pm made it to you so I'm posting it here too for insurance sweatdrop
The Prince
Prince Tynes did not destroy the town of Neak. Not yet. Before dawn, a white flag waved atop the highest tower of the stone wall and the gate opened. A man sat ahorse in a white cape, waiting for the prince and his men to enter. The prince smiled. As he passed the siege towers and catapults, he felt a pang of regret at not getting his first taste of battle, but it could wait. He had a more uncertain game to play now.
He called upon three hundred men of the two thousand that stood outside of Neak to enter with him. Tynes looked at the bald man that rode to the right of him. Drummel nodded his head slowly. His gray bushy brows furrowed deeply forming a unibrow. The prince sensed that Drummel anticipated an ambush. He expected Drummel to advise him against entering the town. A man who thinks too much before he acts is likely not to act at all. Tynes’s remembered his father saying of Drummel when Tynes chose him as his advisor. Tynes looked askance at the bald man. The prince’s pride would not allow to him to be wary. He relied on the old man to take precaution for him.
“My name is Schiff, leader of the people of Neak” the man in the white cape said when Tynes and his men reached him. “We offer you our allegiance and an apology for our rebellion if you would accept it.” The prince sat up straighter on his brown horse.
“I will consider it. Take us through the town.” Tynes ordered examining Schiff. Schiff Creech, the b*****d son of of the false king, Marcum Creech. The older man’s matted brown hair reached his sallow jaw. Puffiness encased his eyes. He sat tall on his horse, but the prince could see fatigue wearing on the thin man. Tynes expected more of a Creech, perhaps a stocky man with hard features and a square face, not the lanky crane that rode before him.
Tynes trotted slowly behind the last son of Marcum Creech. What could this man be thinking? The prince thought looking at Schiff’s neck. The sword on Tynes's hip felt heavy, his task burdening him.
As Tynes entered the town, he crossed his arm over his face. The smell of s**t and urine invaded his nostrils with such hostility he wanted to turn back through the gates. He rubbed his nose fiercely and snorted, before turning to Drummel.
“They call Neak strong town, it should be called pigshit town by the smell of it.”
“Not pigshit, your grace, human s**t.” Drummel said and wiped his nose before spitting to his right. Tynes scrunched up his nose in distaste. Tyne’s aunt advised him to block trade routes leading into Neak instead of charging into war. With nothing moving in or out of the stone town, Neak starved. Tynes spent two months in Dhaes with his father’s sister waiting for Neak to surrender. His aunt advised that he wait longer to avoid bloodshed, but with pressure from his father, no sign of imminent surrender, and his troops growing restless Tynes decided to journey eastward and start the siege. He arrived only two days ago and expected the last of the siege towers to be constructed today so they could lay waste to the lady in grey. They let themselves starve instead of surrender and then they surrender anyway. The prince leaned over to Drummel and said,
“We blocked their trade routes not their sewage drains.” As they walked through the town, Tynes looked down at the faces covered in dirt and dust around him. All looked thin, but their bellies were not bloated. There was something, scarce as it was, to fill them. He saw an old woman looking at him with a hard and quizzical stare. They are judging how closely I resemble my father. He thought angrily. Tynes looked nothing like the king. The king’s hair was long, straight and black. Thaneses also has deep blue eyes and fair skin. Tynes’s hair was as coarse as sheep’s wool, which was cropped neatly like a hedge close to his head. His hair was black like his father’s, but also bore a shade of blonde, like his brother Tytos. Tyne’s shaved his head on the sides, leaving only a plateau of wool in the middle. Yet the hazelnut color of his skin was the greatest contrast to the king.
Behind his back, Tynes knew his people called him the black prince. His three brothers were all lighter than he was. Yet he was shades lighter than his mother and her brother, Kadokechi. He, like them, had the blood of the dragon in him. For this reason, he did not mind his nickname. His older brothers Tytos and the b*****d, Talin, couldn’t boast the blood of the dragons running through their veins. Only his younger brother Tyro could. Yet Tyro’s blood earned him the nickname the untamed dragon, a name Tynes was happy not to have.
When they reached the town square, Tynes noticed a statue in the center. He remembered the image of it in his history books. The head was shaped like a dragon. Its long neck stretched straight as an arrow and its fearsome mouth with steel teeth opened wide, roaring at the sky. The statue’s torso was a man’s. It had a chiseled chest, taut abs and legs curved like the hind legs of a wolf. Its arms raised to the sky had veins bulging and muscles like a man, but were clutched into fits and claws like a bear.
“Mercy my lord,” a woman in rags said clutching her child. Mercy. Tynes knew the word well. It was precisely what his mother liked to say that his father lacked. I have done nothing to these people. They have done all of this to themselves and yet they ask me for mercy. Still the woman’s fearful glance was far more pleasing to him than the look on the face a young boy, who stood next to her. The boy held his head high and glared defiantly up at Tynes. I could ride my horse right over you. Tynes thought as he rode closer to Drummel and said,
“Look at how those young boys stare at me? One word and their heads would adorn my spear,” Tynes said pointing at the spear that hung from his back. Drummel shook his head.
“You are your father’s son, but if you would like to keep this town as he did not it would be best to employ…”
“Mercy,” Tynes interrupted and annoyed. He did not like to be called his father’s son. “Already I have been advised of it twice, once by you and once by some beggar woman.” He was tired of looking upon the forlorn faces of the Neakians. Instead he looked at the buildings that surrounded him, everything was made of stone. Neak was a fortress. Even the homes were made of stone. When he learned of its history, he remembered Hypnar, his history teacher, calling Neak the lady in grey. Now he saw why. There was hardly any color in this town, but grey.
They finally reached the short and stout castle. At each corner of it, dragon’s necks extended outwards. Their eye holes filled with orbs of amethyst. The stone on parts of the castle. like other buildings they passed along the way, was blackened in spots. Tynes noticed that the ground beneath them was flat and grassless, where stone did not cover. Tynes figured it must be true that nothing could grow on the grounds of Neak. The clouds coalesced and the sky turned gray. It will rain. Better to wash away the blood, if a need for blood should arise.Tynes thought.
Schiff dismounted his horse and Tynes called an order to Bedar, a tall man with a long gray beard. He told Bedar to station two hundred men outside of the castle. He and Drummel dismounted their horses as did the remaining one hundred and entered the castle’s hall where far less Neakian men stood. The men were kneeling and looked up at their lord and at him. Their cloaks were gray except for Schiff. Schiff knelt beside a stone throne that he offered to Tynes. The men were unarmed. No shields, no swords, no armor. That was a good sign. Drummel taught Tynes that men who mean to ambush you will be armed for it. He gave a quiet order to Drummel to have his men stand behind the men of Neak. Better to test their loyalty with swords at their back. He thought, but did not say. He ascended the stairs of the dais and sat upon the stone throne.
Schiff and his men did not rise as he sat. Instead Schiff looked up at him from below and said, “We are yours, my liege. We recognize our folly in standing against you and your father and ask for your forgiveness.”
“You are wise to do so, but this township turns like the tide. Why should I believe your fidelity to us now?” Tynes asked staring at the kneeling men around him. He searched their eyes for the truth. He saw worry in the eyes of one man and defiance in another’s, despite their proposed fealty.
“We spilt no blood, none of yours. Most of the damage is to our own due to our delay.”
“And why the delay? Did it require the sight of completed siege towers to remind you what your rebellion meant?” Tynes asked. Schiff looked down and began to bite his lip. The answer is no. Tynes knew siege towers meant nothing to them. He did not need the man to say it to know the truth. “I should have your head for this.” Schiff looked up solemnly. His eyes told Tynes that Schiff already considered and accepted the prospect. Tynes unsheathed his sword, staring at the man’s neck as he did so. Then he let his eyes dance upon the men around him.
One man forgot himself and grabbed at his belt, only to remember nothing was there. Loyal my a**. Tynes thought. He noticed a man with clutched fists and gritted teeth looking away. He guessed that many would have rather died in combat than for it to come to this. How they arrived at bending the knee in their counsels, he did not know. He should have all their heads for his spear. He looked at Schiff’s neck, but his mind was wandering.
What would my father do? Tynes knew well that his father would not question whether or not to kill this Creech. He ordered it of Tynes. His father would have rolled and kicked Schiff’s head like a ball from the gate to the town square. Then he would have given the castle over to Drummel or Bedar.
What would my mother do? Tynes thought, holding the sword with both hands. He raised it only inches away from the man’s neck. Then he leveled the foible over the neck and the forte over Schiff’s head as if about to split Schiff’s head in half. The b*****d Creech did not flinch. He stared at the ground as still as a statue.
“Before I descend upon you and make an end of the man known as Schiff, tell me why you and your men decided to die on your knees rather than in combat?” Tynes said.
“For our people, your grace. They are starving and it would cost more lives than were already lost.” Schiff answered with no hint of fear.
“It could still cost them their lives if I am not a good man,” Tynes said, wanting to plant a seed of doubt in this b*****d son of Marcum Creech.
“That is a chance we were willing to take, my liege. Probable death over sure death.” Tynes heard enough. He raised the sword high and descended it upon the man without another word. In the descent he shifted the sword to the flat of the blade and hit it on Schiff’s left shoulder. He moved the flat of the blade to Schiff’s right shoulder and sheathed his sword. Then he spoke,
“You knelt before me as Schiff the rebel, but now you will rise as Lord Schiff, lord of Neak and servant to your king. Before you rise you must stake your life and the lives of your people on your loyalty and theirs. If any of you shows even a glimmer of betrayal, this town will be occupied by nothing more than ash and dust. No one will ever be able to claim that they have the blood of Neak. Swear it to me.” Schiff looked up at Tynes. He looked confused but said with certainty,
“I am yours.”
“And all of you?” Tynes said looking around at the kneeling men.
“We are yours,” they said in unison.
“Good. Now make good on your promise and tell every man, woman and child of their fealty to the king. If they are not loyal, it will be their heads and the heads of their neighbors.” The true power of a king is to show mercy, his mother told him. Do not expect anyone to be loyal to a merciless king. His father was merciless, but Tynes did not need to be. He would not make his father’s mistakes. The men stood and filed out and as they did Drummel walked over to him. “I will have the eldest son of all of the highest families. They are to be treated with respect and taught as squires by our men so that we can bridge the gap between us and Neak.” Drummel nodded, looking distressed. Tynes waved a hand for his men to leave. He wanted a moment alone with his new lord of Neak.
“We will have a feast in your honor my king,” Lord Schiff said as he stood.
“I am not the king and with what food? Have you forgotten that your trade routes are blocked and your people are starving?” Schiff was silent. He had forgotten. Tynes laughed and then told him that he would release the hold on the trade routes to make sure the people were fed. “Your eyes are clouded in confusion, Lord Schiff. Speak freely.” But not too freely, he thought. Tynes was judging every word that came out of his new lord’s mouth.
“Forgive me your grace but I fear how you will have us prove our loyalty to you. I heard that you require hostages, but you are taking no revenge for our rebellion or for Saskar, who we have slain.” Schiff said and Tynes’s thought of Saskar, his brother Tytos’s best friend. Saskar was a true and utter brute of a man He was as outwardly cruel as his brother was subtly. From the rumors spread about Saskar’s short rule, Tynes believed the man ought to have died. He hated him even in Izla, where Saskar’s eyes were glued to the parts of women even of the noblest birth. His eyes were not the only things he heard glued to those women. Without the restraint of courtesy that forced Saskar’s exploits to be hidden behind a veil in Izla, Saskar satiated his sexual appetite here in Neak, dining especially on men’s wives.
“I do not need you to prove anything Lord Schiff. My brother had Saskar and threats to make you fear him. I know that the people of Neak are loyal to each other and I rely only on that loyalty to hold you. When one man of Neak forsakes the other it will be the end of all and you know that is true because Neak remembers. And if they forget they need only to look upon the blackened stone of their castle, the gargoyles, statue and my brown face to remember. This town is shadowed by its history Lord Schiff; I see it on every stone faced building and every road within and without.”
“You need not fear our disloyalty. Neak remembers,” said Schiff.
“And if they ever forget, I will not hesitate to remind them,” Tynes said and he thought but did not say, I am my mother’s son.
The Prince
Prince Tynes did not destroy the town of Neak. Not yet. Before dawn, a white flag waved atop the highest tower of the stone wall and the gate opened. A man sat ahorse in a white cape, waiting for the prince and his men to enter. The prince smiled. As he passed the siege towers and catapults, he felt a pang of regret at not getting his first taste of battle, but it could wait. He had a more uncertain game to play now.
He called upon three hundred men of the two thousand that stood outside of Neak to enter with him. Tynes looked at the bald man that rode to the right of him. Drummel nodded his head slowly. His gray bushy brows furrowed deeply forming a unibrow. The prince sensed that Drummel anticipated an ambush. He expected Drummel to advise him against entering the town. A man who thinks too much before he acts is likely not to act at all. Tynes’s remembered his father saying of Drummel when Tynes chose him as his advisor. Tynes looked askance at the bald man. The prince’s pride would not allow to him to be wary. He relied on the old man to take precaution for him.
“My name is Schiff, leader of the people of Neak” the man in the white cape said when Tynes and his men reached him. “We offer you our allegiance and an apology for our rebellion if you would accept it.” The prince sat up straighter on his brown horse.
“I will consider it. Take us through the town.” Tynes ordered examining Schiff. Schiff Creech, the b*****d son of of the false king, Marcum Creech. The older man’s matted brown hair reached his sallow jaw. Puffiness encased his eyes. He sat tall on his horse, but the prince could see fatigue wearing on the thin man. Tynes expected more of a Creech, perhaps a stocky man with hard features and a square face, not the lanky crane that rode before him.
Tynes trotted slowly behind the last son of Marcum Creech. What could this man be thinking? The prince thought looking at Schiff’s neck. The sword on Tynes's hip felt heavy, his task burdening him.
As Tynes entered the town, he crossed his arm over his face. The smell of s**t and urine invaded his nostrils with such hostility he wanted to turn back through the gates. He rubbed his nose fiercely and snorted, before turning to Drummel.
“They call Neak strong town, it should be called pigshit town by the smell of it.”
“Not pigshit, your grace, human s**t.” Drummel said and wiped his nose before spitting to his right. Tynes scrunched up his nose in distaste. Tyne’s aunt advised him to block trade routes leading into Neak instead of charging into war. With nothing moving in or out of the stone town, Neak starved. Tynes spent two months in Dhaes with his father’s sister waiting for Neak to surrender. His aunt advised that he wait longer to avoid bloodshed, but with pressure from his father, no sign of imminent surrender, and his troops growing restless Tynes decided to journey eastward and start the siege. He arrived only two days ago and expected the last of the siege towers to be constructed today so they could lay waste to the lady in grey. They let themselves starve instead of surrender and then they surrender anyway. The prince leaned over to Drummel and said,
“We blocked their trade routes not their sewage drains.” As they walked through the town, Tynes looked down at the faces covered in dirt and dust around him. All looked thin, but their bellies were not bloated. There was something, scarce as it was, to fill them. He saw an old woman looking at him with a hard and quizzical stare. They are judging how closely I resemble my father. He thought angrily. Tynes looked nothing like the king. The king’s hair was long, straight and black. Thaneses also has deep blue eyes and fair skin. Tynes’s hair was as coarse as sheep’s wool, which was cropped neatly like a hedge close to his head. His hair was black like his father’s, but also bore a shade of blonde, like his brother Tytos. Tyne’s shaved his head on the sides, leaving only a plateau of wool in the middle. Yet the hazelnut color of his skin was the greatest contrast to the king.
Behind his back, Tynes knew his people called him the black prince. His three brothers were all lighter than he was. Yet he was shades lighter than his mother and her brother, Kadokechi. He, like them, had the blood of the dragon in him. For this reason, he did not mind his nickname. His older brothers Tytos and the b*****d, Talin, couldn’t boast the blood of the dragons running through their veins. Only his younger brother Tyro could. Yet Tyro’s blood earned him the nickname the untamed dragon, a name Tynes was happy not to have.
When they reached the town square, Tynes noticed a statue in the center. He remembered the image of it in his history books. The head was shaped like a dragon. Its long neck stretched straight as an arrow and its fearsome mouth with steel teeth opened wide, roaring at the sky. The statue’s torso was a man’s. It had a chiseled chest, taut abs and legs curved like the hind legs of a wolf. Its arms raised to the sky had veins bulging and muscles like a man, but were clutched into fits and claws like a bear.
“Mercy my lord,” a woman in rags said clutching her child. Mercy. Tynes knew the word well. It was precisely what his mother liked to say that his father lacked. I have done nothing to these people. They have done all of this to themselves and yet they ask me for mercy. Still the woman’s fearful glance was far more pleasing to him than the look on the face a young boy, who stood next to her. The boy held his head high and glared defiantly up at Tynes. I could ride my horse right over you. Tynes thought as he rode closer to Drummel and said,
“Look at how those young boys stare at me? One word and their heads would adorn my spear,” Tynes said pointing at the spear that hung from his back. Drummel shook his head.
“You are your father’s son, but if you would like to keep this town as he did not it would be best to employ…”
“Mercy,” Tynes interrupted and annoyed. He did not like to be called his father’s son. “Already I have been advised of it twice, once by you and once by some beggar woman.” He was tired of looking upon the forlorn faces of the Neakians. Instead he looked at the buildings that surrounded him, everything was made of stone. Neak was a fortress. Even the homes were made of stone. When he learned of its history, he remembered Hypnar, his history teacher, calling Neak the lady in grey. Now he saw why. There was hardly any color in this town, but grey.
They finally reached the short and stout castle. At each corner of it, dragon’s necks extended outwards. Their eye holes filled with orbs of amethyst. The stone on parts of the castle. like other buildings they passed along the way, was blackened in spots. Tynes noticed that the ground beneath them was flat and grassless, where stone did not cover. Tynes figured it must be true that nothing could grow on the grounds of Neak. The clouds coalesced and the sky turned gray. It will rain. Better to wash away the blood, if a need for blood should arise.Tynes thought.
Schiff dismounted his horse and Tynes called an order to Bedar, a tall man with a long gray beard. He told Bedar to station two hundred men outside of the castle. He and Drummel dismounted their horses as did the remaining one hundred and entered the castle’s hall where far less Neakian men stood. The men were kneeling and looked up at their lord and at him. Their cloaks were gray except for Schiff. Schiff knelt beside a stone throne that he offered to Tynes. The men were unarmed. No shields, no swords, no armor. That was a good sign. Drummel taught Tynes that men who mean to ambush you will be armed for it. He gave a quiet order to Drummel to have his men stand behind the men of Neak. Better to test their loyalty with swords at their back. He thought, but did not say. He ascended the stairs of the dais and sat upon the stone throne.
Schiff and his men did not rise as he sat. Instead Schiff looked up at him from below and said, “We are yours, my liege. We recognize our folly in standing against you and your father and ask for your forgiveness.”
“You are wise to do so, but this township turns like the tide. Why should I believe your fidelity to us now?” Tynes asked staring at the kneeling men around him. He searched their eyes for the truth. He saw worry in the eyes of one man and defiance in another’s, despite their proposed fealty.
“We spilt no blood, none of yours. Most of the damage is to our own due to our delay.”
“And why the delay? Did it require the sight of completed siege towers to remind you what your rebellion meant?” Tynes asked. Schiff looked down and began to bite his lip. The answer is no. Tynes knew siege towers meant nothing to them. He did not need the man to say it to know the truth. “I should have your head for this.” Schiff looked up solemnly. His eyes told Tynes that Schiff already considered and accepted the prospect. Tynes unsheathed his sword, staring at the man’s neck as he did so. Then he let his eyes dance upon the men around him.
One man forgot himself and grabbed at his belt, only to remember nothing was there. Loyal my a**. Tynes thought. He noticed a man with clutched fists and gritted teeth looking away. He guessed that many would have rather died in combat than for it to come to this. How they arrived at bending the knee in their counsels, he did not know. He should have all their heads for his spear. He looked at Schiff’s neck, but his mind was wandering.
What would my father do? Tynes knew well that his father would not question whether or not to kill this Creech. He ordered it of Tynes. His father would have rolled and kicked Schiff’s head like a ball from the gate to the town square. Then he would have given the castle over to Drummel or Bedar.
What would my mother do? Tynes thought, holding the sword with both hands. He raised it only inches away from the man’s neck. Then he leveled the foible over the neck and the forte over Schiff’s head as if about to split Schiff’s head in half. The b*****d Creech did not flinch. He stared at the ground as still as a statue.
“Before I descend upon you and make an end of the man known as Schiff, tell me why you and your men decided to die on your knees rather than in combat?” Tynes said.
“For our people, your grace. They are starving and it would cost more lives than were already lost.” Schiff answered with no hint of fear.
“It could still cost them their lives if I am not a good man,” Tynes said, wanting to plant a seed of doubt in this b*****d son of Marcum Creech.
“That is a chance we were willing to take, my liege. Probable death over sure death.” Tynes heard enough. He raised the sword high and descended it upon the man without another word. In the descent he shifted the sword to the flat of the blade and hit it on Schiff’s left shoulder. He moved the flat of the blade to Schiff’s right shoulder and sheathed his sword. Then he spoke,
“You knelt before me as Schiff the rebel, but now you will rise as Lord Schiff, lord of Neak and servant to your king. Before you rise you must stake your life and the lives of your people on your loyalty and theirs. If any of you shows even a glimmer of betrayal, this town will be occupied by nothing more than ash and dust. No one will ever be able to claim that they have the blood of Neak. Swear it to me.” Schiff looked up at Tynes. He looked confused but said with certainty,
“I am yours.”
“And all of you?” Tynes said looking around at the kneeling men.
“We are yours,” they said in unison.
“Good. Now make good on your promise and tell every man, woman and child of their fealty to the king. If they are not loyal, it will be their heads and the heads of their neighbors.” The true power of a king is to show mercy, his mother told him. Do not expect anyone to be loyal to a merciless king. His father was merciless, but Tynes did not need to be. He would not make his father’s mistakes. The men stood and filed out and as they did Drummel walked over to him. “I will have the eldest son of all of the highest families. They are to be treated with respect and taught as squires by our men so that we can bridge the gap between us and Neak.” Drummel nodded, looking distressed. Tynes waved a hand for his men to leave. He wanted a moment alone with his new lord of Neak.
“We will have a feast in your honor my king,” Lord Schiff said as he stood.
“I am not the king and with what food? Have you forgotten that your trade routes are blocked and your people are starving?” Schiff was silent. He had forgotten. Tynes laughed and then told him that he would release the hold on the trade routes to make sure the people were fed. “Your eyes are clouded in confusion, Lord Schiff. Speak freely.” But not too freely, he thought. Tynes was judging every word that came out of his new lord’s mouth.
“Forgive me your grace but I fear how you will have us prove our loyalty to you. I heard that you require hostages, but you are taking no revenge for our rebellion or for Saskar, who we have slain.” Schiff said and Tynes’s thought of Saskar, his brother Tytos’s best friend. Saskar was a true and utter brute of a man He was as outwardly cruel as his brother was subtly. From the rumors spread about Saskar’s short rule, Tynes believed the man ought to have died. He hated him even in Izla, where Saskar’s eyes were glued to the parts of women even of the noblest birth. His eyes were not the only things he heard glued to those women. Without the restraint of courtesy that forced Saskar’s exploits to be hidden behind a veil in Izla, Saskar satiated his sexual appetite here in Neak, dining especially on men’s wives.
“I do not need you to prove anything Lord Schiff. My brother had Saskar and threats to make you fear him. I know that the people of Neak are loyal to each other and I rely only on that loyalty to hold you. When one man of Neak forsakes the other it will be the end of all and you know that is true because Neak remembers. And if they forget they need only to look upon the blackened stone of their castle, the gargoyles, statue and my brown face to remember. This town is shadowed by its history Lord Schiff; I see it on every stone faced building and every road within and without.”
“You need not fear our disloyalty. Neak remembers,” said Schiff.
“And if they ever forget, I will not hesitate to remind them,” Tynes said and he thought but did not say, I am my mother’s son.
I REALLY LIKED YOUR STORY.
Thanks! heart I wrote a few more chapters with Tynes, but haven't finished his story completely.
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- Posted: Sun, 12 May 2013 02:41:10 +0000
Hakizimana Inu
kaaylaahx3
Hakizimana Inu
kaaylaahx3
Have you ever seen hell ? If you really think about it, what is hell? What is earth? Have you ever took time and sat in a empty room just to think about random stuff ? I have. It wasnt a very good idea. it was 11 at night an hour before halloween. I had my camera recording every minute of my day as usual. i posted the videos on my Tumblr blog. I went inside this white big room on the last floor o...f my house it had no window i sat my camera in a corner of the room. I sat in a chair in the middle of a big empty room and closed my eyes. While there i started thinking about random stuff and and thought about something i read that said "Have you ever been in a really quiet room? and have you heard a very annoying sound ?well that sound is actually the effect od your ear of being in a place with no sound. If you listen to it very quietly, you will start hearing wispering voices and if you you keep listening you will be able to understand them, what are those voices? They are the future and sometimes the past !. And once you start noticing them they will start to notice you.." I instantly opened my eyes then slowly closed them again" I sat there for a few minutes thinking about random stuff again, and out of nowhere i heard that sound very thin & annoying witch each second got more louder. I started to listening to the noise as i read when suddenly i heard voices wispering, my skin got cold and i felt a very cool breeze, then i thought to myself "but theres no window !" I didnt open my eyes my explanation was "Probably came from under the door" i kept listening to the noise. I started listening to the voices. One of the voice started getting clear and it was a little girl she kept giggling and "Have you ever seen hell?" i couldnt understand the other voice i tried as hard as i could then i finally understood it. It sounded like a big tall man and he said " What is hell? what is hearth? Theres no future, there no past, but what there is, is death always by your side" it really creeped me out how they both kept repeating the same thing over and over, the noise got louder and louder i still heard the man but not the girl... Then i heard more voices repeating the same thing as the men. Alot of them whispered, as if they were scared. I heard kids crying, even men as if they were scared, as if someone were terrified of someone. My eyes were still closed, i kept listening to the voices and they got louder and then i thought "where is the little girl?" The voices kept repeating themselves "What is hell? what is hearth? Theres no future, there no past, but what there is, is death always by your side" when suddenly a very different voice said "becareful!" I said what "what?" Thats when i felt a cooler breeze as if i was sitting inside a refrigerator. My eyes were still closed, i heard the noise again it was very loud and it really bothered my ears. Then i heard the little girl again? And said "Are you looking for me?" I got gosebumps i could feel them they were hard as rocks. The girl giggled, then i heard the men say " Be careful!" As if he was talking to me. The noise got really loud and very loud and suddently it stopped ... And I felt a very cold breeze. My eyes were still closed, I didn't hear the noise anymore. Then I heard the men and the girl talking again and they kept repeating themselves I heard them so loud as if they were next to me. When suddently I heard a very loud scream. I was too scared. I never felt anything so real, so Then I decided to open my eyes. The room felt different as if there was a crowd there and had just left. I went right to sleep the next day i posted the video then i decided to watch it. I couldnt believe what was seeying in the video there was a group of people surrounding me. It got really scared i kept watching the video then a very tall man with no face stood next to me and said " becareful" everything that happened thr night before was on video. I was shyting bricks when suddenly i hear a scream and i hear a knock i fast look to my window and seen a little girl and she said " Why are you looking for me?" ..... After that halloween night i never been in a quiet room or by myself or even touched a camera.
I worked kind of hard on that story.. Sorry if you don't like it though.
I actually like this. I would to see it fleshed out and novelized.
Thank you lol I forgot all about this post surprised
No problem!
Are you going to do anything with the concept? If you aren't could I perhaps do something with it? I really got racing with the mind when it came to ideas that his could be brought to.
I actually am! Thank you though I'm glad you liked it.