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Stone Temple Creep Captain
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 Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 11:06 am
Introduction
So here`s the scoop. I have finally decided to get around to write my Duelist series. I`ve grown impatient on waiting for my writing partner to help me figure things out, so I`m just going to do it all on my own.
For those of you who are familiar with this tale, I`m sure you`re thinking "it's about damn time, kid!" Yes, I agree. It is about time. For those of you who are unfamiliar, let me give you a brief background.
This story started several years ago, when I as in the 8th grade. A few buddies and I gathered around and attempted to make our own table-top RPG (so we had something to do to skip doing school work in class). It was the basic set up of the world I am writing. It failed before it even began.
Since then, I've been constantly creating and elaborating on the characters of this world and I've even attempted to write it out a couple of times. 2 RPs were created and a series of failed comic attempts were my ways of writing.
I've learned through this process that rushing something is the worst possible thing you could do when creating something. Things get way too sloppy and before you know it, your creation is a jumbled mess.
So, in learning this lesson, I have spent the last 6 (or so) years, writing character backgrounds, designing the world and the basis of the story. I feel confident enough in my writings to start to recreate this story and finally complete it.
I hope you enjoy my writing as much as I enjoy doing it.
Please, share your thoughts here.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 12:15 pm
The sun shone brightly in the afternoon sky. The temprature was just right for sun soaking and there was a gentle cool breeze to combat the rays of heat eminating from the sky. A nice glass of cool water would have made this the ideal afternoon.
A young teenaged boy, about the age of 17, was out in the sun enjoying his freedom. This boy had no rules. He lived by himself in a small cabin, located in the center of a large field. The field was owned by the Karoshine Kingdom, which he was a foster child to. With that kind of power, you had the full authority to live in a large field and consider anyone who comes within 10 yards of you house as a trespasser.
The lad sat up from his perch. He found it somewhat comforting to be sun bathing on the roof of his tiny home. The shingles didn't bother him one bit. It was still much better than some of the places he had to sleep on before. He was about 5'10" tall, with long dark brown hair that was about shoulder length. Clearly he did not cut it often. He wore a plain white t-shirt with a pair of black shorts.
He looked around through the dark lenses of the sunglasses that covered his eyes. Everything seemed normal. Something felt off. The boy turned his attention over to his right, gazing at the large reptile that lay next to him. The reptile gazed intensley toward the east. The boy lifted the shades off his face onto the top of his head and attemtped to look at what his pet was seeing. It didn't help that his eyes were not adjusted to the brightness of the sunlight, so squinting made it difficult to see anything. He didn't see anything but bush severarl miles away.
"What are you looking at, Cocoa?" he asked his pet. "I don't see anything."
Cocoa was an endangered species. He was one of the few known living White Karoshine Dragon. The lizard was roughly 2 and half feet in length (about 4 feet with the length of his tail). The hide of this species was pure white and until 10 years ago, was found all over the Karoshine region. Hence the name. The species is now endangered as the market for dragon hide started to boom, the creatures were beginning to become poached. Now there are only 10 known living dragons of this species remaining.
The boy stared at the dragon as it didn't even react to him. Usually when he would talk to his pet, the dragon would look at him. Sometimes even a grunt or a sigh of some sort was acceptable. No reaction what so ever this time around. Suddenly, a strange feeling came over the boy. His attention was suddenly turned to the front door of the house, which was pointed to the west.
He turned around, noticing that even the no responsive dragon was looking for the same thing he was. "You felt that, too, huh boy?"
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On the other side of the house, a strangers shadow approached the front door. The stranger reached up to the door and gentely knocked twice. The welcome would come from a very unexpected place.
"Hello there!" a males voice responded, coming from above.
The man who was knocking took a few steps back to and peered up through the perscribtion glasses. "Ah, Wayne!" the boy greeted with excitment. "What brings you to these parts?"
"Good afternoon, young prince," Wayne replied.
"How many times do I have to tell you this," the boy began to scold his visitor, "Don't call me that when I'm here. I don't want any accosiation with the kingdom. That's why I'm living here on my own."
"Then what would you have me call you?"
"Call me by name, you goof!"
"Of course, Prince Kenneth."
"You enjoy this, don't you?" Ken asked with a thick hint of anger
Wayne laughed at his friends displeasure. Wayne and Ken had been friends for several years. Wayne was a few years older but always looked out for his younger partner. They had bother been street kids in the Karoshine capital, Karoshine City. Ken made a living at a young age by stealing fruit and bread from street merchants. They made a good living that way.
"So what are you doing here?" Ken questioned, "And what on Earth are you wearing?"
"You like?" he replied with a smile. He wore a light blue denim uniform with a similar fashioned hat. The hat had a print of an envelope on it and there was a stitched badge adornded on the left of his torse. Both sleeves bore his name. "I decided to give up being a street punk. I got a job with the royal postal service."
"A job?"
"Yep. And you're my first client," he stated, with a big grin on his face. "I've got a package for you, from his Majesty, King Michal."
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Else where, east of the cabin, somewhere in the deep forest, a young woman was cursing her navigational skills.
Dammit! she thought to herself, as she held up a large map of the region and had no idea where she was. It was probably due to the huge chunk of page that was chewed off by one of those pesky paper worms. A huge gust of wind crept by and whisked the useless map out of her hands.
The girl has long black hair, which reached down just past her shoulders. She wore a strange combination of clothes. A white long sleeved blouse below a deep maroon colored, sleevless vest, which was zipped up to her colar bone. A light green mini skirt around her waist and tan colored capri pants beneath that. She carried a heavy backpack with a sleeping back and another shoulder bag. She was definately equipped for travel.
As it drifted into the woods, she looked helplessly at it. "Well, atleast I'm not anymore lost than I was before," she said to herself, trying to make light of the situation. "I guess I really don't have a choice."
She closed her eyes. She had a strange gift. If she closed her eyes and concentrated hard enough, she could 'feel' the flames of a nearby fire. Without having any prior knowledge of a fire existing, she could literally feel her way to it. It was an odd thing for her to accept and mostly she rejected the notion of this ability. But now she had no choice.
As she 'felt' around for a nearby fire, her ability began to give her a headache. The closer she got to her goal, the more her head hurt. Finally, when the pain was to the point of being almost unbarable, she found what she was looking for. Grasping her head tightly with both hands, she waited as the throbbing slowly went away. It always hurt a little when she did this and usually felt better after she stopped.
Once her head was back to normal, she looked around. "To the north, 200 yards," she said aloud, almost hypnotically. Silently, she began to walk in her specified direction.
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Several yards away, the girl came to a slight openning in the wooded area. She looked around for any sign of life. She definatly found the fire she looking for. A pot of water boiled on top of an open flame. She found a male sitting with his back turned to her, sitting just infront of the fire.
"Oh good, I found someone," she whispered to herself. "I wonder if he's friendly..."
Suddenly, the male stood up. The girl watched as he slowly reached into his coat for something. He slowly pulled out a small dagger that was holsterd in his thick leather jacket. This scared her slightly, wondering what he was doing with a knife. Then she realised that next to where he was sitting, he had 2 large swords with him. One about standard length of 3 feet and the other which was closer to 6 or 7 feet.
"Maybe he's a Duelist.." she again, whisperd to herself.
Thunk!
A loud sound was heard from the tree the was just over to her right. She slowly gazed over and saw the knife he was holding, still vibrating from impact. She looked back and saw the male, sword in hand, coming towards her.
Frightened, she back stepped, still looking forward. About to run, she began to turn around. A small root of a tree was hanging out from the ground, which her foot got caught under while turning. She fell flat on her face. Lifting her head up, she grabbed her forhead, which now felt immense pain. Taking her hand away, she saw blood on her palm. Tears began to come from her eyes. She wasn't crying because of the pain and she was only slightly perturbed by the blood that was running down her forhead.
What she was most concerned about was the fear of what he would do to her.
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Stone Temple Creep Captain
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Stone Temple Creep Captain
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:34 pm
"Sign here, please."
Ken took the pen from his old friend and wrote his name on the line next to the small 'x'. "Here you go," Wayne said as he handed over a small 5x8x3 inch box.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I dunno. I just deliver mail. I don't open it."
Ken looked at him with a blank stare. "I didn't mean what's inside. Who sent it?"
"Well," he said as he looked at the paper on the clipboard he asked Ken to sign a moment earlier. "Looks like it's from the King himself."
"The King?" Ken raised an eyebrow to the box. "It most not be that important then."
"You never change, do you?"
"Hell's no!"
A loud dragon-like grunt came from below. Both of them looked down at their feet. Standing right in between both males, was the small dragon Cocoa, looking up at them.
Wayne kneeled down and patted the dragon on the head. "Hey there Coke! Here are you, boy?"
"He's bee kind of weird lately."
Wayne looked up at Ken, while still scratching the small dragons head. "Weird? How so?"
"Well," he said, turning to look to the east, before turning back and continuing, "He's not as active as he used to be. Recently, he's just been sitting around by the window, looking to the east. I keep trying to look there but I don't see anything."
"To the east?" Wayne asked. His tone suggested that he may have a clue to the reason.
"Yes.. Why do you say it like that?
"You know what's in the east, don't you?"
Ken turned back and looked east again. "Trees?" he questioned.
"No, you fool!" Wayne retorted, as if itw as the simplist question that even a 5 year old should have been able to asnwer. "The lake. Karoshine Lake."
Ken, still looking east, blinked in confusion. "Okay. So theres a lake. I don't follow."
"You really don't pay attentiont to the news, do you?" Wayne stood up off the ground and walked past Ken. He too was staring off to the east. "Recently, a strange occurance has been going on over there."
"Strange occurance?"
"Yes," He paused in his explaination. Perhaps he was just trying to work out the details of this tale before he continued or perhaps there was some other reason. It was too difficult to tell. "Do you remember what the weather has been like recently?"
Kens featured portrayed complete confusion. "Yeah.. It's been warm." He ended his answer in a way that implied the question 'why do you ask?'
"Right. It's been in the high 20's recently. Sunny, partly cloudy and we had that small thunderstorm 2 weeks ago."
"Okay... and...?"
"The temprature is not quite the same at the lake."
Ken getting impatient with the lack of explaination. He asked "What are you getting at?" hoping to make this move a little faster.
"The lake has been frozen for the last 2 weeks."
Kens face turned white. That's impossible, he thought to himself. "Fr-Frozen?"
"Yes," Wayne stated bluntly. "For the last 2 weeks, the temprature surounding th lake front have been 30 or even 40 degrees below freezing. That makes a about a 60 degree difference than the rest of the country."
Ken looked at Wayne for a moment. He could tell there was a seriousness in his face. This was the truth. "That's crazy... So why is Cocoa staring this way?"
Wayne turned his attention to Ken. The look in his eyes reflected that of a father with a flashlight telling ghost stories to their kids around a campfire. "Have you ever heard the legend of the dragons?"
------------------------------
As the male in the leather jacket approached, the young woman began to panic. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to run but was too frightened to move. She wanted to scream for help but was too choked to even speak. She managed to gain the courage to turn and face the man. She figured if this was her end, she wanted to atleast see the face of her killer.
The male, sword in hand, did not appear hostile. He was about 5'8 1/2", with long, black ruffled hair. He wore a waist length, thick leather coat. His eyes were both gentle and scary at the same time. His age appared to be roughly in his late 20's. The feature that was most peculiar were the pointed ears.
An elven lad...?
"Who are you?" he interogated the girl, pointing the tip of his blade down at her. "What business to you have with me?"
She tried to speak, but found herself continuously stemmering. His patience grew thin.
"I asked you a question!" he stated, voice raised. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"I'm sorry, mister. I--"
"You're name, miss!"
"Melanie!" she shouted back. "My name is Melanie."
"What were you doing, spying on me?"
"I wasn't spying, sir.." she replied, as her voice slowly lowered.
"Then what were doing, hiding in the shadows?"
She thought back to when she was hiding in the bush when she found him. "I'm sorry. I was lost and I was just trying to find help."
The elven man withdrew his sword. He turned and headed back towards the fire. He remained silent as he continued.
Melanie was puzzled. She got up to her feet and wiped the blood from her forehead. The wound was already healed and the blood had stopped. All that was left was a faint red mark and the stains on her hands. She followed after him. "Hey, do you know how to get to Karoshine Castle from here?"
"It's hard to believe," he responded.
She was silent for a moment, then questioned this response. "Excuse me?"
"It's hard to believe that person like you would have official business with the King of the coutnry."
This clearly angered Melanie. "Excuse me!" she proclaimed to him. "Who are you to judge me? Maybe I do have official business. Either way, it's not business of yours."
"You should check your tongue. You never know who you're disrespecting."
"Hmph," she said in disbelief. "So, you think you're someone important."
"'Either way, it's not business of yours'," he imitated, attempting to taunt her.
"Listen you. I will have you know that I have been summoned directly from King Michal Edmund Kensellton himself! Are you going to help me find the kingdom or not?" Keeping her temper deffinately not her strongest suit.
"Well, isn't this a plot twist," he exclaimed. "It just so happens that I too have been requested by his Majesty, King Michal Edmund Kensellton, himself."
The elven lad turned and faced her. His gaze was almost frightening. In his young eyes, pain and torment seemed to be hidden deep within. This lad has evidentally been through hell and back. What a strange feeling, Melanie thought to herself, sensing the darkness of his past. During this exchange of glances, she gained a clearer understanding of who he was, in some awkward psychic feeling. He too, unbeknowest to her, gained some knowledge of her past.
"I can tell you're a decent person, lass," he finally said as he broke eye contact and began to gather his things. "It appears as though we are heading to the same destination for the same purpose. Very well. I will guide you as far as the first civilization. You will have to find your own path from there."
"Thank you.." she stated, somewhat shaken by her psychic encounter. She was relieved he would help her, but she didn't know a thing about him. "Just who are you...?"
"I am the last remaining member of the elven clan. I am the only heir to our people. I am the sufferer and the witness." He stopped and turned to her, finally giving her a name. "I am Diablo Darkfire."
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:21 pm
"The legend of the dragons?" Ken asked with a chuckle, almost mocking the story teller.
"Yes," Wayne said with all seriousness. "You've never heard of the legend of the all powerful elemental dragons?"
Ken shook his head, a response that meant 'no'.
"Jeez, you really need to get out more."
"Hey!" Ken exclaimed, "What is that supposed to mean?!"
"Cool your jets, big boy," Wayne taunted, "I'm just teasing you."
"That's great," Ken responded, rolling his eyes. "Look, are you gonna tell me your damn story or what?"
"Of course I am," he replied with a smile. "I wouldn't have brought it up otherwise."
"Alright then, what is this 'legend' you speak of."
"Well, before I go on, are you familiar with the elements theory?"
Ken fashioned a blank expression to this question.
"I'll take that a no," Wayne stated with a smile. "Okay, the elements theory is a simple one. It says that the world is made up of a series of different elements. The elements of nature, so to speak. These elements supposedly govern life itself. It creates, sustains and destroys all forms of life on our planet. You follow?"
"Sure."
"Right. Now, the legend states that the world was created by 8 mythical dragons, each representing a different element. Many clans and religious followers believe that the dragons are the sole reason for our existance. Many people have rituals of giving and prayer to these dragons."
"Prayer?" Ken repeated, "For what?"
"All sorts of things. For good fortune. A healthy growing season. Child birthing. You name it."
"Okay. And what does this have to do with Cocoa or the lake?"
"I'm getting that that. Let me finish first."
"Okay, okay.."
"Alright. Now, as you should know," Ken rolled his eyes as Wayne continued, "Our world has exactly 4 continents. One for each corner of the globe. Each continent is supposdely gaurded by 2 of the 8 dragons. In the olden days, each continent was divided in two, where each clan would give a thanks to the dragons, usually by giving gold or sacrifices like the clans most prized possessions. For example, over three hundred years ago--"
Wayne stopped when he noticed that Ken was not impressed. "Ah, maybe I was getting a bit carried away," he said as his face began to turn red.
"You think?"
"Well, the point I was getting at, is..." he paused a moment to recollect his train of thought. "Cocoa is considered a 'dragon'. By definition, he of course is a large reptile. It is believed that the domestic dragons and reptiles that we see every day, are direct evolutionary decendants of these mystic dragons."
"Okay. And this means..?"
"It means, by nature, Cocoa is more sensitive to climate change." Wayne could obviously see Ken didn't understand, so he continued to explain. "Haven't you ever noticed that he tends to get extremely wrilled up when it's about to rain or how he get's really lazy right before the temprature drops in the winter?"
Ken nodded quietly.
"That's what I mean. He knows the changes in this type of climate. He can sense it, so to speak."
"So you're saying he can sense that the lake is frozen."
"Precisely."
Ken turned back to the east. He raised his hand to create a human visor to block the sun from his eyes. "I guess that would make sense."
"Naturally, animals are more intune with nature than we are. They just know."
"So it would seem," Ken said as he gazed to the east.
"Alright bud, I've gotta take off," Wayne said as he started to walk away. "I'm still on the clock and I have places to be, y'know?"
"Hey, wait up," Ken stated quickly. "Before you go, I wanted to ask you. Where did you learn all this stuff from?"
Wayne turned back with a smile. "I thought you'd never ask."
"Well?"
"Karoshine Royal Library," Wayne said with a smirk. He knew Ken would detest his asnwer.
"Oh great. How did you pull that one off?"
"Since I'm part of the royal mail system now, I have full access to the castle. It would do you good to use your freedom to visit the kingdom, too."
"Feh," was Kens only simple response.
"I figured," Wayne said as he continued off to the west. He raised his right hand in the air to wave goodbye. "You take care of yourself, now."
"That's right," Ken whispered to himself, "I will take care of myself. I don't need their help."
Ken just stared off to the east, just like his pet dragon had earlier. Waynes word echoed through his head. Animals are more intune with nature. "Are they now?" He thought about his words very carefully and remembered how he too would get wrilled up when it was about to rain or lazy when the temprature was about to get cold.
"Am I intune with nature aswell?"
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Melanie followed closely behind Diablo. Not close enough to really strike up a conversation. Diablo seemed to be a bit antisocial. He hadn't spoke a single word to her since they started walking. As they walked, she began to get an odd feeling.
Her stomache started to turn as if she was about to throw up. It was a terribly sickening feeling that she felt deep in her stomache. The pain was starting to slow her pace down. Diablo stopped.
"You can feel that too, can't you?" he question.
Melanie gazed at him, wondering what he was talking about. "Feel what?"
"Did you not notice that the temprature has dropped below freezing?"
When she exhaled her breathe, she realised that she could see it. The warm breath expelled from the warmth of her lungs against the chilled air. She hadn`t even noticed that she was shivering. "You mean the weather? No I didn't even--"
"I'm not talking about the air around us."
Melanie scrunched her eyebrows, as if to say 'what-are-you-talking-about'. "Then, what..?"
"I could clearly tell you were surprised by the temprature," he replied, turn his back and looking further down the path. He took a moment to scan the forest they were in, starting from his left, eyeing everything as he turned the right. "You seemed a little more occupied with something else."
"I don't know what you're talking about," she bluffed.
"You seemed a little deep in thought." As he continued, he slowly looked over to her from over his right shoulder. "Perhaps you have a strange feeling? A little pain somewhere inside. Maybe a little stomache pain?"
No, she thought to herself, there's no way he could know.
"Look," he proclaimed, as he pointed to the east of their location, "Just to your left, somewhat behind. There's a lake there."
She turned and faced the direction he was pointing in and then turned back. "Do you by chance mean Lake Karoshine?"
"Very good, young one," he praised. "The center of this cold front is located there."
She peered back over her shoulder. "The lake? But how?"
"Perhaps he has returned..." he muttered to himself.
"Pardon?" she asked, catching a part of what he said.
"Nothing," he stated coldly. He proceeded to walk forward, he elaborated slightly on his notion. "It's nothing you should concern yourself over."
Melanie watched him walk away for a second. "Okay.. If you say so." She peered back to the east and then back at him. Just who is this guy? How does he know what I feel. Who is he referring to?
And just who is he calling young? He can't be any older than 25!
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Stone Temple Creep Captain
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