Ultimate quest

The village burns all around him as Shadowblade runs through looking for survivors. Sudden he sees an old man standing near a destroyed building. “Shadowblade, the village has been attacked by Bandits, we need to know who they were working for. Go out and kill the bandits and find any traces of who might be responsible” Says the old man. After the short transaction the old man falls silent. The young hero Shadowblade turns and leaves the village, running across the Golgari plains to find the home of the bandits. As he runs his map points the way. The bandit camp is just over the horizon. Shadowblade spots the camp and runs in, without a word they all attack on sight. A group of bandits attack swarming on all sides, Shadowblade swings his mighty sword of the volcano tribe. The bandits slashed frantically at Shadowblade with their crude weapons, but he counter attacks with a whirl blade attack, sending all of the bandits flying in different directions. Once scattered, Shadowblade deals with them individually. He cuts each one down as they approach and if they too many came at him at once, he would use his sword stun to keep the extra bandits out of the fight until he could properly deal with them.

Once they all had been defeated Shadowblade picks their bodies for treasure and information on who really ordered the attack. The hero found a scrap of paper with battle plans on it. So he hastily took the paper back to the old man. The man thanked the Hero and said that the real enemy was ‘Arkthon the coldbringer’ evil wizard and champion of the bandits. Shadowblade then ran off to the icy mountains to find the coldbringer. He climbed up the conveniently near by mountain, dodging falling rocks and fighting lesser ogres along they way. It was a treacherous journey, but nothing he couldn’t handle.

Finally the brave hero Shadowblade reached the top of the icy mountain, the cold wind blowing and picking up snow as it went. It was difficult to see, but suddenly Arkthon appeared. Frost and cold drifted off his body and ice seemed permanently infused to his shoulders and chest. This would be a difficult battle, but luckily Shadowblade had his fire sword.

“You will not stop me, Shadowblade” The Cryomancer yelled over the sound of the blowing wind. Shadowblade did not reply. He charged at Arkthon with his heroes charge and swung his might sword down at the Coldbringer. The fiery sword struck and caused massive damage to Arkthon’s ice armor. The Coldbringer returned with an ice blast, knocking Shadowblade backward and almost throwing him off the edge of the mountainside. The hero regained his balance and ran at Arkthon, ready for another assault. As he ran he pulled a bottle from his traveler bag and drank it, his strength increased and he used his swords special attack. Having stored up enough energy from the previous fights, Shadowblade unleashed his volcanic devastation attack. He slashed in the air causing fire to launch from his sword. The flame twisted through the air, building in size as it went. Finally it hit the Coldbringer, sending a burst of fire in all directions. The flames melted all the ice in the area and brought Arkthon to his knees. “Curse you…Hero…*cough*…I will…have my revenge” Gasped Arkthon, then he collapsed.

Marvin leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. It was 3am and he had to be at work in five hours. “I better get some sleep” He grumbled. Marvin set down his video game controller and watched as his character “Shadowblade”, gained a level then the game auto-saved. Marvin took the game from his console, put it back into his box and shut everything down. He stretched, looked at the clock again and cursed himself for staying up so late trying to beat one last mission. Marvin went to bed, and Shadowblade sat, waiting to return to his adventure and save the kingdom in the “Ultimate quest”

Autumn Wishes

Branches sway on the breeze with colorful leaves, all red, yellow and orange. As I drive I look at the forest that slowly closes in on the highway, the road slicing through an ocean of gold and ember. I get images of warm baked goods and honey. The cool air and the trees, this scene alone is enough to inspire countless daydreams.

            I look out my window into the night sky, I look at the stars sparkling so bright. Wind blows in through my open window, bringing a chill and the sent of wood smoke. The neighborhood homes have their lights on, a warm orange glow that repels the darkness and the cold. It is inviting and comforting. Inside one house a family has their fireplace lit, their chimney puffing out fragrant smoke. Another house someone is baking. The smell of apple and pumpkin with various spices drifts gently from the kitchen window that’s open just slightly.

            I sit in my house and think of years past. Coffee sits simmering in the kitchen, the simple scent adding the symphony of fragrances. Autumn comes, it always starts with a cold breeze out of nowhere. Then the trees change, as if by magic, from green to a variety of warm colors, almost balancing out the chill in the air. Holidays come and go. Halloween has always been such a joy, the one time of the year I feel alive, truly. Every year, no matter how old I get, I dress up and decorate the house. These days I can do little more than turn on my plastic Jack-o-lantern and light a pumpkin scented candle, but I do enjoy the thrill I see on the faces of my grand children as they visit me wearing their costumes. I always answer the door wearing my mask of the year and scare them, they start to giggle and my daughter looks at me with a disapproving half smile.

            Music hums gently through the air, quiet, calming and a little sad. Various classical tunes I listen to every year. Of course when company comes by I have my “100 best Halloween songs” that I play. Though I would say its more of the 50 best, and 50 so-so Halloween songs. Besides the music, the cold air and even the baked goods, I love this season because it helps me reflect on the year so far. Some people might think the end of the year is the best time to reflect, but I prefer not to wait till the last minute to do things. Besides, it’s the autumn that puts things in perspective. Something in the air makes you look back and reflect.

            When I was kid it was different. The cold air gave me energy, as did all the sugar from candy and pie. The excitement of dressing up like a pirate or superman and the thought of stuffing your face with turkey on thanksgiving. I didn’t care that summer was over and school started, summer was always too hot and made me tired. The gentle air of autumn brought life into spirit.

            Autumn has always been my favorite season and I feel like I spend half the year silently wishing for another breezy fall afternoon. Gladly trading every summer just to get a little closer to the best time of the year. Seasons greetings and Autumn wishes.

Arix and the sunken crypt

Arix walked slowly through the dark corridors of the underground tomb. Once he got into the sunken crypt he lowered himself down deeper into the giant hole in the floor of the crypt. Once he was underground he discovered that directly below the crypt was a tomb. The underground tomb also belonged to the Hidonon family. It was rumored that the family held many secrets and Arix was determined to find out what they were.

As he walked he heard faint whispers and sounds of footsteps deeper in the tunnels. Either some other adventurer got here before he did, or he was going to have to deal with another monster/creature that wanted to kill him. Oddly enough he was hoping it was a monster. It was much easier to deal with a cave creature than it was competing for glory with another adventurer. Having another adventurer around made the whole area seem less dangerous and took the thrill away also Arix wouldn’t be able to say he was the first one to explore the tunnels under the crypt. So he walked on, keeping his torch up and scanning the darkness for any sense of danger or competition.

The tunnels were lined with engravings and coffins that slid into little doors built into the walls of the tunnel. The engravings were mostly just peoples names and how old they were when they died, normal stuff you would find on a tombstone. Arix kept an eye out for mysterious warnings or any sign of hidden secrets. All of the tunnels eventually led to one central point. It was a giant underground room, built like a stadium but looked more like a sacrificial chamber. Arix held his torch up high as he looked at giant room. The walls were made of carved stone, all with incredibly detail images and writings. Strange symbols, skulls and arcane writing stretched over every wall. Arix had a feeling this was the secret he was looking for. At the center of the room was three torches, the fire was purple, blue and green, one color slowly fading into the next as it burned.

Arix walked closer to get a better look at the torches when suddenly heavy smoke spewed from the flames. The smoke circled around and finally took on a form. A tall thin man, wearing black robes now stood in front of Arix. “come to join your friend?” asked the man. Arix looked confused but then noticed further into the room was the body of another adventurer. “Damn, someone DID get here first” Arix cursed under his breath. Then stopped to think “oh, also hes dead” Arix added grief adding to his voice. He knew adventuring would be dangerous, but never thought that other people might also be adventurers and never came back. But seeing the dead man on the floor made his fathers warnings seem more real. When Arix looked back, the thin man was smiling. “Yes, you’ll do. Your so full of life, your soul will feed the fires” Then the man lifted his hand and skeletons came up from the ground to grab Arix.

Arix whirled around and bashed his torch over the head of one of the skeletons. The undead minion burst into fire and crumbled to bones. The second skeleton kept a slow pursuit as the frightened adventurer ran for his life. “Why are you doing this? Who are you?” Arix asked as he ran in circles around the Arena like room. As he ran more skeletons appeared to capture him. “I am Arlend Hidonon, the founder of the Hidonon family and immortal necromancer” Replied Arlend. “so you kill people to stay alive?” Arix asked. He reached into his back and pulled out his hammer, which is more for practical uses, but used it as a weapon by hitting one of the skeletons with it. The force of the hammer cracked the skull, releasing a tiny-trapped spirit. “I take the souls of every Hidonon who has ever lived and died, also the soul of anyone who stumbles into my tunnels. There are many entrances to this location and I draw in the occasional grave robber. But this place is built to harness souls of the dead, not so I can stay alive, but so I can return to life. I am no more than an echo, a shadow of my former self. With enough souls I will be reborn as the most powerful wizard in the world!” Laughed Arlend.

“Using those torches and this stadium” Arix said as he smashed another skeleton. “Yes, exactly” Arlend replied in delight. “Thanks for clearing that up” Arix replied. He reached into his bag, pulled out his fire bomb gun and shot at the three standing torches. The small explosion and the fire that spread from it, toppled the torches and broke them on impact. Souls started to rapidly escape, rising up from the floor and leaving for the afterlife. Arlend screamed and his skeletons all collapsed. Arix fired another shot at the engravings, disfiguring the ancient text and hopefully ruining any chances to restart the soul harvest. Arlend faded away, though Arix wasn’t sure if he was really gone or not. Either way, it was time to leave. He quickly made his way back through the tunnels. He didn’t have enough explosives to destroy the stadium, but he hoped he ruined enough to stop Arlend.

After following one of the tunnels out for a half hour, Arix finally reached one of the exits, a cave mouth on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. Arix sat down and stared at the water, He needed the rest. Even though he didn’t get any treasure, at least he was still alive and better yet, he had another great adventure.

Final hours

            I sit in my living room, lost in thought. The room is dimly lit, only a small stand lamp is on, I sit comfortably in the center of the couch, in front of me is a coffee table and on the other side of the table sits Death. He waits patiently, also sitting comfortably, but in a high back chair, matching the pattern on the couch. Death had walked in only a little while ago and sat down, a solemn look on his face. I was surprised to see that he looked like a man, not a skeleton. He wore a bowler hat, thin wire sunglasses, an old style three-piece suit, nice shoes and black leather winter gloves. He also had on a long flowing overcoat. His coat moved and swayed as if it were alive and every so often I could hear whispers from the dead coming from inside his coat. Surprisingly still, I was not afraid of him, I welcomed him into my home as if we were old friends. He didn’t say a word, he just sat, staring at me, hands on the arm rests and feet flat on the ground. His thin pale face not showing any emotion and he didn’t seem to be in a hurry, so he sat, waiting on me.

Some may say its best not to keep death waiting and to that I ask, “why?” It’s not like he can make me any more dead and I am confident that my place in the afterlife has already been secured long ago. So Death waits patiently. I might be inclined to stand up and follow him out of my home, but instead my mind wanders. It drifts back into my past. I’ve heard your life flashes before your eyes when you die, well maybe, but only if you’re in a hurry or didn’t have an interesting life. My life gently drifts in and out of my mind, like an aroma, a delicate breeze in the air that I can’t quite get a hold of.

Rain pours outside, I listen to it and relax as I am slowly being pulled back into the past. Rain falls rapidly from the night sky, I remember looking outside from the airport. My flight is delayed due to bad weather. I think about Charlotte waiting for me in Seattle, we were going to meet and I was going to propose. As the rain beat down on the building I felt my future with her being washed away. She didn’t know I loved her, not like that. We might have been dating, but I don’t think she ever truly knew how I felt. I didn’t get there till the next day. So much was dependent on me being there on time. Tears trickle down my cheek as I open my eyes, snapping back into reality. Death still lingers, still waits. He seems like a nice enough guy, I don’t know what all the bad reputation is about.

            It’s a funny thing memory, how I can remember one fleeting moment, some small detail like my friends shirt being a vibrant blue this one time at a pool party, but I can’t for the life of me remember yearly events, birthdays, anniversaries, ect. I remembers July the tenth, pool party at the house of my friend Roger. It was exactly three days before he got married. Though if you asked me when his anniversary was, I wouldn’t be able to tell you, unless I thought of the pool party days before. I remember thinking, this is the last time I will be able to see him as a free man. Last time we get to hang out and act stupid like we used to. He asked me what I thought about his future wife, I lied and said I liked her, it was the first time I ever lied to Roger.

            My thoughts drift across my entire life, I could recall every happy memories or tragic tale in my life, but I don’t feel like it. I’m not one to dwell on the past. I think over all, I had a good life. I have few regrets and I never once had to beat anyone up. I think that’s an accomplishment considering the hardheaded people I had to deal with throughout my life.

            Time has no meaning for me now, I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting here recalling my past, but I think its time to go. Time to see what the afterlife has to offer and find out if it’s as big of a deal as everyone says it is. So far, I’m not impressed. So I stand up and as if knowing what I was about to do, Death stands up at the exact same time. He smiles, happy I’m finally done reminiscing. I walk across my living room to the exit of my house, Death follows, his black coat flickering like flames and swaying as he moves. I open the door to my house, I stare out as the outside has been replaced with an endless vortex. Its hypnotizing and calming. I look back on my life one last time, smile at Death and step through the door. Death exits behind me, the door shuts and the room goes dark.

Arix and the new adventure

            It had been months since Arix had escaped the horrible giant spider like monster from the caves and made it home safely with his prize, the now named “Arix Gem”. This was the first Gem seen of its kind, the material, light red color and strange calming glow were unique. Arix was tempted to keep the Gem, but decided to sell it to fund more adventures. He was able to find a rare jewel collector and made a small fortune from selling it.  If he kept finding rare treasures he could make a living off adventuring and even retire when he was too old to continue on. Even though he had only experienced one big find, it was such a great success that it would fuel his enthusiasm for a while.

            Arix stashed most of his money at home in a safe location and brought the rest with him to buy supplies or information. He packed up his bags, got his maps and tools and once again set out from his village to find another adventure. Despite the sizable profit made from selling the gem, Arix’s parents didn’t want him to go back out. His mother worried about his safety and his father thought this was just a scheme to get out of doing ‘real work’.

            The next target was the sunken crypt. During an earthquake that happened months ago the crypt sank into the ground, pulling the treasures and secrets of the royal “Hidonon” family with it. The earthquake that sank the crypt had also sent shockwaves out and shook the tunnels that Arix was in while trying to escape with his precious glowing gem months earlier.

The roof of the crypt was still partially exposed, as it hadn’t fully been pulled underground. Other hopeful treasure hunters and grave robbers had broken a hole in the exposed roof so they could get into the crypt. The problem was even if you dropped in through the ceiling and entered the crypt, most of its contents were pulled even deeper into the earth, into depths others dare not go. Only someone with a defective brain would enter a crypt, then climb down miles into the belly of the earth to find long lost secrets and treasure that might not even exists. Though it seemed incredibly stupid and dangerous, Arix planned on making the trip down into the crypt tunnels, both for adventure and because he was sure the Hidonon had treasures sealed away with their last of their bloodline. As the family died out, they took everything with them and a hundred years later, Arix was going to find out what they had.

            As Arix neared the sunken crypt he began to have doubts, facing danger for treasure was all well and good, but what he was doing was grave robbing. Grave robber didn’t have quite the same ring to it as Adventurer. He shook off the guilt though, the crypt had collapsed into the earth, it was fair game, besides the dead have no need for money or trinkets. With his excitable smile returning to his face, Arix walked on.

            He finally found the crypt near an old graveyard. He knew the crypt’s location when he saw a bit of roof poking up from the ground and dirt moved around like someone had been digging there. Arix ran up to the spot, the digging hadn’t been recent, so he was free to enter without worrying about other treasure hunters. It seemed the real grave robbers had already been through here and when they realized everything was pulled into the earth, they left. Arix was a true adventurer at heart, the fact that anything of value was now resting in unexplored caverns made him want to go even more.

Update!

Due to illness i missed Wednesday's post. I will try to make sure i post this coming week, but if i don't you know why.

I will try to get things back up and running as soon as i can. Hopefully i will be able to share many more exciting stories with you all soon enough.

In the meantime, think about what kind of story you enjoy. have a favorite time period or type of fiction, let me know and i will try to make a story about it. 

Starlight Tree

In a port side city that bustles with activity from trading and fishing stands the Starlight tree. At the top of William hill, next to a small worn gravestone, is a sparkling silver and white tree. It even produced its own light, as if it was a star in tree form. The city thrived off its own merits, as it was full of skilled fishermen and crafty merchants, the it got a little push in the right direction from the Starlight tree. Once grown into a full tree, people from all over the land came to see it. This steady increase in visitors allowed the town to take advantage of the extra income in the town and build itself into one of the best portside towns in the land.

So the story goes, that a boy named William caught a star as it fell from the night sky and decided to plant it like a seed. For years nothing happened, until one day a tiny sprout came up from the ground. Most of Williams’s life had pasted by before anything grew from the starseed and it took another fifty years before it grew into a small tree. It was now one hundred and fifty years after the seed was planted and the Starlight tree has reached the size of an adult tree. The story about the tree and the man who planted it is still told in the portside city, yet no one knows why he planted it, or what the purpose of the tree is. Most people just figured it was a beautiful tree, but didn’t have any more of a purpose than any other tree does, others believe that there will be a time when the tree grows into its true potential and finally the mystery will be solved.

The portside city thrived and continued to grow for years. Time marched on, the seasons came and then were gone. The world changed, cities changed, people were born and they died, but the tree stayed the same. It stood on the hill, shining and undisturbed. People went to go see the tree, but no one ever bothered it and certainly would never cut it down. Its beauty inspired artists and attracted tourists. It was one of the biggest mysterious of the world and the more time that past the more of a legend it became.

The tree grew and took up most of the hill. At this point the tree was ancient and still stood after lifetimes. One day, on one summer afternoon, the tree sprouted fruit. Apple sized spheres that grew in a few days and then dropped to the ground. The fruit grew and fell in such a short amount of time, no one even noticed it had happened. After another day the little spheres began to open and crack like eggs, until finally something emerged. A strange new life from another world, born on earth. The little creatures had blobby translucent bodies, with a core that made them shine from the inside out. These new baby creatures cried out as they flopped around on the ground. As if protecting the small children, it leaned its branches down, covering the crying blobs of light. The whimpering stopped and the tree branches returned to their normal position. The little blob babies crawled onto the tree, seeing it as a protector. The tree swayed in the breeze and the alien children cooed. As the night went on, the tree began to fade. Its light and its shine all began to fade, feeding into these new life forms that were hatched from its fruit.

By morning the tree was nothing more than a metal tree. The Starlight tree was simply a metal transport that was filled with energy to create new life and continue a species if disaster ever fell. It took the form of a tree to blend in with the area, but the surging energy made it stand out. After hundreds of years, the tree fulfilled its purpose, to save a race of creatures, nurture them and send them back into space. As the tree fed its last remaining energy into the blobby aliens, it sent them out into a pod. A tiny spaceship that would keep them alive for years, letting out a signal as it floated through space so that one day it would be picked up by hopeful survivors of the species.

So after all that time on earth, becoming the center of attention and the inspiration behind art and legend, without anyone noticing, the Starlight tree fulfilled its mission and quietly sank into the earth, never to be seen again.

The Littlest Vampire

Sun burned bright, oppressive, hot and scorching. While others played in the sun and water, little Gregory stayed inside. Gregory was the littlest vampire, small and pale, with sharp fangs and a red cape that hung loosely on his back. His noble vampire parents moved to this land for opportunity and a chance to raise their child away from the stuffy old ways of the vampire clans. Because they moved so far, little Gregory was without any vampire friends.

The locals were werewolf and fish people families more than anything. Sure there was the family of zombies down the road, but they didn’t have much to say. The only thing they liked to talk about was ESPN sports center. Gregory didn’t know what that was, so often he stayed in his room and played with this skeleton dog, or go find his pet bat that lived in the attic.

It was summer and the fishhead family was enjoying the sun with the wolf people, they swam, played and ate grilled children meat. It looked like such a good time, Gregory wished he could play too. Once night came, he was allowed to leave the house, so he ran out to see if anyone was left to play with. Sadly, everyone had gone to bed, everyone except the Zombies, who were up late watching humans throw a ball through the air.

Little Gregory walked through the little town sadly, he was so excited to learn a new culture, away from other vampires, but without other vampires he didn’t have anyone to play with or talk about vampire things. The littlest vampire had just learned to turn into mist, though he could only do it for a split second, it made him proud. Though the other monsters couldn’t understand why that was so great.

As Gregory walked he saw a forest up ahead, it was a dark, spooky place and made his little vampire heart think of the old land where he was born. He ran quickly to the forest and smiled as the cool breeze howled and made the trees sway. The howling wind and the moving trees made the forest seem alive, and for a second, he didn’t feel so alone. He continued to explore the forest, but suddenly saw a light. Gregory didn’t know if he should investigate, his parents often warned him of monster hunters that prowled the forest looking for creatures to capture. Curiosity got the better of him though and he slowly crept, closer and closer to the light.

The light was from a lantern and was being carried by a mysterious figure. Gregory hid until he could see who it was. The figure got closer, but was quiet as a mouse. Gregory was nervous and wished that he could run home, but didn’t want to risk getting chased by the mysterious figure. After moments that seemed like forever, the figure came into view, it was a little floating ghost. He had a sad expression as he drifted through the forest, carrying a lantern that burned with a red spirit fire. “Hello” Gregory said meekly. The ghost moved quickly and hid behind a tree. “Who is there?” The frightened ghost asked. “my name is Gregory, I’m a vampire. My family just moved here” He replied, still very unsure. The ghost came back into view. “my name is Melvin, I’m the littlest ghost. I haunt these woods with my family” The two creatures went up to each other and smiled. Both Melvin and Gregory were so lonely but felt happy now that they found someone that had something in common.

The two littlest monsters sat in the forest and talked and laughed. Melvin didn’t have anyone to play with for such a long time because he would sleep during the day, which was just the same as Gregory. Melvin also knew how to turn invisible and was ever so proud. He was also very impressed that Gregory could turn into mist. The two friends played into the night, and when the sun began to rise they both had to hurry home.

Gregory couldn’t wait to tell his parent about the friend he made and could hardly sleep that day as he was so excited to see Melvin again. So from that day forward, Gregory and Melvin became the bestest friends and as they got bigger continued to talk and laugh in the haunted forest. So Gregory the littlest vampire would never be lonely again.

The End

Jack and the Darkclaw

Bar stools smashed against the wall, bottles shattered and people were being thrown through the air. Jack ducked just in time to avoid a punch, then countered with an uppercut, shattering the man’s jaw. The drunken brawler went down and didn’t get back up. Jack used this opportunity to sneak out of the bar. He wrapped his forest green cloak around his body and quietly walked toward the door as chaos raged on around him.

            Jack left the whole messy business behind him as he left the building and quickly began to walk away. “Well crisis averted!” Jack smiled. “a crisis that YOU started!” Ack spoke up. Jack was a thief on the run from a corrupt kingdom trying to throw him in jail, he wore a gray loosely fit shirt, black pants, brown leather boots, leather fingerless gloves and a hooded green cloak. He carried a sword at his side and a knife in his boot. Ack, who Jack named, was a voice in Jack’s head. At first Jack just thought he was crazy, but more time he spent having Ack in his head the more he wondered if Ack was more of a spirit that shared Jack’s body. Only Jack could hear Ack’s words, but anytime Jack’s life was in danger he would gain supernatural powers on loan from Ack. Regardless of if Ack were real or not, he was someone to talk when traveling alone.

            “I didn’t start the fight, the guy was clearly drunk and the situation got out of hand” Jack protested. “Well your lucky you weren’t drunk as well, then we wouldn’t be able to communicate and you wouldn’t hear my warning when that guy tried to smash a chair over your head” Ack replied. “I was just trying to relax after days of being lost in Noril kingdom” Jack argued back. Originally from Koreth, Jack got lost on his journey through the vast grassland of Noril. During his travels to avoid capture from the Doomars, he got slightly turned around and ended up in a tavern in a small town, removed from any major city or landmark.

            Jack argued with his companion in his head as he walked. So caught up in the conversation he didn’t realize he had walked out of the town. Once outside the town border he was immediately confronted with a group of heavily armed men. “Halt traveler, are you Jack the bandit?” asked a man wearing leather armor and a spiked helmet, carrying a large axe. “No, sorry. I think I saw him back in that tavern over there” Jack replied pointing back into town. The man laughed, “We are the Darkclaw Mercenaries. I am the leader, Agox. These are my men, Sorm, Sepper and Harr. We are here bring you to the Doomars king, dead or alive. We were just trying to give you a chance to surrender. I know its you, I got your picture here” he said, holding up a sketch of Jack, green cloak, long brown hair, it was definitely him. “Wow, that’s really good. Who drew that?” Jack joked. The leader of the group replied by swinging his axe at Jack.

            Having quick reflexes and the agility of a monkey, Jack’s whole body swayed sideways, dodging the axe chop. There were four mercenaries in this group. The leader, Agox with a spiked helmet and axe, Sorm used a two handed sword, Sepper had a spear and Harr used duel hammer.

            Jack drew his sword and slashed at the axe man, slicing the Agox’s arm. The leader growled in pain. It would be a little tougher swinging his large axe now. In reaction to the exchange of strikes, the other four members ran at Jack.

Sepper thrust his spear at Jack, grazing his arm as he barely dodged the strike in time. Immediately following Sorm and Harr brought their weapons down at Jack from both sides. Jack blocked the large sword slice with his own sword, but was struck in the back by Harr’s hammers and dropped to his knees from the impact. “This isn’t good…” Jack muttered. “oh come on Jack, you’re a big boy, take care of these fools and lets get some lunch” Ack said carefree. “sure, I’ll get right on that” Jack grunted in reply. Sepper stabbed down at Jack’s exposed back. Reacting quickly, he rolled out of the way, across the ground and kicked up dust. Jack jumped to his feet, then whirled his sword sideways at Harr while he was distracted by the dust in his eyes. Jack’s sword sliced into Harr’s shoulder making him drop one of his hammers, Harr tried to swing his second hammer to counter, but Jack kicked him in the chest, sending him to the ground.

            Sorm swung his sword again, Jack ducked, reached into his boot to grab his knife then threw it at Sepper, stabbing the spear man right in the chest. Sepper gurgled blood as the blade pierced his leather armor and his lungs. Sepper fell to the ground dead. Enraged Agox swung his axe with massive force, Jack sidestepped the attack, moved in forward and struck Agox in the face with the hilt of his sword. The leader stumbled clutching his face. “Lets end this Jack, im bored” Ack sighed. Jack grumbled, but before he could reply dark energy surged through his body. Jack’s movements became a blur and a dark aura surrounded him. His eyes glowed red and his voice echoed as if two people spoke at once. “Darkclaw mercenaries, I suggest you run” Jack said, showing a wicked smile.

            Blinded by pride and rage from being injured by a thief, Agox charged again. Jack dropped his sword to the ground and waited with arms out. The second before Agox struck Jack with his axe, Jack moved with a flash of speed. Harr and Sorm who were too scared to fight anymore watched, one second their leader ran at the thief, the next Jack had Agox lifted into the air by his throat. “Tell others of this, tell them only death awaits” Jack said. When he spoke he looked at Harr and Sorm, no longer paying attention to the large man suspended by his throat. Then within a blink Agox let out a scream and was torn in half. Jack threw each half of Agox at the remaining mercenaries and walked off. Harr and Sorm were too scared to move as they looked at their leaders remains on the ground at their feet.

            “Should have killed them all” Ack said. Jack had his head lowered “I didn’t even want to kill Sepper or Agox. I would rather they be afraid then keep hounding me” Jack replied. His dark power fading and eyes returning to normal. “That dark power helps me survive, but I don’t like how blood thirsty I get” Jack said sadly. “But it’s a rush, isn’t it?” Ack laughed. Jack said silent and continued on his journey. The hunting wouldn’t stop and neither would the fighting, but still Jack is on the move, hoping to avoid capture and maybe one day will find a peaceful life.

Fallen Star

Wind whipped through the night sky, the sound of the ocean could be heard from across the town. William looked out his window and sighed, there would be a storm again. His father promised they would go fishing tomorrow, but if the weather didn’t get any better they would have to cancel their plans. As he looked out the window he saw a sparkling light shine through the clouds and fall into the water. It was the most brilliant light he had ever seen, even at a distance. Something urged him to go out and investigate. The storm was approaching and the waters would turn treacherous. If he wanted to find the source of the light, he would need to hurry.

William put on his boots and hurried out of his house to the docks, which were close. William was 17 and lived with his father, he had no siblings and his mother died from disease. He had gone fishing many times with his father, so he knew how to sail a boat and navigate on the ocean. Once at the docks he untied a little boat and paddled his way out into the open water. He was in a landing boat or a lifeboat, so he was careful not to go too far out. He decided to be careful, but if he was truly cautious he wouldn’t even be out in the water, at night, with a storm approaching in the first place.

He paddled out to where he saw the light drop and hoped it didn’t sink to the bottom of the ocean. With luck, he saw a faint glow and brought his boat closer to it. Whatever made the light was close to the surface of the water. William reached his hand into the water and tried to scoop up the object. He felt something and pulled it out of the water. It was a ball of light. Warm in his hand, solid enough to hold onto, yet at times it felt as if he wasn’t holding anything at all. As if it were light in solid form, but it couldn’t decide if it wanted to stay solid. Once out of the water, the ball of light started growing brighter.

Holding onto the ball of light the best he could, he made his way to shore. The whole time wondering what he had found and what he should do with it. Once on the beach he held the light up to get a better look at it, grasping it with his thumb and first finger, it was the size of a large coin and almost didn’t seem to weigh anything at all.

Suddenly images flashed into his mind, images of far off places and distant worlds. It was like his mind was taken over by a dream. He saw the night sky, but all around, surrounding giant floating structures. The word ‘space’ flashed into his mind. He was a simple son of a fisherman and the most advanced technology his town had access to was a fishing boat. Single shot guns were a new thing in this world, so William was having trouble grasping the concept of space, planets and spaceships. The metal structure was important for some reason, it had humans of all kinds living in it. As William stared at it through his vision, the space ship, or large structure exploded. He heard the cries of a hundreds of people all at once, then the next minute they were gone. This light flew from the blast and crashed to his world, into the water.

William snapped out of it and realized he saw all of this by looking into the light. The problem was he didn’t know what any of this meant, what the light was, or what he was supposed to do with it. Maybe nothing, maybe he wasn’t supposed to be meddling with things beyond his grasp. He wanted to keep it safe as it seemed important, but didn’t know how or even what he would keep it safe from. “what am I to do? I am only a fisherman!” William asked the ball of light, frustrated and emotional from seeing such grand sights and all the death from his vision. The light pulsed and the image of a tree appeared in his mind. “A tree?” he asked. Then thought instead of looking at the light as a star or something used as a light source, what if it was just a seed. He didn’t know what it would grow into, but he was determined to help.

William ran home and got a shovel. Then tried to think of a spot this little light seed wouldn’t be disturbed. He got an idea, then ran off into the fields. There was a grassy hill that overlooked the town, it was empty and people rarely went up there. It was perfect. He ran up the grassy hill, the night breeze blowing in his face, cooling the sweat on his forehead as he ran. He stopped to catch his breath, and then started digging. As he worked he heard the storm growing closer. Thunder cracked and lightly rippled through the clouds. He finally finished digging and planted the seed, then covered it with dirt. The rain started just as he was done. The rain came down hard and soaked the earth. William laughed with satisfaction at a job well done. Now the cold rain cooled him down from all the work he did for this little seed. He thought about how lucky it was that the light found him that it landed near someone that could help it. He wondered what would have happened if no one took it out of the water. Would it have washed up to shore or simply sank to the bottom of the ocean?

His mind ran wild with thoughts of what might happen next and could have happened if things had been different. The storm was getting worse though and William had to get home. He had a hard time sleeping that night and the next morning ran up the hill to check on the little seed. There was no change, so William went about his day. He had a hard time sleeping that night too and again checked on the seed the next morning. He knew seeds didn’t sprout up overnight, but this wasn’t a normal seed and his excitement kept getting the better of him. For a week he had a hard time sleeping as he was so excited and every morning he would check on the seed. This became part of his morning routine everyday. Though he luckily was able to sleep fine after a week or so.

Williams life went on, the average simple life of a fisherman’s son became the average life of a fisherman. He grew older, got married and had kids and every morning went up to the top of the hill to check on the seed. But the seed never sprouted and no one ever knew why William went to the hill each morning. As William got older, he told his children the story of the glowing seed from the sky, and told them that when they grew up to keep an eye on the hill if they ever got the chance. Time passed still and he told his grandkids the same story. The town grew and the story slowly spread. The story became a local legend and had some that believed the story and others that just thought it was a silly story told to children. Soon other parents told their children this story, but just told as a fairy tale, not told the way William told it, which was more like a set of instructions.

One day, William slowly made his way up the hill. He had gotten old and tired and didn’t know how many more times he would be able to visit his magical seed. He laid out on the grass and looked at the spot where he planted the seed all those years ago. He sometimes wondered if it was all a dream, but hoped more than anything that it wasn’t. He felt so tired, so tired from life and so tired from walking up that hill and began to close his eyes. Before he did, he saw a little sparkle in the grass. A glowing sprout sprang from the earth and shined as bright as a star. William at the age of eighty-five closed his eyes and smiled. The seed was growing and the town legend would live. To see the seed sprout was the only thing left he wanted to do before he died and now he could finally sleep at last. William closed his eyes and dreamed.

The sprout stayed a sprout for years more, but even such a little plant created great excitement in the town. It glowed night and day and the villagers finally had proof that Williams story was real. The town protected the little plant and put up a memorial for William on the same hill. It became William’s hill, home of the starlight plant. Which soon became the Starlight tree…but that’s another story altogether.

Pain

Pain sickens my heart and hurts my head. I am in constant pain from my defective body to my lonely soul. I fight daily with challenges and win, I stand victorious against odds stacked against me but when I look to claim my reward, there is none to be found. My fight and my struggles are for nothing. I fight to maintain my life, my struggle is to merely exist. While some work hard to carve out a brighter future, I have to work hard just to have a future.

Days, weeks, months and years pass. I continue on with my life and continue the fight as I wait for a better day. I spend every moment of my life waiting for a magical time in my life when things will be better. When just being alive wont hurt so much. I sit in my nest that I have made for myself, a little dwelling of sticks and stone, while others have homes bigger and shinier than mine ever could be. I sit and live in my little home, waiting for the day that things will be better, they day I will have a shiny home like the rest.

So I sit, expressing my feelings and telling my stories all in attempt to ease the pain. The stories distract me from the life that torments me but they also help me feel validated. After all is said in done, at least I have my stories. Out of fear I have nothing else to offer the world I share my stories. I invite people into my fantasy worlds hoping to bring happiness to others, to entertain people and distract them from their own pain. The stories continue to flow through my head without end. My inspiration is boundless like a never-ending fountain of fantasy. My mind is always weaving a story and this is how I live. I craft stories and scenarios with my emotions, I use pieces of myself to create characters and put it all in a world where everything works out in the end. I turn my pain into happiness as I entertain others and myself.

Though I enjoy writing and enjoy having others read my stories, doubt remains. Doubt that I cannot face. Doubt that even my stories aren’t good enough. Everything that is good about me goes into my stories and my storytelling and if it ever turned out to be not enough, then the world as a whole would be telling me that I am not enough. Rejection of my stories is a rejection of me. Though I know my stories are good, others may not see the quality. I have been passed over before and it wouldn’t be unheard of to have my stories passed over as well. Now it all cycles back to my pain. I struggle with pain and wonder if its worth the fight. If the world will ever appreciate me and ever see me for who I really am.

So for now I write, I struggle, and I survive. To anyone who may read this I do not want sympathy, just understanding. I write this to express myself, not to get a reaction or feeling out of anyone. Generic sympathy will be met with scorn.

If nothing else, live your life, continue your struggle and take time to see who is really important in your life. Because they might not be around forever.