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Emerald Vision: Chapter One
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Emerald Vision: Chapter One |
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DragonFang Senior Member
since 2000-03-09
Posts 522Missouri, USA |
Emerald Vision Chapter 1: A Trek Taris sat leaning against a tree at the edge of a small pond. Despite it being at most a dozen paces across, it dominated the small clearing. Only a handful of people knew of the small pond and it’s pristine waters, and all of them were Travelers, except for her. She knew that one of the ancient Gates lay under the mirrored surface of the pond. She knew it was there, but the Gates would not respond to anyone, except for the Travelers. The fact was that was how they had gotten their name in the first place, because they could travel using the Gates. Taris stood up and walked two paces to the water’s edge. She looked down at a reflection of her bright green eyes. She saw the breeze lift up her long red hair, adorned with a delicate blue blossom. The wind was starting to pick up; a storm always rode on the west wind. She turned to look into the wind; the setting sun was obscured by large, black thunderheads that roiled in the torture that they carried on their backs. It was going to be one hell of a storm. She would have to set up camp where she was. She really didn’t want to; you never can tell when a Traveler would show up to use a Gate. Or when one was going to come out of the one you were near. There was nothing for it though. She pulled her tent out of her saddlebags and hurriedly set it up in an area that seemed relatively free of sticks and large stones, and yet was still sheltered from the worst of the wind. Carefully laying her bedroll down in the middle of it, she decided it would be best if she didn’t use the lantern this night, a strong wind could shake it free of it’s stand and then she would have to be without it until she got to Lacean, or maybe all the way to Carn, “Capital of the World.” Back out of the tent she tied her gray mare tightly to a tree and picked up the saddlebags and moved them into the tent. Deciding that everything was in order, she settled in for the storm. ****** Taris woke to the sound of birdsong ringing in the back reaches of the forest. The gentle singing of larks making a beautiful melody in where all the other birds played background and counterpoint to their song. She crawled out of her sleeping bag as slowly as she could. The desire to stay asleep outweighed her desire to leave, but she had someplace to be someone to see. She ducked out of the small tent to survey the damage of the storm. Not ten paces from her tent an ancient oak had been felled. Her heart almost skipped a beat at that; a few degrees had meant the difference of her life. Shuddering at the thought she went to go check on her horse. “Calm down Garith,” she soothed the horse who still looked a little wild-eyed. “It was just a little storm.” She looked up at the sun and saw that it was already half way up to its peak. “Oh cruck! The guild will have my head if I’m late again. Huh? Hey, you think that we can blame it on the storm? No? I didn’t think so either.” “Only you would try that on the thieves guild Taris.” She turned like lightning and had two small knives in her hands before the speaker had a chance to blink. At the edge of the pond, about thirty paces from where she and her horse stood, was a man who wore a long, black cloak. The man had the hood down, hanging on his shoulders. He had deep blue eyes and close cropped blond hair. Though she couldn’t see it, she knew that under his cloak he wore a small green amulet made of the same stone ads the Gates were. She muttered under her breath, then called out, “What do you want Traveler?” She bit off each word with more contempt than the last and nearly choked on Traveler. “Does the thieves guild now lay claim to this land? Last I heard the Council owned the land around this entire forest, but if it is the thieves guild that now owns it I’ll be on my way.” He gave her a questioning look, “Well?” She glared at him. “You side-step the question Traveler. What do you want?” At least thieves were honest about their dealings. He gave her a look that was meant to convey sorrow for her inability to think he just wanted to talk. She knew better though, the Travelers never spoke to anyone outside their guild unless they needed something and what they needed was usually not in the interest of the one they asked it from. He sighed, “Oh very well. You thieves are always such a bore.” She glared at him. Her reputation was known among every guild, she even had caught the eye of the Council as a whole on several occasions, and they all feared to cross the thieves directly because of the power that there ranking agent possessed. “We, need a favor. There is a young man in the village of Karind. You know the place?” She just continued to glare. “Ah, well it is of no matter. This boy’s name is Joh. It seems that the Gates respond to him much more powerfully than what is normal. We need someone to keep an eye on him until he reaches an age that he can legally enter a guild. You see, he is only seventeen, two full years before we can take him under our wing. We can’t let him use the Gates unguided . . ..” “And why don’t YOU keep an eye on this boy you are so interested in? Why, because you are to busy with your own designs,” anger clearly showed on her face, marring her delicate features. He merely continued to speak as though she hadn’t said anything. “ . . . For it has inherited dangers to it. I do trust that you will convey our . . . request to the other heads of the thieves guild.” “I might, if I feel like it. I have a long way to go before sundown and half a day to make up. Is that all?” “Yes, I have no further need of you then.” That really made her blood boil, but the Travelers were the one group that even she was afraid to cross; they held more power than all of the other guilds combined. She quickly made the knives disappear back into their sheathes around her small waist. She turned and walked over to her tent and began packing all of her things back into her saddlebags. When she looked up again the Traveler was gone and there was a brief moment that there was a bright light coming from beneath the pond’s surface. Unconsciously she shuddered. She looked up in the sky and saw that the sun already stood at full noon. Swearing softly under her breath she finished her packing; she’d have to eat while ridding. ***** Taris rode all that day east, at the fastest pace she dared go while in the heart of the forest between Daril and the Tine Mountains form where she had just come. Naturally there were trade roads that ran the distance west and over the mountains, but Taris was a well known thief this side of the Tines. Midmorn’ the next day she reached the outer reaches of the forest. The difference was subtle at first, a downed tree here, the remains of a campsite there. Taris scoffed when she saw some of these; it seemed that they had “attempted” to hide that they had been there, but any country child could see it as if the fire still burned hot. As she came farther out of the heart the signs became much more obvious; acres of land cleared a homestead here and there, and other such signs. The next day saw Taris to the edge of the forest. She stood at the border between the vast Corrid forest and the Nalren Plains. The Nalren plains had been cultivated into a vast expanse of farmland eons before Taris’ parents had ever been born. The edge of this forest marked the beginning of the Daril Kingdom. She looked around and quickly saw what she was looking for. Off to the north about two miles was a road that would lead to the Capital of the Guild Council, Carn. She rode along the border of the forest and the farmland at a stiff pace. She was almost back on schedule, and the guild would understand being late due to an encounter with a Traveler, but it was still better to be on time. Better yet to be early. She had two days of ridding should she travel at an easy pace, however, she didn’t mean to waste any time going at an easy pace, she planned on being there before the sun rose on the following morn’. A slight breeze blew over the city of Carn, blowing away the smoke from early morning fires. The houses were tiled with a red stone cut into small rectangles, and all of the windows stood tightly shuttered against the early spring chill. Carn was the largest city east of the Time Mountains. It stood on the border of the three most powerful kingdoms of the east, and as such was the major trade center for those kingdoms. Logically, Carn also became the center of the different guilds that held the real power in the eastern kingdoms. The heads of all the different guilds had come together about two hounded years ago to form the Guild council, and they made all of the important decisions. The guilds operated within each nation separate from the other guilds, but when push came to shove they would cooperate. To a point. The thieves and the assassins get along fairly well, but they keep to themselves for most part, and the others feared them for not knowing them as well as they knew themselves. Taris road into Carn on the east entrance. She paused a moment as the guard came out of the gatehouse. He blinked and shaded his eyes against the rising sun. “What business do ya ‘ave here?” he asked in a dreary tone of those who had been too free with the spirits the night before. “I have been summoned by the head of the thieves guild,” she said giving the guard a cold, hard stare with her dark green eyes. She tossed him a small silver penny, “Now if you would step aside . . ..” He gave her a smile that stretched from one ear to the other and obediently stepped out of the way. The outer city of Carn was shabby and full of vendors and shopkeepers setting up for another day of business. There were a few other people in the streets, most of the other city dwellers would sleep in well past sunrise, as it was with most aristocrats. After ridding on a ways Taris came to the gates of the inner wall. The inner wall stood a good hundred paces tall and was made of a very hard stone that no one but the masons’ guild knew what was. She stopped at the gatehouse to wait for the guard to come out. The door opened and a tall man came marching out at a stately pace. He wore the red and blue uniform of the city guard, who was a group controlled completely by the soldiers’ guild. The soldiers guild were really just swords for hire, glorified mercs. “State your business ma’am,” he demanded in a brisk voice. Obviously he hadn’t got drunk the night before like the guard at the city gate. She sighed, “I have been summoned to appear before the head of my guild.” She purposely didn’t mention she was of the thieves’ guild, the city guard and the thieves’ guild was always at each other’s throat, more often than not literally. It was unlikely that the man didn’t know who she was, but it was always worth while not to bring it to his attention that he knew. The man merely nodded and went back into the guardhouse. A few seconds later the gate to the inner quarters of the city opened and Taris proceeded through. Taris went past the opulent dwellings and inns until she came to an inn called the “Skinny Mage,” and had the sign of the magicians’ guild. Walking in through the door she didn’t even notice the fact that everyone in the common room had green eyes much like hers; it was all very normal among this particular guild. The cubby innkeeper walked over to her and took her small, delicate hand I his chubby one. “Welcome home my doughtier,” the man greeted her. Darkial stood in a tall, dark chamber. Huge blood-red pillars stood every few feet from each other. A few feet from where he stood the pillars stopped the light from the lantern he held. Outside of the small circle of light another shape stood, a shape that flirted in and out of his vision. The shape belonged to that of a Drakial, from which he had derived his name, as well as the scars on his face. Darkial pulled the hood of his ebon cloak forward to better hide his face. He lofted his hand and pointed at the dark shape, the sleeve of his cloak pulling back just enough to reveal a beautiful gold ring with an onyx in the center. The shape stopped moving and stood still enough to disappear into the shadows, “You know the target,” there was the sound of fingernails scratching across the stone floor. “She must be removed immediately.” He turned and hurried out of the room closing the huge double doors as he left. Despite the thickness of the enormous wooden doors Darkial could hear the shrill screech of the monster as it left by . . . other means. He shuddered and hurried down the corridor. "Sa souvraya niende missian ye." \ I am lost in my own mind. |
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AngelShell Member
since 2000-03-01
Posts 446not heaven nor hell so... |
wow! How could I possibly be the first one to reply to this wonder!! I am honored anyway... What a brilliat piece...I can't wait to read more!!!!!! |
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DragonFang Senior Member
since 2000-03-09
Posts 522Missouri, USA |
Thanks, heheh, you might have to wait a bit though, I've yet to type up the second chapter, and I'm still working on chapter three ~_~. I'm glad you liked it. "Sa souvraya niende missian ye." \ I am lost in my own mind. |
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