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this is based off an Idea I had quite some time ago, and when I say sometime, I mean enough time to create an entire world in my head. from geography to legends to common Ideals. It takes place in a continent known as Furnost. It's a collab project with mysterie and is still a work in progress. I hope you'll enjoy!
Chapter 1
Jace Spira walked along the cobbled steps of Adder street, almost trudging in a weary sway. he had just got out of his final apprenticeship exams, the most life-destroying exams a Mithian could take. the tests were long, almost six hours, and the suspense was killing him, they determined whether you would be a fisherman, guard, or even the ambassador to Million-Hail, the provincial capital. even worse, they announced the results in the town square. Everyone would gather,by law, and, let’s just say: let the social horror begin.
The tests, by the government, for the people, were obviously a huge scam. there hasn't been an ambassador in years. the funds needed to maintain the town weren't arriving. and as a result, the town of Mith looked more like a ‘there! I fixed it!’ kinda job.
He Imagined himself as an ambassador, and laughed at the thought. he was a farm boy, not from here. and he couldn’t Imagine being one of those insanity riven old men that called themselves fisherman.
the sun was setting. he was almost late! he ran down Adder, his sore hobble turned into a painful sprint. he tried to be quiet, but not as quiet as usual, Adder was one of the few streets left unpatrolled by guards. It was the least desirable place to live in the town and hardly anyone did. the rancid smell of rotting wood and other... decay made it an Ideal spot for ‘Illegal’ activity.
selling goods without a permit can result in lifelong imprisonment. same with buying them. It was unfair, the permit costed a fortune. and many people never could. Instead the government had a system where you give it to an official, they’d sell It. and then you’d get half back. the average fisherman would make only 5 cents per fish. and It was all downhill from there. he was willing to risk it though, the black market was just ahead
“Mith. The poorest port town in ever...” he said aloud, thinking about the circumstances.
he slowed to a stop as he approached an old decaying building, he had reached Adder square. the Iron gate was as stiff as ever bound together by thick,rough rust, no need for the padlock, he chuckled to himself. the gate wasn’t a real problem, though. he vaulted up a fairly large wooden crate by the side of the gate and jumped onto a tree behind It. leaves still glimmering in the haze. he had to be late by now, the only traces of the sun was a faint red glow on the horizon. the stars Oshe**** and Cleavus, forming the arrow constellation were already above his head. he scurried across a familiar thick branch branching over the gate.
when he was all the way over, he heard a cracking sound. he had never heard sounds like that before, not on trees, then the fear struck. he was at least 15 feet off the ground. he couldn’t go forward, or back. that would throw him off balance making him fall, the problem was, he needed to go forward. as the smaller branches would bend and he would fall a mere 5 feet. a trick he learned at a young age. but this would not be the case. his heart raced as the sounds of groaning and snapping wood filled the air. the guards would have surely heard him by now. how could they not have? the barely held half-a-minute, the rest was a blur. he remembered hitting the ground, a snapping sound coming from his chest, and a concussive ring throughout his skull. through his semi-conscious state he saw guards storming in through all four gates surrounding the square, storming through every building. hauling out people participating in the market, and dragging them to the prisons, familiar faces glaring down at him. some with pity, but most with rage. some had even been his friends. guards surrounded him, making room for the mayor. he simply said, “shame,” and gestured for the guards to drag him into custody. their Iron-clad heads nodded. two of them grabbed his arms and a third kicked his back. sending him unconscious.
---------- Post added 04-17-2012 at 04:14 PM ---------- Previous post was 04-16-2012 at 11:10 PM ----------
Chapter 2
Jace awoke in a train, head aching, his mind had trouble recalling the previous night, all he thought were in short bursts. like ‘tree, plunge , guards, people...powerless, he couldn’t make sense of them, so he tried to get up, muscles aching, he could hear the telltale pop of broken bone in his chest. had he broken his rib cage? the answer was yes and he knew it. The pain was almost unbearable.
after the pain subsided, he relaxed, knowing there was nothing he could do, and rested a couple more hours.
when he awoke, his headache seemed to be better, so he tried to think again, piecing together his thoughts with care. “I-I was up in a tree, and I fell, the guards heard me, and now all my friends, they’re probably dead.” gears turned inside his mind, memories flooding back
he was Jace Spira, a fourteen year old, former farm boy from verangaria, forced by the crimes of the government to leave his home and family, to control verangaria’s power, after all, he aced his swordsman class with top honours. he hated iliving in Mith. he was always planning an escape, all the time. all he needed were some of the legendary starite crystals. the magic stone’s had the power of strength. and that was something he needed. they were almost always readily available in the black market. the only reason they didn’t use them to rebel, was that the government had more... but If he could get just one, he could brave the forests, escaping into murlauch, the next province to the north. or even back to the city-state of verangaria. he cherished the thought.
he observed the train, It was obviously first class, how smooth the engine was, probably powered by starite crystals, how fancy it was decorated, with smooth, painted tiles and gold handrails. and the whir of the scenery in the distance. All the other seats were vacant. A thought nagged on his mind, but he disregarded it, the near-perfect picture becoming all too much. his conscious drifted.
---------- Post added at 08:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:14 PM ----------
Chapter 3
Jace awoke to the stopping of a low hum, brightly colored stone columns made up most of the outside scene. It was obviously a train station, packed with people, all wearing the finest gold and jewels, he froze, this was million-hail. not an ordinary town, but the capital-city. questions ran through his mind: why did they take me here? when he couldn’t piece the puzzle together he decided that he didn't know enough about his situation.
to his great surprise, he got up with ease, even the soreness was gone. He felt his skin for bruises and scrapes and came up empty. that’s peculiar, he thought. He stumbled a bit, getting used to walking again, and, eventually made it to the door. The door connected to a large tunnel decorated with white, shiny tile, a gold rail. and frequent colored tile patterns, like the train. The floor was covered by a red carpet. He stepped in, and began to walk along. There was no other direction he could go. A guard dressed in gold mail regarded him as he passed along. He looked quite different then a Mithian guard. He was most-likely well-trained unlike the Mithian Guards, beefy flesh had forced his armour sleeveless. If you were to mess with him, he’d be a tough challenge, Jace thought.
“This way, sir,” the guard stepped aside, unhooking a plush rope. sir? he thought. Was the title not exclusive here? he almost reluctantly passed, “thank you,” he said back. he wasn’t really thankful, he was just being polite.
There was a staircase behind the door. he was obviously being forced to go somewhere, what are they doing? he thought, could it be an execution? Fear welled up inside him, he quickly formulated a plan, I could resist against the guard, steal his weapon and use it to escape. of course, he dropped the impossible plan, he would find out why he was there first.
when he finally got up the stairs, he was panting, there was at least 1000 steps.
the room he had just entered was marvelous, marble statues of Furnost’s heros greeted him as he approached what looked to be the king of Million-Hail.
Chapter 1
Jace Spira walked along the cobbled steps of Adder street, almost trudging in a weary sway. he had just got out of his final apprenticeship exams, the most life-destroying exams a Mithian could take. the tests were long, almost six hours, and the suspense was killing him, they determined whether you would be a fisherman, guard, or even the ambassador to Million-Hail, the provincial capital. even worse, they announced the results in the town square. Everyone would gather,by law, and, let’s just say: let the social horror begin.
The tests, by the government, for the people, were obviously a huge scam. there hasn't been an ambassador in years. the funds needed to maintain the town weren't arriving. and as a result, the town of Mith looked more like a ‘there! I fixed it!’ kinda job.
He Imagined himself as an ambassador, and laughed at the thought. he was a farm boy, not from here. and he couldn’t Imagine being one of those insanity riven old men that called themselves fisherman.
the sun was setting. he was almost late! he ran down Adder, his sore hobble turned into a painful sprint. he tried to be quiet, but not as quiet as usual, Adder was one of the few streets left unpatrolled by guards. It was the least desirable place to live in the town and hardly anyone did. the rancid smell of rotting wood and other... decay made it an Ideal spot for ‘Illegal’ activity.
selling goods without a permit can result in lifelong imprisonment. same with buying them. It was unfair, the permit costed a fortune. and many people never could. Instead the government had a system where you give it to an official, they’d sell It. and then you’d get half back. the average fisherman would make only 5 cents per fish. and It was all downhill from there. he was willing to risk it though, the black market was just ahead
“Mith. The poorest port town in ever...” he said aloud, thinking about the circumstances.
he slowed to a stop as he approached an old decaying building, he had reached Adder square. the Iron gate was as stiff as ever bound together by thick,rough rust, no need for the padlock, he chuckled to himself. the gate wasn’t a real problem, though. he vaulted up a fairly large wooden crate by the side of the gate and jumped onto a tree behind It. leaves still glimmering in the haze. he had to be late by now, the only traces of the sun was a faint red glow on the horizon. the stars Oshe**** and Cleavus, forming the arrow constellation were already above his head. he scurried across a familiar thick branch branching over the gate.
when he was all the way over, he heard a cracking sound. he had never heard sounds like that before, not on trees, then the fear struck. he was at least 15 feet off the ground. he couldn’t go forward, or back. that would throw him off balance making him fall, the problem was, he needed to go forward. as the smaller branches would bend and he would fall a mere 5 feet. a trick he learned at a young age. but this would not be the case. his heart raced as the sounds of groaning and snapping wood filled the air. the guards would have surely heard him by now. how could they not have? the barely held half-a-minute, the rest was a blur. he remembered hitting the ground, a snapping sound coming from his chest, and a concussive ring throughout his skull. through his semi-conscious state he saw guards storming in through all four gates surrounding the square, storming through every building. hauling out people participating in the market, and dragging them to the prisons, familiar faces glaring down at him. some with pity, but most with rage. some had even been his friends. guards surrounded him, making room for the mayor. he simply said, “shame,” and gestured for the guards to drag him into custody. their Iron-clad heads nodded. two of them grabbed his arms and a third kicked his back. sending him unconscious.
---------- Post added 04-17-2012 at 04:14 PM ---------- Previous post was 04-16-2012 at 11:10 PM ----------
Chapter 2
Jace awoke in a train, head aching, his mind had trouble recalling the previous night, all he thought were in short bursts. like ‘tree, plunge , guards, people...powerless, he couldn’t make sense of them, so he tried to get up, muscles aching, he could hear the telltale pop of broken bone in his chest. had he broken his rib cage? the answer was yes and he knew it. The pain was almost unbearable.
after the pain subsided, he relaxed, knowing there was nothing he could do, and rested a couple more hours.
when he awoke, his headache seemed to be better, so he tried to think again, piecing together his thoughts with care. “I-I was up in a tree, and I fell, the guards heard me, and now all my friends, they’re probably dead.” gears turned inside his mind, memories flooding back
he was Jace Spira, a fourteen year old, former farm boy from verangaria, forced by the crimes of the government to leave his home and family, to control verangaria’s power, after all, he aced his swordsman class with top honours. he hated iliving in Mith. he was always planning an escape, all the time. all he needed were some of the legendary starite crystals. the magic stone’s had the power of strength. and that was something he needed. they were almost always readily available in the black market. the only reason they didn’t use them to rebel, was that the government had more... but If he could get just one, he could brave the forests, escaping into murlauch, the next province to the north. or even back to the city-state of verangaria. he cherished the thought.
he observed the train, It was obviously first class, how smooth the engine was, probably powered by starite crystals, how fancy it was decorated, with smooth, painted tiles and gold handrails. and the whir of the scenery in the distance. All the other seats were vacant. A thought nagged on his mind, but he disregarded it, the near-perfect picture becoming all too much. his conscious drifted.
---------- Post added at 08:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:14 PM ----------
Chapter 3
Jace awoke to the stopping of a low hum, brightly colored stone columns made up most of the outside scene. It was obviously a train station, packed with people, all wearing the finest gold and jewels, he froze, this was million-hail. not an ordinary town, but the capital-city. questions ran through his mind: why did they take me here? when he couldn’t piece the puzzle together he decided that he didn't know enough about his situation.
to his great surprise, he got up with ease, even the soreness was gone. He felt his skin for bruises and scrapes and came up empty. that’s peculiar, he thought. He stumbled a bit, getting used to walking again, and, eventually made it to the door. The door connected to a large tunnel decorated with white, shiny tile, a gold rail. and frequent colored tile patterns, like the train. The floor was covered by a red carpet. He stepped in, and began to walk along. There was no other direction he could go. A guard dressed in gold mail regarded him as he passed along. He looked quite different then a Mithian guard. He was most-likely well-trained unlike the Mithian Guards, beefy flesh had forced his armour sleeveless. If you were to mess with him, he’d be a tough challenge, Jace thought.
“This way, sir,” the guard stepped aside, unhooking a plush rope. sir? he thought. Was the title not exclusive here? he almost reluctantly passed, “thank you,” he said back. he wasn’t really thankful, he was just being polite.
There was a staircase behind the door. he was obviously being forced to go somewhere, what are they doing? he thought, could it be an execution? Fear welled up inside him, he quickly formulated a plan, I could resist against the guard, steal his weapon and use it to escape. of course, he dropped the impossible plan, he would find out why he was there first.
when he finally got up the stairs, he was panting, there was at least 1000 steps.
the room he had just entered was marvelous, marble statues of Furnost’s heros greeted him as he approached what looked to be the king of Million-Hail.