Blade Archer ~ One
Nov. 1st, 2004 02:14 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
annarti.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
yrae
Whee~ NaNoWriMo's started =D And I'm already on track =D I'll see how I go about writing a chapter ever day, 1700-ish words long, and post as I go. Bare in mind that none of this stuff has been read through or altered in any way, so doubtless bits of it will be serious crap, if not the whole thing. Here's where you get to see how my stuff takes form =D I'll even stick the outline up at the end, mebee scan in the stuff in the Spoiler Book, just for the hell of it. All the backup stuff that hasn't already been done for Silent Harmony. Very much a work in progress.
Enjoy peoples! Might even learn something from it =D
Ooh yeah, and as a quick note, the story begins in 4024--seventeen years before the twins rock up at the palace. The king (Alurié's dad) died the previous year, and now the queen's ruling, hence the Queen's Own rather than the King's.
Alrighty, prelims over, now chapter one =D
~ ~ ~
Qayor wandered half-blind through the dusty red streets of Ni-Yana, lit silver by the stars and the crescent of the moon. The customary chill that swept over the desert every night in Spring didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest.
He never knew how, every night, he managed to stumble past house after plain, mud brick house, and somehow end up in his own bed. It seemed to be instinct that led him home, rather than actual knowledge of where he was going.
Tonight was certainly no different. One hand groped at the dusty mud brick wall and supporting his weight as his other stretched out ahead of him should he run into anyone in a similar state to himself.
Ni-Yana, and indeed the entire kingdom of Raykin, was known for its residents’ healthy drinking habits. Raykinians were right to boast over the best and strongest beer throughout the kingdoms. There were bound to be more people than just Qayor who were unsteady on their feet tonight.
One such figure appeared out of the shadowy silver gloom before him, though while Qayor’s whole body swayed with the weight of alcohol, this figure—who Qayor decided was a woman—swayed only her hips.
As Qayor drew closer, he was able to pick out a few features behind the alcoholic haze. Her inky black hair shone silver where the pale moonlight hit it, and a pair of dark eyes was suspended, half closed, above full lips, which were pulled into a sultry smile. Her plain, ragged clothes hinted that she was from the lower end of town, but Qayor’s mind was far too clouded to wonder why such a beauty had ventured into the district of the upper class.
He grinned stupidly as the young woman, no more than seventeen, extended a delicate finger and beckoned him forward. Qayor didn’t need to be told twice. In fact, there was probably no need to call him the first time. His legs, which seemed to have been made of lead up until now, carried him towards the stunning creature as though a pair of wings bore him forth.
Somehow though, he didn’t appear to be nearing her. The damsel continued to step slowly backwards, hips swaying hypnotically, finger and eyes still calling him forwards.
Qayor obeyed, without the slightest hesitation, as the girl slid like liquid into a small back street, one hand suggestively caressing her torso.
Qayor laughed unthinkingly as he rounded the corner, where the beauty now stood, sprawled against the wall halfway along the alley. Her wavy hair spilt over her shoulders and around her face, while her right hand began working up the hem of her skirt.
A cool feeling touched Qayor’s shoulders, but he paid it no mind. The damsel in front of him was the only thought that reached his mind right now.
With the same smooth, seductive movements, the girl pulled something from her thigh, and slowly approached Qayor, hips still swaying. It wasn’t until the rusted steel, warmed by her body heat, was pressed against his throat that he realised what the girl had done.
Sudden terror washed over him, cleansing his mind of drunken stupor. The hairs on his arms prickled as much in panic as in the realisation of the night chill brushing against his skin, now slick with the sweat of fear. He could feel his olive-toned face paling as the young woman peered up into his face. The look in her eyes hadn’t changed, but Qayor now recognised it for what it was.
“Your wish…” Qayor swallowed helplessly and began again. “You wish isn’t to take my life, is it, my lady?”
The girl raised an eyebrow and gave a cocky grin. “Aeia no,” she laughed, not taking her eyes from her captive’s. “Me and me brothers merely wish to relieve ye of yer coin.”
Qayor averted his eyes slightly, only now seeing the two boys who had pressed their own daggers to his shoulders. The older one, perhaps a year or so older than his sister, grinned darkly, then motioned to the boy on Qayor’s left.
The fifteen-year-old began rifling through Qayor’s pockets for any coin.
Qayor could see the resemblance between the three siblings, even in the weak moonlight. They all had the same small nose and jutting cheekbones. The two brothers both had their hair tied in loose plaits, and Qayor had no doubt the girl normally wore her hair in much the same fashion.
“I hate to disappoint you, my girl, but I’m afraid I have barely a few silvers at present.” He didn’t know why he was apologising. It just seemed like the safest road to take.
The girl shrugged. “A man or yer stature’d be surprised to know how far a silver or two’ll go.” Never did she take her eyes from Qayor’s. “Ye probably spends yers on Lin knows how many beers a night, am I right?” She snorted, not waiting for Qayor’s response. “Silver or two’d keep us lot happy and eating for a good week.”
The younger boy finally pulled back, one fist clutching the remainder of Qayor’s reserves, the other brandishing his rusted dagger. In different circumstances, it may have amused Qayor to note the younger boy’s blade was considerably shinier than his siblings’.
The girl nodded with satisfaction, then set a foot in Qayor’s stomach and pushed him back out of the alley. When he had caught his footing and glanced back fearfully into the alley, the siblings still stood there, brandishing their weapons.
He didn’t need to be told twice. In fact, there was most definitely no need to have told him the once.
He dashed off down the dusty, deserted street, well and truly sober after such an encounter. He sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. At least he was still alive, and he hadn’t lost a great deal of coin over the matter, but it had nevertheless given him the shakes.
Kael flew through the streets of Ni-Yana, not far behind his older brother and sister. His bare feet were nearly silent on the cobbled streets of the upper-class district. He awkwardly sheathed his dagger as he ran, keeping a tight grip on the coins in his left fist.
When she was certain the man wasn’t following them, his sister, Elara, slowed to a quick-paced walk. Kael and Ynuk fell in step on either side of her.
“How much?” Kael’s older brother demanded, stuffing his own dagger into its sheath.
Kael opened his hand and fingered through the coins that lay in his palm. “Four silvers, eight coppers.”
Ynuk whistled in satisfaction; Elara gave a nod of approval. “We just about hit the jackpot on this one, boys.” She slung her arms around her brothers’ shoulders. “Mama’ll be pleased, for sure.”
Kael shrugged out from under his sister’s arm and dropped the jingling coins into his pocket. He’d never been one for displays of affection, however subtle. “Mind if we move it along a bit?” He glanced back over his shoulder and rubbed at the newest of three scars on the back of his wrist.
Elara noticed him and smacked him on the back of the head. “Stop picking at it, or it’ll never heal.” She shrugged. “No police around, anyway.”
The younger boy frowned and dug his hands into his pockets, contenting himself with fiddling with the coins there. “Said that the last time.”
“Enough with yer complaining,” Ynuk muttered. “Besides, if a policeman appeared, ye could just fling yer knife at him and there ye has it, one less policeman.”
Kael kicked at a stone. “Said that last time, too.”
“Well what is it ye proposes we do?”
The younger boy shrugged and kicked at the stone again. “Move quicker?” He couldn’t help but keep the note of irritation from his voice.
“Fine,” Elara told him, “Ye run on ahead, and we’ll catch ye up at home, sound good? Ye, with that blade good enough for the Queen’s Own, should be perfectly fine.”
Kael kicked the stone once more, watching as it flew out of his path so he wouldn’t have a chance to kick it a forth time. “I just thought it might be nice to keep me fingers.” He turned to glare into his sister’s eyes. He was at the height now where he was able to look down his nose at her. “Once more, and they start cutting our fingers of, ye realise.”
Elara didn’t reply, but Kael noted how she started rubbing at the scars on her own wrist, then she angrily folded her arms to keep herself from picking at the most recent one.
The siblings walked in silence through the high-walled streets of the higher end of town. Elara was the first to pass through the desert palms that lined the avenue of the Main Road into Ni-Yana. She turned her head a few times to make sure there were no police patrolling the road, then motioned for her brothers to follow.
As Kael broke through the palms on the other side, the terrain immediately changed to something he was more familiar with. Hard-packed sand lay under his feet instead of the rough cobbles of the upper end of town. The districts south of the Main Road may be feared by most of the city, even those who lived there, but for Kael it was a welcome home.
True, he had to constantly be on alert while he walked the dusty streets, but such alertness had saved him from the police more times than his wrist could show. He couldn’t help but grin in the dark. He and his older siblings knew it was people like them who gave the southern districts their reputation.
The one aspect Kael wasn’t particularly fond of was the great, looming outer wall of Ni-Yana’s palace. It was as though the queen wanted to emphasise her rule over the people. Kael glared hard at the palace walls, keeping its inhabitants blissfully unaware of the kind of lives the people south of the Main Road were forced to live.
Soon enough, the threesome arrived back at their modest, one-room home, constructed as every other in Raykin from mud bricks made from the silt at the bottom of the Ra-Lin, the river that flowed through the kingdom and provided it with water.
Inside, their mother slept quietly, and so the three siblings slunk silently under their covers on the sandy floor of the house and dozed off.
~ ~ ~
Chapter~ 1754
Total~ 1754
Time~ 2 hours
Total~ 2 hours
Enjoy peoples! Might even learn something from it =D
Ooh yeah, and as a quick note, the story begins in 4024--seventeen years before the twins rock up at the palace. The king (Alurié's dad) died the previous year, and now the queen's ruling, hence the Queen's Own rather than the King's.
Alrighty, prelims over, now chapter one =D
Qayor wandered half-blind through the dusty red streets of Ni-Yana, lit silver by the stars and the crescent of the moon. The customary chill that swept over the desert every night in Spring didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest.
He never knew how, every night, he managed to stumble past house after plain, mud brick house, and somehow end up in his own bed. It seemed to be instinct that led him home, rather than actual knowledge of where he was going.
Tonight was certainly no different. One hand groped at the dusty mud brick wall and supporting his weight as his other stretched out ahead of him should he run into anyone in a similar state to himself.
Ni-Yana, and indeed the entire kingdom of Raykin, was known for its residents’ healthy drinking habits. Raykinians were right to boast over the best and strongest beer throughout the kingdoms. There were bound to be more people than just Qayor who were unsteady on their feet tonight.
One such figure appeared out of the shadowy silver gloom before him, though while Qayor’s whole body swayed with the weight of alcohol, this figure—who Qayor decided was a woman—swayed only her hips.
As Qayor drew closer, he was able to pick out a few features behind the alcoholic haze. Her inky black hair shone silver where the pale moonlight hit it, and a pair of dark eyes was suspended, half closed, above full lips, which were pulled into a sultry smile. Her plain, ragged clothes hinted that she was from the lower end of town, but Qayor’s mind was far too clouded to wonder why such a beauty had ventured into the district of the upper class.
He grinned stupidly as the young woman, no more than seventeen, extended a delicate finger and beckoned him forward. Qayor didn’t need to be told twice. In fact, there was probably no need to call him the first time. His legs, which seemed to have been made of lead up until now, carried him towards the stunning creature as though a pair of wings bore him forth.
Somehow though, he didn’t appear to be nearing her. The damsel continued to step slowly backwards, hips swaying hypnotically, finger and eyes still calling him forwards.
Qayor obeyed, without the slightest hesitation, as the girl slid like liquid into a small back street, one hand suggestively caressing her torso.
Qayor laughed unthinkingly as he rounded the corner, where the beauty now stood, sprawled against the wall halfway along the alley. Her wavy hair spilt over her shoulders and around her face, while her right hand began working up the hem of her skirt.
A cool feeling touched Qayor’s shoulders, but he paid it no mind. The damsel in front of him was the only thought that reached his mind right now.
With the same smooth, seductive movements, the girl pulled something from her thigh, and slowly approached Qayor, hips still swaying. It wasn’t until the rusted steel, warmed by her body heat, was pressed against his throat that he realised what the girl had done.
Sudden terror washed over him, cleansing his mind of drunken stupor. The hairs on his arms prickled as much in panic as in the realisation of the night chill brushing against his skin, now slick with the sweat of fear. He could feel his olive-toned face paling as the young woman peered up into his face. The look in her eyes hadn’t changed, but Qayor now recognised it for what it was.
“Your wish…” Qayor swallowed helplessly and began again. “You wish isn’t to take my life, is it, my lady?”
The girl raised an eyebrow and gave a cocky grin. “Aeia no,” she laughed, not taking her eyes from her captive’s. “Me and me brothers merely wish to relieve ye of yer coin.”
Qayor averted his eyes slightly, only now seeing the two boys who had pressed their own daggers to his shoulders. The older one, perhaps a year or so older than his sister, grinned darkly, then motioned to the boy on Qayor’s left.
The fifteen-year-old began rifling through Qayor’s pockets for any coin.
Qayor could see the resemblance between the three siblings, even in the weak moonlight. They all had the same small nose and jutting cheekbones. The two brothers both had their hair tied in loose plaits, and Qayor had no doubt the girl normally wore her hair in much the same fashion.
“I hate to disappoint you, my girl, but I’m afraid I have barely a few silvers at present.” He didn’t know why he was apologising. It just seemed like the safest road to take.
The girl shrugged. “A man or yer stature’d be surprised to know how far a silver or two’ll go.” Never did she take her eyes from Qayor’s. “Ye probably spends yers on Lin knows how many beers a night, am I right?” She snorted, not waiting for Qayor’s response. “Silver or two’d keep us lot happy and eating for a good week.”
The younger boy finally pulled back, one fist clutching the remainder of Qayor’s reserves, the other brandishing his rusted dagger. In different circumstances, it may have amused Qayor to note the younger boy’s blade was considerably shinier than his siblings’.
The girl nodded with satisfaction, then set a foot in Qayor’s stomach and pushed him back out of the alley. When he had caught his footing and glanced back fearfully into the alley, the siblings still stood there, brandishing their weapons.
He didn’t need to be told twice. In fact, there was most definitely no need to have told him the once.
He dashed off down the dusty, deserted street, well and truly sober after such an encounter. He sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. At least he was still alive, and he hadn’t lost a great deal of coin over the matter, but it had nevertheless given him the shakes.
Kael flew through the streets of Ni-Yana, not far behind his older brother and sister. His bare feet were nearly silent on the cobbled streets of the upper-class district. He awkwardly sheathed his dagger as he ran, keeping a tight grip on the coins in his left fist.
When she was certain the man wasn’t following them, his sister, Elara, slowed to a quick-paced walk. Kael and Ynuk fell in step on either side of her.
“How much?” Kael’s older brother demanded, stuffing his own dagger into its sheath.
Kael opened his hand and fingered through the coins that lay in his palm. “Four silvers, eight coppers.”
Ynuk whistled in satisfaction; Elara gave a nod of approval. “We just about hit the jackpot on this one, boys.” She slung her arms around her brothers’ shoulders. “Mama’ll be pleased, for sure.”
Kael shrugged out from under his sister’s arm and dropped the jingling coins into his pocket. He’d never been one for displays of affection, however subtle. “Mind if we move it along a bit?” He glanced back over his shoulder and rubbed at the newest of three scars on the back of his wrist.
Elara noticed him and smacked him on the back of the head. “Stop picking at it, or it’ll never heal.” She shrugged. “No police around, anyway.”
The younger boy frowned and dug his hands into his pockets, contenting himself with fiddling with the coins there. “Said that the last time.”
“Enough with yer complaining,” Ynuk muttered. “Besides, if a policeman appeared, ye could just fling yer knife at him and there ye has it, one less policeman.”
Kael kicked at a stone. “Said that last time, too.”
“Well what is it ye proposes we do?”
The younger boy shrugged and kicked at the stone again. “Move quicker?” He couldn’t help but keep the note of irritation from his voice.
“Fine,” Elara told him, “Ye run on ahead, and we’ll catch ye up at home, sound good? Ye, with that blade good enough for the Queen’s Own, should be perfectly fine.”
Kael kicked the stone once more, watching as it flew out of his path so he wouldn’t have a chance to kick it a forth time. “I just thought it might be nice to keep me fingers.” He turned to glare into his sister’s eyes. He was at the height now where he was able to look down his nose at her. “Once more, and they start cutting our fingers of, ye realise.”
Elara didn’t reply, but Kael noted how she started rubbing at the scars on her own wrist, then she angrily folded her arms to keep herself from picking at the most recent one.
The siblings walked in silence through the high-walled streets of the higher end of town. Elara was the first to pass through the desert palms that lined the avenue of the Main Road into Ni-Yana. She turned her head a few times to make sure there were no police patrolling the road, then motioned for her brothers to follow.
As Kael broke through the palms on the other side, the terrain immediately changed to something he was more familiar with. Hard-packed sand lay under his feet instead of the rough cobbles of the upper end of town. The districts south of the Main Road may be feared by most of the city, even those who lived there, but for Kael it was a welcome home.
True, he had to constantly be on alert while he walked the dusty streets, but such alertness had saved him from the police more times than his wrist could show. He couldn’t help but grin in the dark. He and his older siblings knew it was people like them who gave the southern districts their reputation.
The one aspect Kael wasn’t particularly fond of was the great, looming outer wall of Ni-Yana’s palace. It was as though the queen wanted to emphasise her rule over the people. Kael glared hard at the palace walls, keeping its inhabitants blissfully unaware of the kind of lives the people south of the Main Road were forced to live.
Soon enough, the threesome arrived back at their modest, one-room home, constructed as every other in Raykin from mud bricks made from the silt at the bottom of the Ra-Lin, the river that flowed through the kingdom and provided it with water.
Inside, their mother slept quietly, and so the three siblings slunk silently under their covers on the sandy floor of the house and dozed off.
Chapter~ 1754
Total~ 1754
Time~ 2 hours
Total~ 2 hours
no subject
Date: 2004-10-31 02:51 pm (UTC)*waits for more*