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Yo peoples. What's up with your lives today? Mine? Boring. Uncontrollable. Stress-filled. Normal stuff. Anyways, I had been writing a few weeks back and decided to take a chance and do something I haven't done in a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long time: write third-person. So I just wanted to share my prologue at my desperate attempt at third person. It's going to suck, so let me know. Because, seriously, I can't write third person anymore; I don't know why but it's just hard D:
So enjoy the snippet~
Prologue
The wilderness stretched out on each side, only the sun visible through the break up ahead and through the canopies of the trees. Flowers and weeds mingled with the fallen trunks covered with slick green moss. It was beautiful around this time of year and she was desperate to get to the sea; she could already hear its thunderous crash against the shore.
Julie was but a small girl who didn't share the dreams of her friends to become the wife of a strong adventurer, raising children to become like their father. No, Julie wanted to be that adventurer. She dreamed of becoming a pirate or a thief, maybe join the local Fighter's Guild when she was old enough; they'd accept women if they were strong enough.
Julie broke through the trees with an excited gasp. She loved the sight of the sea in mid-fall at sunset. She left dinner early every night to make sure she didn't miss the spectacle.
The orange sun hung loosely in the purple sky, glinting off the rippling waters surface. A gentle breeze pushed the water towards the shore, but pushed it back towards the wide abyss in the distance. Gulls circled overhead, crying their strange songs as crickets sang from the shelter of the untamed grass behind Julie. She ran towards the waters edge, ripping her shoes off as she went.
The sand tickled her feet and the water licked her toes. She bent down to retrieve a few pebbles and tossed them one-by-one into the water, trying to throw farther each time. She took a deep breath of the briny air and smiled, satisfied. What could be better than this? Being an adventurer, of course. Julie daydreamed of fighting evil, or maybe fighting good, and collecting spoils of war while she listened to the ebb and flow of the gentle sea.
Then she noticed a figure on the water. She squinted into the glaring sun, testing her eyes. Was it a trick? No, someone was really out there! Julie stepped back as the figure quickly approached the shore. She was afraid he was a robber, but she heard the undeniable clunk of armor. No robber or bandit had armor. So Julie waited to see what hero would appear in front of her in mere seconds.
The figure came to a shuddering stop; like he was vibrating in place with incredible speed. He was but a boy a little older than Julie. He regarded her with a goofy, lop-sided grin. She blushed, focusing her attention on the sand--it was an instant reaction to any man look at her--and she quickly slipped her feet back into her shoes. She brushed off her dress, just now noticing it was caked with dirt.
"What're you doing out here?" the boy asked. Julie looked up to his wide gray eyes. He was perfectly human from what she could see, so how could he levitate over the water like that?
"I could ask the same of you," she muttered, disappointed that she'd only spread the dirt in her dress.
"Training. Pa says if I start now, I'll be the greatest hero of my time.”
"Training to be a hero?" Julie was stunned. No doubt he'd be accepted into the Fighter's Guild; he was perfectly balanced on the water and he ran so fast, Julie only saw a streak of black until he was stopped in front of her.
"That must be incredible! You have the chance to fight evil, save wenches, and become rich and famous!”
The boy laughed. "It's not all it's cracked up to be. Wake up before the sun, jog around town, do one hundred push-ups, sit ups, and pull ups, meditate, fall into bed grateful I've made it another day." He rubbed the back of his neck in an almost embarrassing motion.
Julie felt her eyes widen, but not in horror or disgust, but in excitement and wonder. If she did all that, would she be able to join the Fighter's Guild? It'd be worth a shot.
"So why were you out there on the water? How did you do it?" Julie heard about people walking on water, but it was mainly only elves that could do it because they were strong in magic compared to humans.
The boy showed his right hand where a thick black band wrapped around his middle finger; placed in the middle was a bright topaz. "My pa gave me this ring at the beginning of my training. It's enchanted to grant the wearer water-walking. Cool, huh?”
Julie gaped in surprise. A real enchanted item right in front of her! She'd heard rumors of enchanted items and weapons but to actually see one was astounding. It looked just like a normal ring no one would suspect it.
The question bubbled to her lips before she could stop it:
"Can I try it?”
She slapped her hand over her mouth before she could utter another word. It was foolish to ask a stranger those kinds of questions; it made her seem like a beggar. But the boy laughed and removed the ring from his finger, walking towards the water. His feet stayed firmly in the sand instead of levitating and he motioned Julie forward. She approached slowly.
"Are you sure?" she asked quietly. "I mean, I'd hate to lose it. Your dad gave this to you--”
The boy grabbed her hand and slid the ring onto one of her slender fingers. The band took up most of her finger but at least it held securely. She studied the small rivulets in the ring, making an intricate pattern all around, and the inset of the topaz that looked like black talons holding it down. Overall, it was a pretty ring. The boy motioned her forward since she wasn't fully in the water yet.
"Don't worry, you won't drown," the boy smirked.
Julie carefully shuffled to the water and stepped off the shore, thinking her foot would go right through the water, and yet the flat of her foot was placed on top the bucking water like it was solid ground. She took another step, going farther and deeper, and stared in wonder as her feet stayed firmly glued to the waters surface; she didn't even feel the ripples under her feet or the water soaking into her shoes.
She looked over her shoulder to the smiling boy and laughed. The feeling was amazing! Almost like she could jump and fly at anytime she wanted, she was completely weightless, not bound by physics of the world. Without thinking she jumped as high as she could but came back down on the surface of the water, her feet on solid water and only a few drops of water splashing. She heard the boy laugh.
"So what's your name, strange girl?” he asked mockingly, but politely.
Julie giggled as she continued to study the water, walking a few paces out. "My name is Julie, and I'm going to be the next great heroine.”
"That's a big dream, Julie. I'm Erik. Hey, don't go too far!”
Julie stopped and looked around. She was farther away then she expected; must have got caught up in the feeling. It was really astounding to feel like this and walk on the water like she only dreamed. She turned and jogged back to shore, amazed still that she was not sinking. Could she find a trinket like this in the magic shop in town, or maybe the jeweler? No, she wasn't sure if he sold enchanted jewelry, but she knew the blacksmith sold plenty of enchanted weapons to anyone willing to spend a pretty penny. He also had to see proof that the person was an adventurer or part of the Fighter's Guild, or else paranoia would sweep the town that a bandit had come.
Julie carefully stepped back onto solid ground and removed the ring to give back to Erik; it was his after all, no matter how much Julie wanted to keep it. The second she removed it, she felt heavy again, like her feet were bound to earth. She passed the ring off and stared at her feet, frowning because they felt so heavy.
"Wasn't that cool?" Erik asked happily. "I remember when I first put this thing on, I wanted to fly away.”
"It is a wonderful sensation," she agreed, looking up at him again. "Does it have any other enchantments on it?”
Erik pondered the idea for a minute then shook his head. "Not that I know of. But my pa has other enchanted stuff; weapons, trinkets, strange items, rocks.”
"Rocks?”
If he was saying what she thought he was, his dad had powerful artifacts that a bandit would love to get a hold of; maybe a master thief, too. It was a wonder they weren't crawling around town. They weren't richest town, but richer than most, and thieves would take whatever they could get.
"Yeah, they're these weird oval rocks; some glow, some don't. Pa never explained them to me yet although he's promised as part of my training.”
"He must be a powerful man," Julie whispered. It was hard to hear her over the crash of the waves. If some were glowing then Erik's dad was no doubt an adventurer; you needed a soul--good or evil--to make those things glow. Depending on how much space was available in the gem and how strong the soul, they could glow as bright as white fires. It was fun to read about, but what to see them? Julie couldn't help but feel excited.
Erik shrugged one shoulder. "He's a retired adventurer, wanted to be a hero, but a wolf put him out of business young.”
Julie gasped. "That's terrible!”
"Hey, he's still up and moving, so there's no reason to be so upset. It was a long time ago, anyway.” Erik smiled and looked out over the sea. "I have to go, but I'll be here tomorrow about the same time, if you want to chat again.”
Julie felt her face turn hot and she focused on her feet again. "S-sure,” she replied sheepishly. Maybe she could try that enchantment again.
“Great, see you tomorrow, Julie!" Erik waved, already walking away, and then he seemed to disappear in thin air. He had to teach her how to do that; it was just too cool. He had to have another enchantment somewhere. He was human, it wasn't right that they could run so fast.
But now Julie had work to do. She had muscles to build and sword fight to perfect. In four more years she could join the Fighter's Guild, and there was no way she was going to give it up if she had a training regime now. And she knew she could do anything better than a boy, or a full-grown man. She'd done it once; she could certainly do it again. Only, she had to live through it first. Knowing her brother's idea of swordplay, living seemed like the most difficult task now.
 Olive_the_Monkey_Ninja · Tue Oct 23, 2007 @ 03:46pm · 2 Comments |
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