Post by Lavita on Mar 17, 2005 18:19:48 GMT -1
okay..looking down the list of topics here...i can see fanfic after fanfic...time for a change methinks...so heres a little of my own fiction work..from one of my many stewing ideas...enjoy...and i really would love some feedback on it 
Prologue: Wrath of the Sun Dragon
>>Carideu Tri'draconai -Castle of the Three Dragons
South Pangaea
Tianda raced across the stone courtyard, her sword flashing, slicing easily through the flesh of the Tritanayl warrior. She darted sideways as he fell, his sword still raised above his head. Without a thought for the kill, Tianda hurried down the stone passages and into the castle. Both Tritanal and Permyan warriors lay slain around her, their blood staining the floor in deep red swamps of flagstones.
No. Not just warriors. Her anger blazed brighter as her eyes fell on the body of a serving woman, her head lying some feet away from it. Judging by the silver tray and the trampled food delicacies, the maid had been attending to a noble's needs when the Tritanayls begun their vicious attack upon the castle. Tianda did not stop to mourn. She knew she was too late to save these people but still she felt the familiar waves of guilt when she passed them by without a prayer.
Do not grieve for the dead. Tianda thought to herself as she worked her way to the heart of the Castle, forcing her eyes to stare vigilantly forward. Not until you are among them. Besides, time was slipping like sand through her fingers. She may already be too late.
Tianda halted at the arched doorway of a circular, high-roofed chamber, and with good reason. A growl built in her chest as she crouched slightly, making sure the tapestries that ran around the entire room hid her from view. She knew all too well whose presence befouled this sacred chamber.
Standing beneath the towering statue of Sol, the great Sun'dragon, was a distinct group of Tritanayls; none other than the royal guard of Crikmenayn, ruler of North Pangaea and all lands who had no desire to join the Permyan's yolk. Tritanayls they called themselves, Dragon-cursers.
Her heart was thudding painfully against her ribs from her dash and the pain intensified as the one of the guards moved aside, granting her the sight of the tyrant himself. A robust man Crikmenayn's oil-black hair stood out vividly against the red and gold furnishings of the room and his bulk made all around him seem diminutive. Even from this distance, Tianda shuddered from the malicious nature of the man, radiating out from those pools of utter darkness that were his eyes. Crikmenayn's armour consisted of gleaming silver plates over a heavy chainmail that fell to his knees, just short of his high leather boots and metal greaves. And it was then, appearing in her eye line, Tianda saw the figure knelt at Crikmenayn's feet. She must have been here, praying to the Tri'draconai, when Crikmenayn's forces had wrecked their way into the Castle. Not in the throne room, protected by her bodyguards, as she should have been.
Reylla II, Queen of the Permyans, knelt in prayer, her delicate satin dress torn and stained and her hair disarrayed from the coif her maid Ellen had drawn it into that very morning. Everyday since the beginning of her reign she had prayed to the two dragons at dawn and midnight without fail, asking for providence and longevity to her people. But today only Sol would here her prayer, for Reylla could not move to kneel beneath the other two dragons whose statues adorned the room.
Crikmenayn watched her with black amusement, removing the great spiked helm, revealing a balding head, his hairline receding through age. Yet despite this, a long severe plait protruded from his scalp and fell down his back, such was the Tritanayl fashion. A guard stepped forth and took the helm from Crikmenayn, bowing as he did so.
The Barok of the North stepped forward and drew his blade and from her vantage point Tianda saw her Queen's slight flinch and yet her prayer continued. Tianda's hand gripped the stone pillar tightly. Draw sword, majesty. she prayed, reaching out from her hiding place. Draw the Dragon's Claw! Tianda spied the blade at her queen's side, easy to draw if need be. And such a need was surely upon her.
Crikmenayn's sword lay across the back of the Queen's neck and it hit Tianda like a rock fall down a mountain that her queen had no intention of retaliating. She was bowing to her enemy, allowing him his long-sought victory.
Failing all else to do and knowing she had to act to save what remained of her people, Tianda fixed her gaze upon the torch, the flame sat in a silver dish that was hung from the high ceiling. The Dragons breathe flame.
She concentrated.
The fire roared, leaping up like an angry lion to pounce on the nearest guard. The Tritanayl screamed in surprise and agony, twisting and falling on the fellow next to him.
"What in the name of--?" Crikmenayn roared, stepping back at the sudden distraction. His eyes went wide at the sight of the fire, its shape unmistakably that of a ferocious dragon. "What magick is this, woman?!" he demanded of the Queen, shaking her like a rag doll. At the same time, Tianda advanced from her hiding place with extraordinary agility, her blade making short work of Crikmenayn's bodyguard as she reached them. They fell to the ground with a soft thwump, accompanied by the slight sound of shifting armour plates.
Tianda straightened to her full height, looking the tyrant squarely in its black eyes.
"The Dragons are angry, Crikmenayn." she proclaimed boldly. "And their wrath is wrought through my sword."
"Sorceress," he spat, his whole expression malicious. "A cowardly attack you make and you better yourself to me?" He barked a laugh and lifted his sword. "I will risk the Dragon's wrath, so poor is its vessel. Whom is this sallow limbed creature that wields the Dragon's might?"
While all this was unfolding, the Queen never broke from her prayer, her lips moving feverishly and her hands laid upon Sol's claws. Tianda spared her a glance, moving sideways in order to block her from the Tritanayl's dreaded blade.
"I am Tianda Aven." she said boldly, raising her chin. "Eternal Servant and protector of the Tri'draconai."
"Eternity is a long time to serve beasts." Crikmenayn snorted.
"Your folk would know, Crikmenayn." she answered calmly. "It is also gives plenty time to execute vermin."
Tianda's blade danced before the Tritanayl in a furious assault, forcing him to defend himself from all positions. Three strokes burned on his face, like the swipe of a dragon's claw and he yanked his bulk backwards as the Permyan prepared to spring a second assault, allowing her opponent a moment to realise what it meant to challenge a Permyan's swordplay and laugh in the face of it.
"A foul trick, girl." Crikmenayn said sourly, wiping the blood from his face. "None with true valour strike a man when he's not prepared."
"And none who know of me would attack my people!" she countered, resuming her attack. Her curved sword rang each time she hit Crikmenayn's armour and burned when it touched flesh.
Unprepared for this god-speed warrior, Crikmenayn could not negotiate his bulk to match her agility. It was clear a lucky strike was out of the question for this wench would be gone before the blade hit. Forcing her back he opened his mouth and cried "Forth Tritanayls!"
Upon his signal came the sound of ripping fabric as the concealed Tritanayls leaped forth from behind the tapestries, accompanied by the twang of many crossbows.
One bolt caught Tianda in the side, punching easily through her leather protection. The second caught her shoulder, burying deep. Small fires burned ferociously where each one hit. From the corner of her eye she saw Crikmenayn move in for the kill and she twisted around to parry him, blocking out the fiery pain as a third bolt dug into her back. And still she did not falter. Sweeping Crikmenayn's sword aside, she brought hers up using her pain to drive her anger. In one smooth stroke, Crikmenayn's head was cleaved from his body, rolling across the floor towards his remaining guards.
Tianda, wounded but still breathing, twisted around, her bloodied sword raised towards the Tritanayls firing furiously at their foe. A crossbow bolt stuck Tianda's knee as she moved toward them and she toppled as she put weight on the limb, crying out at the sharp agony. Her sword clattered from her hand and her strength fell away with it. She could find none to get up again and face her foe.
With her ear pressed to the ground she could hear the footsteps of the approaching Tritanayls and each closing step cut through her like thunder. An intense despair, worse than the pain of her wounds, rose in her, flooding lead through her veins. She, Tianda Aven, First Guard to Queen Reylla II, had failed in her duty. Crikmenayn may be dead but she had left her Queen unprotected, vulnerable and at the mercy of her enemy.
A blazing agony suddenly filled her head, ridding her of vision and consuming the pain of her wounds. This is it. she thought dimly. This is the punishment for my failure. I must face the dragon's wrath and let it burn me away completely.
A face suddenly loomed before her and it surprised Tianda that she could actually see it even if it was blurred, let alone identify it.
"Tianda," Queen Reylla said softly, her voice despaired.
Tianda could not reply. Her head was filled with the dragon's roar, taking her away on wings of burning glory.
Prologue: Wrath of the Sun Dragon
>>Carideu Tri'draconai -Castle of the Three Dragons
South Pangaea
Tianda raced across the stone courtyard, her sword flashing, slicing easily through the flesh of the Tritanayl warrior. She darted sideways as he fell, his sword still raised above his head. Without a thought for the kill, Tianda hurried down the stone passages and into the castle. Both Tritanal and Permyan warriors lay slain around her, their blood staining the floor in deep red swamps of flagstones.
No. Not just warriors. Her anger blazed brighter as her eyes fell on the body of a serving woman, her head lying some feet away from it. Judging by the silver tray and the trampled food delicacies, the maid had been attending to a noble's needs when the Tritanayls begun their vicious attack upon the castle. Tianda did not stop to mourn. She knew she was too late to save these people but still she felt the familiar waves of guilt when she passed them by without a prayer.
Do not grieve for the dead. Tianda thought to herself as she worked her way to the heart of the Castle, forcing her eyes to stare vigilantly forward. Not until you are among them. Besides, time was slipping like sand through her fingers. She may already be too late.
Tianda halted at the arched doorway of a circular, high-roofed chamber, and with good reason. A growl built in her chest as she crouched slightly, making sure the tapestries that ran around the entire room hid her from view. She knew all too well whose presence befouled this sacred chamber.
Standing beneath the towering statue of Sol, the great Sun'dragon, was a distinct group of Tritanayls; none other than the royal guard of Crikmenayn, ruler of North Pangaea and all lands who had no desire to join the Permyan's yolk. Tritanayls they called themselves, Dragon-cursers.
Her heart was thudding painfully against her ribs from her dash and the pain intensified as the one of the guards moved aside, granting her the sight of the tyrant himself. A robust man Crikmenayn's oil-black hair stood out vividly against the red and gold furnishings of the room and his bulk made all around him seem diminutive. Even from this distance, Tianda shuddered from the malicious nature of the man, radiating out from those pools of utter darkness that were his eyes. Crikmenayn's armour consisted of gleaming silver plates over a heavy chainmail that fell to his knees, just short of his high leather boots and metal greaves. And it was then, appearing in her eye line, Tianda saw the figure knelt at Crikmenayn's feet. She must have been here, praying to the Tri'draconai, when Crikmenayn's forces had wrecked their way into the Castle. Not in the throne room, protected by her bodyguards, as she should have been.
Reylla II, Queen of the Permyans, knelt in prayer, her delicate satin dress torn and stained and her hair disarrayed from the coif her maid Ellen had drawn it into that very morning. Everyday since the beginning of her reign she had prayed to the two dragons at dawn and midnight without fail, asking for providence and longevity to her people. But today only Sol would here her prayer, for Reylla could not move to kneel beneath the other two dragons whose statues adorned the room.
Crikmenayn watched her with black amusement, removing the great spiked helm, revealing a balding head, his hairline receding through age. Yet despite this, a long severe plait protruded from his scalp and fell down his back, such was the Tritanayl fashion. A guard stepped forth and took the helm from Crikmenayn, bowing as he did so.
The Barok of the North stepped forward and drew his blade and from her vantage point Tianda saw her Queen's slight flinch and yet her prayer continued. Tianda's hand gripped the stone pillar tightly. Draw sword, majesty. she prayed, reaching out from her hiding place. Draw the Dragon's Claw! Tianda spied the blade at her queen's side, easy to draw if need be. And such a need was surely upon her.
Crikmenayn's sword lay across the back of the Queen's neck and it hit Tianda like a rock fall down a mountain that her queen had no intention of retaliating. She was bowing to her enemy, allowing him his long-sought victory.
Failing all else to do and knowing she had to act to save what remained of her people, Tianda fixed her gaze upon the torch, the flame sat in a silver dish that was hung from the high ceiling. The Dragons breathe flame.
She concentrated.
The fire roared, leaping up like an angry lion to pounce on the nearest guard. The Tritanayl screamed in surprise and agony, twisting and falling on the fellow next to him.
"What in the name of--?" Crikmenayn roared, stepping back at the sudden distraction. His eyes went wide at the sight of the fire, its shape unmistakably that of a ferocious dragon. "What magick is this, woman?!" he demanded of the Queen, shaking her like a rag doll. At the same time, Tianda advanced from her hiding place with extraordinary agility, her blade making short work of Crikmenayn's bodyguard as she reached them. They fell to the ground with a soft thwump, accompanied by the slight sound of shifting armour plates.
Tianda straightened to her full height, looking the tyrant squarely in its black eyes.
"The Dragons are angry, Crikmenayn." she proclaimed boldly. "And their wrath is wrought through my sword."
"Sorceress," he spat, his whole expression malicious. "A cowardly attack you make and you better yourself to me?" He barked a laugh and lifted his sword. "I will risk the Dragon's wrath, so poor is its vessel. Whom is this sallow limbed creature that wields the Dragon's might?"
While all this was unfolding, the Queen never broke from her prayer, her lips moving feverishly and her hands laid upon Sol's claws. Tianda spared her a glance, moving sideways in order to block her from the Tritanayl's dreaded blade.
"I am Tianda Aven." she said boldly, raising her chin. "Eternal Servant and protector of the Tri'draconai."
"Eternity is a long time to serve beasts." Crikmenayn snorted.
"Your folk would know, Crikmenayn." she answered calmly. "It is also gives plenty time to execute vermin."
Tianda's blade danced before the Tritanayl in a furious assault, forcing him to defend himself from all positions. Three strokes burned on his face, like the swipe of a dragon's claw and he yanked his bulk backwards as the Permyan prepared to spring a second assault, allowing her opponent a moment to realise what it meant to challenge a Permyan's swordplay and laugh in the face of it.
"A foul trick, girl." Crikmenayn said sourly, wiping the blood from his face. "None with true valour strike a man when he's not prepared."
"And none who know of me would attack my people!" she countered, resuming her attack. Her curved sword rang each time she hit Crikmenayn's armour and burned when it touched flesh.
Unprepared for this god-speed warrior, Crikmenayn could not negotiate his bulk to match her agility. It was clear a lucky strike was out of the question for this wench would be gone before the blade hit. Forcing her back he opened his mouth and cried "Forth Tritanayls!"
Upon his signal came the sound of ripping fabric as the concealed Tritanayls leaped forth from behind the tapestries, accompanied by the twang of many crossbows.
One bolt caught Tianda in the side, punching easily through her leather protection. The second caught her shoulder, burying deep. Small fires burned ferociously where each one hit. From the corner of her eye she saw Crikmenayn move in for the kill and she twisted around to parry him, blocking out the fiery pain as a third bolt dug into her back. And still she did not falter. Sweeping Crikmenayn's sword aside, she brought hers up using her pain to drive her anger. In one smooth stroke, Crikmenayn's head was cleaved from his body, rolling across the floor towards his remaining guards.
Tianda, wounded but still breathing, twisted around, her bloodied sword raised towards the Tritanayls firing furiously at their foe. A crossbow bolt stuck Tianda's knee as she moved toward them and she toppled as she put weight on the limb, crying out at the sharp agony. Her sword clattered from her hand and her strength fell away with it. She could find none to get up again and face her foe.
With her ear pressed to the ground she could hear the footsteps of the approaching Tritanayls and each closing step cut through her like thunder. An intense despair, worse than the pain of her wounds, rose in her, flooding lead through her veins. She, Tianda Aven, First Guard to Queen Reylla II, had failed in her duty. Crikmenayn may be dead but she had left her Queen unprotected, vulnerable and at the mercy of her enemy.
A blazing agony suddenly filled her head, ridding her of vision and consuming the pain of her wounds. This is it. she thought dimly. This is the punishment for my failure. I must face the dragon's wrath and let it burn me away completely.
A face suddenly loomed before her and it surprised Tianda that she could actually see it even if it was blurred, let alone identify it.
"Tianda," Queen Reylla said softly, her voice despaired.
Tianda could not reply. Her head was filled with the dragon's roar, taking her away on wings of burning glory.
