Prologue

Don't look now. An honest to goodness update. I know; be shocked and amazed. A real update. It's long; in fact, as the title states, it's supposed to be a prologue to the novel I'm currently attempting to write before Doug gets home (at least a decent enough 1st [if not 2nd or 3rd... hopefully] draft). Let me know what you think, honestly. Just keep in mind that it is kinda long and is a very, very rough draft. So without further ado, I hope you enjoy...

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Swirls of smoke rose higher, above the trees. The sun was setting; splashes of reds, yellows and oranges danced in the sky and in between the clouds. The evening sky stood out against the green leaves of the trees of summer. It was getting late.

Alacuriel continued walking down the dirt path. A small coin pouch flew above his head from his hand and hung in the air. After a few paces, he dropped his hand to his side, palm facing behind him, and the pouch surged forward into his awaiting hand. He continued playing games with the pouched coins until the source of the smoke came into view as he came closer to the clearing ahead of him. An inn with its hearth lit and the small homes were everywhere he looked.

“Selwyn. Just the place I was looking for,” is all he said before continuing his steady stride into town. Quickly he tucked his pouch away in his tunic.

His steady stride was ruined as his foot caught on a tree root poking up out from the ground. Falling forward, he put his arms out in hopes of breaking his fall. Slowly Alac got up and brushed himself off and winced in pain.

“My arm,” he muttered, noticing the long bloodied cut on his forearm. He searched on the ground and noticed his knife had fallen free from his belt. He picked it up and shoved it in its sheath forcefully. For a moment, looking back at his wound, he thought of just leaving it and claiming it was old battle wound as he was walking through the forest and fought with a bear. But in the end he thought it best that he didn’t come into a new town bloodied and battered. Besides, he didn’t know if any bears lived in the area.

Carefully, Alac gently, slowly ran his fingers over his left forearm. As the fingers passed over the cut, new, healed skin appeared as if there never was an injury there before.

He stretched his arm and twisted it all around, making sure it had healed correctly. He’d only treated deeper cuts such as knife wounds a handful of times and didn’t feel he’d had enough practice. Small scratches he was confident about, though he wasn't entirely sure how he was able to heal such wounds at all. And searching for that answer was what had led him to Selwyn.

Deciding that his arm was as good as new, Alac continued into town and stopped at the nearest inn, The Courier’s Flagon, and opened the door. There was a surprisingly large amount of people in the front hall. Walking over to the nearest open table, he sat alone, away from most people, and waved over the nearest barmaid.

“Hello there, sir! What can I do you for?” she said in a drawled accent. Alac smirked at the question, causing her to blush.

“Can I get you something to eat?” she asked with a coy smile. “You look mighty tired. I’d recommend the house dish, spiced vegetables and fried potatoes.”

He grinned. “Certainly, my lady.”

“Kyana,” she said.

“Ah, yes, Kyana. Spiced vegetables it is! And if you could be so kind as to bring me a mug of your finest ale as well.”

“O’course, sir! Comin’ right up!” she said with a wink before turning toward the kitchen.

Leaning back, Alac looked around the open hall. So many people, he thought. Even children too. Why aren’t they at home in bed?

Loud laughter erupted from the corner one table down, interrupting Alac’s musings. He turned abruptly to see who caused the noise and wasn’t at all surprised to see three teenagers laughing heartily. All eyes in the room turned toward them as a silence broke out. From the bar counter, that drawled voice chided the three.

“Now you listen here. It’s a full house tonight and if any of you ruin Kerwin’s story telling for these fine people, it’s on your heads! I will not be the one held responsible for anything that he may threaten to turn you into.” It didn’t dawn on Alac until then that all these people were there for the same reason he was; to hear the fabled stories of Aratas’ past.

One of the youth grunted in disbelief. “Kerwin wouldn’t lay a finger on us.”

“I don’t know, Jac,” a young woman’s voice spoke from the corner. “Kerwin doesn’t seem particularly fond of you and Falaeth. Me on the other hand…” she let her sentence hang in the air.

“Ha!” the boy, Jac, spat. “The only reason he’s “fond of you,” as you put it, is the same reason every other male in eyeshot is fond of you. Don’t take that as a compliment either. It’s just because you’re a—”

“Enough, Jacory!” an old but strong, authoritative voice reproved. An old man with a staff, too short to be human but too tall to be a dwarf, stepped into the light and strode over to the corner table. All on-lookers abruptly turned away as the newcomer began to speak, giving them a semblance of privacy.

The old man poked Jacory in the chest with his staff. “Don’t you ever treat a lady like that again. And don’t tell blatant lies either. I hear one more insult from you about Tari and I’ll turn you into a guppy! It’s more than a mere finger of mine that you should be worried about.”

“Sorry sir,” is all Jac was able to mutter before the authoritative voice rose again.

“And you!” he rounded on Falaeth, smacking the back of his head. “Never let me catch you watching idly by as your sister takes insults. Especially from a twit like him,” he nodded toward Jac.

Falaeth looked down. “Yes, Master Kerwin,” he mumbled, daring a peek at him.

“Right. Now, I’ve got history stories to tell. Don’t make me come over here again,” Kerwin said, walking off over by the hearth. The barmaid pulled a chair over for him to sit in. The crowd began to stir and gathered round where he sat.

Kerwin looked at the crowd around him. A small smile reached his lips as he recognized faces. Many leaned forward in anticipation of what Kerwin was going to say. Most had heard the old tales before, but the way Kerwin told these stories had a way of entrancing them. Alac found himself leaning forward, awaiting to hear. He’d waited a long time and travelled far to hear these stories; if what this old man said was true, it could explain so many things from Alac’s life…

All hushed as Kerwin began to speak.

“Many, many years ago, the gods were continually with us. Things were much different than they are now. Then, the head gods walked among us. The God of Light, Arorin, would help good men who were in need and blessed those with elven blood. Those who were able to truly harness the power of silver in all our blood were known as Silverborn. Rhear, the God of Neutrality, taught and bestowed the power of magic upon Aratas to all those who diligently sought after it. And Raziel, Goddess of Darkness, gave potentially unlimited power and stamina to those who were willing to follow her. Each of these three gods had a place in our lives, and each knew that place.

“Because of these gifts from the gods, the races of Aratas began to prosper in ways they had never before supposed possible. Each power had its place, and each had the ability to help change the world to become better. The people who strove for power were granted it. Those who studied for years were able to learn the ways of magic and control it with little thought. Those with elven blood, of even the smallest amount, had the chance to become Silverborn, but all blessed by Arorin received greater health. All seemed well for many centuries. But little by little, some were given too much power, until they became corrupt. Being rulers among their own kind was no longer enough. And some who had once been neutral followed in the path of darkness. Armies began to—”

“What else about the silver people, Kerwin?” a small child asked from the foot of the old man’s chair.

“Oh yes, child. I’m getting there. Just be patient,” he chuckled. But Kerwin began to cough profusely and waved over a barmaid. Kyana quickly made her way to him and bent over to hear. “Some water, please. I’m afraid I catch sicknesses so much easier in my old age.”

Kyana returned with the water and Kerwin took a long drink. “Thank you, dear. Now where was I?”

“You began talking about the armies, Master Kerwin,” Falaeth said.

“Ah, yes. The armies. Large armies began to form, with strength and power that had never before been seen on our world. And those with the power and armies wanted more.

“Arorin had blessed the elven blood abundantly with the abilities to heal, control emotions and manipulate metals. Others now became jealous and wanted this gift themselves. And the greed of evil would stop at nothing to achieve it; rape, pillage, enslave, coerce—whatever it took to steal it and continue gaining power.

“Slaughtering’s began to take place. Those with any elven blood were being wiped out by the thousands, and what few who lived were forced to help raise a new generation who used their power in corrupt ways.” Kerwin paused and looked around before continuing.

“Arorin could no longer stand to see his chosen people brought down by such massacres. He gathered all the gods together and held a meeting with the Pantheon. After long meetings, the gods from each sect finally came to a decision; either Raziel could leave quietly and let the world live in peace for 1000 years, or they would be forced to combine their powers to securely lock her away. Seeing her own gods turn against her, Raziel chose to willingly go, revoke her power and let her hold on the world diminish. Arorin too withdrew the powers of silver and those of elven blood never produced the traits to become a Silverborn again. The power struggle between the gods of good and evil relinquished itself and let neutrality and the powers of magic reign. The gods left us.”

Some people gasped, some shrugged. Alac just nodded in agreement and leaned back in his seat. He’d heard this story many times before. And every time it ended the same; the gods left and they were never coming back.

But then he heard Kerwin speak again.

“Yes, they left us. Or we we’d thought.” Alac’s head shot up. He’d never heard that before.

“After half of her time had passed, Raziel no longer felt that this was a fair punishment to be banned for 1000 years. All the head gods fought for followers to their cause, fought for power, she thought; she was no different than Arorin or Rhear in her own eyes.

“Quietly, Raziel began appearing to the world again, never revealing her identity. She caused slight chaos, but continued to lie low. She was going to build an army, from the ground up. And bit by bit, her strength began to grow, her powers taking over our world once more. Her reign began again two hundred years ago. But she was not hidden for as long or as well as she’d hoped.” The old man paused again and glanced around. After a slight nod from Kyana, he continued.

“The whisperings began a century ago.” Alac found himself leaning forward in anticipation. What whisperings?

“Hushed words of a dark powers emerging can now be heard to those who dare to listen. And with these quiet words come rumors of the other gods returning as well, the gods of good, Arorin and the others. But there is only one way for those with good and pure hearts to know for certain; when the power given with elven blood is restored to us.

“We will know that Arorin has returned this time, to lock Raziel up forever by one simple thing. Some say that it will never happen. Some say it will be soon. And some, like myself, say that it has already begun.” Kerwin’s eyes locked onto Alac’s gaze and he couldn’t stand to look away. Alac felt something inside himself, a sort of longing to know more. Anticipation was nagging him.

“Mark my words,” Kerwin promised the crowd, “Arorin and the gods of good have returned with the powers of the Silverborn.”

Ehhh...

This is me apologizing for my lack of writing for a freaking month. My life got crazy, I got lazy, but I should be back again. I miss this.

Happy Thanksgiving

I can't feel my arm. I thought. What is wrong with my arm? Why can't I see out of my right eye?
I tried to lay down on the lazy boy to watch some tv, but as soon as my head hit the cushion, my stomach flopped.
"Oh no," I gasped, jumping up and sprinting to the bathroom.
The taste of bile and acid burned my mouth and made me gag again.
Happy Thanksgiving to me, I thought bitterly.

Work, Work, Work

The moment I took my shoes off, I flopped onto the new carpeted floor, stretching myself out. I was pooped, dead tired. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to drag myself up the stairs and into my bed for the night.
"How was work, sweetie?" my mom asked with a grin on her face. I threw my head to the side in order to look at her. Before I could speak, a yawn caught up in my throat.
"Long. So very long," was all I could muster out.
"Oh, how many hours did you work today?" I held up both of my pointer fingers.
"Only two? That seems to be a little skimpy if you ask me..." she muttered. I gasped.
"Not two. Eleven!" I cried out exhasperated. The eyes of my mom bugged out her head as she began to comprehend how long I was there.
"Oh my... Would you like me to get you anything?" she asked, suddenly very concerned.
"No, I'm going to bed," was all I said as I slowly made myself stand up and crawl up the stairs. I needed a weekend to recover from this weekend.

Snow

"I can't talk right now!" I screamed, throwing my phone on the seat. I didn't have time for this, not while I was driving.
I gripped the wheel with both hands and slowly started to come to a stop. I started to hydroplane, my car not slowing down. That red light up ahead was a disaster waiting to happen unless I got this beast of a car to stop before it came within a hundred feet of the intersection.
Bracing myself for the worst, I let the pedal go a little bit then quickly pushed down again, pumping the break. Finally, the car began to slow and eventually stop.
"Stupid snow," I grumbled, keeping my eyes on the road. "Good for nothing white stuff."

I'm Not Crazy

"Yeah you are."
"I am not! Don't you think I of all people would know?" I asked, looking at her as though she were stupid. Which, honestly she was. I used to do basically nothing with my time. Studying was never my strong point and so I had all this free time where I watched TV or played video games. But ever since I got this second job, I've actually been doing something with this pathetic thing I called my life.
"You work full time and you are going to school full time? You are totally crazy!" Kyra said, flabbergasted.
"That's not crazy, Kyra. That's being productive with my life."
"Productive? All right, sure, I'll give you that. But it's still crazy. And you have no social life," she pointed out. I couldn't help but laugh at that.
"That's a good one considering I didn't even have a social life before I got the second job. At least now I'm getting paid for doing something."
Kyra stared off for a moment in silence. Before too long, she looked back at me and nodded. "All right Camber. You win."

Picture Day

"Smile!" the stupid man in front of me said with a rubber chicken in his hand. He was waving it around as though it were alive with its head chopped off.
"Say, Chicken!" he told me, making the poor rubber blob shake. He looked so dumb. Did he think I was 3?
I did as he said and I smiled. I laughed inside when I got to see the look of disgust on his face as he saw the look at mine. "Smile" was a loose term for what I was doing. I knew it looked more like a grimace, but I was so done with this place.
The blinding light flashed again and I let my face fall. Hopping off the chair, I walked away quickly.
Picture day. I hated it.

Tabasco

I never understood the kids at school who didn't like Tabasco sauce. Personally, I thought it was one of the greatest tastes this world had. If I could put it on my food, I would almost every time.
Pulling out a cracker and slicing the cheese I smiled to myself. My mom prepared one of my favorite snacks for after school today. And I couldn't wait to get that peppery hotness on my tongue.
"Mmm, Tobasco sauce on cheese on cracker. Could life get any better? I submit that it cannot!" I put a few drops of that peppery goodness on the cheese and then shoved the whole thing in my mouth. The roof of my mouth and tongue burned as the Tobasco made its way all around.
I opened up the plastic wrapping on the crackers and grabbed another. This was the good life.

You Know Your Life Sucks When...

Third time this week. How do you get pulled over three times in one week?
"Hey there buddy, why'd you run that red light?" the officer asked, peering at me through my window.
"Honestly, I have no idea." That was the truth too. I could have stopped really, but I assumed the yellow would have stayed longer than it did. They usually were on State Street.
"All right, well I'm going to need your license and registration and all the fun stuff." I yanked my wallet out and gave him my driver's license. As I leaned over to the glove compartment, he continued to talk.
"So," he paused for a moment, "Mitchell is it? Were you preoccupied with something or what was going on?"
I sat back in my seat and handed him the papers. "Actually, yeah I was. My girlfriend of almost two years just got back from Cuba and told me she cheated on me the entire time she was there and now is waiting for him to come back to the US next month when he's finished his internship. So yeah, my mind is definitely not on driving right now. I'm just trying to pay for a ticket I got last week so I can go home to sleep."
"That sucks man, sorry to add this ticket too, but that's life." And he walked off to his motorcycle. Flipping up the seat, he brought the cop computer out and started typing in my information.
"They have the computer in their seat? That is so cool," I muttered to myself before turning to look at the front to wait.
I heard his footsteps before his voice. "All right look. I have to give you a ticket; you blatantly ran a red light. I can't not ticket you for that. But I can't. I can't bring myself to doing it. You got a ticket for going 4 over on a hill? That's a stingy officer. I never have liked Officer Carlson, but keep that to yourself. And you got a ticket for your back lights being out. Your week has sucked. I can't write you up."
I stared at him in shock. He continued. "I hope you know how bad I feel for you, man. I've only ever not given a ticket to someone twice. Once because his wife was in labor and screaming and the other time was less than a mile away from the hospital and she had her son in the back with a broken arm jutting out of his skin. Count yourself lucky."
"Oh, I do Officer. Thanks, I guess."
"Kid, whatever you're doing wrong, fix it. Obviously you aren't doing something right if your week has been this bad. My suggestion to you is just to be good." He tapped the top of my car twice before walking back to his bike.
I sat there for a moment, still shocked. "That was the most bizzare thing..."
I pulled out onto the road again and laughed humorlessly. "You know your life sucks when after talking to a cop for a few minutes, he won't ticket you for blatantly running a red light."

I Know I Know You

"Sorry!" I said the the person I just ran into. I hadn't been watching where I was going at all.
There was nothing for me to do for the next half hour before my next class. Every time this happened I had a tendency to wander around campus for the sake of having nothing else to do. Generally, I kept my head down; I'm not a very sociable person on cold days like these. But after having already ran into someone, I decided to face the world and try smiling at all who passed.
A familiar person rounded the corner about to cross my path. Casey Manwill. I hadn't seen her since I was 12 years old and we played soccer together. I waited for her to look in my direction before saying anything, but I couldn't bring myself to speak once seeing her reaction.
You know the times where you see someone, and you know you know them but don't know where? Casey had that look on her face for a brief moment. Seeing that caught my comment short and instead I smiled as she did to me. The courtesy smile. The "I'll feel like  a total idiot if I don't acknowledge you at this point."
I continued to walk on and tried not to chuckle. I took a quick glance back, just to make sure I'd really seen her, and saw her staring right back at me.
Hmm. Awkward.

Sleeping in Class

"...you get so many stories of Greek heritage and culture in those depictions by Homer..."
I couldn't type fast enough for what he was saying. I never knew what we needed to know in this class since apparently what notes I had been taking all semester was never quite good enough once the tests came around.
"...was everything. Sundyata is so important in these areas..."
I squinted my eyes at my screen. My notes looked horrible. Something like this:
geek hertige y culure in those depiccctionss by hhomer.
I hadn't realized I was falling asleep. Not that that was very suprising; after all, I'd been up since 4 am this morning. I felt my eyes start to slip close again and I couldn't shake the feeling. 10 hours of sleep over the last 3 days was definitely catching up on me.

I just sat there, listening. What more can I do? She needed me. Even if I didnt want to be there for her tonight.
"I just feel so lost and confused. I don't even know who I am anymore Sandy."
I sat, leaning toward her as she spoke, nodding here and there. I wasn't really paying attention though. My mind was thousands of miles away on the other side of the world. I ears a crash and looked at the floor.
"What was that?" I asked.
Sandy stared at me blankly. "Kelly, that was you."
"Oh," was all I could say before I got up and walked away. I had too much on my mind to be there for anyone at this point.
"I'm sorry!" I called out as I turned the corner.

Dresses

"I hate this," I grumbled. Kara glared daggers in my direction. "Not this dress. Just the fact I'm even dress shopping at all!"
"Oh, stop being such a boy," my sister told me.
I smacked her shoulder. "Seriously Kara? You need to be such a jerk tonight, considering I'm doing this for you?" I gestured to the overpriced dress I was wearing. I hated dresses, skirts; anything like that. And for some reason, my sister decided to ask me if I would be her Maid of Honor in a couple months. Not her best friend, but the little sister she's never gotten along with.
"It's just a joke Rachel. Take a chill pill."
I just glared at her as I shut the dressing room door. The sooner I was out of this thing, the better.

Selfish

You know the kind of person
That you try so hard to be.
And deep inside you know it's there
But no one else can see.

And when you bake cookies
Just to be nice to a friend
It doesn't make them feel better
They just get sick in the end.

So just remember the next time you want
To be there for someone else,
Sometimes it really is better
To just think of yourself.

If I Could

If I could
I would take away all the
Pain.
The pain that has caused your
Doubt.
Doubt that has led you
Astray.

If I could
I would keep you
Safe.
Safe from all of that
Harm.
That harm which has come your
Way.

If I could
I would be there for
You.
Because it's you that is
Worth it.
Worth more than I can
Say.

If I could
I would show
You
Just what you mean to
Us.
Because you're amazing in your own
Way.

Love

The unbearable,
Illogical, confusing,
Complicated, love.

Take me home to you.
Where butterfly kisses soar.
Rain pours from the sky.

Cheater

I never understood those emo kids. You know the ones; black clothes, hair, make up, attitude. Their life is just so depressing, right? Ha. I used to look at those kids and just wonder. What in the world happened to them that made them feel so socially outcasted? Or to the point where they didn't even want to be near people?
I couldn't ever grasp the concept of cutting. It seemed like such a stupid thing to do; intentionally harm yourself just for the sake of what? Harming yourself to mask the harm others had done? It seemed to be the dumbest idea at the time. But now...
I understood them all too well. The thoughts of doing just that continually came to mind. I felt sick, thinking that way. But after what she did to me, I couldn't picture doing anything else.

They Said Brains, Not Trains...

They were always such jerks to me. I hated the basketball team and everything they stood for. Just because I wasn't their cup of tea apparently meant that they had every right to torture me at every their every whim and thought.
"Honestly Sarah, when was the last time I actually cared at all?"
"How should I know? You're the one who can just shut off your feelings." He always was one to ask stupid questions. I got tired of them so quickly these days. My brother, Kurt, was such an idiot at times. Even more so when his idiot basketball friends picked on me and he watched and laughed.
"That's my point though, really. I shut my feelings off all the time. Meaning, I don't care about your stupid probelms. Get the picture?" he said, walking away.
I screamed for a moment. "Can't you just please talk to them for me? You're my brother! You're supposed to look out for me!"
"Must have missed that in the job description," he said, nonchalantly, making his way through the front door. I flinched as the door slammed shut.
"Must have missed your brain too. Probably thought they said 'trains' instead as they were handing them out to everyone..." I muttered.

Magic

This writing just didn't make any sense. Not when it came out of my mouth anyway. I could read it fine; it was speaking it that I was struggling with. It was as if the words morphed into a whole nother lanugauge as I spoke, making the incantation useless. In fact, at that point it wasn't even an incantation anymore. This feather wasn't going to burst into flame any time soon. I grabbed my book and threw it to the ground.
"Kitara!" my mentor called out to me. "Pick that book up. It's not the books fault you are making all the wrong intonations."
I huffed. He never tried to understand me at all. It was so annoying, and the more he did it, the more frustrated I would get.
"I'm trying, Master."
"Well, try harder. It's obviously not enough."
"I don't know what to change though! I need your help. Couldn't you just say it for me one more time so I could-"
"No," he firmly stated. And that was all as he turned away from me.
My blood boiled beneath my skin. This was worthless. My mentor was worthless. They had always told me since I was a child that I had magic in my blood, that I would be a great mage one day. But I still couldn't even cast the smallest of spells! My anger finally got the better of me then, and something in me snapped.
"Ist ukara mith soule idiom!" I cried.
The feather began to float into the air and quickly disapperated into a flame. I felt the flow of something brilliant run through me and I never wanted to lose the feeling of it. But as soon as the ashes were in a pile my work table, the feeling left with it.
I didn't hear his footsteps behind me.
"That is the feeling of magic. That is what is required of you."

Oh, My Son

Oh my son, my son.
Be aware of what your needs are.
While finding and recording the stories of Barbie Dolls and dress-up parties.
Kiss your worries goodbye.

Be aware of what your needs are.
Find a place to fit your needs.
Kiss your worries goodbye.
The choices are plentiful.

Find a place to fit your needs.
Cooking individuals sized meals is fast and easy.
The choices are plentiful.
We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.

Cooking individual sized meals is fast and easy.
Repeat process until desired size is reached.
We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.
Our bedrooms are bigger than yours.

Repeat process until desired size is reached.
Just a hop, skip and a jump away.
Our bedrooms are bigger than yours.
I am your son.

Just a hop skip and a jump away.
While finding and recording the stories of Barbie dolls and dress-up parties.
I am your son.
Oh, my son, my son.