The Vagabond

Agalayth · 06-08-2003, 06:48 PM

Here is the first chapter of the story I'm currently writing; The Vagabond.

The Vagabond - Chapter 1

It was chaos. All the fire, all the screaming, it was too much for the traveling druid to bear. Of all nights, why did I chose this night to come to the city of Ilduran, he thought. He looked out his window, and saw the city consumed by smoke, flame and ash. The white towers were illuminated so they looked red and orange, and people were running out of their houses screaming. He grabbed his cloak and his sword, and he left the inn.

The Dark Elves were attacking the town, and the great Elven city was completely defenseless. Flaming arrows and magic started the fire. The rain of arrow fire wouldn’t stop, and the druid called Aysis had to constantly move to avoid being shot. As he left the inn, he saw hundreds of other people in the streets, but very few were alive for too long. They were either struck by arrows, set aflame, or stabbed by marauding Dark Elves. He moved as quickly as possible, and used his magic to make the Dark Elven attackers not notice him.

Farther and farther he ran, creeping in and out of the shadows. Aysis would constantly be stopping to look around and see if there were any of those villainous Dark Elves nearby. As soon as the coast was clear, he’d run as fast as he could into the next shadow.

As he saw the gates where he could leave Ilduran, his pace started to quicken. All his thought was on reaching those gates. But then he heard something. He heard the cry of an infant, and immediately stopped in his tracks. Where was this sound coming from? He looked around the wide dirt road, and on the sides of the road as well. Then he spotted something that lay in a large cloak about twenty paces away. As Aysis went towards this strange object in the cloak, the cries became louder.

He opened the cloak, and he saw a little Elven child. He quickly grabbed the child, put the cloak back around him, and ran as fast as he could out of the majestic city that was now in ruins. As he exited the gates, Aysis saw a hill with a few trees on it, and knew that he would stop there to rest, for he was very weary now. He ran up the hill with the child who was still crying.

“Hush,” whispered Aysis, who hoped that the child’s screams wouldn’t attract any Dark Elves. The child’s cries became softer and softer, and eventually ceased. Aysis rocked the baby boy back and forth very slowly. The child fell asleep after about five minutes, much to Aysis’ relief. He wondered what the child’s name was, and who the parents were.

As the druid and the child were rested with the child on the hill, the questions about the child kept circling in Aysis’ mind. Before long, he decided that the only way he could get the answers is to use his magic. He didn’t even know how old the child was, so reading his memories would clear that up. So he stopped rocking the baby, and shut his eyes. His mind was so deeply concentrated that even the slightest touch would break the concentration. He now left his body and went into the child’s mind.

The images he saw were very brief. First, there was just darkness. Then, he saw a beautiful Elven woman who must have been his mother, and an Elven man who he guessed was his father. They were talking, but he couldn’t understand anything they were saying. They kept repeating the word Asrael. Was that the child’s name? It must have been. He tried to look at other images in the child’s memories. There weren’t too many of them, so the child must have only been alive for a week; two at the most.

The wind was blowing hard now, and the leaves of the trees above were making loud noises. A few leaves fell from the trees, and one landed on Aysis’ head. He immediately came back to his body, with the little information he knew about the child; Asrael.

Aysis decided that they’d sleep behind the largest tree on the hill, for that night only. It was pretty large, and if any Dark Elves were near, his keen Elven senses would wake him up. He looked at the sleeping child, breathing deeply as he slept. He smiled, and covered him in the cloak. He then held the child against his chest, and slept against the tree, next to the ruins of the city Ilduran.

06-08-2003, 06:48 PM	#1
Agalayth Elven Warrior Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 215	The Vagabond Here is the first chapter of the story I'm currently writing; The Vagabond. The Vagabond - Chapter 1 It was chaos. All the fire, all the screaming, it was too much for the traveling druid to bear. Of all nights, why did I chose this night to come to the city of Ilduran, he thought. He looked out his window, and saw the city consumed by smoke, flame and ash. The white towers were illuminated so they looked red and orange, and people were running out of their houses screaming. He grabbed his cloak and his sword, and he left the inn. The Dark Elves were attacking the town, and the great Elven city was completely defenseless. Flaming arrows and magic started the fire. The rain of arrow fire wouldn’t stop, and the druid called Aysis had to constantly move to avoid being shot. As he left the inn, he saw hundreds of other people in the streets, but very few were alive for too long. They were either struck by arrows, set aflame, or stabbed by marauding Dark Elves. He moved as quickly as possible, and used his magic to make the Dark Elven attackers not notice him. Farther and farther he ran, creeping in and out of the shadows. Aysis would constantly be stopping to look around and see if there were any of those villainous Dark Elves nearby. As soon as the coast was clear, he’d run as fast as he could into the next shadow. As he saw the gates where he could leave Ilduran, his pace started to quicken. All his thought was on reaching those gates. But then he heard something. He heard the cry of an infant, and immediately stopped in his tracks. Where was this sound coming from? He looked around the wide dirt road, and on the sides of the road as well. Then he spotted something that lay in a large cloak about twenty paces away. As Aysis went towards this strange object in the cloak, the cries became louder. He opened the cloak, and he saw a little Elven child. He quickly grabbed the child, put the cloak back around him, and ran as fast as he could out of the majestic city that was now in ruins. As he exited the gates, Aysis saw a hill with a few trees on it, and knew that he would stop there to rest, for he was very weary now. He ran up the hill with the child who was still crying. “Hush,” whispered Aysis, who hoped that the child’s screams wouldn’t attract any Dark Elves. The child’s cries became softer and softer, and eventually ceased. Aysis rocked the baby boy back and forth very slowly. The child fell asleep after about five minutes, much to Aysis’ relief. He wondered what the child’s name was, and who the parents were. As the druid and the child were rested with the child on the hill, the questions about the child kept circling in Aysis’ mind. Before long, he decided that the only way he could get the answers is to use his magic. He didn’t even know how old the child was, so reading his memories would clear that up. So he stopped rocking the baby, and shut his eyes. His mind was so deeply concentrated that even the slightest touch would break the concentration. He now left his body and went into the child’s mind. The images he saw were very brief. First, there was just darkness. Then, he saw a beautiful Elven woman who must have been his mother, and an Elven man who he guessed was his father. They were talking, but he couldn’t understand anything they were saying. They kept repeating the word Asrael. Was that the child’s name? It must have been. He tried to look at other images in the child’s memories. There weren’t too many of them, so the child must have only been alive for a week; two at the most. The wind was blowing hard now, and the leaves of the trees above were making loud noises. A few leaves fell from the trees, and one landed on Aysis’ head. He immediately came back to his body, with the little information he knew about the child; Asrael. Aysis decided that they’d sleep behind the largest tree on the hill, for that night only. It was pretty large, and if any Dark Elves were near, his keen Elven senses would wake him up. He looked at the sleeping child, breathing deeply as he slept. He smiled, and covered him in the cloak. He then held the child against his chest, and slept against the tree, next to the ruins of the city Ilduran. __________________ Chickens at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Chickens in motion tend to cross the road. Last edited by Agalayth : 06-08-2003 at 06:50 PM.