Curse

Devilish666 · Jan 15, 2007, 04:24 PM // 16:24

Hi All,

It was mention offhand once that our guild needed a guild story since we had a professional writer in the guild, but he was too busy to step up to the plate.

So i done the stupid thing and decided to have a go, I've never wrote anything like this before, and guaranteed myself that it was going to fall flat on its face, but with encouragement and support from my guidies, I've been told it's actually came out alright.

So i got pushed to post it on GWG.

I've got 9 chapters atm, and chapters come out as and when i finish em (not very often)

Its based slightly on GW but its in its own part of the world, as the story progresses i will be introducing members in my guild / alliance as characters in the story.

Constructive feedback is very welcome, ah hell any feedback is better then none right?

I'll start by posting the prologue and the first chapter, then post the rest later.

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Prologue

*DONG* …….. *DONG* The town bells announced the arrival of a brand new day; the weather being nice and sunny, with only a few lazy clouds to coat the otherwise pale blue.
But today wasn’t just any day, oh no - today was special; it marked the end of four years of gruelling training. It heralded a decision that would affect each and every one of the students differently; today was the time of choosing.

Now I call Kyndale Keep a town, but its more like a cross between a fort and a school, children born here, orphaned at a young age or sent here by their families are given a year in which to prove that they were worthy of staying on for more training. Often this initial year, or even the first week is enough to cut the numbers down drastically as they realize that the life of an adventurer or hero is not for them. Nobles often sent their boys here to learn about tactics and war strategies, but generally it wouldn’t last.

The town is split up into several parts, as per most towns of this age, you have the merchants quarter, peasants row, the main keep, the academy itself and the housing estates, all surrounded by walls to keep the town safe. While Kyndale Keep is a focal point for adventurers in training, the population is not large, where everyone knows the important members of staff within the first week, Kyndale Keep is a peaceful place where one could live a good, honest life.

The town was built at the base of Culdail Hill and has expanded. It is beginning to gradually develop up the hill; while not much work has been done on actually excavating into it as no resources of any use were found within. To the east is a river that ran north-south around the base of the hill’s east side, this was tapped into and kept the surrounding farmland rich and fertile, to the west laid Bellasee Forest, and due south are the rolling plains of Alaspar Flats.

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Rose awoke to a earthquake, the bed was shaking violently and she quickly sat up – only to the greeting of a pillow in her face that sent her back into a lying position.

“Ow” she moaned, only to have laughter in reply from the shorter girl as she jumped from the bed and out of striking distance.

Rose laid in her bedroom; she was one of the luckier students, while children from a noble family have no extra privileges compared to others. When the rooms were picked she ended up in a rather large room that she shared with - Smack! - again a pillow was in her face.

“What the hell was that for!” she bellowed at the smaller girl, while simultaneously diving out of bed in just her nighties and equipping her own pillow to return the favour.

Rose sized up her foe – she was smaller then herself, but was also fully clothed in her student’s uniform; she had to admit, she …. Wait…uniform?

“The Ceremony!” she gasped, quickly turning and running to the large wardrobe to change into her uniform.

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Chapter 1 – The Beginning

Four years earlier.

Rosanna Bloodrose entered Kyndale Keep with her mother – Amanda Bloodrose, her father - Vincent Bloodrose and full complement of guards. Born to a noble family she had lead a sheltered life thus far; being waited on hand and foot by servants of various levels she never had to do any real work and this had affected her.
She had a snobby attitude and demanded attention when she wanted it, this had grew to such a large problem that even after several different types of unsuccessful discipline, her parents had no other choice to turn to; they had decided to enrol her in Kyndale’s school for young adventurers; as they knew that here, people of noble birth had no extra rights, she would not have anyone to wait on her, would soon get put in her place and shown the way the world works.

Rose was quite tall for her age, she was very close to catching her mother in size and could already tower over the midgets of Tyria, her short black hair held in place with a silver plated red hair band, her noble black dress covering her from neck to foot complete with silver jewellery around her neck – her noble status displayed openly.

Rose was escorted into the courtyard; they had entered the town and proceeded straight past the merchants quarter into the academy full, she was left with the other hopeful students while her parents went to see the master of the academy.

She looked around, the view that assaulted her eyes could not of been dreamt; around two hundred children of all shapes and sizes was amassed in the area; some big, some too small to even see, male, female. White, black or in-between, hairs of all shapes, sizes and colours, some dressed as poorly peasants while other in flowing robes or noble outfits.

As Rose looked around, she recognised a few of the other students, sons of other noble families, “good” she mumbled to herself, “they will have to do in this hellhole.” She knew why she was here; she promised herself that she would not break, she would show mother and father who was boss; she would return to them and take over as head of the family.
Unbeknownst to her, she had already been singled out by three other students…..

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Zelana Adrienne Lillian Argala – or as she preferred Zela; was born to a family of elementalist’s, she had been brought up knowing that she would join them someday and had been given training before being sent to Kyndale keep, she had a quick mind and open personality, she enjoyed relaxing and having fun; her kind family rubbed off on her, as such she was always happy. She was a small to medium sized girl, with shoulder length bright red hair; she was lithe but not extremely thin, not strong - but not weak either, her face was kind of cute and inviting but not necessarily beautiful, it was a good base to build on as she matured.

Zela knew what was in store for her when she arrived at Kyndale Keep – and she was well prepared for it, while not being the biggest or strongest in her family; her dexterity and speed kept her active when she wasn’t trapped inside listening to old fogies chatter about magic.

Her arrival at the keep a day earlier was close to the most spectacular – if they would have had a audience, but instead they made their entrance low brow – as much as can be said for flying in riding a pair of air elementals!

Her mentor, teacher, babysitter and guardian Markus; escorted her out of Bellasee forest where they landed; and into the keep, Zela was given a small pouch of gold to keep her going as everything else was provided, she was left alone at the gates as Markus returned home.

“Exploration time” she grinned; this is going to be fun; she took off at a brisk trot towards the merchants quarter, her short yellow dress flapping in the afternoon wind.

The merchant quarter was really just a main road leading up to the academy from the main town gate, in the middle of it a huge open area where markets could be held.
Zela was disappointed, there was no market, not many shops open, and hardly anyone walking about, “I guess its to be expected.” She spoke out loud to no one in particular, not expecting anyone to hear or care she was surprised when she got a reply from behind her.

“Well that’s to be expected my dear” the women intoned in a sing-song voice “you should know that by now if …” her eyes lit up as she realized she didn’t recognize Zela “well-I-never, I-don’t-remember-seeing-you-around, you-must-be-a-new-student.” She gushed at the chance of dealing with a new student.

Mirabell had been very kind to her, after finding Zela in the open market square she had offered to show her around the town, invite her for supper, and offer her a bed to stay in for the night ready for the entrance day tomorrow, as it were Mirabell runs the kitchen in the academy. She is a young middle aged woman, bright, chirpy and happy, due to her living alone she was glad to have company, the pair mixed well and soon laughter could be heard as they walked around the town. After supper Zela decided to explore the town some more, Mirabell offered to accompany her but she declined the offer stating that she will return later to the offer of a warm bed and hot chocolate. Mirabell warned her not to stay out too late as it was beginning to get dark. Zela’s few points of interest were the academy itself, during her tour she only got as close as the academy gates, this time she intended to see more.

Unfortunately when she arrived, the gates was closed and guarded, and the walls was a bit too high to climb on, even the closest tree she could find to the wall was still too far to reach it, she climbed the tree anyway to get a better view of the courtyard; this was where she would have to go tomorrow morning, she was about to try her luck with a bit of air magic but heard voices and hid midst the leaves.

Three boys came walking from around the corner not 5 metres away; they seemed to be in the middle of an argument.
“Yeeaaaahh so wen we gona dou it?” the first boy said,
“Great.” grumbled Zela to herself quietly “country boys never did learn how to speak properly.”
“sooon as we kaan” replied the second “new seezon starts tamuuurroowww.”
“weee sould git up early then” slured the third, his accent even worse then the other two, “pleenny ah nuw kids gitta be teahhed whs booss.”
The other two boys laughed, they was just about to carry on with their conversation when the tree that Zela was hiding in decided that it didn’t like being climbed on, and released a loud creaking sound.
“Wha was thaa” declared the first boy, looking around wildly towards the tree
“ah dunnu” the third replied trying but failing to see much in the now darkening evening.
“Tey sey that da tree is haaunted” the second says out loud, at that the other two looked at him with wild expressions – the tree decided that it really wanted to be left alone and gave another loud creak, together with a snap as one of the branches that Zela was standing on gave way; not enough for her to lose her grip and remain hidden. But that was it for the boys; who ran off screaming down the road, not wanting to get caught Zela quickly slid down the tree and took off at a sprint towards Mirabell’s house, not noticing the shadow in the nearby alley

“Good lord what have you been up to Zela!” bellowed Mirabell after she had opened the door; looking the girl up and down, her yellow dress was covered in dirt from the tree and ripped in a few places when the branch snapped.
“Well I-“ she began – too late; she was pulled in; and quicker then she could blink, found herself naked and in the bath.
The night ended quickly for Zela, after her bath she was given her hot chocolate and sent straight to bed, Mirabell refused any kind of payment and a stern look and shush stopped any other conversation of the sort.

Zela awoke before dawn; the sun straining to get past the horizon and birds waking up greeted her. On a chair besides the bed was a neatly folded bright red dress complete with red hair band and beaded necklace, it was slightly less swirly then her own dress but it looked just her size – it fit her, wonderfully, she would have to thank Mirabell sometime.

Mirabell woke with the ringing of the town’s bells, also to the wonderful smell of a cooked breakfast, upon entering the kitchen she was greeted by a freshly cooked hot breakfast complemented with freshly chopped fruits waiting for her, and a neatly written note from Zela thanking her for her hospitality,
“Well that girl is just full of surprises” she spoke out loud, surprised that not every child of that age can actually write – and not as well as that either!

Zela arrived at the academy courtyard shortly after hearing the bell’s ringing, there was already new students waiting, and she took up a post on the edge of the courtyard, sitting atop a carriage eating an apple she had brought earlier with a cheerful smile and a “good morning.”
She had a good view over the whole courtyard, and was on the lookout for anything interesting; this also meant that everyone else also had a clear view to her, and she wasn’t hard to spot in her red dress.

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Dawn disembarked from the carriage, fully dressed in her long flowing priestess robes, her long brown hair blowing in the early morning breeze; carefully using her hand, she removed the odd strands of hair that had blow into her cute face, her bright brown eyes sparkling in the early sunlight.

She stood there admiring the view of the academy, its huge spire’s spiralling up into the blue sky, its stained glass windows sparkling in the light, this was to be her home for the next six years.

Dawn had been abandoned in Celesthem Abbey at birth. The priests there took her in and raised her, she was taught about discipline, about the gods, and the role of a priest; and as she aged, she began being included in some of the rituals.

The priests foresaw her strong connection to Dwayna and had began to teach her the healing arts handed down within their temple, with a kindness unmatched by any she was the embodiment of all that was pure and good; this same trait that made her so nice to be around, also was biggest weakness; it also didn’t help that she was extremely shy and quiet.

Dawn looked around, students was spread out in the courtyard, not knowing where she herself should stay, she looked around until her eyes locked onto a group of children also dressed in long robes, she carefully made her way around the courtyard without interfering nor touching anyone else.

Upon reaching these children she discovered they was not friendly priests, totally the opposite in-fact; snotty nosed noble’s sons at which quickly became aggressive towards her, at this open display of aggression she stationed herself close to the courtyard gate guards until otherwise needed.

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A single huge ring on the town bell signalled the start of the entrance inauguration, the courtyard grew quiet as all eyes faced the entrance to the academy; three figures exited the doors and walked to the podium overlooking the courtyard.

The man on the left – a monk by his robes, stood proud and strong, his head held high, but with a look of kindness and compassion on it, completely bald and clean shaven, his muscular body bulging out at select points on his robes, he looked more the physical kind of monk, these were rare; they either are insanely strong being protected by their god, or they lived extremely short lives.

The woman on the right, dressed in stunning evening gown, her brown hair - held back by a emerald tiara, complemented the emerald green gown; if it was any lower cut, it would be something you would wear in a bedroom – something that wouldn’t even matter for activities contained within said bedroom. Her face was finely sculpted; something that even dreams would have trouble picturing, and if not for the aura of silence that was commanded by the middle man, wolf whistles would have been heard for miles.

The man in the middle, his aura radiated outwards, flooding anyone who got in its way. He demanded respect; he was one to command, one who is wise beyond his years, for the moment he commanded silence, and that is what he got.

He was dressed in a simple uniform, nothing stood out, and he seemed plain to the standard eye; none of the students in the courtyard could tell that he was anyone of importance, and their eyes would have been locked onto the woman on his right if not for the intense pressure that he emitted.

“Welcome to Kyndale Keep” he said, without yelling – yet the whole courtyard could hear his voice loud and clearly. “Most of you know the reason why you are here, and if you don’t you will soon learn. But for now the day is getting on, and there is a lot to be done. Your first task as proud students of Kyndale keep is …” he stops and rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Hmm a race.” Whispers could be heard around the courtyard at this, a race? What for? What ever could that prove?

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Feedback is welcome, as is spelling / grammer mistakes (PM'ed maybe to keep the thread clear)

Devil

Devilish666 · Jan 17, 2007, 10:55 AM // 10:55

Decided to post chapter 2 just in case anyone read the first part

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Chapter 2 – The Race

“Yes! A race” he repeated as if he could sense the gathered students unspoken question. “You will see that older students of Kyndale have setup a course leading around the town, at the town gates you will be given a item to bring back with you. You have one hour.” The man turned to leave but then fought better of it “Oh, I forgot to mention; this is a race and rewards will be given – as well as appropriate punishment for those who are late, if you cant finish within the hour, don’t come” with that, he swiftly turned and entered the academy, flanked by the man and woman either side of him.

Zela waited. There was no need to rush; she could make the complete circuit in 30 minutes at a continuous jog, she also didn’t want to have to fight with huge mob competing to be first, there was a lot of well build girls and boys there; there was also all of the noble kids wanting to prove themselves, she’d overtake them soon enough, as long as she wasn’t last she wouldn’t have to worry, and it was such a nice day for a simple jog as well….

The courtyard bell rang again; this signalled the start of the race, the courtyard gates swung open and a single huge figure was standing there; he beckoned, turned, and sprinted off down the street at a roaring pace, slowly the courtyard emptied and Zela decided it was time to start, she leapt from the carriage and took off at a gentle trot; outside of the gates and a left turn, she followed the crowd; she didn’t get far as she was roughly grabbed and pulled into a back ally.

She was thrown to the floor painfully, twisting her ankle as she tried to keep her balance and failing, two rather large men stood blocking the way, one grinning like mad, the second with a more serious look on his face, it was hard to make out the details with the sun behind them.
“Why hello there princess.” the first chuckled “that’s such a nice dress you have on.”
“Look just give us the gold and you can go on your way.” The second said in a much more threatening and sinister manner.

“But I don’t-“ began Zela, but she was cut off mid sentence. The first man has taken the two steps over to her, picked her up using the front of her dress and slammed her into the nearby wall. Zela moaned in pain as the breath was knocked out of her lungs and she gasped for air. “Don’t play games with me *Girl* we saw you and the old man at the gate.” The first man was getting angry, the second looked kind of nervous. Zela started to choke out “I told you I don-“ she got rammed against the wall again in response. The air retreating from her lungs again, this time with added blood as she coughed and spluttered. “Give. Us. The. Gold. NOW!” the man growled.

“Maybe she doesn’t have it anymore.” the second man suggested, now worried that they had gone too far. “Shut Up.” Was the reply snorted from the first man, “We’re going to have to find it ourselves” as he began patting the girl down trying to feel for anything of value; she tried to scream but could not bring sound to her voice, she tried to gather some magical energy but was too disorientated to do so; she could not do anything to stop herself from getting groped and tears began to stream down her face.

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“Yes! A race” he repeated; then continued, “You will see that older students of Kyndale have setup a course leading around the town, at the town gates you will be given a item to bring back with you. You have one hour.” The man attempted to leave, but then remembered something else “Oh, I forgot to mention; this is a race and rewards will be given – as well as appropriate punishment for those who are late, if you cant finish within the hour, don’t come” that said the three returned to the academy.

Dawn took off at once; she had been stood at the courtyard gates, and was one of the first out. She didn’t want to be part of the crowd but didn’t have a choice.
When the gates first opened a single huge man was standing there, he was a beast of a man standing at least 8 foot tall, he was wearing strategically placed green armour, she had seen the like before – Gladiators it was called, he beckoned wordlessly and turned and sprinted off down the street with a cry that encouraged others nearby to charge after him.

Dawn kept to the edge of the circuit; with her robes hindering her top speed she soon lost sight of the giant man but could tell where to go from the other students running along, she was used to this kind of task and had no trouble keeping up behind the other boys who was exhausting themselves trying to be first. What appeared to be a general run around town soon turned sour, she was soon caught up by the group that she had left earlier, they seemed to be breathing heavily, she knew they wouldn’t last, but that didn’t stop them from continuing from where they left off, Dawn picked up the pace and soon left them behind as they started gasping for breathe and began to slow down.

It was when she reached the town gates that she realized the real reason for the test.

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“Yes! A race” he repeated as if he could sense Rose’s hesitation. “You will see that older students of Kyndale have setup a course leading around the town, at the town gates you will be given a item to bring back with you. You have one hour.” The man turned to leave and after a suitable pause for effect continued “Oh, I forgot to mention; this is a race and rewards will be given – as well as appropriate punishment for those who are late, if you cant finish within the hour, don’t come.” Happy that his speech was finished he left with his lackeys.

Rose was on the far side of the courtyard, and she waited for the crowd to move off, she had no idea how long the circuit was, and she didn’t like the idea of having to run around the town, but it didn’t look like there was anyone to complain to, she was used to stuffy room’s with teachers and mentors babbling on, not running around town racing around like kids.

She had barely been running for ten minutes when she began to get fatigued; yet she continued onwards; she knew this would push her to the limit, yet it had to be done, her black dress made it hard for her to run, she had tried holding it up but that didn’t help, finally having enough she took part of her dress in both hands and ripped the bottom part off just below the knees – she’d have to change when she got back to the academy, such a waste of a dress.

Soon thought Rose ran into problems she had rounded a corner in the track and came face to face with three boys, they was dressed in peasants garb and stood waiting, Rose soon found that it was her they was waiting for – as she tried to run past them she was tripped and fell into the cold hard pavement; scratching her hands, covering her arms in soon to be bruises and cutting her knee as she landed on it heavily, she rolled along and tried to regain a standing stance but her leg let her down and left her kneeling.

Looking up the 3 boys approached grinning madly, they had to be her age, possibly included in this race, but why were they waiting for her? She soon found out.
“weel loookee wat weee foud.” the first chuckled
“ah thnk it’s ah lil lost rich gurl, wheees your mummar n pappa.” the third burst out laughing.
“Awww theers no one to healp little old youh.” the second spoke as if talking to a baby.
Rose tried to rise to her feet but was let down by her protesting leg again; this was only met by laughter from the three boys.

Until they was cut short, a solid –Thunk- in the wooden house next to them and a feathered end sticking out informed them that the whiz they felt 3 inches from their faces was indeed from a arrow, standing atop the building opposite the street was an archer; his bow pointed towards the three boys, another arrow already noosed ready to shoot.

“You three” he yelled, “Remove yourselves from my sight this instant - before I turn you into pin cushions” he smiled evilly; the last words tainted with spoken intentions, at this he released the arrow, this time it hit the floor in-between the third boy’s feet with a crunch; and stayed there – indented on the stone floor. The boys left no time in escaping down the street.

Rose managed to stand as the archer jumped from the building and ran over to her side, she had blood running down her leg from where she fell, if she was in any pain, she didn’t show it, instead her anger and seething at what happened caused her to forget the pain, she turned and attempted to continue with the race, but was stopped by the archer.

“And where exactly do you think YOUR going.” It wasn’t a question – it was a demand.
“Well I’m going to finish this stupid race of course.” Rose stated flatly, her anger showing.
“You won’t finish like that, you can hardly walk with that leg.” The archer reply calmly
“Well what else do you want me to do!” Rose snapped, directing her anger at the larger man.
He bursts out laughing and starts patting Rose on the head “That’s no way to speak to your savoir you know.” While holding her face close to his and looking into her eyes; Rose shakes herself loose and he backs off laughing more. “Here, drink this” he say’s while throwing a canteen at the girl. “It will make you feel better, it’s fresh from a healing spring in Bellasee Forest.”

Rose looked at the water inside the canteen before taking a huge gulp of the warm water contained within; warm water that didn’t taste too good being stuck in a canteen for however long it was, she looked up to complain but the man was no where in sight, it were like he disappeared; she had to admit, she was feeling better immediately, she threw the canteen strap over her head and started on the race again, now fully aware that she was behind.

She arrived at the town gates in short order and as she was told what would happen now her smile faded as panic attempted to take over….

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“Release that woman IMMIDIATLY” the voice yelled from the street, the two men looked over, and though blurry eyes Zela did so as well, she could make out the forum or a largish man, she recognized the clothes but wouldn’t quite place them.
“Don’t just stand there, get him!” the first man barked his orders at the smaller thug. Nervously he stepped towards the man drawing his sword as he went, he broke into a run towards the unknown man.

It was over in a second the thug swung his sword at the man; which he parried easily with his left hand, pushing the sword off to one side leaving the thug off balance and being carried forward while leaving his chest wide open, it was all that was needed as the man brought his right hand down, and with a open palm full of white energy; forced it into the thugs chest.

“Holy Strike!” he yelled as the thug was sent flying behind him, landing in a heap and not moving anymore. The thug holding Zela threw her to one side and drew his own sword as she landed on the floor in a heap, she sat up in time to see the thug strike the man with a violent attack designed to sever arteries across his torso.

The thug screamed in pain and then collapsed, the man in robes stepped over the thug’s body and approached Zela, she finally recognized him as the bald monk from the balcony earlier, his robes now slashed but with no damage done to his chest.

“Are you hurt my dear?” he asked, his voice full of kindness without a hint of pain in it.
Zela mumbled incoherently while sobbing quietly to herself, she had never experienced something so rotten, so foul and so evil in all her life. She had never felt fear like that before, it was even worse then the fear of death. The monk took the girl in his arms, giving her a shoulder to cry on while he chanted his spell. “Blessed Light” he whispered to himself as healing energies burst forth and covered the girl, completely curing the girl’s ankle and all of her bruises.

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Zela recovered quickly; after the kind words and a shoulder to cry on, once her mind regained control of her body it wasn’t long before she realized that nothing actually happened, it had been around ten seconds from when he started searching for a gold pouch she did not have on her person anymore, to until she was saved, but them ten seconds was like ten minutes to her.

Zela was helped to her feet by the monk, he’d offered to take her back the academy to deal with this matter properly, but Zela declined, she had a race to finish; and quickly took off down the street – she would really have to push herself to get this done, she hoped the punishment would not be too harsh, and with that thought in mind she quickly chanted the words of her spell.

“Windborne Speed!” she whispered to herself as her feet began to be pushed along with an unseen force; she didn’t want to have to use her basic magic she knew, she wanted to learn like all the rest, but it appeared that she had no choice.

As she approached the town gates she allowed the magic to dissipate.

In front of her stood a table with a bored looking man sitting at it, at first he didn’t notice as Zela approached, he seemed to be in his own dream world and a gentle poke got his attention.
“Whauwhenwhuuiwasntdoinganything” he jumbled out while falling off his seat backwards to a loud crash; this act alone caused Zela to lose her grim look and to laugh again.
“What do you want?” he asked, surprised that anyone was even talking to him.
“Well, I’m in the race as we were meant to stop here to get something?” Zela said questionably.
“What?!” he said finally returning to his seating position at the table. “Your very late you know, you might not even be able to finish, what took you so long?”
“Well I kind of ran into some problems…” Zela trailed off “Look, I’m already late can I have whatever it is I need to take with me?”

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Usually i post the spells in colors relating to what i think its attribute is, but i cant see a color icon on the buttons, o well

Hope someone is reading this, and enjoying it

Feedback always welcome.

Devil

Gonzo · Jan 24, 2007, 10:20 AM // 10:20

I like it

Devilish666 · Jan 24, 2007, 02:20 PM // 14:20

woo yay for feedback - even if it is from my own guildie thats already read it

For the hidden lurkers pleasure i present, chapter 3

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Chapter 3 – The End in Sight

“Oh yes right away.” he bumbled “here you are.” handing Zela a small rock – just small enough to hold in one hand, it had an engraved number on it.

“23?” Zela asked out loud to the man.
“Yesyes don’t just stand there, get a move on or you wont make it.” The man said making shooing motions.

The girl took the hint and was soon on her away again. With the strange rock in hand and a sense of urgency she invoked her spell again and sped off down the street.

In short order she began overtaking other students and actually started to thank any god would cared to listen that she was one of the last.

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“I have to WHAT?!” Rose screeched at the poor man sitting at the desk, the sound of her voice alone attempting to blow the man away.
“I said,” repeated the bored man, how many times did he have to do this already today? Couldn’t these stupid kids just do as their told? “That you have to take one of them rocks over there, and take it with you for the rest of the race.”
“But how am I meant to run while carrying that?” Rose complained, looking at the rock, it was about the size of a melon, and it weighted quite a lot more.
“That’s for you to figure out, you’re wasting your time arguing with me.”

Rose hated to admit it, but he was right, she strolled over to the rock and nudged it with her foot to test the weight – damn that was heavy, for her at least. She bent over and picked the rock up, it really was heavy but she didn’t have any trouble finding a place for her hands, seems like there was some indents or something underneath, holding the rock to her chest she started on what was looking to be a long run back to the courtyard.

Rose was beginning to get strained when she started overtaking other students, it didn’t take her long to figure out that she was lucky she wasn’t near the front…

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Dawn approached the gate, a huge crowd had already gathered, and the huge man from the start stood waiting, standing by a massive boulder, he seemed bored and was waiting for something.

There were many other older students around, it looked like they was supervisors for the race, they was trying –and failing to keep the crowd calm, Dawn was going to wait for some time, but one of these older students approached her.

“What’s happening here?” Dawn enquired, anxious to be away to finish the race.
“Seems some of the contenders don’t like the next part of the race, but either way you have to take, hmmmm” he looks around, spots a rather large rock and starts walking towards it.
“This is the item you need to take with you.” As he pats the rock, Dawn looked first at the man, then at the rock, and back at the man again. He showed no hint of joking.

The rock was kind of round-ish, about twice to nearly three times bigger then a pumpkin

Dawn sighed, and then walked wordlessly next to the rock, she pushed the rock to test its weight, it was heavy, but not heavy enough; she crouched down next to it gathering her strength.
“I’m really sorry you know, it wasn’t my idea, I just get told which rock to give to the next person who comes along” he trails off “I think its really mean really! I mean how is a girl like you meant t-“ he stops talking, mouth dropped open in shock as Dawn lifts the huge rock.

“Sorry what were you saying?” Dawn asked innocently, barely being able to see over the rock in her hands.
“aaaaahhhhh-hhhh-oooo.” The man tries to speak, but fails.
“I’m sorry” Dawn says to the man, “I’m going to go now, thank you for your help.” With that Dawn turns, and starts into a jog to the huge man.

At seeing such a small girl pickup the rock, without complain and start towards him, the huge man leading the race picks up the huge boulder next to him and hefts it above his head, his muscles being pulled taunt through his skin.

“Look you group of worthless maggots!” he yells, catching everyone’s attention.
“Look at you all whining like dogs! Look at her” he motions at Dawn.
“She’s much smaller then the lot of you, but she’s only just got here and she’s ready to go!” He starts bench-pressing the boulder above his head as a sign of strength. “Now the rest of you get your damn rocks and MOVE IT!” with that, he turns, runs off down the road holding the huge boulder above his head and let off a cry that echoed around the street.

Only two others was ready to go with him, one was a thuggish brute of a girl who looked older then the other competitors, she was angry, very angry in fact, short of wanting to kill, she had a look someone who wouldn’t shed a thought of killing anyone, she had a larger rock then the others, bordering on boulder size, but she was also big enough to carry it.

The other was a boy, he was well built but short, kind of stocky, he had a mean look about him, but a look in his eyes that said otherwise, he had a rounder boulder, smaller then the girls but still bigger then Dawns rock, he was dressed in a pair of peasants shorts, his shirt hanging from his belt, sweat glistened from his torso after all the running so far, his skin a tanned golden colour.

The large girl took off first, holding the boulder in front of her, the boy seemed to have trouble getting his hands around his boulder, it stuck out too far and he couldn’t seem to get his grip; concerned but unable to really help, Dawn trotted off down the street following the gladiator in front.

It was a few minutes later when she could hear yelling behind her, “oove” it was saying? Dawn couldn’t hear too well over a loud noise behind her. Suddenly she felt it, her spiritual senses screamed at her to move, she were in danger where she currently stood; she dived to the side of the street, rock and all, and just in time as well.

The boulder rolled past, and behind it the boy following, Dawn had to admit it was a good idea. The boy was rolling the boulder down the street; the loud noise was as the boulder hit one of its less rounded sides and bouncing out of control and quickly approaching the gladiator in front, it was heading straight for him!

The boy tried to slow down the boulder as it rolled but it was too late, it was picking up speed and heading straight for the gladiator, he stopped running and turned to face the runaway boulder, not even bothering to drop the boulder he was carrying, he lowered himself into a stance, as the boulder approached he let off a tremendous howl.

“NONE SHALL PASS!” he bellowed, the runaway boulder stopped dead in its tracks, as if it had hit an invisible wall; the boy caught up with it just as Dawn did the same.

“What. Are. You. Playing. At.” The gladiator yelled at the boy, “You’re meant to pick up the rock. Carry it to the end. And put it down again, its not hard!” he said condescendingly.

A grin kept across the boy’s face, Dawn cringed, that could only mean one thing; he intended to argue.

“Well.” Began the boy, “We were told to race around, and at the gates we’d be given a item to return with, Ole Berty didn’t say we had to carry it, only that we had to return with it.” He finished with a smug grin.

“But.. Well..” he was tongue tied, the gladiator didn’t know what to say, but then he seemed to think of something and a smile crept across his face.
“Ha! You look like the kind that wants to be a warrior, yet you cant even pickup a rock like that!” his smile let both Dawn and the boy know that he thought himself victorious and he was about to turn around unless the boys retort hit him.
“Actually, I was thinking of learning how to do that nifty dance the mesmer’s do, and since carrying a rock has nothing to do with dancing, why should I carry it?”

That was it, the gladiator was stumped; he turned and continued the race while the boy rolled his boulder along. Dawn continued to carry hers, as it was too small to roll along.

It wasn’t long afterwards that they arrived back at the courtyard; Dawn took up place near the podium, she put her rock on the floor and used it as a seat, the boy had stopped to talk to a guard.

He soon came rolling his boulder along and sat down next to Dawn, the gladiator was nowhere to be seen.

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Rose was tired, no, in-fact she was absolutely shattered, the rock was very heavy for her, she had trouble keeping her grip on the rock, her hands were sweaty, and she was hot, very hot infact as she only just now noticed the clear blue sky and the sun shining down on her.

Rose had already passed by numerous other hopeful students, their rocks of various shapes and sizes littered across the street, many of whom who had rocks too big for them to carry for any serious length of time, many sat panting on the sidewalks gasping for breathe, trying to summon up the strength to finish, Rose soon joined them.

She collapsed at the side of the road, letting the remaining contents of the canteen drip into her mouth – for the third time, her strength was fading, she could hardly stand, her hands worn and painful, her back aching. This was it she thought, she looked around; there was also many other students in various conditions close by, they too had pushed themselves too far, and was now paying for it in sweat, blood and in some extreme cases – tears.

Rose started to drift off, her vision blurring.

She saw a group of boys who had formed a ring around a small girl in a cute white dress, her hair well kept with a pearl headband, she was wearing a pearl necklace and bracelets. The girl was extremely cute; looking like a little angel, her black hair giving contrast to the pure white clothes, but the boys had not surrounded her for that fact, no. Rose remembered this scene, it was the day that started all this off….

That day she had gotten beaten to a inch of her life, her jewellery was stolen from her, the dress ripped, she laid beaten and broken on the floor when she was found by one of the tutors. She had argued her case, that they had robbed and beaten her, but there was political intrigue going on, and it was arranged for an older trusted student to claim that she had insulted and started fights with some of the boys. It was said that she got what she deserved…

And she was punished for something not of her doing; she was kicked out of the tutorage and sent to a private school, her friends had left her, and the worse part: her parents did not believe her and punished her.

That was the day she knew that she was well and truly alone, she could not count on anyone else, that was the day she refused to wear anything but black and a grim look.

Rose opened her eyes with a start, her strength had suddenly returned and she stood proud and strong, she picked her rock up off the floor and vowed to finish the race at all costs.

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When Rose entered the courtyard it was filled with around fifty students already, most scattered around, sitting or lying on the floor, she walked over to a part of the wall that was unused and sat against it, she had done it, the first hurdle was over.

She will complete the course, she will learn how to defend herself, she will return to reclaim what is rightfully hers, and she WILL have her revenge.

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Zela sped past others on the street, she noticed the different sizes of rocks and in some cases, huge boulders, she got many a strange look as she ran past, some even noticing that she had a tiny rock compared to theirs, they wondered why her rock was so small, but none had the strength to stand or give chase save for one.

He had saw her coming down the road, spotted the size of the rock she carried and put himself in the middle of the street, Zela didn’t believe she would be able to get past without problems, and she slowed herself as she approached.

”I don’t know how you got such a small rock, but give it to me. Now.” the boy stated, he was in a crouched stance already, fairly burly. He was ready to dive and tackle the girl if she tried to pass him.

Zela waited, she knew she didn’t have time for this, but she also didn’t really want to get hurt, all it would take is one twisted ankle or a banged knee and that would be it.

“You know, even if I did give you this rock, you wouldn’t reach the courtyard in time anyway, I mean look at you; you’re completely exhausted.” Zela hoped he was the diplomatic type.
“I would, I have enough time, give me the rock now.” Was the reply, Zela sighed, she didn’t want to do this the hard way.
“Look, I don’t want to hurt you, get out of my way.” She snapped, rapidly scouring her brain for the spell she wanted.
“Haha, as if, a little girl like you? Hurt me? Don’t make me laugh.” The boy laughed, Zela began to gather her magical energies.

“Just give me the rock and I wont have to-“ he was cut off mid sentence as a rock the size of a coconut landed on the back of his head, he collapsed to the floor with a thud.

“Yeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh take that!” the small girl behind the boy squeaked. “Don’t you dare pick on us girls, we’ll show you whose boss!” she squeaked more, while jumping up and down on the spot, “We will! And then we’ll.. er,.. well we’ll” she mumbled off, forgotten or not even knowing what she was going to say.

Zela laughed, the sight of this small almost tiny girl, her bright spiky blonde hair, piercing ice blue eyes and squeaky voice had pushed her over the edge, she released the gathered energy and relaxed herself, she wouldn’t have any trouble getting past this midget in her purple pinkie armless top and short skirt.

“oooooooohhh” the girl squeaked some more, pulling Zela out of her laughter, “I just hate big bullies hmph” the girl crossed her arms over her chest, causing another bout of giggles from Zela.

“Thanks for that.” Zela said as she got herself back under control “I really didn’t want to hurt him.”
“well that’s noooo prob-lem-o.” she said, her high pitched cheery voice prolonging each word. “But, what was you going to do to him?” she asked questionably.
“Quickly lets go.” Zela said, as she started running towards the small girl, “We’re not going to make it if we stand around here chatting.” Avoiding the question completely.
“Ohh noo, I forgot about that!” she squeaked, picking up her rock and chasing Zela down the street.

The town gates were in sight, but also so were the guards who were preparing to close the gates!
“Quickly!!” Yelled Zela, “We’re not going to make it at this rate!” The tiny girl had managed to keep up rather well; she was fast for her tiny size.
“Oh I know; I’ll help! Here hold this for me.” The smaller girl says, tossing the rock to Zela, and pulling a wand out from somewhere.
“Where the hell did you get that?” Zela asks after she finished securing the other rock under her arm like a rugby ball, it was like she pulled it from thin air, or out of… somewhere, the tiny girl only replied by sticking her tongue out.

“Oooook, heeeeerrrreeee we gooooo!” she says, swishing her wand around her, was the end broken or was it just supposed to be bent like that… she began chanting loudly.
“Wind of wonder;
Wind of Wisdom;
Take us forward on post haste;
Lift us onwards on your wake!” and with a round circular swing she brought her wand around behind her and then pointed forwards, towards the academy.

Zela’s heart sank, she was stunned, she had no idea anyone used chants like that anymore, and not one as poor as that; wild magical energies surging everywhere. But it seemed to do something as the wind started blowing her onwards, softly at first, but gathering strength rapidly, soon Zela felt more like she was getting pushed along, and was fighting to retain her balance.

She didn’t need her balance much longer however.

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Zela heard a scream from behind her, she didn’t have to turn around to see what it was, and she didn’t have to guess that it was from the tiny girl behind her, the poor girl flew past her three seconds later as the wind had picked her up and was hurling her towards the academy at a very high speed, Zela soon joined her as she felt her feet leave the ground as the wind also picked her up and carried her forwards as well.

Faster and faster they flew, hurdling towards the academy at insane speeds, Zela struggled to keep her eyes open, the speed forcing her to close her eyes, she realised that they was going to crash into the academy at the rate they was going, but from the shrieking of the tiny girl in front, she was in no condition to stop it!

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standard rules apply, hope someones reading this

Aleks · Jan 24, 2007, 09:57 PM // 21:57

Someone is reading this. You use a lot of commas in places where a period would be acceptable. This makes them run on sentences, but other than that it's good.

Take a look... This is not supposed to be one sentence

Quote:

Faster and faster they flew, hurdling towards the academy at insane speeds, Zela struggled to keep her eyes open, the speed forcing her to close her eyes, she realised that they was going to crash into the academy at the rate they was going, but from the shrieking of the tiny girl in front, she was in no condition to stop it!

Aleks · Jan 24, 2007, 09:58 PM // 21:58

EDIT:

Stupid double post and lag. Sorry.

Unreal Cyn · Jan 25, 2007, 06:32 AM // 06:32

I'm reading this as well, man, and I'm enjoying it too! I agree with Aleks on the sentence structure, and maybe things are happening too briskly, but it's still a good read. Thanks for sharing this with us!

Devilish666 · Jan 26, 2007, 09:54 AM // 09:54

Thanks for the replys guys,

@Aleks: yea just noticed what you mean, been too long since secondary school and i never was good at grammer etc

@Unreal Cyn: Maybe its a bit fast, i like keeping things going, also, this is a kinda flashback; i wanted to get the base done so i can build onto it rather then jumping right into the middle. i got big plans - just connecting the dots is harder then i thought

Heres chapter 4 for the feedback. I've wrote up to chapter 9, which is where the posting will slow down. (my lifes kinda busy atm so updates are slow)

Here we introduce someone from my guild, can you guess who it is yet? </Rolf Harris>

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Chapter 4 – Pole Position

The boy was nice, since he rolled his rock over conversation was slow to start up, it took a lot for him to break the ice, but soon conversation started up.

His name was Gonzo Salvato, his parents had died when he was young, so he was orphaned at Kyndale keep, it is his dream to become a warrior strong enough to protect those who needed it, and he had been training - working towards that dream.

Since he lived in the keep, he knew of what was to come, but wouldn’t tell Dawn any of it.

By the time life stories had been told, it was getting on, there were around fifty to sixty students in the courtyard, just over a quarter of the number here earlier, a few was still stumbling in, collapsing just inside the courtyard, and being moved out of the way by the gate guards, but soon they started getting ready to close the gate, it was nearly time, and Dawn expected the bell to ring any moment to signal the end of the race.

Dawn stood up, something had caught her eye near the courtyard gates, she wasn’t sure what it was but the wind had picked up, it blew her robes against her body and her hair into her face.

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Zela screamed, she was being thrown though the air at a unnatural speed, twisting and turning, she had no control over what was happening, and she was getting dizzy, she had tried to give some stability to herself with her own magic, but not having the use of her arms hindered the use of her magic, she didn’t dare release the rocks she held, knowing that doing so would cause her, or the tiny girl somewhere ahead of her to fail.

It was almost too late, they were rapidly approaching the academy at high speeds, she released the rocks she held, knowing that if she was to die then wouldn’t need them where she would go, but instead of dropping to the street cobbles, the wind simply took them as well.

Zela concentrated; trying to push the dizzying effect from her mind, unable to completely remove it as she was swung around in the violent winds, she looked forward, the courtyard gates and wall rapidly approaching.

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Rose looked around, the wind had picked up, the remains of her dress blowing in the wind, it seemed like it was coming from the courtyard gates, two people had exited the academy and ran across the yard, one a warrior from his brawn, and one a elementalist from her flowing red regal robes, using the warrior in front as a wind breaker.

They reached the gates and the woman left no time in beginning to chant a spell, the warrior standing in front shielding her from the wind and the threat of being blown away.

He suddenly dropped down into a stance, pulling his sword from its sheath, Rose had no idea which stance it was, but she knew that whatever it was, it was coming.

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Dawn sensed trouble; she broke into a run towards the courtyard gates, followed in short order by Gonzo, she got half way across the courtyard when the wind grew too strong to run against, and she soon slowed to a walk, the wind threatening to pull her hair from her head and the robes from her body. Gonzo wasn’t far from the same condition, his peasant clothes almost ripping under the stress, they both saw the warrior in front drop into a stance and draw his sword.

“Get down!” Gonzo yelled, jumping on, and pushing Dawn to the ground; covering her with his own body defensively, “That’s the ‘Deflect Arrow’s’ Stance!”

Dawn watched in awe as the warrior moved at lighting speeds hitting two incoming objects out of the way of his own body and that of the elementalist behind him with his sword, They were rocks, as Dawn saw them roll past where she laid on the floor.

“DISPELL!” the woman cried out, her voice carrying over the academy courtyard and beyond, it was a cry of desperation, of hoping that it would work, Dawn knew that chanted spell’s would always be more powerful then a hastily cast spell and she only hoped it was enough.

The wind stopped in its tracks, suddenly everything became still, apart from the two bigger objects approaching in the air at rapid speeds; accompanied by the sound of screaming…

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The scene that followed was one of mayhem, of madness, and for the two flying girls, one of pain.

What happened next could not be completely explained from one person’s single point of view.

The warrior had ran and jumped, attempting to catch the girl in front before she hit the floor, of course trying to stop a fast moving object while being stationary does not work well, the warrior caught the girl and was taken along for the ride, he held her in a protective embrace and put himself in harms way, they crashed into the floor spinning and rolling, slipping and sliding as the warrior held the girl away from the impact zone, he himself taking the brunt of the impact as they crashed into the wall at the far side of the courtyard.

The second incoming girl was not as lucky; there was no one to catch her to soften the impact.

The elementalist dived out of the way to avoid getting hit as the girl flew by, hitting the floor at a nasty angle with an audible -Crack-, bouncing back into the air to continue onwards with her journey towards the courtyard wall.

“Mark Of Protection!” A voice bellowed from a academy balcony, strong and powerful, the words carried around the courtyard, as a glowing white light engulfed the girl in the air, just before she crashed into the floor again; and back up for a round three.

The third time the girl landed was the last time; the next place she hit was the courtyard wall with a loud -Crunch- and a -Thud- as she fell to the floor; leaving cracks and chips in the wall, dust and dirt covered the courtyard creating a cloud which obscured vision.

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Zela vomited, her mind was switched off and her body was moving on impulse; at the moment it needed emptying, and that’s exactly what it done, after that it painfully allowed her mind to return.

She was dizzy, dazed and disorientated, she didn’t know if she was alive, dead or somewhere inbetween, maybe she was dreaming, she didn’t know, nor care, she vomited again, clearing out the remains of her breakfast. She tried to sit-up and failed, a shooting pain down her leg causing her to scream in pain and agony; finally causing her to lose consciousness.

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Dawn ran over to the area, trying to assist in anyway possible, she had no idea which girl to attend to first, and noticed that the first lying with the warrior was unconscious. She heard the sound of retching from the second, as she got closer she heard a scream of agony and then silence.

She approached the girl and pulled her away from the pool of vomit close by, the back of her red dress was mostly in tatters, as was the currently covered front, the short term enchantment cast upon her earlier had saved her life, but it had not saved her from the brunt of the damage, her leg was twisted at a impossible angle, completely broken, as was her arm.

“Someone bring a blanket!” Dawn yells out to everyone within hearing distance, not looking to see if anyone listened, she claps her hands together and keeps them together while silently wording her spell.

“Healing Touch!” and with a light tap upon the girls back, she is engulfed in glowing energies, healing the cuts she received, as the glow dies down, a shirt is laid across her back, much bigger then the girl it hangs down on both side, Dawn looks up to see whose shirt it was, Gonzo stood above her, shirtless. She returns her attention to the girl in front of her, moving her arm and leg into places that more resemble the human form, “Cure Condition” she casts, fixing her broken arm, fixing the bones in her leg, the nerves and muscles was beyond her power, it would need someone more powerful then herself to solve them problems.

Dawn looked over to the warrior and the short girl he caught in mid air, there was already a monk in training standing next to them wearing old and partially tattered robes, her long red hair hanging down just under her shoulders, her skin a golden tanned colour, and her face slanted as a foreigner – a rather tall one. Seems like the small girl was not very badly hurt and a simple spell healed any injuries she did sustain, the warrior was also standing; towering above both girls, he quickly started walking towards herself.

A young boy, barely older then herself came running out of the academy holding a blanket, he wasted no time in throwing it over the girl in the tattered clothes, who was promptly picked up by the warrior and carried into the academy, Dawn stood and started to follow but was promptly stopped by the young boy.

”Miss Surane will attend to this girl now, you still have to wait here, you have still not completed the entrance inauguration yet.” And with that he turned and left with the warrior holding the blanket wrapped girl.

Glad that her job was done, she returned to her rock and sat back down; Gonzo was already waiting for her.

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Rose was in shock, she didn’t know to laugh or cry, giggle or cringe, after what happened in front of her. Seeing a human bounce along and crash into a wall; as a football would with kids kicking it, yet she didn’t move from her spot, instead she dragged herself back to her own dark brooding thoughts.

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The woman from earlier stepped out onto the podium, stunning as ever, her beauty captivating her audience, she spoke, her voice sounding much like a angels would; reaching the entire courtyard with little effort.

“Congratulations to all those present, you have all been accepted into Kyndale Keep.” Cheers went up at this, but were shortly silenced by the woman.
“Shortly we will decide where each of you are staying, engraved upon your rock’s is a number, when your number is called you will come up here, take a ticket from Semige here;” gesturing to a small boy that had appeared at her side carrying a small sack,
“And then depending on the letter and number upon it; you will be shown to your room’s.” In a singsong voice she added: “oh, and lets hurry this up shall we? Lunch is soon to be served in the dining hall, and I’m sure you don’t want to miss that.” She finished with a smile, able to melt hearts and turn even the greatest of warriors into a gibbering idiot, before excusing herself and disappearing inside the keep.

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Dawn watched as numbers were called; and students strolled up the steps, many times a number was called yet no student ventured forwards, she looked at the number on her rock again, her turn loomed ever closer, and soon it was upon her.

“43!” yelled the man at the top of the stairs, Dawn stood and made her way to the top of the stairs, the sack held out in front of her; she thrust her hand in and fished out a screwed up piece of parchment; the boy held out his hand as if waiting for something, but Dawn unscrewed the paper and read the contents aloud.

“C12.” She stated, the boy not caring that she could read; just pointed her in the direction of an older student and an already gathering group.

There she waited until everyone had been called, once everyone had his or her room number to hand, they was lead away to the rooms that they would call their own, for the next seven years if they was lucky.

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