The Spires of Eight - Chapter I

The world of Alagor falls into chaos and war as the Gods in the Spirit Realm rip themselves apart, the struggle of the spires now befalls upon the mortal land.

The Spires of Eight

Payton Smith

 

Chapter I

 

           The Spires of Eight, originally designed for the heavens in order to help with worship and sacrifice to the Gods and Goddesses, now only served the purpose of mortal intentions. One day the Gods’ wrath will bring their attention to the use of the spire once again. The world would be submersed in a mass war that would destroy all the innocent people, this prophesized by the Mighty King Eldredg of the Earthen Spire long ago now fell upon the people of Alagor.

 

The Battle of Lehenger

 

            The day was young and ready to see the light of battle. It was here in Lehenger, where the forest meets the plains that the battle was to take place. Their camps deep in the dark and sinister woods, the wretched goblins watched their enemies from the trees. On the opposite side of the green skinned savages, waiting high in the hills were the people of the Dark Tribes. The wicked men from the swamps with their brutal and vicious ways of living readied their horsemen and black magicians with the simplest warriors wearing pitch black armor, furs, and leathers.

            The goblins grinned revealing their teeth at each other showing who the best of fighters were. The shamans, warlocks, and ritualists sat in their circles, drew their markings upon each other, and prepared their cruel magic. Captain Ge’hor wearing his stained red leather grab and a black cloak, pulled an ax free from his waist and pointed towards the mountains in which the Dark Tribesmen were located. Shrieks filled the forest and the goblins rushed to meet their foes.

            An arrow quickly came to meet a goblin’s skull from behind a tree-one of the silent and cunning Dark Tribes scout. The scout pressed off the trunk of a tree and ran towards his home camp, but as he thought he was safe a rough stone dagger pressed its way into his lower stomach. The scout fell and a goblin wearing a wolf’s pelt and some red leather armor stood over his body with a massive smile, his yellow teeth protruding past his lips.

            A few howls came from a few dying goblins that were crushed by a trap set by the tribesmen. With full force the two armies met in a clash of blood and clatter of metal. The goblins bit, tore, slashed, and fought their way through the front lines of the Dark Tribesmen. The Dark Tribesmen conjured black magic to burn through the green skinned creatures, but they had underestimated their foes for their numbers were dropping off faster than that of the small monsters.

            Ge’hor swung his ax into a Dark Tribesman sorcerer, but a few last words spilled from sorcerer’s lips. At first, he didn’t notice anything, then after a few more kills with the now bloodied ax, in the corners of his eyes he caught a glimpse of his arm’s green skin tone getting redder. It didn’t affect anything but after a few minutes his arm was glowing red and he thought it good to find a shaman. Ducking under a swinging blade, he rolled back towards his own people and looked for a user of magic.

            A goblin shaman noticed the glowing red from a distance and ran towards it. He grabbed Ge’hor and directed him away from the fighting and back into the forest area. It was a small grove and the shouts of war could be heard not too far away. The shaman slammed his staff-with a glowing rock at the top of it- into the ground and turned towards the captain.

            “Naughty, naughty curse you got there, me boy,” the shamans whiny voice came forth, “we don’t take care of that an you won’t ‘ave an arm.”

            Ge’hor sighed and the shaman cupped his hands together, muttered a few words under his breath into his palms, opened his hands, and blew across his palms. A stream of dust-like particles flew like a river stream, wrapping around the vicious captain’s glowing arm. The dust made a tornado movement up his arm and in one swift action, flew into the glowing red. The redness vanished and Ge’hor’s skin returned to the normal dark green tone.

            It was back to war, both the shaman and the captain ran their way back to the fighting. A Dark Tribesman held up a bow and found the skimpy captain as his target. With a twang of the bow, an arrow met the goblin in the eye and slid into place with his skull causing immediate death.

            The battle was to wage for many nights, the result was an allegiance between the goblins and the Dark Tribesmen.

 

The Arcane Spire

 

            The halls were quiet and all the books and scrolls of the great library were tucked neatly into their places. A few dim lit torches hung from the ceiling and along the walls in order to give any nearby walker the light needed. Carved in the walls were glowing green and white symbols, some of which were for protection over the books and scrolls and some for pain to any who get past those protective spells.

            Wearing a black cloak with green trimming, a young man stood facing a bookcase and reading from one of the books off the shelf. His long blue hair came down just above his eyes which glowing, green steam drifted out of, this was the constant flow of arcane magic which all Arcanians possessed. He traced his finger along the words as he read, with each sentence finished he knew he learned something new. He stopped halfway down the page and looked up from the book. Holding up his palm, he muttered a few strange words and miniature clouds began appearing just a few feet above his hand. While continuing to mutter words under his breath, the small clouds got violent. Light bursts lit up the dark evaporation and with a funnel of fast winds, a small tornado touched his skin.

            He stopped the muttering and slammed the book closed with one hand. After a moment’s pause, a bell began ringing in the distance. One that the young man had only heard once in his life and that was of the alarm bell. A furious amount of noise came from the end of the hallway as an old man in robes just like the young man’s came running up.

            “Crane, we don’t have much time!” the old man shouted and ran right past him.

            “What is going on, Master Sed?” Crane asked after he returned the book to its proper place.

            “From the North,” Master Sed said and slowly made his way up a flight of stairs. “They came faster than anything this city has seen, Elves. We are to get the most valuable of the books and scrolls, then take them to the Arcane Keep to the west. Crane hurry and tell all the servants to start loading them up with the carriages out back. Once you have done that, get what you want to bring with us and come out to the carriages.”

            Crane stopped in his tracks and Master Sed ran off down a spiraling staircase until out of view. He turned and looked for the first servant he could find. It was a small goblin, an old goblin. It was carrying scrolls in a heap and whispered something under his breath.

            “Red!” Crane shouted at the goblin, who turned and dropped the scrolls. “Don’t worry about those and tell every servant you can see to get all the important books and scrolls and take them out back. Quickly, off with you vile creature!”

            Pulling his hood over his head, Crane turned and ran for an exit. He stepped out of the great library and onto a sapphire colored pavement. People ran around him furiously trying to find their way through their own confusion. Everyone wore the same black cloak, but different people had different colored trimmings. Each color signified what guild in the great Arcane City they belonged to.

            Crane looked to his right and placed his eyes upon the gigantic spire which rose into the sky. At the very top he knew that the spire protectors stood on the outer edge of the top balcony chanting their spells and preparing for the army that would soon be upon them. This was his chance. He began to slowly walk towards the spire all the while getting bumped and shoved by the frightened crowd.

            The circle plaza around the spire was calm and clear of any people, besides the two guards standing on opposite sides of each other at the spire's entrance. The guards were in red robes and wore a few pieces of chainmail, tied to their belts were sheathed swords. They were not moving or blinking, they didn’t even pay attention to Crane until he began walk towards the open doorway.

            “You are not permitted within the spire,” one of the guards claimed and turned his head towards the young mage. “Besides this is not the time for you to be wondering around, don’t you hear the alarm? You must find safety or flee with the others.”

            “But I must not allow the Elves to take over the spire,” Crane said while getting even closer to the entrance. “I am the only one who can ensure its safety.”

            “You're crazy,” the other guard said and stood in front of the entrance. “How could you be the only one to save it?”

            “Because the Gods have given me the power and knowledge to take on the task,” Crane proclaimed. “Now if you’d be out of my way.”

            The two guards were slowly lifted into the air, slammed together, and thrown to the sides, both unconscious. Crane proceeded into the spire by doing so the entrance closed off with a giant metal door which had materialized so he began his ascent up the spiraling staircase. As he got towards the top he could hear the protectors all chanting in rhythm. The sun light came to his vision and he saw five mages standing apart to make a star formation with a giant well of blue liquid in the center, all backs were turned towards Crane.

            Lightning filled both of Crane’s hands and with one motion he let it all travel through the bodies of the five protectors. They fell to the ground below and with it Crane’s heart sank, confused by why the Gods would have him kill his own. There was calmness now and Crane walked to the edge of the spire looking out past the brilliant city to the forest in which the Elves were traveling through in order to strike their enemies.

            “Let them come,” Crane muttered to himself and grinned.

 

Tomb of the Phoenix

 

            A man in a full suit of dark red armor walked through dark halls with a torch in his right hand in order to see the layout around him. A sheathed curved sword was at his waist along with a claymore tied to his back. Over his left shoulder the backs of arrows stuck out of his quiver next to his bow which was held in place due to him having the string across his chest.

            The hallway he walked through was made of tan marble and many languages of writing were carved in the walls. He’d been walking the hallway for about an hour and he was close to his destination. The hallway opened up to a dark circular room, within the center of the room was a large fire pit full of ash.

            The knight took his helmet off and walked toward the fire pit. Kneeing down by the side of the pit he threw the torch into the center and waited. The fire spread through the pit until it was fully engulfed in flames. Waiting for what he had come for, the knight stood patiently watching the flame grow without having to have a fuel source.

            The fire was a glowing red, but it changed in a flash to become a blue fire. Out of the top of the fire a bird twice the size of the knight flew out and circled the room. The bird had blue feathers and an elegant red beak. It landed on a perch that the knight had not seen until now which was hanging from the ceiling. It began to examine the knight.

            “I thank you for bring me the gift of life, young knight,” a voice echoed throughout the room. “Why the need to awaken me, youngling?”

            “I need your help, Great Phoenix,” the knight proclaimed. “The world is spiraling down into a war unlike any it has seen before; I need your strength in order to overcome my foe.”

            “So you have brought me to life to help you fight your battles,” the voice said. “First, you must prove yourself worthy which you can do by taking care of the gnomes who have followed you into my domain.”

            “Followed me?” the knight asked and turned towards the hall way. “I could have sworn I made sure there was no one following.”

            “You do not take into consideration that gnomes have very intelligent minds, and are rather light on their feet,” the Phoenix said. “Now arm yourself for they approach quickly.”

            The knight took his bow and got it ready with an arrow. He crouched to one knee and pulled the arrow ready, pointing towards the hallway. The fire from the pit went dark and the room was enshrouded in darkness, except that a faint glowing light came from the hallway. Sitting, bathed in the darkness, the knight waited for his opening.

            The light grew brighter and finally the knight could see three small people all carrying a torch and armed with a weapon of some sort in the other hand. They were only about the height of the knight’s knees and they all wore leather armor. The knight pulled the bow string back as far as possible in order to get as much power into the shot as he could.

            With a twang, the arrow launched into the chest of the middle gnome causing it to let out a blood curdling scream as he fell onto the ground. The comrades of the once living gnome reacted quickly. They each pulled out a round black ball and pulled a string from them, then proceeded to throw them into the room. The balls began to release smoke into the room and after another arrow was set in place the entire room was full of smoke. The torches that the gnomes were carrying must have been put out because it was dark.

            The knight didn’t move from his location, he just waited and listened. There was no noise, the gnomes weren’t moving. After a minute or two of silence the knight heard a few footsteps and shot in the direction of the noise. There was a squeal and the sound of footsteps fell silent.

            Another minute passed with no noise, the knight was ready with his third arrow. The room filled with light as the perched bird began to breath fire so that the knight could find his enemy. The smoke was nearly gone and the knight laid eyes upon the final gnome. Two feet in front of him with a dagger at the ready, the gnome lunged forward hoping to get the knife into his target’s neck. The knight dropped his bow and arrow then fell sideways in order to miss his death.

            Drawing free the sword at his waist the knight pinned the gnome to the marble of the ground. With all enemies defeated, the phoenix let out a caw and the pit in the center of the room once again caught ablaze.

            “Although that was not much of a challenge,” the phoenix’s voice swirled through the room, “I can feel a strong soul in you. Now open your heart and let me in. Remove your armor.”

            Taking his sword and quiver from his back, the knight laid them on the ground along with the sheath of his already freed sword. Clanging as it hit the marble; the red armor came off and underneath he wore a cloth outfit. The phoenix flew from its perch, swirled around the room and flew towards the knight.

            In a large blaze of fire, the phoenix embraced the knight and was absorbed into his body. He felt a fire running through his veins and strength he had never known. Power was granted to him.

Reviews

[Franklin...]

I've put down some things I noticed that you might want to change, think about, or whatever. Don't take any of it the wrong way, I'm just offering a different perspective. Take what you will and ignore the rest.

End of para 2 you use "rushed" and then again beginning of para 3, Replace one.
"massive smile and his yellow teeth protruding past his lips." Replace 'and' with a simple comma.
Para 4: What "crushed and dying goblin"? First and second sentences both contain "crushed".
Para 5: Ge’hor is said to have a sword in para 2, but an axe here. Did he pick it up during the fighting? "in the corners of (his) eyes he caught (a) glimpse of his arm’s green skin tone get(ting) redder. It didn’t affect anything and('but' seems more natural here) after a few minutes..."
Para 8: "dust looking('dust-like') particles flew like a river flow('streamed', 'flowed')" it sounds awkward, as-is.
Para 9: "an arrow met the goblin in the eye and (pierced) through the(his) skull causing in immediate death." Delete that last 'in'.
Para 10: Maybe something like "until at last the goblins claimed victory over..."

Para 11: "quite"--->'quiet' That one gets me all the time.
Para 12: "Wearing a black cloak with green trimming stood a young man facing..." We have a disembodied cloak here. It's better if we know what is wearing the cloak, before we get into the cloak itself. 'A young man wearing a black cloak with green trimming stood facing..."
Para 18: "Master Sed said and walked up a flight of stairs." With a name like that, I'd try to avoid that. 'Master Sed panted(gasped, ect), walking(sprinting, climbing, ect) up a flight of stairs.'
Para 19: "a turning staircase" as you use 'turned' at the start of the next sentence, I would use 'a spiral staircase', unless that's not the type of stairs you were referring to.
Para 21: "ran for an entrance" For things going in it's an entrance, for things going out(like Crane) it's an exit.
Para 22: "Crane looked to his right and looked upon the gigantic spire" replace one 'looked' with 'glanced' or whatever. "the freighted crowd" 'frightened'
Para 23: "standing on opposite sides of each other at the open entrance of the spire" 'standing on opposite sides of the spire's open entrance'
Para 26: "“Your crazy,” 'you're'
Para 28: "his ascend" 'ascent'

Para 42: "causing it to let out a blood curdling scream and(as) he fell onto the ground." is the gnome a 'he' or an 'it' ? "They (each) pulled out a round black ball" In this and the next sentence you use the adjective 'round' for balls. One time you can get away with, twice is just redundant.
Para 43: "and the footstep noise went silent." 'and the sound of footsteps ceased' or 'and the footsteps halted' ect.
"Power was granted to him, final." 'finally' ? 'at last' ?

It's an interesting story, lots of action, magic, and general excitement. We don't get any indication yet as to why everyone is fighting one another, but this sounds like it could become epic if you continue the tale, and fill us in on the history along the way. Keep up the good work :)