01 - Prologue

The prologue to Tempest, it is rather lengthy but it introduces you to the world of Azerus, which is where this story resides.

Chapter 1: Where it all begins

There is an interesting effect on people when it comes to fictional stories. The ones with dragons and princesses, the tales filled with heroic knights who fight for the sole purpose of nobility. The stories that people dream about constantly, if they are into such things, otherwise known as people like me. These stories have been a product of my imagination since birth, and haven't decided to dissipate as long as I have existed. So what is my point exactly? Well, my point is simple... offer me some of your time. If you have any interest in the sort of things I have described, then I believe that I have a story for you my friend. A story that has it all... monsters, knights, dragons, and magic... lots of magic. Not just the kind of magic that causes lightning bolts to rain from the sky and wreak havoc upon your foes, but the very magic that is the very sole purpose of these stories. The magic of existence, and yes, even love.

This shall be a tale of fantasy, magic, both tragedy AND comedy, as well as a tale of romance. There will be friendship.. and lots of it, as well as some betrayal. Hopefully by the time you have completed this story, regardless of how fictional and impossible it may be, you will come to realize that you can feel a sort of.. empathy with it.
So, assuming you have read this far into this chapter, I believe it is safe to assume that you have at least some interest in the story I wish to share. With that being said, I shall begin...

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Our tale begins in a world that is nothing like ours... yet very similar. This world has become known as Azerus. This is a world of magic, which literally is the sole purpose for how this world came to be. Some say it was an event triggered from a higher power, God if you will. Others choose to believe that this world came to be as a will entirely of its own, through the build up of magical energy over a period of time longer than anyone could imagine. Either way, who is to say? As with our own world, there are various theories as to how Azerus came to existence. There are also individuals who simply do not care to form an opinion, and are fine with not knowing.
All inhabitants of Azerus have a degree of control over the magical energy that flows through this realm. There are of course people who do not use this power at all, but be noted that anyone has the ability to use magic. The degree of their control and power over it however differs from person to person. No one is entirely certain what exactly how or why it differs, it just does. Bare in mind however that people are not randomly chosen at birth to be the most powerful magic users. As with skill in just about anything else, it must be practiced in order to blossom out into its full potential. One person's magical capability at birth being higher than their opponent doesn't necessarily prove they are better. It just means that if they both used the same exact technique that the raw power and energy behind it is of a higher caliber. All in all, there are a few factors that measure your potential.

The uses that were brought about through the use of magic had differed greatly between people. Hunting purposes, summoning animals to your side, or conjuring up a gust of wind for no reason at all are just a few of the options. I have only really touched the lighter side of magic in this realm however... as you can imagine there are good and bad people in Azerus as well. Not every magic user was a kindly soul, and there were many people who used magic as a means for gaining power. As with all good things, the era of peace which enveloped the world had come to an end. Magic was now used as a source of conquest between different powers. This had become constant for roughly a hundred years.

Things had only become worse after this century of war however... for the darkest day among humanity was about to present itself. An organization of powerful.. and ambitious individuals were about to make a name for themselves in such a way that could never have been seen coming. Through processes unknown, this group had found a way to give existence to all of the darkness in the hearts of people. These monstrosities were literally beings of pure anguish and rage. They existed purely to destroy, and crush all that their masters had laid out for them. They were looked at as the dark side of humanity... and something needed to be done about it.
Although powerful, they were not unbeatable. These beings had come to be named Daemons, and their masters appropriately went by the name of “Ragnarok” (the end of days in Norse mythology). Humanity took one last reach for survival and decided to train those with the highest potential with magic to fight back against this scourge that plagued humanity. Soon after, every town near a major city had a “Sanctuary” where these warriors were trained. It wasn't long before the Sanctuaries had accepted volunteers. As compensation they were offered a home and whatever necessities to live. Eventually once these warriors were skilled enough, they were shipped out to war. This constant battle had become known as the “Tempest War”. It was an everlasting struggle against the Daemons and Ragnarok. These heroes had given humanity a fighting chance.... however, even heroes fall.

35 years have passed since the start of the Tempest war, and Azerus is still war-torn....

With a bit of background knowledge of this realm, I believe you know all that you need for now to be introduced to where we start our story. Our protagonist isn't a powerful knight from a distant land, or a beautiful yet deadly woman who strives for righteousness. No, our hero is a man named Cain. He's more of a boy really, but he is 21 years of age at the start of our tale. Humans age the same in this world in comparison to our own as well, and contrary to the medieval feel of this place, they live to be about 60-70 years of age. Cain doesn't have any particularly remarkable qualities really. He is a quiet man with a strong sense of compassion and honor, despite his rough exterior. He values loyalty and morality above all else. His only desire in his life right now is to walk the path of a Hero, and join the Tempest War. No one is entirely sure why he is so dead set on this, but Cain stiffly proclaims that he wishes to protect everyone and everything he cares for. 

Cain has a sturdy build but none the less, he still has a thin frame. His visible features are a little different than most. His hair is a deep and dark blue color (Azerus is a world of magic after all, so of course there are ways to permanently dye one's hair), which is about shoulder length and straight in nature. He has a regular old brown eye color. Cain is most easily identified by his jacket that he constantly wears. It is akin to a trench coat but more casual. There is a flowing cape on the back of it as well. Any other clothing isn't particularly special. He wears a gray colored pair of denim jeans that aren't baggy in the slightest, and a semi-formal pair of shoes that look similar to modern day loafers.

His partner in crime is not so much like him at all... in fact, it's a mystery how these two had become such a close pair in all honesty. Vella is a Hero as well, who is a year younger than Cain and carries around a large custom bow all the time. She is a deadly shot as well, and has pinned a dragonfly to a tree at 30 feet in the past without even killing it. Contrary to Cain, her personality quirks are what really set her apart from him. Vella is not one to be taken seriously.... ever. Just about anything that comes out of her mouth is a snappy one liner with a side of sarcasm. She also is naturally mischievous, and always looking for ways to spark up small problems for her entertainment. She is however still a good person at heart and will never intentionally harm another person unless forced to. 

Vella is a good head shorter than Cain. At 6 feet tall, he is generally taller than most, so it is only to be expected. Vella has slightly shorter hair than Cain ironically, but it is always covered by her light-green beret. On one side of it, there is a badge on it which she states was a trophy of sorts from the first archery competition she had ever won. Another notable accessory of Vella is her scarf which is identical to her beret color. She wears a jacket with various leather straps around it that interlock and cross at random points. Her hands are covered by a pair of gloves designed the protect them from abrasion of her bowstring. At her waist, the chest area of the jacket is cut off by a belt, and from there are 4 flaps that are angled evenly around her waist and end before her knees. They cut off so soon in fact that her attire might be a bit too revealing for public had there not been an under portion of it that resembled shorts. Finally she wears a pair of leather high boots with no particular degree of interest.
Hopefully now you have a fair image in mind of what our two heroes look like in this tale. There will be many more people that I shall introduce down the line as well, so don't worry. One thing that this story is full of is diversity, however for now we will begin our tale with these two. At this point in time, Vella is around searching for Cain in the outskirts of a smaller town by the name of Denerim. They are about to take a job from the sanctuary to complete. Mind you, this is how the Sanctuaries are run in Azerus. Its heroes are trained to a certain point, and then must take various jobs that are appointed to them. Think of it as a quest more or less, from your favorite RPG game titles. The sanctuary has a board within it that is littered with jobs and assignments. With each assignment is a letter rank, for difficulty. You must confirm your assignments with the sanctuary elder before you can take it, that way you can't, as the saying goes, bite off more than you can chew. After completing enough of these quests, a hero then gets an advancement. It shows the capability of the hero, and they are measured in tiers. Heroes go through 3 class changes, each varying in their pros and cons, as well as their job on the battlefield. The first class is always the most basic, and is either a warrior, mage, or a thief. Anyone who has ever played a game similar to dungeons and dragons should know the difference. Warriors are precursors to any melee class. Mages specialize in magic usage and don't particularly do the greatest at melee. Thieves are tricky, and are masters at playing along the sidelines.
Each of these classes branch off into 1 of 3 different categories after the hero gains 5 tiers in them. This branch afterward has 5 tiers, and then finally you can split off into one of 2 different classes known as a profession, which is your end all be all class. This class has 10 tiers and one final tier that is simply labeled as “epic” tier. These are the most elite of all heroes, and are unrivaled in proficiency.

Our heroes are both in tier 1 of their branch class. Cain is a Sword Mage, and Vella is a Ranger. Cain specializes in enhancement magic for his sword strikes, and Vella is of course all about her bow. She however is not completely useless in melee combat, though only armed with a dagger. None the less this is how our story begins....

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Author's Note

Lengthy and probably loaded with grammatical errors. Feel free to write me an angry letter if you see any ^_^

Reviews

[Jessica]

This sounds like a very promising book! It definitely grabbed my interest. You picked interesting names for both the characters and the places--good names are vital for an authentic-sounding story. This prologue did a good job of creating an expectation for the story, telling enough to promise adventure, magic, and humor, but not enough to give the plot away. The main suggestion I have is to look at the active/passive voice and verbs. If you can switch more of the verbs to active voice, not passive, the sentence will pack a bigger punch, so to speak. Hope I can read more of the story!

[The Silent Deviant]

I am constantly considering that sort of thing myself actually. I often find myself re-reading older things and thinking to myself, "should I reword this?", so I am glad that I am not alone in that. I will certainly have to dig through this and fix that at a later time for sure. But that you for you input :)