Chapter 1: Where It All Began, And Begins...

He remembered this place. Like an almost non-existant dream...

Chapter 1: “Where it all began, and begins...”

A young man approached the ruins of a small town. It was a bright warm day, the sun directly overhead. The town had been burned to the ground by an army of thousands, his master had told him. They had come to kill one of the damned but instead took hundreds of innocent lives in their wake.

He remembered this place. Like an almost non-existent dream. He pondered this feeling for but a second, then resumed his investigation.

As he walked through the debris and charred human remains he spotted what appeared to be a main road. He walked down it for a short bit and noticed something odd. An inn almost untouched by the surrounding violence was sitting at the end of the road. An eerie feel emanating from it's wooden walls.

Issak pulled back his hood slowly and stared at the forgotten building. His master had told him about this building. He had told Issak that the events that occurred here had resulted in him being sent to his master's school. But he couldn't help but think that there was something more to the story. Something his master had “forgotten” to say.

Issak stood around six feet tall, his eyes had faded to a deep dark brown but still shone that vivid blue every time he had one of his “episodes.” He wore a brown leather jacket, two long daggers lay sheathed within its folds. On his belt he had another weapon sheathed. A sword, nearly as long as he was tall. The blade was razor thin, straight, and single edged it was as unique as it was deadly for the metal was such that it did not break or shatter.

He reached down, his brown hair blowing in the breeze, and withdrew the long, thin sword from it's sheath. Gripping the blade in both hands he began to practice. He had spent 18 long years learning the art of the sword and he was not about to let himself forget how to use it. Especially considering all that he was.

Suddenly his mind fogged. His eyesight changed, a bright blue aura obscuring his vision. His body shook, and he felt his soul shatter as his power cam rushing to the surface. He opened his mouth to scream but fire filled it instead. The inferno blazed within his chest as his mind raced. And just as suddenly as the pain began, it ended. Gasping for air he watched in horror as the air around him ignited and the entire town exploded in a mass of fire and wind.

Issak stood there, exhausted by his loss of control. Leaning on his blade for support he peered around to see what had he had done.

The explosion had been much more powerful this time. What little remained of the town had been blown away into the surrounding hillside. Trees rent asunder by pieces of building and miscellaneous rubble that now littered the countryside.

“At least there wasn't anybody around,” he though miserably. “Nobody for me to kill...”

As if in answer to his statement he suddenly heard the desperate shriek of a woman in the distance. “Help me! Somebody! Please help me!”

“No!” Issak thought furiously as he sheathed his blade and broke into a dead run.

Issak sped along the path towards the voice. Her cries for help muffled by the obvious sound of a violent struggle.

Knowing full well the urgency of the situation Issak loosened his hold on the power. It radiated within him like a massive orb trapped in his chest. The power from the orb seeped into the rest of his body enhancing his strength, and most importantly, his speed.

He thundered along the path, an avalanche of death awaited. Yearning to be released on the unsuspecting rogues. He reached within himself, calling on the power to give life to the wind and leapt into the air. The force of the wind hurled him into the sky like a cannonball. And as he reached the peak of his jump he smiled softly. The avalanche was falling quickly on his unsuspecting prey. He unsheathed his blade and plunged toward his new victim. An almost sinister laugh lingering behind the force of his falling wrath.

Author's Note

Alright this was copied straight from a written page so there may be typos. Please let me know where I can expand, what questions are unanswered or, really, any input you have on this book this has been a long time in the making. I have the entire book written I just need to translate it to text. Thank you guys so much for reading and for your support you guys are awesome!

Reviews

[The dark story]

this story is so thrilling and interesting.making you to stick to it till the very end.i really liked this character .i don't know but i imagined him like "Clod" of Final Fantasy..he's totally coollll!!!!!!!!!....i'm so excited to read further........well.i can surely say one thing about it.....it would be a great supernatural story for me.........great work!

[ewest1220]

Awesome! I'm really glad you liked it! Thanks for reading Atiba Sheikh!

[Rhea752]

Nicely written!!! This chapter kept me enchanted through and through. Congratulations on another great piece!! :)

[ewest1220]

Thanks! I'm really glad you liked it Rhea!

[Ama May Cooper]

Interesting start. Well presented and the story flows nicely. Good introduction to character.
The ending confuses me a little, i can't work out if he was bothered by the fact that he could of killed someone or not, and if he then went after the woman and im not sure who he was killing with the avalanche.
But wonderful all the same, another brilliant piece of work, i look forward to further installations

[ewest1220]

Thanks! I'm really glad you liked it and the answers to those questions are in the next two chapters ;)

[kublakhan27]

An intriguing chapter, and the characters seem to have to have a lot of depth :)

[ewest1220]

Thanks! Always nice to hear from you kublakhan27!

[kublakhan27]

And it's always a pleasure to read your stuff :D

[Lizbeth]

This was a very fast-moving pace. Very descriptive and powerful images here.
The first line begins quit unsuspectingly, on a sunny day and the last ends with a sinister laugh. Onehopes he came to the aid of the one who called out for help.
It left me wondering what caused the explosion ...

I noticed the following:
Para. 4. line 3: its
Para. 5, line 1: I think that should be "shone."
Para. 6,line 1: long, thin (add comma, no g)
avalance should be avalanche (2x)
But otherwise a great first chapter - looking forward to reading more
Lizbeth
2nd line: its

[ewest1220]

Perfect! Thank you so much for you help I'm changing this now :)

[Seyi Ojenike]

Was in a hurry but still enjoyed it

[ewest1220]

Thanks!

[Sunkissed Circus]

intriguing as always! the only typo I saw was in the sentence, "The town had been burned to the ground by an arm of thousands his master had told him."

I think arm should be army, but I've been wrong before; a thousand arms very well could have destroyed the town ;]

[Sunkissed Circus]

oh! and a comma after "thousands"

sorry, grammar fanatic; love/hate thing, haha

[ewest1220]

I'm loving it over here! I'll change it right away thank you so much!

[gombeggar]

i'll need to read more of the previous work...the whole thing if it exists...there's not enough to fashion advice t what seems a very involved story

[ewest1220]

There's a prologue right before this one if that helps.

[T. Logan]

Twists! You're good at stories too! (Along with the poetry)

[ewest1220]

Thanks!

[Tattered Teddy]

I love it so far, as ever I do love your twists and turns mate.

[ewest1220]

Thanks! More should be out later tonight if you're interested!

[FantasyLover24601]

Where and when exactly is this taking place? I'm not really getting a sense of the world that these characters live in. Also, I hope you've set down some rules for the use of magic. As an avid fantasy reader, nothing irritates me more than an author who breaks their own rules.

This is a good start, but it seemed rather rushed and I think you should take your time with this story and maybe have some kind of outline or summary to follow.

[ewest1220]

Interesting. That would help me extend the chapter. Also the only real rules I've set down as far as the magic goes are in the prologue. The power of life or death. Ex. "Calling on his power to give life to the wind." However adding some more of the scenery and theme would work great! Thank you so much for the advice!

[FantasyLover24601]

You're welcome! I know that world building and setting rules for magic for a fantasy story can be a chore. I myself still make mistakes with that. I think that is why some many fantasy books have a separate anthology or an appendix at the back to explain the world setting and how magic works.

[ewest1220]

True. Now I will say that at this point there is very little that is known about the magics involved. I attempted to add that kind of mystery aspect to it but I see where the confusion lies... An interesting conundrum what do you think?

[FantasyLover24601]

I can see how holding back on details can make for an interesting plot, but if you forget those details later on, then the audience will be left confused. Along with setting the rules for magic, you have to explain where that power is drawn from and how it works and if there are any dire consequences to using too much of the power. If the power is drawn from the character's life source, then there should be something written about how using too much of it could weaken or kill them. If it's drawn from the Earth or from water or air or fire, then how does the character do that if they aren't in a setting that allows them access to that power?

[ewest1220]

I see. So then as far as the dialogue in the prologue goes do you think I have it mostly covered? I know there's some holes but does it get a basic understanding out of the way?

[FantasyLover24601]

I believe so!

[ewest1220]

Awesome! Let me know if there are any questions you have about the rules of the magic in my book :) And thanks again for all your help you've been wonderful!

[FantasyLover24601]

You are most welcome! I hope you post another chapter soon!