Neverwest (Original Fantasy)

[Tainted]

Well, I just popped in here after not posting for several months... I'm bored and now have three chapters completed in my novel, so, I'll post em here for you to make fun of, critique, etc...
BTW, I'm thirteen, so don't expect it to be phenomenal...

The prologue is short for a reason, I like mine to be to the point...


Neverwest
Prologue

Neverwest to the wind said the man
And so the legend was told
For east is where problems are solved

Neverwest to the sky said the man
And so the legend seemed bland
Not a word of a lie
You will see when you die
And the heavens rejoice for your sin

Neverwest said the man once more
And the rain from the skies began to pour
The angels did cry
And the devils soon died
And the legend, from blood, which it soared

It was but twenty-seven years ago when humanity appeared to reach the brink of destruction. That was when Ohkri took up most of the map, owning the eastern side of the lands to the west. The Ohkrians were gifted with magical abilities, and were lead by a black sorcerer known as Oran. Oran lead the human Ohkrians to war against everything, every battle was but another victory. Their secret was as simple as day, none of the soldiers died. Ever. And it was twenty-seven years ago when we discovered the Daemonals. With the humans living to more than three hundred years, they took odd characteristics and soon lived to be these nocturnal brutes. That is why today, the Daemonals are made up of the largest population, simply because they never die unless slain in war.
Then it was when Oran saw his wrongdoing. When the Daemonals would not obey him. Anarika took this into their hands and attacked Oran, they had slain him, and when he died, he turned into a black rose petal. This petal was sealed inside a vile filled with blood to keep the rose petal alive. They did this because it was foretold that if the rose petal ever did wither and die, so would Lannia, their world.

And so Ohkri became a part of the map owned by Anarika, and this is where the rose petal was kept. A small triangle of map near the sea, with the Ohkrians thought to all be dead, or through a full transformation into Daemonals, the world is once again set at peace. And this is where our story begins, twenty-seven years after that incident…

[Tainted]

Neverwest
Chapter One-The Coming of Age

When the sun arose that morning, my spirits rose with it. Today was a unique day in my life. Today was my fourteenth birthday. Today, I would be able to gain access to a weapon. Yes, a weapon. In Ohkri, we had an annual tradition, and that was that when a child turns fourteen, he gains right to bear arms. Showing so, he is presented with a weapon of his choice.

After momentary thinking, I sat up in bed and put a black worn down shirt on, as if I didn’t, it would grow chilly rather quickly. I had slept in my black pants, so I didn’t have to put them on. I arose out of bed and stretched, peering outside to the sunny and grassy plains littered with trees and animals alike. Bunnies hopping at the base of the trees, deer nibbling on grass, it was almost like a paradise.

I walked out of my room letting go of a huge yawn; I stretched my arms out and brought them back in towards my body. I began to scratch my hair, which was littered with messy golden blonde hair, the roots, although, were brown.
I stumbled into the kitchen, almost falling over.
“I’m going straight to Guvnahi’s, alright Auntie?” I asked.
“Alright, Lance… but only for today…” she replied.
I looked up at her, her long silver hair hung over her shoulders and parts drifted down her front. The rest of it took a long stroll down her back. She was wearing a black dress, one that she wore often. It was rather plain, but it worked.
I was, for once, surprised at her answer. Normally she was cruel or mean, but she had actually let me leave the yard to go somewhere…

I left the house that day, I left the house by myself, and I walked straight to Guvnahi’s Outpost to receive my first weapon. It was a big thing, here in Ohkri. Receiving your weapon was your first big step towards being considered a man, and no longer a ‘boy’ or a ‘child,’ terms of which I had grown to despise.
I had often watched other people receive their first weapons, always their faces filled with such excitement and joy. They often would take very good care of it, and always carry it with them, sometimes only to brag or show off about it, but it was all in good fun.

Then a loud broad voice broke the silence, and my happiness “What are you here for, boy?”
There it was again, that bastard had spoke of the word, nevertheless I replied kindly, as a good citizen should. “To receive my first weapon, sir, I’m fourteen today”
“Excellent, I’m Guvnahi” he roared back with a large chuckle of appreciation.
I whipped around to see a large, armor coated, reddish-brown haired man. He grasped my hand and shook it vigorously; if he had shook any longer I was sure I would have lost that hand, or maybe my whole arm.
“Come in, now, I won’t bite…” he joked, leading me in. He seemed to be rather lighthearted for a war general.
I slowly walked into his small Outpost, gazing at the thousands of weapons on the walls. Pikes, swords, bows, partisans, maces, shields, two-handed swords, broad swords, everything you could ever imagine.
“I’m sure you had some thinking beforehand, what would you like?” he asked, once again, in his lighthearted tone of voice. I had only noticed now that he had bent down to talk to me, he really was huge.
“I’d like a single handed sword, please” I replied, nicely.
“Oh, great” he said sharply “Those that take single handed swords also get a nice wooden shield to start with”
“Great!” I said enthusiastically.

He handed me the highest sword he could reach. It had a black handle, and a black hilt. Engraved was what appeared to be a dragon, the handle representing the tail and the hilt representing the wings. The dragon’s head was what started the blade. Then he reached from the other wall and pulled down a wooden shield with a metal cap in the center, this was all too unreal.
“Thank you, sir,” I said, kindly.
“You have fun now, but remember, don’t poke anybodies eye out with that thing, its-a-mighty dangerous!” he chuckled, waving goodbye as I ran out of the door in excitement.

I placed the sword carefully in a sheath I had already purchased with money I had been saving up since I was six. I was living out every young boys dream, and now I had to show it off.
I ran as quickly as possible, avoiding the lovely trees that shrouded the walkways, to the Sommers Residence, the house of my best friend. Nigel Sommers. There weren’t a lot of children my age here in Ohkri, so I made due with the best possible. An Eleven year old, the closest I would ever have to a friend of my sex. He had an older sister who I often talked to also, but we could never be in the best of buds situation because what was in our pants seemed to conflict. I somewhat felt sorry for his older sister, she didn’t have a lot of friends, as there was not much to chose from. Just this one girl who lived high up the road, but she was a bit odd in the head.

I rapped on the door as hard as I could, showing my enthusiasm. Nigel answered the door, excitedly; I think he knew what had gone on. His face was lit up and shined, although, it was hard to shine considering how pale his skin was. He wore a shirt of chain mail and raggedy pants that he seemed to hate. I would too if it was one of my possessions that I had to wear daily. He was rather frail… Which was common in Anarikans, it was very rare that you had someone Guvnahi’s size, or even of mine.
“Did you get it yet?” he asked, quickly.
“I sure did!” I replied, my voice uprising to an excited gasp. There I drew the sword from my sheath and held it in both hands for him to see.
“Amazing…” he said, almost breathless. “Now we can leave town!”
“Leave town? What?” I asked, confused.
“You have a sword, we can go to the outskirts of town, to that large lake, imagine what it would be like there… The water on your toes…” he said, halfway in state of dream.
“I’m not too sure… I’m not exactly allowed to leave home…” I said, lowering the once enthusiastic voice of mine.
“Oh, it’ll only be for an hour or even less…” Nigel retorted, shrugging his shoulders the way someone brawly like Guvnahi would.
“Oh, alright…” I said calmly.
He let out a small cheer and grabbed my hand, barely giving me any time to place my sword back in its sheath. He literally tugged me to the outskirts of town where we left Ohkri for the first time in our lives…

* * *

Nigel waded into the water, the water nearly touching his pant legs, which had been rolled up to his knees. The water was calm and serene; it truly was beautiful out here. I sat back on the grass, up against a large smooth tree. My bare feet rubbed in the long grass. It felt nice. It felt very nice.
Suddenly a loud rustling behind us broke the serenity. I shot up from the ground, taking some of the grass in between my toes with me. I drew my sword and pointed it at the figure that slowly ascended from the shrubbery; it was Nigel’s older sister, and her friend.
His sister looked a bit frazzled, but she was still that pretty girl from Ohkri that everyone knew, even if she did look a little pissed. She had beautiful red hair that hung brilliantly down her back, her eyes, although angry, were still such a beautiful spectacle that you could ever cross about. Her body was outlined by the sun that shone behind her, her friend walked in behind her, she, on the other hand, was not such of a pretty sight.
She wasn’t all too bad, but she wasn’t the material, if you know what I’m talking about. First of all, she had orange short and slightly curly hair, not the prime choice for us Anarikan males. She was rather tall, but what was worst was she was too boyish. I had known previously of her always wanting to be a knight, I, myself, thought it was preposterous. As did the people who really mattered in Ohkri…

“What the hell are you doing here, Nigel?” Kathryn boomed.
“Why, I’m having some fun oh darling sister of mine. Care to join me?” Nigel persuaded her, it seemed to be the only thing he was good at. He was normally not intelligent; it seemed sometimes that he memorized intellectual lines to seem smart when persuading someone…
“Just this once… But next time, I’m telling mother” Kathryn snapped, lying out on the grass. Chelsea, her friend, just huddled next to the shrubbery, barely moving an inch.
I finally sheathed my sword again; now knowing that what came out of the bush was not trying to kill us.

Then my heart stopped. The whole world around me froze. The brush was rustling loudly again, this time followed by a grunt of some sort. I drew my sword as quick as I could, which was all too slow. Nothing could prepare any fourteen-year-old boy of what was about to happen. The bushes rustled once more and I reached for my shield, grasping it just in time to block the charge from my assailant who leapt from the bush. It was a Daemonal… A full grown Daemonal… This was all too horrific. His loud yelp broke the peaceful harmony like a flaming arrow through human flesh. This was it. Our lives were ‘it.’

He swung his two single handed axes like they were made of nothing, as he spun around in what appeared to be a quickly rotating blade dance. I stuck out my shield, and gripped tightly, but it was no use. It was knocked from my hands as quickly as I had pulled it out to protect myself.
I could hear the Daemonal drums beating vividly in the background. They would beat harshly on a loud drum, and then cymbals would clash together and slowly disperse. Then the drum would sound two more times, one after another… Then a pause… Then it would be repeated.
These components all added to my surroundings, making everything more fearful. My eyes shot back and forth around the area I was in, the fight between this Daemonal became a blur. I dodged several axes being flung at me, and they strayed into trees that lined the battlefield. Nigel and the others watched in fear…

The trees around me had been hacked at; showing so by the large marks embedded in them from the Daemonals axes. I was growing fatigued from dodging all of the attacks. I had somewhat of an idea, when he slashed at me, I was going to jump back, then stab at his stomach. I knew I could defeat a foe this simple… it could be done…
He lunged out at me again and I jumped back, keeping my sword pointed behind me. My plan had already failed, for when I leapt back, my cutlass jammed into a tree, and I could not retrieve it. The Daemonal attempted to knock me to the ground by swinging the flat side of the axe at me; I rolled out of the way, just missing his attack. His axe nailed my sword and lodged it further into the tree.
I lay on the ground, stuck. My mind told me to move, but my body would not. The Daemonal approached, now standing over my body. He licked his lips casually and raised one axe above his head, ready to bring it down across my neck. My heart stopped again. Twice, in thirty minutes, my heart had stopped. This time, although, it was much more devastating. As this time, I felt fear. Fear. A feeling that one would never imagine how gruesome it could be. I closed my eyes and waited for my death when I heard a loud crack.
My eyes shot open to see the Daemonal turn his head; the tree that my sword had been shoved into was falling over. Its large brown-barked glory teetered over slowly. I saw fear once more, this time not in my head, but in the Daemonals eyes. The tree slowly lumbered over until it crashed on top of the Daemonal, killing it. Despite my fluke victory, I was still too paralyzed with fear to move.

* * *

I shivered briefly as the frigid cold air closed in around me. All of us now sat inside a small cave, not even large enough to be a home for a bear. We all sat, backs to the rocky wall. We were all covered with large fur blankets that Nigel had brought with him in his backpack, both to trade if this traveling thing kicked off, and also to use for what we did now.
My sword was now resting happily back in its sheath, it was undamaged, which was extremely lucky for me. I don’t think anyone has ever broken their weapon on their first day with it.

“We need to go back to Ohkri…” Nigel mumbled.
“Will it be safe?” Kathryn asked, somewhat afraid.
“I’ll lead” I replied, wearily. I didn’t really look forward to doing so, but those Daemonal drums that would normally be heard from a mile away were not pounding. I had to take my chances. We had to get back home.

We walked the pathway back to Ohkri, which was strewn with dead corpses, Daemonals and Humans alike. This was not looking good.
We eventually reached the end of the road to Ohkri except Ohkri wasn’t there anymore. Burnt rubble was all that was left; the trees were nothing but stumps. The once vast paradise was now a humble hellhole. There were only a few houses half intact, one of which was Chelsea’s house.
“What the hell do we do now?” Chelsea cried out, frustrated.
“There is nothing to do…” I replied, “We could always retreat to Cheekien, but we would have to travel across Daemonal land, small mountains… It would be harsh”
“That’s the only thing we can do…” Nigel shot out slowly; he choked down a tear and collapsed to his knees.
“We’ll need armament,” Chelsea stammered.
“What?” I asked, intrigued.
“Armament, you know, weapons. If were heading through Daemonal we should be properly equipped” she replied.
“And where would we find this?” I asked.
“My father was a knight… Our house is just littered with that kind of stuff” she shot back, raising an orange eyebrow.
“Lead on” I said, nodding my head. She nodded back and lead me to her house, Kathryn followed and Nigel, not wanting to be left alone, got off of his knees and tagged along.

“This is it!” she cried, showing us her half burnt down house. “The armament is located in the basement”
We all crept down the concrete stairs to an undestroyed basement. Its walls were completely covered with weapons, which reminded me of Guvnahi’s room when I got to select my first weapon. The basement was a bit more unkempt, it was dirty and had cobwebs stuck across the ceiling.

Nigel picked a boa off of the wall; it was very lightweight, perfect for him. It was a long wooden stick with a small spearhead at either end. The wood was painted red, with dyed yellow handgrips. He also picked up a small knife and put it in a satchel of fur at his waist. His boa he hung off of his back, underneath his pack that he wore on his back.
Kathryn reached for a short bow, also just what she was into. Arching. She had been good at it ever since she was young, in our little games of war as six year olds; I remembered she would always be the archer. She reached for a quiver and several dozen arrows, all of which she threw into the quiver. She threw the quiver over her shoulder and onto her back, she tightened the leather strap and made it fit much better. She then reached over her head and hung her bow around the quiver.
Chelsea grabbed two sheaths and hung one from each leg. She then grabbed two identical short swords and placed one in each sheath.

We had to be ready for the short journey to Cheekien, well, short in an explorers terms. It would be the longest journey any of us had ever taken in our lives, and probably would stand at the longest journey any of us had ever taken for the rest of our lives. Nigel was stacked full of blanket furs for sleeping and he also had furs for trading. We were set, set for adventure to the west.

* * *

A while into our first hour of straight walking Nigel collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. His knees scraped across the heavy rock mounds that we were forced to walk on. I sure hoped we were going west; I would hate to have to trek across this barren **** hole again.

* * *

The ropes that bound a large bent wooden plank over a large wooden frame were cut. This propelled the large plank forward, launching large rocks from a cup that sat on the end of the plank. It was a catapult, a tool of war. Currently being used, along with my others, in a small-scaled battle.

The hundred thousand or so Daemonal warriors pitted up against the large stone gates into Anarika, which held inside seventy thousand or so men. They were all about to be released into battle.
The ropes were cut again, several of them at the same time. As soon as the catapults fired, thousands of archers that littered the top of the stonewall fired down onto the ground below, picking off as many Daemonals as they could. It was not an easy task, with the thick Daemonal coat, and the occasional armor barer.
As soon as those arrows fired, flaming arrows shot from inside the walls, overtop of the walls, and out onto the battalion of the Daemonal army. And finally, as soon as these flaming arrows were fired, the remaining ground troops charged out of the gates into battle. All of this made a stunning display, and it worked very effectively against foes. King Charles Edmunson knew so, and commended the war general Tamprakk to use it at every battle. At skirmishes of larger sizes, this technique could not be used in fear of something going wrong. It was a perfected technique, but perfection was not so easily acquired with five hundred thousand some odd troops.

Steel clashing steel echoed throughout the battlefield, soldiers collapsing to the ground in death and utmost terror as the Daemonals grew ever closer to demolishing part of the wall that protected the whole of Anarika. Anarika could not lose this battle, as if they did and the wall was broken, all hell would be unleashed upon Anarika’s farmlands.
Then all was saved. A large horn sounded, almost everyone turned to look what was coming. Cheekien was what was coming. Thousands of men all marched in unison, shields propped up and swords held blade down. The long and curved ornamental green and yellow helmets that the soldiers wore shone in the sun; the condition of them was soon to change due to the battle they were about to fight. All of them wore steel plates and steel thigh protection, both covered with green and yellow banners draped over with a large black C in the center of them.

When the soldiers neared the Daemonals, they all stopped. The Daemonals stared blankly for a moment, but then charged. The Cheekien soldiers were prepared, and each one, all in unison, stepped their right foot back one step. As the Daemonals neared closed each one of the soldiers in the front line thrusted their right foot forth and swiped upward with their swords, killing many Daemonals. Cuts gouged in their arms and necks that slit further upward littered the bodies of the dead Daemonals.

* * *

The once proud and strong warriors of the battlefield now stood helpless or dead, the Daemonals had took all means necessary to destroy the wall, but had failed, the wall now had several holes, but they could be guarded. King Edmunson knew the Daemonals all too well, and he knew they’d attempt to throw him off by attacking at the three bridges, the three bridges that joined the three countries, Cheekien, Anarika and Daemonal. The bridge was the size of a small city itself, and would easily hold for a large-scale battle like this. Although, he would need to play it safe, so he would only send a portion of his men, and keep another portion to protect the wall. As predictable as the Daemonals were, they still held a few tricks up their sleeves every so often.

* * *

“Terra…” Guvnahi mouthed slowly. Terra seemed to read his mind.
“Yes, I do think they are alright… Lance at least… I can feel it…” she said, closing her eyes. “We can’t lose that child, Guvnahi… We can’t…”
Guvnahi knelt down on one knee and sifted his fingers through his small beard. His heart was pounding heavily from the fight, and also from escaping the Daemonals.
“It sure is lucky of us being the only survivors…” Guvnahi moaned, clutching his burning chest.
“Take your armor off… We’ll get a room at the inn and you can rest… You need it. Your too old to be claiming lives like that”
“Fifty Daemonals is kid stuff, fifteen years ago, boy, I was a fighter then… Killed one hundred Daemonals in those days…”
“Sure, hon’” Terra said somewhat sarcastically, she emphasized the hon rather harshly, as to tell Guvnahi to get up and go to the inn. Guvnahi read her tone of voice and immediately got up, brushing the stray dirt that stained his shin armor. He took them off, along with the thigh armor and caressed them like they were his children. He left his chain mail on for now, they were in Cheekien, but he still didn’t feel safe.

The short walk to the inn seemed unbearable, although, they made it.
“You go in and get a room, Guvnahi” Terra whispered to him. He nodded and slowly plodded in.
“How you doing there, miss” a moderate voice filled with high shrieks spat out. Terra looked down to the ground where a man holding a half empty bottle sat. “You lookin’ mighty purrr-dy!”
Terra gave the man a double look and stared at him, displeased.
“I don’t have time to fool with people such as you,” she said with a faint smile.
“With people such as me? But Madame” his words grew slurred, “I’m the king of… of… England!”
“Don’t speak of such rubbish, a bum like you could never be king… anywhere… especially in made up places like England,” she snarled. She waved her hand towards him and he suddenly grew tired and passed out.
“Some people…” she mumbled under her breath as she passed a couple who lead a donkey down the road. “England… hah!” she chuckled.

* * *

“Finally, we’ve arrived in Cheekien…” I moaned, letting out a large sigh.
“How do you know?” Nigel asked, politely, yet his polite words were filled with hate for what seemed life at this moment.
“I remember Auntie Terra talking about the bridge past the nation of the damned… I’m assuming this ‘nation of the damned’ would be Daemonal… Considering I haven’t heard of too many other ‘nations of the damned.’”
“Ok, it was a question… Jesus… I wonder why you get so sarcastic sometimes…” Nigel bitched.
“Its not outlawed, I often wonder why you whine and complain about everything” I shot back.
“Ok!” Chelsea yelled “Were all cranky and tired, there’s no means or reasoning to lose heads over it!”
Our arguing was interrupted by a very raspy yet burly voice.
“So that’s where you bastards are… Suit up… Were in war…” he ordered “Christ sakes, you damn kids run off to play around with girls… You guy’s are all sweaty and everything… You’d better have enough energy to fight, gosh dam’ nit”
“What?” I asked, infuriated.
“And you damn women get the hell out of here, there’s no place in Cheekien for a woman fighter” he roared. A man stepped out from behind him and went to deal with Chelsea and Kathryn, taking them into town.
Nigel and I looked at each other, both as confused as the other, and both wondering if the other was as confused as they were.
“No, no, sir, you must be mistaken… We aren’t-” Nigel spat out wearily.
“Shut the hell up and put your damn armor on… I don’t know why we let rookies fight… We just put them in the front line and they all die, anyway…” He blasted out of his foghorn of a mouth, laughing a bit.
I looked at Nigel, my eyes wide open and the exact same expression was pasted on his face.
* * *

“Auntie Terra!” Kathryn yelled, opening her arms and collapsing into the woman’s grasp. Chelsea soon fell into the same trap that Kathryn had tumbled into.
“Where’s Lance and Nigel?” she asked frantically “Did they make it?”
“Sadly…” Chelsea said, pausing. “…They did…”
“There’s no place for sarcasm at this time, lady” Terra shot back. “Where are they?”
“Well… They got picked up by some man who wanted to suit them up in armor…” Kathryn slowly spoke, her tongue almost becoming tied in her fatigue.
“Mother of Gods… They’re sending him to war… But where?”

* * *

“What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?” Nigel whispered to me as we stood side-by-side, hands at our sides and marching simultaneously in the front line of a large army. “If we don’t die, we’ll be trampled by the large men behind us…”
“Don’t tell me about it…” I replied, “Maybe we can escape”
“That’s not an option… Cheekien soldiers kill their own if they retreat... It’s a customary thing… That’s why there is no steel plating on the back of Cheekien armor”
“Just great… Just great…”

A loud horn sounded as we reached the large bridge. The large, three-sided bridge that held an army at each side. In the distance I could see the men of Anarika, and to the third side of the bridge stood Daemonals. The three countries connected by this very bridge now warred on it.
All of our Cheekien counterparts drew their swords simultaneously; I did the same as well. My heart began to pound as the Daemonals began beating on their war drums. As they beat the Daemonals yelped and screamed, and as the war drum grew faster, so did my hearts pounding. The Daemonals rioted, banging their tools of war on the ground and raising them up in the air while they screamed.
Then the war drum stopped. And then came that short moment when time froze. The air hung, still, in the sky and the leaves that blew past were also frozen. I stared ahead and gulped as a chill breeze swept across my spine. This was what war felt like. I was soon to feel not just war, but death also…

[Tainted]

Neverwest
Chapter Two-Chuckling in Cheekien

“The tri-bridges…” Guvnahi clambered “They’re fighting at the tri-bridges… That’s where the battle is taking place”
“How are you so sure?” Terra questioned.
“There are barely any men in Cheekien now, remember, military here is compulsory… All the men would not be gone if the battle was in Anarika. No matter how large the battle was. However, if it were in Cheekien, they would all be defending their land… and the only place that the Daemonal could attack in a large sum, without having to cross over treacherous mountains is the tri-bridges…” Guvnahi replied, answering the question to its fullest possibility.
“I see…” Terra noted politely.
“And it will be hard to get women onto the battlefield… but it can be done… I’m assuming with my rank I can drive a war cart, we’ll put you guys in the back.”
“You’re going to smuggle us into a war?” Chelsea asked, infuriated.
“Smart move, Guvnahi” Kathryn lolled sarcastically.
“Well… let’s get to it then…” Terra spat out quickly. “The faster it’s done, the better”

* * *

“Guvnahi, you may take this war cart… but only because of your general rank…” another General, Sir Claymore said, nodding.
“Thank you, Sir Claymore” Guvnahi replied, nodding his approval. He had already snuck the women into the back of the war cart, and now he took the horses reigns into his hands and whipped them. The horses took off.

The war cart rolled rather rickety across the hospitable Cheekien landscape. The horses were galloping at full speed, Guvnahi ordering them to do so. The women in the back of the cart were thrown about and around in the crazy flight. Guvnahi knew it would be uncomfortable for them, but if they wanted Nigel and Lance to live, they would have to put up with it…

* * *

The three battalions of men and beast charged to meet in the center of the bridge, this would almost become as a ‘king of the hill’ style of fight. The center of the bridge would have to be claimed for as long as possible through attempting to hold off oncoming Daemonal troops.
Many men and Daemonals were already dead, I leaped over the body of a dead Anarikan and thrusted by sword into a Daemonals back, breaking the armor.
“Wow” I thought to myself “That must have been some weak armor.”

Then I heard a large whinnying of horses. I looked behind me and saw, it was Guvnahi leading a war cart. I was too overjoyed to express my feelings in words, however, and I knew I had to continue fighting or I would surely die.
I looked back briefly and saw Chelsea, Kathryn and Terra get out of the back of the war cart. It must have been a tight fit. Nigel ran immediately to where they were standing, frantically Terra asked.
“Where’s Lance?”
“He’s still out there,” answered Nigel.

The battle was coming to an end, with roughly a hundred or so Daemonal soldiers and around the same for both men of Anarika and Cheekien, it wouldn’t be dragged out for much longer. I knew I could hold on for the remaining seconds. Or minutes. Or hours.

Chelsea rushed halfway into the battle when she stopped. Lying on the ground in front of her feet was a familiar face. Someone of whom she couldn’t recall ever seeing, but someone of whom she had seen pictures.
She knelt down on the ground and touched her palm to his face. He had an arrow impaled through his neck. His eyes opened briefly, and then closed shut again.
“Chel-sea…” he coughed loudly “Is that… is that you, dear?”
Chelsea wasn’t quite sure what to say. She, inside, knew who this was, but she wasn’t about to confirm it. He had already died, he couldn’t be alive now, and it was just impossible.
“Go-home… Chelsea… never, ever become a knight. Life isn’t a game… Live it to its potential…” he choked “I know you have the poten-” another cough “tial to do so, but don’t. I have wasted my life, and had to lie about my death so I could continue serving my country…”
“Oh, father” she collapsed on top of him. Her heart was pounding faster than a jackrabbit running through a lush forest. Her eyes closed tightly, she couldn’t believe what had just happened. She had finally seen her father, something she had wished she could do when she doubted his death. And now, she had seen him. Not even for a minute. Now, he joined the ranks of the deceased. He was a victim of war. She wanted to die with him… She began to hyper ventilate and she sniffled rather loudly. She now collapsed by his side and grasped hold of his hand.

The Daemonal forces were now nearly completely crushed, but they were about to make an astounding comeback. A comeback so astounding that it surely would be written and published in legends to this very day. For the Daemonals pulled a dastardly trick from out under their sleeves.
A large giant erupted from the ground at the Daemonal end of the bridge; his limbs and neck were chained. He was pulled to the battle and let loose to kill as freely as he wanted to. He was roughly eight feet tall and his back was hunched over severely. Bad posture was common among giants. He had a large horn pointing downward on his head, signifying that he was of a black clan of Giants and that he was a male, as female Giants did not have horns. He was very brutish and had a large lower lip that was pierced. His brow was furrowed; another common trait among giants was pointed out, no eyebrows, but a large brow. His skin color was a dark brown, which meant he did not have much exposure to the sun, as giants always get lighter with more exposure to the sun. They also get friendlier.
He tore apart the Anarikan forces while the Cheekiens failed hopelessly at trying to break his naturally thick skin; it had acted like an impenetrable armor. Occasionally, he would swipe backwards, obliterating Cheekien attackers.

I knew I somehow had a duty to defeat this overwhelming bastard that had interrupted a humble victory for men. Now things weren’t looking too good, Anarikans were retreating and the last few Daemonals, roughly forty or so, were attacking the Cheekiens, who at the same time were attempting to take down the holocaust that destroyed the Anarikans.
I focused my tunnel vision on the beast and nothing more. I ripped through the crowds, killing Daemonals as I passed and nearly getting killed myself a couple of times. My mind was set. I gripped my sword tightly and threw my arm back, launching the sword at the back of the beast. The sword pierced his skin, and the giant let out a loud convincing moan. He gripped his back then stumbled, falling backwards onto his own Daemonal forces. That left four or so odd soldiers to diminish, and that was done rather easily.

I raised my sword in the air triumphantly. I had caused a major upset in fate, so I rewarded myself. Nigel who laughed and chuckled then greeted me.
“Where’d you learn to throw a sword like that?” he asked, still laughing it up.
“From the farm, mainly” I replied “With boredom you tend to invent many sports, this however was throwing large pitchforks at stacks of hay. I guess the sword just came in handy and provided as a pitchfork… the giant being the stacks of hay.”
“Excellent” Guvnahi greeted me, slapping a large hand on my shoulder. It hurt, but I was too happy to complain.
Kathryn and Terra met up with us enthusiastically, both happy that I was alive.
“We have to get back to Cheekien” Terra sighed “We’ll never make it to Anarika with all those Daemonals out there. We’ll put together what money we have and get a house there… hopefully the burden of all burdens in Ohkri can be passed and we can lead… semi-normal lives…”
I tightly hugged Terra, I had never knew how much I would miss someone, despite how much I despised them daily.
“Where’s Chelsea?” Kathryn asked somberly.

Our eyes all scattered the battlefield until we found a human female body, she was not dead, but she wasn’t moving. She was asleep. She was asleep beside her father, holding his hand tightly. He, however, was not in such good condition. Her father was dead for sure; he had an arrow impaled through his neck and his head rested lightly in a puddle of blood.
“Poor Chelsea…” Nigel muttered.
“Lift her up, Guvnahi, you can carry her back to Cheekien… We have a long and yearning walk ahead of us…” Terra muttered, sadly. For once she seemed depressed, not as gloomy as her normal disposition was, just depressed.
“Lance!” someone called from afar “Come get into this cart… the survivors of Cheekien get a ride back to our home! You can bring your friends!”
It was one of the warriors from Cheekien; he was just about to close the doors of a very large carriage. About twenty other soldiers sat inside.
“There goes our problem about the long yearning walk…” I spat out. Terra sighed, but got in anyway, just as I had figured.

* * *

We arrived at the castle in Cheekien; the survivors were to report to the leader immediately. All of the men who had survived walked in slowly, making up a large line. We were all thoroughly introduced of our achievements in war. I was last in line, when they explained what I had done they were extremely surprised.
“You single handedly took down a Giant?” their leader, Samuel Cheeks quaffed. He was somewhat infuriated.
“Sir, I had others helping… but, I was the one who killed it….” I answered, kindly.
“Hogwash” was his only reply to my answer.
“Sir, it is true,” replied one of the leading soldiers. “This boy was very brave. He threw his sword right into the Giants back.
“Very well, then. I believe it only out of your mouth, son. Because of this brave, honorable deed I grant you a large house in the wealthier side of Cheekien” Samuel chortled.
Terra gasped, somewhat. Now she could save her money for furniture and such to put in the house.
“The house will be already furnished… So you need to do nothing…”
Terra gasped once more, now she could save her money for whatever she wanted.
“And, Lance… For your brave and indeed, the boldest of deeds I have seen in a while, I will have you knighted. In your life, you are…”
“Fourteen, sir” I replied.
He gasped a little himself “At your tender age of fourteen, you are to be knighted and accepted under the reigns as a Cheekien knight.”
My hands trembled. This was, most likely, the best thing that had ever happened to me in my life. If I hadn’t of disobeyed rules that one day and left the village, I would have most likely died under the Daemonal attack. And now, I was being knighted. This was all too crazy to really be true.

“Lance. You will be here tomorrow morning to be knighted, bring your best clothes, this is going to be a great ceremony” Samuel said happily.
I smiled briefly “I’ll wear my best clothes for sure!” knowing that the pair of clothes I had on was the only pair I owned. I turned my back to leave.
“Wait!” he ordered. I stopped. “You lost your sword killing the Giant, correct?”
“Yes, sir” I replied.
“Then I shall grant you with a new one…” he mumbled.
“Thank you…” I said with a sharp bow.
“Guards! Show him and his friends to their house!”

* * *

I laid back on my feather bed; it was very, very nice. It was a lot better than sleeping on hay beds, which was what I had done for my whole life. The house was massive. It could easily house ten, the house that I had lived in all my life could house one, and two people lived in it. It wasn’t too bad, but this was great.
I had spent some of the ‘prize’ money given to us on armor. The rest I let Terra keep for later use. I had bought pretty good armor, considering the large amount of money that was given to us. I bought a steel chest plate; steel thigh and shin guards and then I had bought chain mail to cover the rest of my unprotected body. It was fairly heavy, however, and I couldn’t see myself wearing it for a while. It just wasn’t practical, especially with the weak frame of a fourteen year old. Sure, it was wearable as I was always bigger than other kids, but it wouldn’t allow me to be as free and agile.
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

“Lance, get to sleep, you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow!” Terra ordered. I wasn’t one to disobey an order coming from her.
“All right, Terra” I replied, letting her know that I was being a nice little obedient child. She liked that.
“That’s a good boy”
She seemed to be rather pleased, maybe getting us a free house, nearly free armor and me getting knighted had softened her mood. Maybe she wouldn’t be as cranky from now on. Or maybe should would. Only time would tell.
I rested my head on my soft pillow and slowly fell into the best sleep I had ever had.

* * *

The next morning had consisted mainly of getting ready for the oncoming knighting ceremony. Tonight, to celebrate, a large dance was being held. The rich and poor were all invited to come to this celebration. For every inductee, a large party was always thrown; it was nearly compulsory and certainly customary.
I began to put my armor on just before we left through the door; it was needed that I wore it today. Samuel had said that because of my age I would not have to complete the normally assigned tasks that need to be accomplished. That was, in order to be inducted into knighthood. This was good, as I didn’t think I would have been able to complete the tasks anyway… They seemed quite difficult…

* * *

I knelt down on my left knee and bowed my head. The visitors and my friends and family watched over as Samuel Cheeks arose from his chair and unsheathed his mighty sword.
“With thy weight entrusted in thy sword that rests upon thine shoulders, I grant thine, Lance Hunter, a knight of Cheekien.”
With that, the crowds cheered happily. A new knight anywhere was always a large celebration. I stood up and stared into the old mans eyes, he did, indeed, look cheerful. It was rather odd to see a man of such an age not set at woe by misery.

“Before you leave, my friend, I must grant you with a large gift. A gift not normally acquired by a knight” the old man began “I must grant you with the gift of two trusty steeds, two white horses.”
“Thank you… but why two?” I asked, childishly.
“You see… the horses… they are twins,” he explained “And to break them apart would be somewhat horrendous…”
“I see…” I replied.
“Well, the one for you is this stronger one, her name is Trigger” Samuel pointed out.
“Wow… what’s the other ones name?” I asked excitedly.
“Blitz” he replied “She is wild, and not really shape for holding a lot of weight…”
“Hmm” I laughed, “I guess I can’t give this one as a present to Terra or Guvnahi, now, can’t I?”
“You’ll find someone… trust me… you will” he chuckled, slapping my back “Now, you go home and get ready for the party tonight. A celebration on your behalf, there’ll be plenty a lass to fit ye”
“Plenty a lass, eh?” I joked, “It’s a deal!”

* * *

With my humble all black suit on, I walked in casually. My jacket was buttoned up overtop my vest, shirt and tie.
“And here is our knight right now!” yelled Samuel, who sat on a largely made chair, his eyes overlooking the whole entire ceremony. “We shall start the partying!”
Everyone began clapping and the live audience of music began playing music. Most of the people attending the ceremony began mingling with their friends. I looked over to see that Terra was conversing with one of the guards and that Guvnahi was stuffing his face with food.
Nigel, Kathryn and Chelsea conversed while Samuel walked sturdily towards me. “Let me show you to the many fine rich women here today, there’s plenty of single ones to choose from, and most all of which wouldn’t decline!”
“Great!” I replied, eager to meet some fine women.

The women literally lined up for me as Samuel Cheeks presented them almost in order. One girl, of who wore a dress not quite as nice as the others, it was a light brown one, was booted out by another girl. Elbowed and pushed out of the group, a quick snap from the offender was shot out “You don’t belong here, go off.”
This girl somewhat intrigued me, I had never liked watching people getting hurt… A rather nice set of twins walked up to me, one throwing her arms around me and the other one grabbing my arm. I pushed myself past them, all the time keeping my eyes on the young lady who had just been severely neglected. She had left the party area, left to the balcony. One of the twins made a huffing sound, showing that she was obviously ticked off. The other moaned a “Hey!” and then was pulled back by her identical friend.

Everything slowed down. The whole world seemed to almost stop. I slowly walked, each footstep landing, followed by fifty or so heartbeats. At least it seemed like it. Someone called for me; I simply ignored it and continued walking. I came to the doors and I looked outside, gently placing my hand on the glass part of the door. I slowly pushed it open and joined the lady outside.
I stood there, looking over at the scenery. The ocean was present, and it was beautiful. Yet, it held somewhat of an odd darkness to it. I looked over and closed my eyes briefly; I then opened them and breathed a bit heavier than before. Her sniffles of sadness and pain were interrupted by another sound.
“What do you want?” she questioned “Here to make fun of me? Humiliate me? I’m damn used to it… you might as well bring it upon me when there’s not many to point and laugh…”
“Now, now” I replied, “If I wanted to do that, I would have already.”
“Thanks” she muttered sarcastically, choking back another tear “I really appreciate it.”
I heard the music come to a stop, temporarily, then a slower paced song began. The string instruments prevailed in this piece, slowly stringing out, or maybe it only seemed like that.
“May I have this dance?” I asked, staring confidently at her.
Eternity passed. Maybe I over exaggerated a little. Well… a couple seconds passed… but it sure seemed like an eternity.
“…Alright” she paused, answering.

I screwed traditional dancing, threw it right down the drain. My two arms wrapped around her waist tightly, I was going to get as close to her as possible. She lifted her arms and placed them on my shoulders, her hands meeting behind my neck.

The tune that echoed politely throughout the universe was somewhat sad, and even if it didn’t echo throughout the universe, it would forever echo in my mind. There was absolutely no singing at all, and we spun around slowly in the rain. My hair, for once, lost its natural lifting. No longer was it spiked messily about my head, now it lay flat against my skull.
The song slowed down and drew out, string instruments holding a long chord and soft drums still announcing that the beat was in place. I drew my head back and looked at her quietly, she must have noticed something because she took her head off of my shoulder. She looked up at me and I looked down at her, well, about an inch down, she wasn’t exactly the shortest of girls. I had always been fond of a tall woman anyways.
Her eyes cast a soft greenish glow over my heart. Her brown hair trailed down her back, with one grouping coming over each shoulder. I slowly lowered my head, all the while my heart beating. My lips opened slightly, but she drew away from me.
“I’m not sure,” she said solemnly. Her eyes closed and she swallowed loudly.
“That’s fine…” I replied just as the song ended.
I began to walk inside, but I turned around and said “Cheer up, those girls are dogs anyway…”
She smiled briefly, but then returned to her upset mood. Her arms rested on the balcony and her head looked out over the edge. I truly did feel sorry for her, but I wasn’t quite sure what to do, and I didn’t think I ever would be.

The rest of the night was a large blur, I never saw her again, but all the while I was thinking of her. Soon enough, the party was over and I was back in my house, resting in my bed. I lay awake for almost the whole night until I slowly drifted off into a solemn, careless sleep.

* * *

As soon as I awoke I noticed something very shocking. I had never received that girls name last night. Now, I was probably never going to even speak to that lovely goddess again.
I decided to get out of bed and go watch the archery challenges today, they were supposed to be a bright and festive gathering, and supposedly exciting to watch. I didn’t really care if it would be exciting, it’d kill some time. They were taking place in the lower side of town, which was odd, because most events this large didn’t take place on the ‘poor’ side.

* * *

I sat on a wooden fence that was next to a farmhouse; from here I was sure I would get a good view at the contest. I leaned back, getting more comfortable. As I did, the wooden plank underneath me snapped, and I fell backwards onto the soil. I shook off my fall and opened my eyes to see the same girl that I had met last night. I was astounded.
“You okay?” she chuckled, getting back to her work. She was plowing the fields.
“Yeah… I guess…” I replied, “You need some help with that?”
“Nope” she replied bluntly.
“What’s a nice lady like you doing work like this for?” I asked.
“Well… I live with my grandfather… and… he’s much too old for work,” she said sadly “So I get stuck doing just about everything here…”
“That’s too bad…”
“But I don’t spend all my time working…” she laughed, “I’ve made quite a few games to play around here for when I’m bored or feeling blue”

I walked over and picked up a near pitchfork. I clutched it in my right hand then hurled it a distance, hitting it right onto a square of hay about forty yards away.
“Bet you that you can’t do that one” I chuckled, knowing she wouldn’t come close.
She picked up her pitchfork confidently and triumphantly threw it the same distance, landing exactly beside the pitchfork that I threw.
“That’s one of the games I made up,” she said with a cocky grin pasted on her face.
“Does the maker of these games have a name?” I asked, smiling.
“Well… do you?” she laughed, sarcastically “I have a name… Alina, I’m not so sure if you deserve my last name yet.”
“Your first is all I need, Alina”

I looked over for a minute to the archery contest. A rather petite man with reddish hair and a large black mustache seemed to be winning everything. Target hitting, stray bird hitting. Just about everything he was claiming victory at. He did look rather familiar, however.
He raised his hand in the air in a whooping victory, and as he did so his mustache slid down to his chin… and then fell off of his face. That’s why he had looked so familiar, he was a she, and she was Kathryn!

* * *

I had followed the group of angry arching competitors all the way to the gallows. Five empty nooses hung innocently above wooden frames, in front of all of these were two connected wooden planks. The planks had a head and wrist holes cut in them. On top of this device was a large bell.
They threw Kathryn into the plank, sticking her head and wrists in and then locking the position so that she could not writhe out of her death sequence. A large and brawly man came out from the door as the rung the large bell. His chest was bare and he had a large black hood pulled over his face. He wielded a large axe.
He raised his axe up into the air, overtop of Kathryn’s head. He seemed to not even show off about his kill, just got straight down to business. As he did this Alina grabbed my sword and threw it, knocking the axe from his hand.

He was enflamed with anger.
“Who did that?” he bellowed furiously.
I stepped forward “I did, sir, and I’ll take it to you releasing that girl…”
“Lance!” Kathryn cried out, happy to see someone attempting to save her from death.
“A knight of Cheekien, eh?” he said, laughing at my armor and newly obtained green cape. It had a large yellow C on the back, and it fit perfectly. “I don’t believe that crap… you’re much too young.”
“Nope, I’m for real” I said confidently.
“Then prove it… you and me will duel, the loser faces death, if you win, you can take her too.”
I looked back at Alina who looked a tad bit worried “Alright, you’ve got yourself a deal”
“Your funeral, my son” he laughed. The crowd of archers and spectators laughed with him. “The game is simple, you have to kill your opponent while following guidelines. You may only take life from your opponent after you score seven flags. A single flag is scored every time you make contact with your opponent, two every time he falls down and three every time you attack your opponent and with one strike knock him down.”
“Doesn’t sound too complicated” I bluffed, knowing that he knew the game much better than I did.
“Look out kid, I’m going to get those flags quick and show you your place in society… in the dirt”

The bystanders made a large circle and the Executioner stepped in, and so did I. The battle then started with us clanging our weapons. Drawn I had my sword, which rested tightly in a fine right-handed grip. In my left hand I held the wooden shield I had received from Guvnahi a while back.

I lunged forward, slicing my sword mightily in a vertical slash. A sturdy axe thrust blocked my effort-full attempt. He countered quickly by smashing my chest with the other end of his axe. This knocked me flat on my back, already scoring him three flags.
I shot up and swung at him again, but I missed. He swung the blunt end of his axe at me again, this time hitting my shield and knocking me to the ground once more. He now had a total of six flags. As soon as I got up I was kicked with a square shot to the skull, this knocked me on the ground again. He would have had nine flags, but he only needed seven so that’s all he got. He now had the full pledged ability to kill me, and the will to do it also.

I looked over into the crowd and I looked up at Alina. The scared and worried look on her face spoke letter-less words that seemed to spell something out to me. I wasn’t all too sure what, but I knew I had to come back and win this one. The downward slash of his axe was countered when I rolled under his legs and stretched both arms out, pulling him to the ground, which only scored me two flags.
As soon as he got up, I rushed him with my shield and knocked him over scoring me three more flags. He got up one more time and gave me a quick punch to the face. My face was now covered with blood, my hair just matted with the stuff. He swung his axe at me once more and I could not roll, I could not move. I stuck my shield out in front of me and hoped for the best. I watched as his axe bit the poorly made shield ferociously, part of the axe jamming through.

He pulled up his axe and I let go of the shield. The shield was stuck to the axe; the axe was almost useless now, as that shield wasn’t coming off anytime soon. I tackled his one leg and in his frustration he was thrown off guard. That move scored me two points, giving me a total of seven flags.
Now it was anybodies game. Now anybody could suffer death…

He tattooed me across the face with a heftily large boot. He attempted to tackle me, by charging at me rapidly, I curled up into a ball sideways and as his chest met contact with my back, I rolled the opposite way. He flipped off of my back and onto his. Now, lying on the ground, he moaned in displeasure. I put my sword to his neck and stared at his petrified face.
“Do your worst, my friend” he coughed.
I simply sheathed my sword.
“That is not a knights duty, I have claimed victory, I may now take the girl with me” I replied, hastily.
As soon as I turned my back to walk towards Kathryn, he got up. He charged, attempting to tackle me into the ground from behind. I swiftly spun around, drawing my sword and slashing horizontally at the same time. This threw his whole body off and he fell over sideways with a large gash in his chest. Blood poured from his wound like a running stream falling over a waterfall. It was a horrible sight, but I had to do it, otherwise he would have killed me.
“Lets get the hell out of here…” I said to Kathryn, cutting the lock that held her in place.
“Thanks…” she said, somewhat ungrateful. Alina met up with us as I ventured back to my house.

Before I came to my door a Cheekien palace guard greeted me.
“You are wanted by Mr. Cheeks” he spoke nobly. “Please meet in his courtyard in an hour, don’t get him waiting.”
“I understand,” I said, bowing to the man of a higher rank…

[Tainted]

Neverwest
Chapter Three-Lance’s Many Fortunes

It had seemed that all of the Knights of Cheekien had gathered into Samuel’s courtyard. Some of the soldiers lined the backfield, behind us, but they were only the soldiers of the highest ranks.
“One of the worst things that could ever possibly happen to Cheekien has just happened… my friends, my disciples… Cheekien has been breached with news of war” he began. Some of the people in the crowds gasped “But not war as in our previous victory at the battle of the Tri-Bridges, I mean war as in we are doomed to death.”
“Why is this so? Why are you so sure of your own peoples death?” asked one of the uppermost knights. He was a very high rank; I was the lowest rank a knight could be. This knight had the rank of Balthasar, I wasn’t quite too sure what it meant, but it meant he was very high on a ranking scale.
“I am so sure of our peoples death because we will face the most horrendous of combatants… the dreaded General Meson,” replied Samuel with a grim look pasted upon his face.
“What do you propose to do, sir?” another knight asked, one of not so high a rank.
“Well… there is really only one thing we can do, my friend. We have to counter their attack, or our women and children will face demise…”
“And if we all die, sir?” the same knight asked, he must have been a persistent man.
“Then our women and children die bravely, and we don’t die as cowards… Boy, are we ever going to need God on our side with this battle…” Samuel Cheeks replied, with bitterness in his tone.
I felt my throat as it became really dry, this battle could end my extremely short time as a knight. Look at me now, not even a full day of being a knight and I’m already being sent to war. This sure was the good life, death knocked at my door nearly every day. But I like that feeling, the feeling of cheating death. Whether a failure or a success, both are just so uplifting.
“I’m sorry to have to say this also…” Samuel began “But rumor has it that they will be attacking tonight… So quickly, you must leave and say farewell to your loved ones, as we will gather on the battlefield southeast of here in an hour. Night is breaking…”
“****” one of the higher officers cursed “We just get out of a ****ing battle and now were thrown right back in… in a more dangerous situation!”
“Calm down, somehow Cheekien will be victorious” Mr. Cheeks mumbled.
I did hope that he was right, as I couldn’t bear to see Alina get hurt, or worse, Alina pass on. That would be too much for me to handle.

* * *

“Terra…” I said softly, walking into the house.
“Yes, dear…” she replied “If it’s about the war, I already know… and so does all of the others.”
“How’d you find out?” I asked.
“I have my connections” she laughed, “Kathryn said she saw you with a young woman yesterday… you should go say goodbye to her.”
“Really?”
“Yes, you should… Do you not believe the words that come from my lips?”
“I’m sorry for doubting you,” I said, shamelessly, but showing some politeness.
“That’s enough, hurry up… you don’t have much time…”

* * *

I knocked steadily on her door and then quietly stepped back a step. The door creaked open inward a slight bit after a short wait. It was her grandfather; he looked at me calmly, as if no worries at all rested in his eyes.
“Is Alina home, sir?” I asked, trying to score points with her grandfather.
“I’m afraid not, sonny, she’s out in the woods out back…” he answered, in a rough, hoarse voice.
“Thanks” I replied, running off.

I ran to the forest that laid in the far back of their yard. I pushed past some trees and found myself standing in a creek. I didn’t want to dirty my shoes, or get my armor rusty, so I took them off and put them aside. I then waded through the water with only my shirt and pants on.
In the distance I could see Alina, she seemed to be swimming around, for fun, or maybe for a stress relief. I had often wondered why the girl wasn’t so glum if she was always working on the farm. Doing jobs that a full grown male would normally do in most families. Doing jobs I didn’t even do on the old farm.
I slowly crept under the water and swam closer towards her. When I was directly behind her I placed my hands right on her thighs tightly.
She jumped.

I rose out of the water swiftly and laughed loudly.
“I got you good!” I laughed aloud.
“I’ll admit… you did,” she said, giggling to herself.
“So, what are you up to?” I asked, cheerfully.
She smiled back “Not much, just playing around.”
“And you do this often…”
“Yes… I come out here to see the animals most of the time… I love animals, some more than others, but all in general. I love horses most, the companionship, never-ending loyalty… they’re just beautiful animals.”
“I think that’s great,” I said, never ceasing my smile. She was way too beautiful to ever not smile, or to ever think about not smiling. “Sadly, I’ve brought both good and bad news with me…”
“Bad news first… its always good to end with fantastic news” she said quickly.
“Alright… I’m not quite sure how to say this… but… Cheekien is being attacked by General Meson…”
“And that affects you… because you’re a knight… correct?” she asked.
“Sadly…”
“And that means you’ll be put to fight in this awful battle…”
“Sadly…”
“Well… if it’s your duty then it’s a must… But I will miss you, and I will pray for your safe return…”
“And I shall thank you for that” I acknowledged. It was nice to see someone that actually cared about your life, especially someone who you cared so much about.
“And the good news?” she said, smiling.
“Well… I guessed and hoped that you liked animals, so I got you something… tomorrow morning, check your animal stable… you’ll find a nice present…” I replied, smiling eagerly.
She bit her bottom lip slightly, showing that she was excited about the whole matter too; it would be a good surprise for both of us. I’d love to see the reaction on her face, but a duty’s a duty and I couldn’t let Cheekien down.

She approached me slowly, now all of both of our legs were under water. Her shirt clung to her tightly as it was wet, her hair hung over her back. She calmly looked up at me and put her arms around my neck. I followed along and placed my hands on her waist.
“And I’ve got a present for you” she giggled. She bit her bottom lip again and drew her head ever forward. Yeah, this was it, the time of my life: The time when the angels rejoiced in fairytales, and they joined hands and then spread apart. This was the most unique of many clichés that soared throughout the lands. This was time stopping itself. This was sanctum, this was beauty, this was … this was love.
I finally cued in and lent my head forward. Our lips met shyly then locked with a lot of strength. And there we stood, waist deep in water, lips locked for what seemed like an eternity. Brisk wind seemed to rise up from the water, and the nearby small waterfall showered us with a soft mist.
The kiss finally broke off, finally used as a bad thing. It was great, the best minute or so of my life. That memory would stay with me for whatever of my short life was left with me. I looked her straight in the eyes and she stared right into mine. Our hands were now clasped tightly together.
“I don’t want you to go anymore”
“Neither do I, but I must… I’m so sorry, Alina” I replied.
“Goodbye then… I shall pray for your sword to give you strength in battle and your courage to carry you through”
“Thank you.”
“Anytime” she smiled. I smiled back, and left feeling rather sad. Not because of our meeting, that overjoyed me, but because I had to leave that meeting. I wanted that moment to last forever… But nothing lasted forever… Even a hero’s life, that didn’t even last forever. I often wondered if the gods even lasted forever, if maybe they still wandered the earth…

* * *

Just before my hour of wishing for the best and saying goodbye was over, I dumped off a present in Alina’s stable, the second horse that I had received. I figured it would be perfect for her because of her love for animals, and I knew that she would take care of her well. Blitz was now in Alina’s hands, and her loving hands would caress the horse from its wildness, I knew it.

After that it was off to the battlefield. I mounted Trigger and kicked off, propelling the horse to gallop forward over the cobblestone bricks of the walkways in the town. The horse sped like it was being chased by a demon, it was the fastest thing I had ever ridden in my whole life.

* * *

The Cheekien armies were assembled and they contained one large beast that I had never yet seen used by men in a war. It was a giant, a large white giant without any body piercing. He appeared to have the rank of a caller, he would call out in English what the attackers were to do next so that everyone could hear, the only disadvantage being that the enemies could hear also. Then I had an idea, an idea that could win us this war.
“Samuel” I said, calling the king who stood near the back of the battlefield “I have a plan…”
“Let me hear you out, young one”
“Alright…” I began “I think we should fool them. Have the war giant call out ‘Soldiers!’ When he does this, the enemy soldiers will charge, thinking that they will be facing charging soldiers. When they do this, they will care not about their shielding, and when this happens, our archers will shoot them down. Then, the soldiers will charge and destroy the weak and those near death. Then we will retreat back to our lines.”
“Excellent!” Mr. Cheeks cried.
“But, there is more” I began again “Then we will do they exact same thing again!”
“But won’t they expect it?” Samuel asked, criticizing my choice.
“I figure because we fooled them the first time, they will actually expect us to do it the right way the second time…”
“And if it comes to a third time?” he asked.
“We will do it the right way, having the giant yell out ‘Archers’ and piercing their armor”
“The giant has a name, you know…” Samuel laughed “Razvan Radu”
“What an odd name…” I replied, rubbing my chin.
“We will go through with your plan… but remember, the fate of Cheekien is now entrusted in your grip… if you let go at any time, we shall crumble and fall…”
I nodded and swallowed loudly; I knew that if I went and screwed this up, I’d be damned to live.
“Now… it is the time we must try your method, look to the east, his armies are assembling!”
I nodded and hurried over to tell the giant of our plan, and soon enough everyone in the whole army would be informed by passing the information from soldier to soldier. Just as the information was done being passed, Meson’s whole army had been assembled. Looking from here, the army was huge, nine or ten times the size of ours. Hopefully our strategy would be our key to success… Or it could be the key to our demise.
I then saw General Meson in the distance. He had barely any hair at all; just a black strip down the center of his head, and it was spiked upwards in cones. It appeared that one of his eyes had a cataract, which was good for us; a man blind in one eye couldn’t stand a chance against me. He had a war torn face, grim, dirty and full of scars. His arms were all scarred up and he wore absolutely no armor, which was quite odd. He carried a short gold-silver blade. It seemed to shine with the power of the gods.
Samuel sat in awe.
“He wields half of the legendary Gemini Blade… the blade forged and used by the light god himself…” he began “At least he doesn’t hold both sides of the blade… watch out for him, Lance”
I nodded and our plan began. I watched as General Meson rose up onto a large black horse that looked as wild and untamed as his demeanor.

“Soldiers!” Razvan cried. The plan seemed to go just as… well, just as planned…
General Meson’s army charged, shields not blocking their bodies, the archers fired aimlessly onto the battlefield, rarely hitting our soldiers. They did, however, strike down a few soldiers. Our soldiers immediately shielded themselves fully, the front lines taking one knee and propelling their large shields to cover their whole bodies. All of the soldiers behind them put their shields above them, as to not be struck by arrows.
That was when the archers fired. Hell rained down upon the enemy soldiers, our plan had worked so far. It had worked brilliantly, as he had sent all of his men to attack us. Our arrows must have struck half of his men in total down, even more, perhaps.
Our soldiers charged and whittled the enemy down even more, but as they charged Meson pulled on the offensive and ordered his archers to strike. They fired arrows, hitting both their side and ours. Our side had been knocked out a lot, already.

“Soldiers!” the immense giant cried out, louder than ever.
“Hah! I’ve got the stupid fools, they wouldn’t pull the same thing twice!” Meson laughed aloud. He ordered his remaining soldiers and his strong bowmen to attack Cheekiens soldiers.

He moved wrongly. Cheekien now strived for victory, the teams were now not ‘unfair’ as they had started, they were now dead even. Both armies whittled down to almost nothingness.
Cheekien held a few stray knights, some low level soldiers, some archers and Manor, Knight of Aok.
General Meson’s army had absolutely no soldiers left, only a large amount of archers and himself. He now noticed that he might indeed lose, so he took matters into his own hands. He kicked off his horse and he charged into battle, arrows soaring over his head and into our soldiers. Now that I saw him charging I knew it was my time to attack. His attack was beautifully designed, and we had no counter for it. The third establishment of our plan had failed, but hopefully we could still pull off a win. Our archers were ordered to pick off his last archers and all of our soldiers fought it out with Meson himself, and oddly they were losing.
To a man who holds the power of gods in his blade, they were losing. Cheekien would fall soon… I was now losing faith in my plan…

General Meson now fought the last remaining soldier, next to I, who fought with hand-to-hand weapons, Manor. Manor with a double bladed axe in hand charged, his attack missing by what seemed like miles. Meson made easy work of a highly ranked soldier who would easily hold his own in a fight against me. Now I knew I didn’t stand a chance against this warrior.
I didn’t stand a chance, fifty archers of Cheekien would… They had picked off the last of Meson’s men and now he just stood in our way. The archers readied their bows and fired all at once, the arrows flew in at a tremendous speed, but Meson sidestepped them all, one by one, two by two, until they all stood at the ground beside him.

Then a quake… Not a quake of hope, not a glimmer of victory, an earthquake. The floor rumbled underneath the battlefield and the ground randomly split open. Razvan scooped Samuel up and swiftly ran back to Cheekien.
Meson endured the battle, now carefully advancing his way towards me, not having the slightest worry about the cracks in the earth. The archers of Cheekien now had all died, the earth shaking had thrown them about, thrown them into splits in the ground, and overall had thrown them into death.

Now it stood two people on the battlefield. Meson and I. The warrior who held in his hands half of the blade of the gods, in my hands I held a steel blade. I sure hoped that Alina’s prayer had been entrusted into my sword, as I sure was going to need it.

We both had dismounted now, and both of us charged towards each other.
We met in the middle of the battlefield, our swords clashing mightily. I swung my blade swiftly and he dodged it, I swung again, and he dodged. I had to wonder how he could do all of these things.
He struck me in the side with his sword. It threw me onto the ground and shattered my armor. ‘How the hell did he do that?’ I wondered.
“Its simple” he chuckled “I can read your thoughts, by doing this, I know just what you’re going to do next…”
I grunted and rose to my feet, I knew that I had to clear my mind of all my thoughts, and I seemed to think silently. I knew the only way for my victory, but I wouldn’t say it, or even think it.
“Trying not to think, eh?” he laughed loudly “Good try… you’ll fail soon… My blade will crash with wrath upon your puny armor.”

My eyes glanced quickly towards the ground behind him, and even quicker I thought about something else. I hoped this would make his reading unclear. I swung horizontally at him and he back stepped. As he did the ground opened up slightly and his legs fell, then the ground closed. The torque had thrown his weapon from his hands. His stomach and up was all that could be seen. He reached for his blade but his fingers were inches away from it.
The earthquake seemed to calm down slightly.
“Now you shall feel death as the soldiers of Cheekien have… Now you shall feel wrath…”
“I’m ready, do your worst…”
“No…” I smiled devilishly “You shall die another way… Not by my blade, not even by your blade. You shall lay trapped in this opening until you die of hunger. A slow and painful death…”
“Smart man” he quoted.
“Have fun!” I replied sarcastically. I picked his blade up from the ground and sheathed it in my sheath. “I do not claim heads, but I shall claim your blade.”
I tossed my old blade to the floor, far enough away from his grasp. I turned and watched as the ground opened up more. Now I felt fear, if he escaped, I was doomed. He attempted to crawl out, but fell in deeper and the ground closed around his neck. The ground then closer tighter and tighter as he could no longer breathe. His eyes bulged out of his head and he screamed. I picked up the blade I had thrown down and I carried it back to Cheekien, where I hiked steadily.
“Suffocation” I whispered to myself.

* * *

In a chair of crimson she sat, her head bobbing back and forth slightly. Her surroundings were wooden, except for the large bear rug on the ground; it was very messy and pasted with dirt. It seemed to cry out in agony, cry out to anyone who really wanted to tend care for it.
Here was where she sat, peering out of the front window, peering out for all to see. It was extremely dark, so dark that it would be morning soon. Morning would come roughly in four or so hours. She was waiting for someone, one person in particular, as she had not seen good news of the war. Apparently only a giant and Samuel had returned. She knew that this man had survived, or maybe she only hoped that he had. Nevertheless she worried about him.
“He will return…” Alina said calmly to herself “He will return… He won’t die like the other soldiers… He will return.”
Her grandfather overheard, he didn’t pay much attention though, and he carried on doing his own.

A knock at the door was heard. Not by her grandfather, but by her. Her grandfather had slipped into one of his promising ‘senior sleeps’ where he had laid down for a second to read and had drifted to almost unconsciousness.
She opened the door slightly; it had just been a drunk after all. She knew his life was too good to be true.
Another knock at the door was heard.
She answered the door once more, peering through a small crack in the door. It had been the drunk again.
“You sure seckss is out of thee quessstion” he grimaced.
She slammed the door.
Once more, a knock was heard from the door.
She opened the door as wide as possible and screamed with her eyes closed.
“Go away you dirty drunk!”
“Well, fine” I joked “If that’s what you really think of me…”
“Oh, Lance!” she sighed throwing her arms around me. I accepted them pleasantly. I wrapped my own arms around her waist and kissed her on the top of her head.
“I missed you so much” I said smoothly.
“And I missed you, also” she smiled, pecking me back on the lips.
“I brought something for you” I grinned widely. I held out my old sword “Your blessing was what lead to my victory out there, I’m sure, and if anyone would ever deserve this, it would be you…”
“I’m honored,” she said blatantly, not ready to receive such an honor. “I’m honored to receive such a gift, the own blade that cut Meson’s neck…”
“Nope…” I said, being honest “An earthquake did him in… I dared not cut the neck of such a high man, no matter how dark he be, he still was honored by many…”
“And hated by even more…” she chimed in darkly.
“Well… sadly I must leave you again…” I sighed. She pecked me again on the lips.
“Goodbye” she waved cheerfully.

* * *

I figured that if she were responsible to wield a blade of her own, she would be responsible enough to hold women’s armor. It wasn’t too common, but I knew just where do get it. And I bought it for her, also buying a single white rose. I would leave this with her white horse and her white armor. Proclaimed would she be in my hands, Alina the White. Knights could only hand out such a title, and I used this privilege to my advantage. Now she would be considered one of the only women in the world who would be legally allowed to fight. A title which I think she deserved, whether she wanted it or not.

I didn’t care to buy myself any new armor, as I would only break it again. War would not strike Cheekien for a while, and I knew that for a fact.

As I walked the streets I came across a rather beautiful looking individual. She was wearing all leather, red leather boots, a red leather bra and red leather panties. Terra had already told me stories about these kinds of people. She approached me; I knew that she was a Succubus by the look of her. Her Vampiric eyes of which glowed in the moonlight were a surefire sign of her being one.
“My names Melissa McGowan, nice to meet you…” she moaned softly and seductively.
I drew my blade as to defend myself and she hissed accursedly. The light that glowed from my blade had chased her away. As quickly as I drew it she had disappeared. Odd. It was very odd.

I finally reached my house and settled down for a nice sleep, something that I had not had in quite a while…

* * *

I awoke briefly, still half asleep. I looked up; she was standing there, dressed in white armor with a long flowing white cape. It was Alina, and she was wearing the same armor I had given to her.
She hugged me tightly.
“Thank you, Lance” she said sincerely. Her eyes glowed with happiness, I was extremely glad, and shocked to see her here this early. “The three grand high knights of Lannia are coming here today!” she giggled.
“Who are they?”
“Balthasar, Raspar and Aok”
“No… I mean what purpose do they serve…”
She looked shocked. “You must have been born somewhere else. The three grand high knights are the most respected people in all of Lannia; they travel the lands looking for warriors to train under their wing. It is an honor to be trained by one of them. By two a privilege, by three, well, it’s a dream. You should go check them out…”
“Will you come with me?”
“You know I will” she smiled sweetly.

* * *

A large crowd of men from the burly to the weak was gathered around the three grand high knights who sat in large stone chairs near the crystal blue pool of water that was encased with jeweled stonework of pure craftsmanship.

The three men looked extremely busy so I sat and waited for my turn for hours, Alina and I were growing quite bored.
When all of the commotion was over and everyone had been rejected or left I was looked at. The very bottom of the selecting, obviously, I was only fourteen.

“I sense a strong belief of wisdom in this son, quite mature for his tender age…” the one dressed in blue, Balthasar said. His long scraggly white beard stopped at his chest. He wore a blue robe that had a large sword emblem on the back. He scraped at his chin with his long bony fingers, he appeared worn from age.
“I do sense an abnormal strength in his scrawny arms…” the one dressed in red armor and cape, Aok said. He approached me and squeezed my arm momentarily. “For a child, he’s got his dues in.” Aok was very large and reminded me somewhat of Guvnahi. Aok had curly black hair that sat atop his head. With this he had a large black goatee. His face was nice and cheery for a man of his wear and status. He looked fairly young, probably in his thirties, roughly twenty years younger than Balthasar. He wore strong looking red armor and a large red cape that had the emblem of fire sewn into it.
Raspar approached. She was quite beautiful. Her long delicate fingers straddled my chin and slid up my jaw. “He’s a cute kid, doesn’t look like my material.”
“He’s certainly mine…” Balthasar quoted.
“Mine too” Aok agreed.
I smiled, knowing that I had just accomplished an undo-able task.
“But… if you can sway our thoughts… then maybe I’ll agree that he isn’t my material either” Balthasar tried.
“Well, he’s much too scrawny” the beautiful Raspar pointed out. Her long flowing blonde locks drifted down into the cleavage that her green armor left out. She had a green cape on that had the emblem of a heart on the back.
“Ahh, but he will change when he is grown up… you will see” Balthasar noted.
“And for his age, he’s already quite strong” Aok also noted. “Hell, for all we know he could turn out to be another Gilbart Von Gamesh.”
“I’m game…” Raspar smiled.
“Be ready, Lance… if you prove to us that you were what deserved to be selected, you will be the second ever Grand High Knight of Lannia… And probably the youngest ever!”
I looked at Alina who looked ecstatic.
“Congratulations” she whispered softly in my ear while hugging me close to her.
Balthasar broke the happiness “Your training starts tomorrow, boy!”

[Tainted]

Now, some things are kind of hard to explain or understand, simply because this fantasy has so many backstories and legends to it that it some things are incomprehensible...
So... if you don't understand something, or would like to know something about any one of the countries or characters, please post it here-- as the information will most likely be posted in another chapter, and those other chapters aren't exactly "here" yet...

Also, I chose not to do the speach medieval because I felt this could be better related to if it had modern speach...
I still kept in tone, although, as most of Slalomen speaks in their medieval style with the "thee's, thy's and thou's"

Yeah, heres a bit of info on the chars and countries... If I had a scanner I could show you the flags and maps that I drew... but sadly, I do not...


Neverwest
Information Regarding Neverwest

Feuding Nations:
The world of Lannia is home to many nations, most consisting of men. Seven nations that all consist of feuding men, and one nation of Daemonals, what is that you ask? Think of fear and hate itself, whatever is depicting, is a Daemonal. The green flesh skinned beasts, with raw flesh dripping off of their loose bones. Wielding war hammers and the such…
To get to know the races a bit better, here is a short piece describing them:

Anarika:
The race of Anarika is very bold, and always caught up in the loose of things. They are a very powerful nation that holds a well percentage of the west side of the map. Their government is a monarchy and their main religion is Christian. They are ruled over by King Edmunson, a smart and wealthy man. They live in the plains and live in near perfect weather that rarely receives rainfall and has no winter, that is, except for The Forest of the Ancients on the eastern side of Anarika, which experiences a mild winter. They are somewhat snooty about their high power in society. They are also much like a country in our world. With all their power comes jealously from the other countries, leaving just Cheekien as their allies… They are hated by the Slalomenians.

Sinerik:
The Sinerik tribe is a very small race of nomadic people. They are pale skinned and their government is Anarchy. They have no set ruler, but Xeth is the strongest of them. They have learned the ways of dark magic and use it against their foes. Their religion is Gothic. They are known as troublemakers throughout Lannia and often hired as mercenaries. They are known amongst the world as Cannibals, and they often attack Noïretté people for their food.

Cheekien:
A nice kind man named Samuel Cheeks runs the jolly race of Cheekien people. They are the ‘big brother of Lannia’ as they are there to help in need. They are mainly solders and their religion is Christian. Their government is a democracy and they are well-bonded allies with Anarika. They lie in the bottom west corner of the map, right below Anarika. They often go to Anarika for help, and when Anarika needs men, they suit theirs up for war. This is the longest bond that two countries have ever held in the world of Lannia.

Daemonal:
Daemonals are also known as the people who live in the mountains. The Daemonal are wickedly strong and many in numbers but vaguely stupid. They come in two ‘kinds’ red and green, the red ones are known as Chaos Daemonals as their pigment of skin means that they live near the volcanoes to the east and live in constant Chaos. They are friends with Sinerik, but sometimes the smart Sinerik people cannot put up with their ignorance. Chaos Daemonals are known to be a percentage smarter than ‘normal’ Daemonals. They somewhat resemble Goblins or Orcs in fairytales, but they are also wildly different. They are known as wild nuisances in most countries. They have a large number of people, but are too stupid to ever learn how to attack as a group. If they ever attacked all at once, then all hell would break loose.

Zelwig:
Zelwigians are the most peaceful people anyone has ever known. Their religion is a beautifully planned democracy and their country lies up in the eastern corner of the map. Their current leader that will change at the end of every two years is Thomas Insight, a very smart man. The Zelwig religion is Buddhist.

Noïretté:
The black skinned men of the southeast. They are an astonishingly poor country that has the highest population of all of the countries. They are known as backstabbers and often looked down upon because of their skin color. Their religion is Hindu, and their government is a Monarchy. They are ruled over by Gavin Williams. They are considered ‘tribal’ at sometimes as they follow totally different lives compared to everyone else. The Sinerik people often attack them for food purposes.

Slalomen:
The people of Slalomen are normally well build with broad shoulders and vast muscles. They are known as stupid people, but really, it is only a stereotype as there are tons of smart Slalomen people. Their main rivals are the Anarikans, and they lie east of the Daemonals and west of the Zelwigians on the map. Their religion is Catholic and their government is a Monarchy. They are ruled over by a very smart man named Jonathon Wydham, who has brought great prosperity to the land.

Ohkri:
A long since defeated nation that really had no religion. They were enemies with the Anarikans and soon had their country taken over, most of it was lost to the Daemonals but a very small part in the south east corner of Daemonal, there is Ohkri, the last remaining part of the once strong country. It now, is infested with Anarikans as it is thought that all the Ohkrians are now dead.


Characters:
In a fantasy, there are normally very odd characters that range from the hero to the comic relief character. Well, here are the main characters for this particular fantasy.

Lance Zachrus Hunter:
Lance is a fourteen-year-old boy. He is 5’10 and is fairly muscular for his age. He wears a sleeveless gray V necked shirt and the V goes down to the bottom of his chest. He wears black pants with these and black boots. He is very smart for his age and pieces things together quickly; he has quite a complex mind and never stops thinking. He carries his one handed sword that he often uses two hands for, for more power, and it sits in a leather sheath on his left leg. He carries a wooden shield that rests on his back. He has blonde hair that has dark brown roots and this hair is spiked messily over his head. He is tanned mildly, and knows the outsides very well. He often looks for adventure and wants out of what traps him, life.

Terra Silverlight:
Terra is Lance’s Aunt. She is in her mid thirties and shows a broad outlook on life. She is mysterious, but somewhat mean, as she doesn’t let Lance wander too far away from home or go with other kids to a short ways away. She does all this for a reason, although. She has long silver hair that is let to roam free. There is a lot that is hidden to those of normal minds; she is not a normal person when you learn her true side. She takes care of Lance and lives with him on a farm, making him do chores and such. They live in Ohkri, a small village almost completely surrounded by mountains. Terra’s true persona is revealed on that odd day when that man shows up…

Chelsea Pearce:
A rather odd child indeed, she is the orange haired dreamer of the bunch. She has always wished to be a knight for some odd reason, but its what is in her pants that has kept her from doing such a thing. Her father was a skilled knight who was killed the in the war with the Daemonals several years back. Without a brother in her family, she has wished to carry on what her father could not finish, the journey throughout knighthood. She is tall for a woman, almost as tall as Lance. She does not carry a weapon of any sort on her, but she knows very well how to wield many weapons.

Kathryn Sommers:
A fourteen-year-old girl always getting herself into trouble, she has red hair and a wild attitude. She is extremely well with a bow and has been practicing ever since she was a child. She is one of Lance’s only friends as there aren’t many children in Ohkri. She is 5’6 and wears a green tunic with a dark green forest cloak to wear in the cold weather. She wears a quiver on her back that is full with arrows. She has her bow swung over her shoulder and that is where she keeps it when it is not in use. She has beautiful blue eyes that fit her complexion perfectly. She has lightly tanned skin.

Nigel Sommers:
Kathryn’s eleven-year-old brother, he always seems to be getting himself in and out of trouble. He is by no means a warrior, but like Kathryn, he often dreamed of adventure. He wields a boa and has a knife nearby for just in case situations. He is a strange child indeed and is 5’4 and skinny by no means muscular. His mother gave him a chain mail shirt to wear, so that’s what he often has on. With that he wears a pair of brown leather pants and brown leather boots. He has brown hair that is shrouded messily over his head. He has brown eyes. His boa is in a holder on his back, and his knife is on his belt in a small sachet of fur. He brought along a lot of food and stuff to pass him by the hungry times and also furs for trading.

Guvnahi:
If strong could ever be described in one human name, Guvnahi would be it. He is a war general for the bands of Ohkri, which is as big as a town militia. He was formerly a war general in Anarika but was banned when he was framed for killing one of his men. He is 6’2 and heavily built. He has brown hair that is grown slightly long and he has a beard and mustache of the same smug type. Some gray hairs are thrown in with his light brown hair, showing that he is in his mid forties. He wears brilliant steel armor that wears the marks of Ohkri. He wields a large war hammer with his name engraved in it. He bares many a bruise and cut from previous battles. He's very strong and likes to tell stories of his former fights. He is very noble and loyal to whomever he is entrusted to.

The world of Lannia:
Before anything, I must explain the land to you… So, here it is…

The world of Lannia is quite odd indeed. It is a horribly shaped rectangular piece across the map with water surrounding from all sides. The rectangle stretches wide instead of vertically and the world is split into two halves, the western side, and the eastern side, only dragons and demons live in the eastern side. The western side is the peaceful friendly place that everyone knows and loves to live in. That is all that really needs to be explained… So there it is, and let the legend of Lance, and the story of Neverwest continue...

[Tainted]

hmm, is the length intimidating?...

Lol, this is why I left TPM in the first place... only the 'well known' writers get read, and most of the writers are at about the same writing level as I am... Although some are a bit higher...

[Otto=ottO]

Too ****ing long for me to bother read again yet.

People, this is a great story and I suggest you read it. He's put a lot of work in to it was you can see. He's started tonnes of stories and this is one I hope he finishes.

Description is great. Humour's great. Go read it ;)