Kratos
December 31st, 2004, 09:40 PM
Allright.......
I'm typing a novel on my computer.I'm hoping to publish it when it's finished.Who here thinks I have a chance?
Here's part of the first chapter ......
KARUS, DESTINY OF ROKIN
PROLOGUE
Rokin.....a tiny planet quite close to Earth; yet no human eyes had ever
beheld it; the planet was thought of as a suspended meteorite. Rokin
was similar to Earth in thousands of aspects,one of the few differences
being it’s inhabitants,a race of winged,lizard-like creatures called
Olos.Rokin was barren from any other form of life,and neither insect nor
bird lived there.The Olo tribes lived on fruit and vegetables,and some
tribes were cannibals,consuming the flesh of conquered foes.
Years ago,Rokin was a tranquil and flourishing world,the Olo
tribes living in peace with one another.Then,war broke loose.Legend
had it that the conflicts began over a fight for possesion of a
wonderous treasure that only the ruler of all Rokin would have a right to
own.So,the war for power and riches continued to this day...........
CHAPTER ONE
Dusk had fallen over the plains.A faint breeze rustled through the long
grass.Sand,caught by the wind,swirled about,forming strange
shapes,and settling down once more.It was still and
quiet.However,harmony was far from the plains this night.
Fire arrows hissed through the night air,crashing into the grass huts
of the Serpai tribe,thick black coils of smoke rising to the moonless
sky.The flimsy structures collapsed onto the ground and burned to
ashes as the panicked Serpais dashed about in confusion,blinded by
the stinging smoke blown into their faces by the winds.
Screeching warcries,the Nalcu tribe burst out of their sniping
positions,casting away their bows as they drew their coriths,long
wooden staves with two sharp stone prongs and a metal ball firmly
fixed atop each one.
Toras,the king of the Serpais,stumbled out of his flaming dwelling,coughing
and gasping.He staggered towards a small hillock,but found his way blocked by a front-running Nalcu soldier.He swung his corith,and the soldier yielded to the blow,crumpling down soundlessly.He stepped over the body,and mounted the hill.Waving his flag-draped corith,and yelling as loud as his smoke-filled lungs would allow him, he made an attempt to rally his scattered soldiers to him before they were brought under by the charging horde of Nalcu warriors.
Completly disoriented,and choking on the smoke,the Serpai army didn’t
see the impending doom before it was too late.
Invulnerable to the smoke because of the rags tied about their
nostrils,the Nalcus hewed down the luckless Serpais with ease.
King Toras saw that the battle was lost.Scrambling down from the
hillock,he spread his wings to fly away,toward the sheltering forests to
the north of the Serpai settlement,but just then,a corith prong pierced
his wing,ripping through the soft membrane.Whimpering in agony, the
king shrank against the hillock,looking into the truculent eyes of
Firo,the Nalcu army general.His weapon clattered on the rocks as it
fell.
Raising his corith for the second and finishing blow,General Firo
paused momentarily to untie the cloth about his mouth. ”So,no fight
back,eh?Just as well,it’s much easier that way.”
Toras looked almost defiantly at Firo.”Hah,even if you have slain my
tribe,my treasure shall never be yours.It is gone forever,no matter how
many Serpais you kill,the Nalcu tribe will never rule Rokin.”
Firo glared down at the Serpai king.”You are maddeningly foolish.See
how mighty this army is?No other tribe can hope to bring together the
numbers we have,and treasure or no treasure,we will bring every tribe
into submission to us one day,I swear to you.And just to show you the
emptiness of your words,I have decided to let you live,to view the
havoc we will wreak upon Rokin.The queen will be well pleased with
you.Chain him up,Govis!”
Turning away,Firo marched through the ranks of soldiers.”Set up
camp.We will rest the remainder of the night and morning,then at
noon,we search these ruins for the treasure.Proceed!”
A hulking Nalcu soldier stepped forward,bearing chains.Securing a
metal collar about Toras’s neck,he pulled hard on the lead ,causing the
king to trip and fall,scraping his injured wing on the rocky
ground.Laughing uproariously,Govis started dragging Toras across the
soil.”Come,prisoner.I must take you to Her Majesty.”
Standing up was not easy for Toras when he was being jerked along on
a chain,but he managed to scramble unsteadily to his feet.Hurrying
along behind Govis,Toras felt only gladness for being spared,no grief
for his fellow Serpais,his former bravado totally shattered.
The Nalcu army separated,each Olo starting to set up his
tent,or forage for food.Soon the battleground was a sea of
tents,fires,and Nalcu soldiers flying about.Weaving through this
gigantic maze,Toras’s keeper kept walking faster,and faster until the
king could barely keep up,bruising his feet on the pointy gravel.When
he offered a timid suggestion to walk slower,Govis grinned
wickedly.”Would you rather we fly?What a good idea!”Flapping his
powerful wings,Govis soared upward.
To avoid suffocation,Toras had to flap his wings also,the pain searing
through his torn one.If walking was painful,flying was sheer
torture.Gritting his teeth,Toras made a mental note to keep silent
throughout the rest of his flight.The sun had risen,lending pale streaks
of light to the camp,enough for the king to look down and see the
damage inflicted on his once beautiful village.Large piles of ashes and
burnt wood marked the spots where dwellings used to stand.Small
pools of fresh,clear water,now churned to mud by the Nalcu horde
charging through them.The fruit trees and bushes stripped bare by the
ravaging soldiers,the small oaks just planted last year,chopped down
for firewood.
In the center of all this wreckage,Toras spotted a gigantic pile of
collapsed stone pillars with heaps of ashes mounded on top of them.It
was the remnants of his “castle” as he once fondly called it,utterly
destroyed.He felt his eyes welling up with tears as he gazed down at
the ruins,the hard work of many months completely destroyed in one night.
Govis,hearing the sounds of sniffling and sobbing below him,looked
down irritably.”What’s wrong with you,you whining slug?”
Toras wailed piteously,half delirous with the pain of his wing,and the
shock of his capture.
The soldier bared his teeth at the king.”You’re crazy,you know that?”
Toras fell silent,his body hanging limply except for his wings,which
were still fluttering weakly.As they reached the fringes of the
camp,Govis began to fly downwards.They landed on the ground,where
the rocky dirt gave way to soft grass.Several Nalcu soldiers were
erecting an elaborately decorated tent,while four others stood bearing
a palaquin draped with red silk curtains.Shoving Toras’s face into the
dirt with his foot,Govis bowed in front of the palaquin .”Queen
Lerin,I have brought to you the king of the Serpai tribe.Your brother
General Firo,has said to keep him alive,and that he should be brought
to you.”
The curtains parted with a swish,a tall female Olo alighting delicately
out of the palaquin.She was clothed in a long blue toga encrusted at
the edges with bits of gold,and a purple cloak embroidered with
shimmering blue threads,fastened about her throat with an emerald-
green pin.Her long yellow headspikes curved down to her waist, her
black-tipped wings fluttering slightly as she hovered towards
Govis.When she spoke,her voice was hacking and harsh.
”My brother did well in capturing him.However it is my decision whether
he should live or not.Well,prisoner,what have you got to say for
yourself?”
Spitting soil,Toras raised his head,avoiding eye contact with the
queen.He tried to speak,but sheer panic filled his thoughts,and out
came an incoherent gabbling.
Govis snorted.”With all due respect,Your Highness,this Serpai is out of
his mind.It’s no use questioning him.”
Queen Lerin waved her long claws.”Go cage him up somewhere,and
tell Firo to issue a guard about the camp.Dismissed.”
Turning,she glided into her now completed tent.
Bowing again,Govis shackled Toras to a huge boulder.”You are to stay
here while I go find a nice little cage for you.If you try to escape,your
wings will be cut off.”
King Toras shuddered.
Govis shot off up into the air with a mocking laugh.
I'm typing a novel on my computer.I'm hoping to publish it when it's finished.Who here thinks I have a chance?
Here's part of the first chapter ......
KARUS, DESTINY OF ROKIN
PROLOGUE
Rokin.....a tiny planet quite close to Earth; yet no human eyes had ever
beheld it; the planet was thought of as a suspended meteorite. Rokin
was similar to Earth in thousands of aspects,one of the few differences
being it’s inhabitants,a race of winged,lizard-like creatures called
Olos.Rokin was barren from any other form of life,and neither insect nor
bird lived there.The Olo tribes lived on fruit and vegetables,and some
tribes were cannibals,consuming the flesh of conquered foes.
Years ago,Rokin was a tranquil and flourishing world,the Olo
tribes living in peace with one another.Then,war broke loose.Legend
had it that the conflicts began over a fight for possesion of a
wonderous treasure that only the ruler of all Rokin would have a right to
own.So,the war for power and riches continued to this day...........
CHAPTER ONE
Dusk had fallen over the plains.A faint breeze rustled through the long
grass.Sand,caught by the wind,swirled about,forming strange
shapes,and settling down once more.It was still and
quiet.However,harmony was far from the plains this night.
Fire arrows hissed through the night air,crashing into the grass huts
of the Serpai tribe,thick black coils of smoke rising to the moonless
sky.The flimsy structures collapsed onto the ground and burned to
ashes as the panicked Serpais dashed about in confusion,blinded by
the stinging smoke blown into their faces by the winds.
Screeching warcries,the Nalcu tribe burst out of their sniping
positions,casting away their bows as they drew their coriths,long
wooden staves with two sharp stone prongs and a metal ball firmly
fixed atop each one.
Toras,the king of the Serpais,stumbled out of his flaming dwelling,coughing
and gasping.He staggered towards a small hillock,but found his way blocked by a front-running Nalcu soldier.He swung his corith,and the soldier yielded to the blow,crumpling down soundlessly.He stepped over the body,and mounted the hill.Waving his flag-draped corith,and yelling as loud as his smoke-filled lungs would allow him, he made an attempt to rally his scattered soldiers to him before they were brought under by the charging horde of Nalcu warriors.
Completly disoriented,and choking on the smoke,the Serpai army didn’t
see the impending doom before it was too late.
Invulnerable to the smoke because of the rags tied about their
nostrils,the Nalcus hewed down the luckless Serpais with ease.
King Toras saw that the battle was lost.Scrambling down from the
hillock,he spread his wings to fly away,toward the sheltering forests to
the north of the Serpai settlement,but just then,a corith prong pierced
his wing,ripping through the soft membrane.Whimpering in agony, the
king shrank against the hillock,looking into the truculent eyes of
Firo,the Nalcu army general.His weapon clattered on the rocks as it
fell.
Raising his corith for the second and finishing blow,General Firo
paused momentarily to untie the cloth about his mouth. ”So,no fight
back,eh?Just as well,it’s much easier that way.”
Toras looked almost defiantly at Firo.”Hah,even if you have slain my
tribe,my treasure shall never be yours.It is gone forever,no matter how
many Serpais you kill,the Nalcu tribe will never rule Rokin.”
Firo glared down at the Serpai king.”You are maddeningly foolish.See
how mighty this army is?No other tribe can hope to bring together the
numbers we have,and treasure or no treasure,we will bring every tribe
into submission to us one day,I swear to you.And just to show you the
emptiness of your words,I have decided to let you live,to view the
havoc we will wreak upon Rokin.The queen will be well pleased with
you.Chain him up,Govis!”
Turning away,Firo marched through the ranks of soldiers.”Set up
camp.We will rest the remainder of the night and morning,then at
noon,we search these ruins for the treasure.Proceed!”
A hulking Nalcu soldier stepped forward,bearing chains.Securing a
metal collar about Toras’s neck,he pulled hard on the lead ,causing the
king to trip and fall,scraping his injured wing on the rocky
ground.Laughing uproariously,Govis started dragging Toras across the
soil.”Come,prisoner.I must take you to Her Majesty.”
Standing up was not easy for Toras when he was being jerked along on
a chain,but he managed to scramble unsteadily to his feet.Hurrying
along behind Govis,Toras felt only gladness for being spared,no grief
for his fellow Serpais,his former bravado totally shattered.
The Nalcu army separated,each Olo starting to set up his
tent,or forage for food.Soon the battleground was a sea of
tents,fires,and Nalcu soldiers flying about.Weaving through this
gigantic maze,Toras’s keeper kept walking faster,and faster until the
king could barely keep up,bruising his feet on the pointy gravel.When
he offered a timid suggestion to walk slower,Govis grinned
wickedly.”Would you rather we fly?What a good idea!”Flapping his
powerful wings,Govis soared upward.
To avoid suffocation,Toras had to flap his wings also,the pain searing
through his torn one.If walking was painful,flying was sheer
torture.Gritting his teeth,Toras made a mental note to keep silent
throughout the rest of his flight.The sun had risen,lending pale streaks
of light to the camp,enough for the king to look down and see the
damage inflicted on his once beautiful village.Large piles of ashes and
burnt wood marked the spots where dwellings used to stand.Small
pools of fresh,clear water,now churned to mud by the Nalcu horde
charging through them.The fruit trees and bushes stripped bare by the
ravaging soldiers,the small oaks just planted last year,chopped down
for firewood.
In the center of all this wreckage,Toras spotted a gigantic pile of
collapsed stone pillars with heaps of ashes mounded on top of them.It
was the remnants of his “castle” as he once fondly called it,utterly
destroyed.He felt his eyes welling up with tears as he gazed down at
the ruins,the hard work of many months completely destroyed in one night.
Govis,hearing the sounds of sniffling and sobbing below him,looked
down irritably.”What’s wrong with you,you whining slug?”
Toras wailed piteously,half delirous with the pain of his wing,and the
shock of his capture.
The soldier bared his teeth at the king.”You’re crazy,you know that?”
Toras fell silent,his body hanging limply except for his wings,which
were still fluttering weakly.As they reached the fringes of the
camp,Govis began to fly downwards.They landed on the ground,where
the rocky dirt gave way to soft grass.Several Nalcu soldiers were
erecting an elaborately decorated tent,while four others stood bearing
a palaquin draped with red silk curtains.Shoving Toras’s face into the
dirt with his foot,Govis bowed in front of the palaquin .”Queen
Lerin,I have brought to you the king of the Serpai tribe.Your brother
General Firo,has said to keep him alive,and that he should be brought
to you.”
The curtains parted with a swish,a tall female Olo alighting delicately
out of the palaquin.She was clothed in a long blue toga encrusted at
the edges with bits of gold,and a purple cloak embroidered with
shimmering blue threads,fastened about her throat with an emerald-
green pin.Her long yellow headspikes curved down to her waist, her
black-tipped wings fluttering slightly as she hovered towards
Govis.When she spoke,her voice was hacking and harsh.
”My brother did well in capturing him.However it is my decision whether
he should live or not.Well,prisoner,what have you got to say for
yourself?”
Spitting soil,Toras raised his head,avoiding eye contact with the
queen.He tried to speak,but sheer panic filled his thoughts,and out
came an incoherent gabbling.
Govis snorted.”With all due respect,Your Highness,this Serpai is out of
his mind.It’s no use questioning him.”
Queen Lerin waved her long claws.”Go cage him up somewhere,and
tell Firo to issue a guard about the camp.Dismissed.”
Turning,she glided into her now completed tent.
Bowing again,Govis shackled Toras to a huge boulder.”You are to stay
here while I go find a nice little cage for you.If you try to escape,your
wings will be cut off.”
King Toras shuddered.
Govis shot off up into the air with a mocking laugh.