Well, for anyone interested in my writing.

[Tim_Anderson]

Didnt quite know where to post this, so figure Ill just post it here.  This is the only thing I consider "finished" in my novel out of 6 chapters.  The prologue.  I know thats kind of sad, but for some reason Im never quite satisfied that I couldnt improve my work more.  Well, just wanna know what you guys think.  I wouldnt have even continued trying to write without the encouragement of my friends and battle buddies while I was in the Army after my initial two chapters were passed around and read by about 40 of my boyos heh.  So, hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to any comments or criticism you have.

 

A Drop of Power

 

 

Sources of Inspiration for my story:

First and foremost;

 

Robert Jordan(The Wheel of Time),

the most amazing author Ive

ever had the pleasure of reading

 

Terry Brooks(The Sword of Shannara)

 

L.E. Modesitte Jr(The Saga of Recluce)

 

Prologue

 

In the dusky golden glow of twilight, the Gholdesh plains were a smoking ruin.  The Llordrun river was red with the blood of hundreds that had been spilled along its banks.  Bodies lay everywhere on both sides of the river.  The crossing had been a bloody encounter, and the defenders had made every inch of ground lost paid for dearly in sweat, pain, and death.  The man responsible for all of this surveyed it with a sense of detachment.  He swept his eyes across the devastation and only felt a moments regret.  Some things were neccessary, and there was no other way.  His eyes continued their inspection, noting the way some of the bodies were fallen in circles, where pockets of the failing defensive line had made final stands, refusing to surrender.  It baffled him as to why they would choose death over capture,  but then Valial had always told him some fears were greater than the fear of death itself.  He stopped thinking on this and instead looked toward where the battle now raged.  In the distance a great city arose from behind massive walls.  Mirrolath.  It rose out of the plains like a becon.  Once it had been the bread basket of the Shera'ar Empire before the Sundering, the richest city in the known world.  Much of the city had been destroyed during that great war, as the raveging troll tribes had besieged and ultimately claimed it.  After the Sundering the city was slowly and painstakingly rebuilt.  Now, one thousand years later, Mirrolath was on the verge of being destroyed once again.  He hoped it would not come to that, but if the defenders would not surrender, he would hunt all of them down, nomatter the price. The alternative would cost him even more.  One whisper of defiance could spread like wildfire in a city newly taken, and not even an army could stop a whole city rising in open revolt.  All along the walls his army besieged the city.  Svahars and humans, working together for the first time in four hundred years.  He felt a rush of pride knowing he had rebuilt that brotherhood... and immediately squashed it.  A nations pride had caused all of this.  The greed of men made misery and death a neccessity. His forces were beginning the assault, but anyone could see it would be a doomed effort. Without forcing one of the massive gates they would never be able to enter the city itself.  The reason for this was the walls.  They were easily sixty paces high, and though they had brought siege equipment with the supply train, most were already burning, creating a thick cloud of smoke over the battlefield.  Any they tried to bring to the fore to allow his forces to scale the hights was immediately set ablaze by Magi defending the city.  As he watched he felt the pulses of energy as Magi drew upon their inner power, seeing another siege tower flash into a torch as scorcerous fire was brought to bear upon it.  He growled low in his throat.  Guild Magi.  The users of scorcery and magic that made the nations dance to their hidden tunes, that held more power than any nation since the Shera'ar Empire itself.  Their scheming and greed, their inattention and indifference for the lives they ruined was to blame.  They would pay.  He had vowed to himself that all of those responsible would be brought to justice.  Things would change.  As he contemplated this, his eyes swept up to the cloud of smoke, catching a glimmer of movement in the sky.  He smiled and started his mount forward.

 

"It is time" he said softly, "they are here." 

 

His guard of Magi jerked in surprise at the sound of his voice and sudden movement forward, then quickly followed him.  He came to the edge of the low hill he was using for a vantage point and stopped.  Raising his arms, he looked towards the smoke and caught more signs of what he had sought for the last three hours.  He focused inward, feeling the now familiar, and yet still alien warmth as power rushed into his body.  He built it slowly, only needing a small amount for what was to be done.  It took bare moments to gather enough, and he focused his mind and released an orb of bluish light from one of his outstretched palms.  It traveled up through the sky, up and up, untill it was lost from sight.  At the city walls, a lull appeared in the fighting, as both forces looked toward the hilltop he stood upon.  An expectant hush fell all around, broken only by the pained cries of the wounded and dying.  Both sides knew something was happening, but not even his own forces had been warned of this event.  Shadows appeared within the haze above, flickering and flitting through the smoke.  All at once massive figures appeared, barrelling down from the heavens, rushing through the cloud of smoke.  Even though he knew it was coming, their appearance momentarily surprised even himself.  Cries of alarm came from the city walls, as well as the fields below, but the loudest came from the Magi of the Guild.  Streaks of fire and flame burst from the walltops toward the sky in a vain attempt to stop these new foes.  They recognised these beings, and knew their own doom.  They shared the same appearance of their cousins, but were larger and infinately more deadly.  The Khaldishi, distant cousins of the lost Dragonkin, had come to repay their debt to him, but for something else as well.  They had also come to repay vengence upon the Guild for the murder of their cousins two hundred years past.  All around the city they smashed to the top of the walls, killing scores of defenders and speading waves of panic among the survivors.  As those atop the walls spread waves of death and destruction, three crashed into the central city gates.  They held for a moment, ancient bolts and timbers standing firm, but then with a loud splintering of wood and screeching of steel gave way to the massive pressure being forced upon them.  An elated shout arose among his forces outside the walls, and they started pouring into the opening that had been created as the Khaldashi leaped back into the air, rolling over the defenders who vainly tried to stop them.  He watched all this for a moment, then turned to make his way to the bottom of the hill, his guards moving with him.  As he rode toward the city, relief flooded through him and a slow smile spread across his face.  More blood would still be shed, but not much more this day.  The city was his.  He had claimed his Capitol.

 

[Ozhammer]

Sorry. Not interested.....  ;)

 

Do you have any steak knives?  ;D

[Tim_Anderson]

Sorry. Not interested.....  ;)

 

Do you have any steak knives?  ;D

 

Im not sure whether you were trying to be rude or funny.... -_-

[Ozhammer]

Nah, trying to funny, if I was being rude I wouldnt have said anything! Not bad work mate.

[DPR]

Hi Tim! You are looking for the Illuminators Org, and specifically the Scribes Chapterhouse. Just scroll a little further down and you'll see us. And their are lots of writers!  Good names by the way. See you in the Scribes (you should re-post this there.

 

[GoodGrief]

Ooh, pretty. *offers Tim a pinecone* You should join the Illuminators so you can view our critique board. That'd be the best place here to get your work polished.

[DPR]

 

Are you referrring to the steak knives or the wombat? Ozhammer +genie pants = awesome.

[Cog]

not bad

 

I've tried writing, but I never get far beyond the begining, and my narration needs alot of work, but recently I've revisited a story I started a few years ago, and I'm adding extra plotlines with some RJ influence and its going quite well

[Rufae]

Cog>> Bring it on down to the Scribes and Illuminators Org! We can help make suggestions and offer resources to help your writing.

[Cog]

my internets really slow and sometimes not working at all at the moment so it might be a while till I get round to joining the illuminators. the problem is that nearly all the stuff I've done is in handwriting, so I should use the time without internets to type some stuff up, it'll make redrafting easier as well

[Kristine]

I for one enjoyed it, and am glad you posted it where you did so I could see it!

[Rufae]

Kristine >>> If you enjoyed that, you can go down to the Illuminator's and read his and other people's as well. It's all free.  ;D