Twilight Tales: Chapter 1 - Gathering Darkness
#1 of Twilight Tales
So, here it is! This is the first chapter of my biggest project, Twilight Tales. Hoping to have chapter 2 and 3 up by mid-March, so stay tuned!
To put this in place. Twilight Tales takes place in an artificial world parallel to ours, created when our own world fell to a malevolent being called Catalys, and her stolen power of Chaos. The heroine, Avalon, begins the story with a grave task, seeking out a man who has long been thought dead to warn him of Catalys's impending return. As she travels, however, she begins to see the true scope of the disaster about to befall the world, and it falls to her and her allies to bring a halt to the devastation before its too late.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask! I'll be posting more soon about the world they inhabit, as well as a bit of the lore. Consider this a teaser. ;D
Please, do leave feedback! I'm always looking to improve, and I'd love to hear what you think.
The sun had just set over Technotica City, the brilliant flames of the dying light cooling into dusky hues in the sky above. Shadows began to loom over the city streets as the last vendors closed up shop and the throngs of people in the market dissipated as the evening hush fell over the normally bustling port town.
Yet not all of the city's denizens were home and quiet. Walking along one of the now-empty streets was a young dracanine woman, dressed in a worn and tattered brown leather cloak and silver armor that seemed to have lost its luster. Her long fuchsia hair blew in the slight breeze as she walked, a look of deep concentration on her face. With each step, worn boots clicked on the cobblestone street, the sound echoing off the building walls and drowning out softer footsteps.
"It just doesn't make sense..." she muttered as she walked, stormy eyes clouded as she tried to piece together the puzzle in her mind. "Every record pointed to this area, yet no one seems to have seen him since he fell off the map two years ago. It's as though he's vanished into thin air..." She frowned, her muzzle creased with displeasure. For months now, she had been on the tail of a certain young man, and she was certain she would find him here. Yet here too her attempts were frustrated by a soldier who seemed to have become as real as an old wives' tale.
Meanwhile, in a nearby part of town, another figure paced the city restlessly, traveling atop the moonlit rooftops rather than the street below. His figure was shrouded in a long black cloak, the hood drawn over his head to shroud his face from prying eyes. He stopped atop a shop's flat roof and sniffed the air, as though looking for something.
"I knew it... They're here," he growled, his paw tightening into a fist. "And yet, I can sense no master here with them, nothing guiding their movements..." He shook his head, having no time to contemplate the implications. "They're moving fast. I have to hurry." He turned and dashed away over the rooftops, headed in the direction of the wandering young woman below.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the approaching footsteps until it they were nearly upon her. She turned just in time to see a shadowy feral wolf leap at her, maw opening unnaturally wide to reveal hideous dripping fangs intended for her throat. She cursed and leapt out of the way, drawing a beautiful broadsword from under her cloak and slashing at the beast. It howled in pain as the blade made contact, yet she could tell from the feel of the blow that it was nothing more than a flesh wound.
"Here too?" she said almost despairingly, seeing the beast's crimson eyes quickly joined by many more sets. "They pursue me even into a city... It looks like I'm making my stand here." She adjusted her stance, focusing her mind as her blade ignited in a soft blue flame. The wolf-like creature, perhaps attempting to repay her for the blow she had scored, lunged again, but this time her searing blade found home. A feeble howl accompanied it to oblivion as it dissipated into dark energy - a howl that seemed to only infuriate the pack still around her.
He quickly homed in on such a large gathering of Chaos energy, standing on the rooftop above to quickly assess the situation. He had not seen such a large number of Wraiths in years, and to see so many without a master to direct them... He was surprised to see them so devoted to hunting a single victim. He watched as a wolf lunged at her from behind, cringing and expecting her to go down without much of a fight. When she turned and drew her sword, however, the face illuminated by the soft blue flame made him stagger.
"How in blazes did she get here...?" he growled. He hesitated a moment, unsure if he trusted himself to get any closer to her. But when another of the beasts, more dragonic in nature, pounced and knocked her cold, he knew he could not stand idle by. As they closed in on her prone form, he leapt from his perch above them, daggers flying from his hands to impale the closest of them.
He landed lightly on his feet, his stance loose under his cloak as he watched them, muscles tensed despite his appearances. Undeterred by the appearance of this new challenger or the death of their comrades, several of the more daring Wraiths lunged at him at once, believing they could make quick work of him by attacking from all sides. Under his cloak, he smirked.
"Sing out, Aria Lunae1!" His voice pierced the night air around them as he drew a dual-bladed katana from under his cloak, the blade shining silver in the moonlight as it slashed through his assailants. Without so much as a chance to cry out, they met their end at the edge of his blade, all in less than the space between breaths, his blade cased again under his cloak before they could track his movement.
"Who's next?" he growled, daring the rest to advance on him. Slowly, they circled around him and the fallen woman like a pack of wolves, eyes wary as they sought an opening in his defenses. To their eyes, he was hardly even paying attention, yet the energy radiating from him was enough warning to take caution.
She stirred after a moment, though as she opened her eyes, she didn't quite believe what she was seeing. The figure looming over her was radiating a power unlike anything she'd ever felt, a power that seemed to make even these Wraiths hesitate.
"Are you ok?" he asked her as she got to her feet, his voice like a haunting harmony of two deep, distinct voices. She nodded, trying to make sense of not just who, but what he was. She didn't have long to consider it though - her stirring was enough to motivate their circling enemies to lash out with renewed fury. She readied her blade, even as his swift swordplay drove back their initial assault.
"We need to get out of here," she said as their numbers seemed to swell. "We're cornered and outnumbered." He nodded once in acknowledgment, casing his sword and raising his right paw. As the Wraiths closed in, a hole seemed to tear itself out of the shadows along the wall behind them. She eyed the strange portal warily, but he gestured at it incessantly, cutting down another four Wraiths with his other hand.
"Go, if you want to live," he said before plunging into the crowd, sword flashing like moonlight as he drew their attention. She didn't know if she could trust him, or the portal before her, but she was out of options. Steeling herself, she leapt into the maw of the void, the portal closing behind her. Behind her, she caught a flash of light, and a roared out incantation she couldn't quite place.
"Lux Argentum Luna2."
She landed on her tail-end as she came out of the portal, the void giving her very little impression other than sheer darkness. Getting to her feet, she looked around at her new surroundings. Around her, silver gears clicked in rhythmic time along the walls, leading ever upwards above her head beyond the rafters directly above, and downwards below the deck she stood on. Near the edge of the deck, a rough bed was left carefully made, looking as if it wasn't very well used. Here and there, shafts of moonlight broke through from overhead, suggesting some opening further up.
She moved towards the far side of the deck, where old wooden stairs spiraled up and down in a narrow spiral column. Old as they were, they showed no sign of rot or wearing, and through the dust she could make out the footprints of someone about her size. She had no sooner set her foot on the first step up when she heard someone else enter the room.
Turning, she saw him step easily from a portal similar to the one he had sent her, his stance at ease as much as one who has taken a stroll through the park, the strange energy from before no longer emanating from him. She turned and took a step towards him, curious.
"Who are you?" she asked as he moved in the other direction, seemingly ignoring her presence. "Why did you save me?" He didn't answer at first, moving to a table she had not noticed before and removing his left glove, the garment revealing black glistening scales all the way up to his elbow as it came off. Reaching to the back of the table, he took a ragged cloth in hand and began to clean his arm, wiping away what revealed itself to be blood.
"You're hurt..." She moved to help him, shamed that he had been hurt defending her in her weakness. He brushed her hand away, however, when she reached out to help him bandage his wounds.
"Blood dries. Scars heal," he said simply. He bound the length of his arm in clean white linens before turning his attention to her. Even with the moonlight, she couldn't make out any distinguishing feature of his under the black cloak, although a black fox tail twitched below his cloak steadily, revealing with his scales that he was likely of dracanine descent. "What you carry is far more valuable than my own blood and bone." He gestured to the blade at her waist. "You carry the last beacon of hope against her."
"What...? Who? This blade is nothing special... just a dusty relic." Even to herself, her lie sounded pathetic. "What are you talking about, hope? The world has only prospered since the Havoc War. Why would hope be scarce?"
"How little you know of what has transpired these last six years," he murmured. "She did well to keep you hidden so long." His speech seemed more for his own benefit, though she noticed his had changed, a single tone where the two had been. "Be in the square tomorrow. There is much you need to see before you are ready for the truth."
Before she could protest, he had opened his palm again, opening another portal below her feet. His voice echoed after her as she fell down, down, down into the void once more. The last thing she remembered hearing was his voice in her ear. "Soon, Avalon, you will know the truth."
1 Latin for 'Aria of the Moon'. Certain weapons are christened and sealed with special powers; calling the weapons by their christened names calls forth their true power. Latin names are favored in Rayne, being that Latin is considered a sacred language by its denizens. 2 Light of the Silver Moon, a holy incantation calling on the power of the moon. The effects change depending on the context, the wielder, and the tools used.