Wood Heart Chapter 1- The Start Have u ever dreamed of adventure? Where ur the hero, or fighting for justice. Or maybe swinging a massive sword at ur enemies. Well all of that, it isn't as easy or fun as it seems. In those fairytales u read when u were little, the hero always wins. They r always brave and courageous. But in real life, it doesn't always turn out the way u want it to. In real life, ur not a hero at all, just ur average person. My story, was a long and tough one. Let me start from the beginning... My name is Luke. I lived in that small little village. Wooden huts, dirt roads, outdoor food stalls, that was pretty much it. Although it was rather small for a village and pretty much everyone there was dirt poor, I had a rich life. Everyday, I would meet up with my friend Selena and we would play. Hiding in trees and pelting rocks at some our annoying neighbors, chasing around chickens, it was the life. And sometimes, the King of the Realm would come to this village just to see how it was holding up. That's how I meet his son, the prince, Angus. It was a fairytale for us, but it all changed and my life was never the same... It was that kind of day that was perfect: A flowing breeze, Not to hot or cold, perfect. Flowers dotted the pastures. I was on my way of meeting Selena by the well. Angus wasn't visiting our village today, but I was still ecstatic. I would have never expected it to happen. Nobody would have. I had just meet Selena by the fountain, when we heard a piercing scream. The scenery that seemed so comforting was of no use. Fear coiled around me, as I heard another scream, "ENEMIES! ENEMIES ARE ATTACKING! RUN!" Hundreds of hooded and cloaked warriors burst through the gate, mounted on HUGE wild boars. Flames danced as they threw torches everywhere, destroying everything. Fire loomed around me, shadows danced. I had to get out of there! Fire circled me, closing in. I had no choice, I attempted to walk through the thick wall of flames. Fire licked my skin. Pain stabbed at me. Smoke blinded my eyes. Ashes loomed everywhere. But eventually, I made it across. I knew I had to get away, far away. No matter how injured I was. So I kept going... That day I experienced the most extreme kind of pain. Not only did I have to walk through fire but I also had to remember the fact that everything I cared about, my family, my friends, and my whole happiness, was destroyed. I didn't know where to go, what to do, so I just agreed on one thing, to survive. I only had my pocket knife with me, but somehow I made it. 9 long, harsh years of survival passed. I didn't want this to be my fate, I didn't want to just stay there, miserable and underfeed the whole time. I needed to do something. And I did. That decision started my journey, the peril, and danger of my life... That's chp 1 for my story! I'm posting a feedback page so please no comments on this thread. Hope u liked it!
2- Fate I knew what to do. I filled my canteen, picked as much berries as possible and placed everything in my worn bag. I had a plan. After thinking it over for a bit, I knew what to do. I needed to get to the Capitol of the Kingdom. The King would surely know how to defeat the evil that haunted me ever since the day. Maybe I would even see Angus. I packed up a few more baskets of berries. Could I really make it? On foot? I didn't want to think of it anymore, I just set off. The wind pounded into my face. The landscape was barren and rocky, making it tough on my feet. The night was cold and unforgiving. Shadows lurked and painful memories shot at me. This was gonna be a long walk. After a while, I picked up my speed. I tore across the landscape. Hardly stopping for anything. I didn't know if I was going the right way. I didn't know if an enemy would spot me. I didn't know if I was going to die. I sprinted forward, I just wanted to get to the castle. After a few days of running, the castle loomed in the distance. The castle was nested in-between mountain ranges. A river snaked west of the castle. By sunset, I reached the front gates. They weren't closed so I walked right in. There was a huge village, like a city, in front of the castle. There were people behind stalls selling all kinds of stuff. People were juggling or performing at the side of the brick plaza with those tip cans. Stone buildings towered above my head. I looked like a total pheasant compared to the villagers here. My clothes were dirty and torn, my usually dirty blonde hair was streaked with dirt and I didn't have any shoes on. Anyway, I made my way towards the castle. The polished white stone walls looked majestic in the sunset. The castle towers spiraled up to the clouds. It was truly breathtaking. I walked up to castle door and proceeded inside... That's my 2nd chp, Hoped u liked it
2- Fate I knew what to do. I filled my canteen, picked as much berries as possible and placed everything in my worn bag. I had a plan. After thinking it over for a bit, I knew what to do. I needed to get to the Capitol of the Kingdom. The King would surely know how to defeat the evil that haunted me ever since the day. Maybe I would even see Angus. I packed up a few more baskets of berries. Could I really make it? On foot? I didn't want to think of it anymore, I just set off. The wind pounded into my face. The landscape was barren and rocky, making it tough on my feet. The night was cold and unforgiving. Shadows lurked and painful memories shot at me. This was gonna be a long walk. After a while, I picked up my speed. I tore across the landscape. Hardly stopping for anything. I didn't know if I was going the right way. I didn't know if an enemy would spot me. I didn't know if I was going to die. I sprinted forward, I just wanted to get to the castle. After a few days of running, the castle loomed in the distance. The castle was nested in-between mountain ranges. A river snaked west of the castle. By sunset, I reached the front gates. They weren't closed so I walked right in. There was a huge village, like a city, in front of the castle. There were people behind stalls selling all kinds of stuff. People were juggling or performing at the side of the brick plaza with those tip cans. Stone buildings towered above my head. I looked like a total pheasant compared to the villagers here. My clothes were dirty and torn, my usually dirty blonde hair was streaked with dirt and I didn't have any shoes on. Anyway, I made my way towards the castle. The polished white stone walls looked majestic in the sunset. The castle towers spiraled up to the clouds. It was truly breathtaking. I walked up to castle door and proceeded inside... That's my 2nd chp, Hoped u liked it
2- Fate I knew what to do. I filled my canteen, picked as much berries as possible and placed everything in my worn bag. I had a plan. After thinking it over for a bit, I knew what to do. I needed to get to the Capitol of the Kingdom. The King would surely know how to defeat the evil that haunted me ever since the day. Maybe I would even see Angus. I packed up a few more baskets of berries. Could I really make it? On foot? I didn't want to think of it anymore, I just set off. The wind pounded into my face. The landscape was barren and rocky, making it tough on my feet. The night was cold and unforgiving. Shadows lurked and painful memories shot at me. This was gonna be a long walk. After a while, I picked up my speed. I tore across the landscape. Hardly stopping for anything. I didn't know if I was going the right way. I didn't know if an enemy would spot me. I didn't know if I was going to die. I sprinted forward, I just wanted to get to the castle. After a few days of running, the castle loomed in the distance. The castle was nested in-between mountain ranges. A river snaked west of the castle. By sunset, I reached the front gates. They weren't closed so I walked right in. There was a huge village, like a city, in front of the castle. There were people behind stalls selling all kinds of stuff. People were juggling or performing at the side of the brick plaza with those tip cans. Stone buildings towered above my head. I looked like a total pheasant compared to the villagers here. My clothes were dirty and torn, my usually dirty blonde hair was streaked with dirt and I didn't have any shoes on. Anyway, I made my way towards the castle. The polished white stone walls looked majestic in the sunset. The castle towers spiraled up to the clouds. It was truly breathtaking. I walked up to castle door and proceeded inside... That's my 2nd chp, Hoped u liked it
Chapter 3- My Quest The King was pretty shocked to see me. He thought I was dead years ago. Naturally. I sat in his throne room, inhaling all of the food he ordered the servants to bring. Between bites I told my story, everything that happened to me. He seemed pretty impressed, but I paid more attention to the pastries the servants were bringing. The King said he'd be right back, and left. I didn't care, keep eating. After a few more minutes of forking down food, the King came back to the room, with someone following him... "Angus!" I exclaimed. I was so excited, one of my friends wasn't killed at least. Fond memories gushed back to me. This was the first time since the incident happened I was actually... happy. The Kings voice cut into my happy parade, "Luke, Angus, I have something to ask of you." "What?" I asked "Well, as you know evil is slowly invading our peaceful land. There is only one thing powerful enough to destroy the evil, the Wood Heart." I had no idea what he was talking about. What the heck was a Wood Heart? "The Wood Heart is deep in Ryoi forest. Long ago, sacred beings lived amongst us. They created the earth, water, and pretty much everything else. They created the Wood Heart. The Wood Heart used to be nested deep in the core of our planet. They had to rise it from the core, so they created a crack in the earths crust. They then placed the Wood Heart in Ryoi forest, so if evil cropped up we could use it. But of course, they wanted us to be proven worthy before we could use the Wood Heart. So that's why Ryoi forest is VERY dangerous. I need you to go to Ryoi forest and get the Wood Heart." So basically I was just asked to make a useless attempt to destroy evil. Crumple my life into a little tiny ball and throw it out. I could do that. I guess. But I wasn't alone, Angus would come, and I guess I was his only hope. But still. "I guess I'll do it..." I murmured. "THANK YOU!!!!!" The King bellowed. Now he was sorta freaking me out. "Wait." Angus declared. "Dad, didn't the evil come from the crack in the Earths crust? Didn't they rise from there?" The King nodded, looking worried. "So? What's so bad about how they rose from there?" "Luke," Angus started. "The evil have sort of corrupted the crack. If their evil ways continue for a few weeks later, the crust will implode and suck everything back inside of it. Everything. Leaving no trails of anything behind. If we don't do this soon, everything will be destroyed!" "Ok," I stated "I'll do it." "Great! You set off tomorrow at dawn!" The King beamed. What did I just get myself into? K, that was the 3rd chp, hoped u liked it!
Chapter 4- Traveling, Again I was woken up by a bucket of ice cold water. Not the best way to start your day. "Come on Luke! We still have time to get supplies!" Angus beckoned me out of my warm bed. (well at least it was warm) Angus dragged me around town, I was literally half asleep. "This, is the Forge. We'll stock up on weapons here. Pick one." Angus said. I picked up a bow, it didn't feel right. I placed it back. Hey a 2 handed sword! I knew ammediantly this would be a fav. And it was. Awesome! I'm a fortune teller! Angus took me to a few other shops that sold useful stuff. It was now almost time to leave. I packed everything else I needed and met Angus by the gate. "Follow me." Angus beckoned. We were walking to a stable right next to the castle. At least I didn't have to run now. We proceeded inside. "Um Angus," I started. "What?" "These aren't horses! They're wolves!" "I know. Aren't they cute!" "Angus!" "Just ride it!" I mounted a silver wolf, and white stripes weaved patterns in it's fur. Keep in mind, these wolves are pretty big for wolves, like as big as horses. It was pretty amazing. "Come on. We need to leave, now" Angus declared. Almost as in Que., the wolves sped of towards the east. It felt like I was a riding on a silver bullet, swift, strong, fast. It almost seemed like the wolves paws weren't even touching the ground. We glided across the plains, and with every paw step I was getting closer to my goal. It wasn't going to be easy, but I had to do it. And I was. Closer, closer, closer till I could see Ryoi forest. This was too easy. At least that was what I thought... Ok that's my 4th chp, hope u liked it!
Chapter 5- My Life Gets A Lot Better "Dude this place has an weird feel to it..." I muttered "What are you scared? Luke come on!" Once again Angus dragged me into the forest. Thickets, vines and leaves dominated the forest. The trees were thick and the leaves formed a canopy. Bushes rustled and an eerie silence clouded the atmosphere. Fallen logs were everywhere. Sharp rocks cut into my skin. A sudden rustle of movement was heard. I unsheathed my sword. Another rustle. My eyes were scanning for any sudden movements. There was a flash of movement and Angus and I ended up on the ground, with a longsword to our throats. "Who are you?" Our captor asked. She had long, wavy, black hair and hazel eyes. I almost drooled over how pretty she was. She wore a worn tunic and stylish boots. The girl looked familiar, I couldn't tell who she was though. "Well, speak!" She hastily said. "I'm Luke." I began "And I'm Angus." The girl stood up astonished, looking at us with happiness twinkling in her eyes. That's when it hit me. "Selena?" "Yes. How did you survive? I thought I was the only one." Selena asked. We sat down and I told her my story. "Well," Selena started. "I somehow escaped, I can't remember how. The village was in ruins. I thought I was the only survivor. I wandered around a bit, and grew up here, in this forest. And I'm going to travel with you guys on your quest. I don't care if you don't want me to, I'm doing it anyway." That's Selena for you, she's the same sassy kid I used to play with nine years ago. That's chp 5! Hoped you like it!
Chapter 6- The Dark Soul "Would you two hurry up?" Selena asked for the fourth time. We had trekked around the forest for a few days. I had no idea where we were going, no idea if I would make it out of the forest alive, and most importantly no idea when I would get to eat something again. So far, we had no difficulties except for a few fallen oaks (which we climbed over easily) and nothing to hunt. This was a lot easier then as The King said it would be. Although Selena kept saying that it would get harder later on. Yeah right. With a jolt of speed I caught up with Angus and Selena. It was getting late, so we scouted around for a good spot to set up camp on. "Luke, gather some firewood. Selena and I will set up camp." Angus ordered. I pounded through the forest, looking for the perfect tree to cut. Shadows slinked around behind me. Crickets chirped in an eerie melody. The moon peaked behind the leaves. The atmosphere felt odd, like the first time I entered the forest. A screeching noise pierced the silence. My ears felt like they had just split open! I saw a jet black silhouette, and it was FLOATING right towards me! I unseated my 2 handed sword, ready for a fight. As the floaty thing got closer, I saw that it didn't have any feet, it was floating. A long black cloak covered it's back and body, and a black hood covered it's face. It looked like a goth ghost, like a soul. It was holding a yew staff in one hand, and a weird looking sword in the other. The sword had small little pictures carved all along it's black blade. One picture was of a demon, totally demolishing a village. Another picture had a man, who had a sword lodged in his shoulder. He was writhing in pain. Charming. The soul charged forward, and I did the same. It swung it's staff around in an odd motion and lightning hurtled at me. I somehow blocked it with my swords blade. The soul swung his sword at me, while I was busy with the lightning. At the last moment I caught the swords blade with my swords hilt. I made a quick slash at him, but he dodged. He slashed his sword in my direction. I would have been a goner if I hadn't done a backflip. I did a few summersaults and ended up behind the soul. With a quick hack of my sword the battle was over. Sweat beaded down my face as I sheathed my sword. "Luke!" Angus and Selena bolted over to the clearing I had fought in. Apparently they had heard my battle cries. Angus gasped. "Angus what?" I asked. "That thing you just defeated, I've read about in the castle libraries. One swing from it's sword and it's fatal. If there is one here, there are more around the area. We need to continue to a safer part of the forest. Come on!" Angus murmured. Awww, no diner? Hope u liked the 6th chp!!!
Chapter 6- The Dark Soul "Would you two hurry up?" Selena asked for the fourth time. We had trekked around the forest for a few days. I had no idea where we were going, no idea if I would make it out of the forest alive, and most importantly no idea when I would get to eat something again. So far, we had no difficulties except for a few fallen oaks (which we climbed over easily) and nothing to hunt. This was a lot easier then as The King said it would be. Although Selena kept saying that it would get harder later on. Yeah right. With a jolt of speed I caught up with Angus and Selena. It was getting late, so we scouted around for a good spot to set up camp on. "Luke, gather some firewood. Selena and I will set up camp." Angus ordered. I pounded through the forest, looking for the perfect tree to cut. Shadows slinked around behind me. Crickets chirped in an eerie melody. The moon peaked behind the leaves. The atmosphere felt odd, like the first time I entered the forest. A screeching noise pierced the silence. My ears felt like they had just split open! I saw a jet black silhouette, and it was FLOATING right towards me! I unseated my 2 handed sword, ready for a fight. As the floaty thing got closer, I saw that it didn't have any feet, it was floating. A long black cloak covered it's back and body, and a black hood covered it's face. It looked like a goth ghost, like a soul. It was holding a yew staff in one hand, and a weird looking sword in the other. The sword had small little pictures carved all along it's black blade. One picture was of a demon, totally demolishing a village. Another picture had a man, who had a sword lodged in his shoulder. He was writhing in pain. Charming. The soul charged forward, and I did the same. It swung it's staff around in an odd motion and lightning hurtled at me. I somehow blocked it with my swords blade. The soul swung his sword at me, while I was busy with the lightning. At the last moment I caught the swords blade with my swords hilt. I made a quick slash at him, but he dodged. He slashed his sword in my direction. I would have been a goner if I hadn't done a backflip. I did a few summersaults and ended up behind the soul. With a quick hack of my sword the battle was over. Sweat beaded down my face as I sheathed my sword. "Luke!" Angus and Selena bolted over to the clearing I had fought in. Apparently they had heard my battle cries. Angus gasped. "Angus what?" I asked. "That thing you just defeated, I've read about in the castle libraries. One swing from it's sword and it's fatal. If there is one here, there are more around the area. We need to continue to a safer part of the forest. Come on!" Angus murmured. Awww, no diner? Hope u liked the 6th chp!!!
Chapter 7- Deeper "Come on! They are catching up to us fast!" Selena beckoned. Ever since we had decided to find a safe part of the forest, everything got a lot worse. We had many encounters with other dark souls and other wild beasts. There wasn't any rivers around and our canteens were drained of water. Just this morning, we found out people were pursuing us. Angus went out to scout, and he saw hooded people quietly chatting. When they saw him watching, they ran after him, brandishing longswords. Angus somehow escaped, but we are being tracked. Those hooded people traveled at incredible speeds, and we spotted them a little bit behind us. That's why we are running. But whatever they were, I was ready to fight them. I panted. Running as fast as you could away from unknown creatures was power consuming. I picked up my pace and sucked it up. "Hurry!" Selena shouted. Easy for her to say. The hooded people were gaining on us, at a mind-blowing speed. I ran as fast as I could, not daring to look back. We all charged around the forest. But we couldn't do this forever. Eventually, we would have to fight them. Eventually, we might die. Selena, Angus, and I stopped running when we reached a clearing. We were only humans. Gasping for breath I scanned the clearing. No sign of the enemies. Or at least that's what I saw. "Look!" Angus shouted, pointing. There was a rustle in the bushes, and I unsheathed my sword... Ok. That's the 7th chp! It's kinda short, but next chp will be longer then usual.