[Untitled] Seidara's Story

[Saruki Jeitai]

Hello everyone and welcome to my story/book. This story is just one that I need to get out at the moment and I have a certain idea on how I want to run it if you don't mind.

The order will go like this:

1. First of course I will post whatever I have written, whether it be an entire chapter or maybe just a segment. IT WILL BE IN Document Post Style. When I have finished my thoughts on that particular segment/chapter, I will post the following on the bottom of the post... ***END OF WRITING SEGMENT***

2. Now when this happens everyone that would like to participate (if any) may post thereafter. DO NOT POST UNTIL YOU SEE THE SEGMENT BLOCK. I will leave the block up for as long as it takes for me to arrange my thoughts in order to have a go at the next segment. When you are posting you might consider putting the following...

a. Comments
b. Criticism (Finding my errors in the text, saying what flows or doesn't flow etc.)
c. IDEAS I love hearing other peoples ideas for how the story should continue.

And one last thing when posting these items post them in the default Say Post Style please.

I thank everyone in advance for anyone that participates! I hope you will enjoy. Now we begin...  

[Saruki Jeitai]

Chapter 1/Prologue

Aethen looked up at the overcast sky. Small raindrops splashed on his face. He stood on a large rock in the center of a vast grass field. As the clouds tumbled and twisted in the gray sky, Aethen, with his hand holding a wooden bow resting on its tip by his bare feet on the damp rock. Aethen watched the tumultuous sky for several minutes.

Finally, Aethen dropped from his perch and landed ten feet below, rolling to absorb the landing, he walked over to a small pack resting on the boulder. He opened the leather pack and took a pair of straw sandals out and donned them. He slung the single strap of the leather pack over his head, pulled the hood of his light cloth shirt over his head, and set off down the the rolling hill.

Eventually the light breeze picked up, turning a rather calm drab day into a torrent of wind. Aethen finally reached the dusty path, clouds of dust materializing every now and then from the travel worn road. The rain drops became freezing darts in the ravenous howling wind.

Aethen stopped, he had come to a large canyon of gray, jagged stone. The canyon was very steep on both sides with trees on either side of the tops. Roots, gnarled and wrinkled, stuck out in places almost as if reaching towards their siblings on the opposite sides. Aethen looked back, his face betrayed a hint of unease as he frowned slightly. He gripped his bow a little harder and plunged into the breach between the walls. Time wore on as his eyes watched above. The wind was more subdued inside the breach, although every now and then a gust would ease its way in and rush through the bare canyon.

Aethen's thoughts slowly drifted to a few days earlier.

***

Aethen lay upon the fresh spring grass, his hands resting behind his head. His sapphire eyes followed a lazy nimbus crawl across the blue sky. His eyes traced the many curves and edges. He sighed a closed his eyes.

''Aethen!''

Aethen lifted his head to see who had called his name. Across the field stood a tall middle aged man similarly dressed to Aethen. He was holding a bow and and waving Aethen over. Aethen stood and brushed off any grass particles surveying the area Aethen saw a herd of the Katsun deer standing and watching the field behind the man calling Aethen over.

Katsun deer are quite a sight. They are more muscular than any typical deer and their brown coats are more beautiful. What draws the most attention though is its horns. It bares two pairs of shiny smooth black horns. The two in front are slightly curved backwards with rivets all the way up the two and a half foot horn. The next two are directly behind are much the same though less than half the size.

Aethen stared at the herd curiously. Of all his years as a watcher of the herd, he had only known them to act in such a way once. Aethen picked up his bow and jogged over to the man. "Udo, what is it?"

The man was staring hard into the dark wood. "I'm not sure, it was naught but a few moments ago that a noise reached my ears and the deer bounded away."
"What noise could possibly scare the deer like this?"
"Most certainly that one." the man shivered "It was a chilling noise, it made my whole body cold with an embrace akin to death itself."

Aethen gripped the edge of his bow tighter. He had heard many old stories of rouge or evil spirits of the forest. They took on monstrous forms and had a hunger for human flesh.
"What should we do?" asked Aethen childishly
Udo sighed "I fear there is only one thing we can do," Udo looked into Aethens eyes. "wait."

They stood there in tense silence for several minutes. A breeze came through the trees chilling Aethen. A flock of birds burst from the trees several feet from Udo and Aethen.

The tense feeling imediately wore away. The deer visibly relaxed and continued grazing. Udo sighed as Aethen wiped a few drops of sweat from his brow.
''Well, its getting late.'' Udo calmly said, as if nothing ever happened. ''Lets round them up.'' Udo pulled out a small whistle and blew into it. The deer stopped what they were doing and padded over to the
man. Together Udo and Aethen, followed by the herd, set off down a path leading between the woods down the hill.

After only a minute of walking down the winding path the view opened up and before them lay a small valley. In the valley lay a village before them. The houses led all the way up to the path. A small river was running through the bottom of the village. The green of the spring trees were as far as the eye could see the only break was a large canyon far off the east.

***END OF WRITING SEGMENT***
Writing will continue on 4/5/10 when time permits me too