Micah's Storyboard

Exploring a Pocket World

2008-06-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello.

New stuff. As in I just re-worked this this last week but it fit with what I have already posted. This part of my story picks up the story of Sara and Rue right where the other post leaves off. A good way to read this is to read the end of my second post then jump right in to this one. The story should flow, at least right up to the end where yes it ends almost mid thought, and yes I am working on the next bit.

Enjoy, and please give me feed back!!!??!!!

Exploring a Pocket World

The day had just been starting when Rue and Sara had stepped through the ring. The sun’s first rays started to hit their camp with the promise of another hot day. The sky had been clear with only a few wisps of clouds here and there.

The world they stepped into was not so warm. There was a light mist of rain at what seemed the midday light of a grey day. It felt more like autumn than spring and the two would have shivered if they had not been so awestruck.

It was not that what they saw of this new world was all that amazing, but more that they had just stepped from one world to another one so different.

They were in a three sided stone hut that led onto a covered bridge. The sidewalls each had a wood bench and coat pegs above them. The wall behind them was empty except for another ring identical to the outside one and this one too, had the watery stuff filling the middle of the ring. This one was mounted on the wall with no room to see it from the back. The whole room was no bigger than 12 feet long and 20 feet wide. The roof led straight into the roof of the bridge and kept most of the misting off them. The bridge sides were simple rails and the mist drifted through.

Rueben took all this in with a long sweeping look. He was glad to see that this side also had a ring and it gave him some hope that they could go back through to their own world. He bent over and pulled the branch from Sara’s feet and helped her up. They crossed the room and stepped to the side of the bridge. Rue looked down at the water that flowed below and had the feeling that the water was flowing both ways at the same time. Puzzled, he looked to the far side of the bridge to a large stone wall lifting from the water. The wall curved away from the bridge on both sides, giving the building a rounded look.

Next, Rueben looked the way they had come. He could see the outside of the little door room they were in, but behind that was what looked like more water. However, Rue had the distinct feeling that there was some smooth wall there stretching away as far as he could see to either side. The wall looked like looking through a foggy glass wall at more water or maybe clear sky, Rue could not decide.

Sara pulled on Rue’s arm and pointed across the bridge to where a large round door was set in to the stonewall. They crossed the bridge just starting to feel the cool and stood before the door.

As they reached the door they saw that there was also a larger wooden gate down a small ramp to the left.

“For horses maybe,” mused Sara. “Are we going to try knocking on the door or just leave?”

They had come this far, so Rue thought, Why not explore a little more? In way of answering, he reached out to the door and knocked. The sound seemed to echo in the emptiness with no other sound except their breathing. Time seemed to creep by and Rue moved to knock again, but before he could, Sara reached up for the door and pushed the door open. To both of their surprise, the door swung in soundlessly. They looked at each other, then with Rueben leading, they stepped in.

The room they entered was the biggest room either of them had seen in their short sheltered lives. Now granted, the biggest room they had seen before this was the main floor of the inn and this room resembled that, but bigger.

To Rue it looked like a big tavern with a central bench, tables, and a few booths along the front walls. All the chairs were flipped upside down on the tables and everything looked packed up. There was no dust but everything smelled as if it had not been disturbed for a long time.

Rue walked to the middle of the room and stopped. Turning a full circle he took it in. The roof was about half again as high as the inn’s main room and there was about twice as many tables, but the room was definitely laid out by the same person as his father’s inn.

Sara, at Rue’s side, whispered, “Seems very familiar somehow. Like I have been here before, like it is safe. It is as if…”

“As if who ever made this room saw my dad’s inn and liked the look.”

“Or your Grandad saw this place before he built the inn. Smells like it has been that long since anyone has been here.”

“Yeah, maybe,” mumbled Rue, not knowing what to think.

He moved to walk to the side of the counter and headed for a set of steps behind and to the left. He was just about to pass the counter when something brushed up against his leg. He jumped, scared half out of his wits. Sara screamed from where she still stood in the middle of the room and grabbed for the nearest chair. A tabby cat jumped up on the counter next to Rue and he jumped again.

Mrrroooowww!

Sara was there instantly, brandishing the chair in front of her like a two handed sword ready to strike. Seeing the cat, she froze, then laughed.

“Is this why you yelled out?” Sara laughed. “You had me thinking you had seen a ghost.”

With her laughter their tension broke. Rueben felt like a fool, but something about the place just felt like home and they where so home sick. It felt good to hear Sara’s laugh again. Rue smiled and reached out to pet the cat when his eye caught a lump right in the middle of the counter. He let his hand drop back to his side as he walked to the back of the counter to the middle. There sat a leather bound book, an engraving set in the front cover. Rue looked closer and saw it was an engraving of what looked like the giant’s ring and a mark that Rueben did not recognise.

“What have you found there, Rue?”

Rue had never been big into reading, but this book drew him to it some how.

“It’s a book…”

Sara waited to see if Rue would say more but he just stood staring at the book. Sara could not read and books held no interest for her for that very reason. So she turned to the back of the room where another corner was cut into the wall and the window that was the hole led to another room. She peeked through and found that just like at home in the inn, this lead to the kitchen. Feeling for the first time since the death of her family like something was familiar, she stepped to the far left of the back wall to where a door led to the kitchen. With delight, Sara found that this kitchen was like the main room and was laid out the same way home was, just bigger and with more things to cook with and places to store food and prepare it. Like a squirell who has suddenly found a room full of nuts, Sara went one way then saw something else and went that way. She was consumed with her exploring and all the fear that had been in her just minutes before was swallowed by her desire to know where everything was.

Rue, on the other hand, stood transfixed where Sara had left him before, with the book. He did not understand this book. Why did it call to him. Never had reading been fun or interesting. It had always been a chore, but this book had a draw to it. Why? What was it?

Slowly he reached down his right hand to run his hand over the cover, but the instant his hand lay flat on the book a rush of heat like a red hot poker ripped into his hand. His vision clouded and then with a snap it was all gone. Rue stumbled back clutching the book to himself.

What was going on? Could this day get any weirder? Then it did.

Rue lifted his right hand from the book that lay now in his left hand. Where the pain had been, now a blue swirling ring was on his hand with the same mark that the book had on it in the middle of it. Setting the book down on the corner Rue rubbed at the mark but it felt as if it was set in his skin. And as he watched, the mark faded from the brilliant glowing blue to a dark green that look almost like a tattoo.

What was this place?

Then like a sudden thunder clap on a still night Sara’s voice broke the silence of the room and Rue again jumped, his heart starting to race.

“Rue! Get in here and see this. You will love it!” Sara said with her smile coming through in her voice.

Rue carefully placed the book back on the counter and followed Sara’s voice into the kitchen and he too was struck with the kitchen’s similarity to their home. Sara was at the back of the big kitchen where there was alcove and big oven that he knew so well.

“Granny Mifs bread oven.” Said Rue with memories flooding back to him. Rue never liked the kitchen at the inn because he spent almost all of his time in it doing the dishes, a job he loathed. The one exception was when Granny Mifs made bread. Often he would stop his dishes to watch her working the dough. Even though she was so old, she had powerful hands that kneeded and worked the dough. He had taken such an interest in the bread making that she had taught him some of how to make it. He especially had liked adding the herbs to some of her more unusual loaves. When it came to cooking he was not good, but baking bread he liked. He also had learned his father’s work with the wines and brewing beer, but baking bread was something more calming for him. It was not work but passion, an art he loved almost as much as running and swimming.

Well that is all for now but I will post more soon. Stay tuned for what happens to these two as they continue their journey. AND please let me know what you think so far!

Outlander

2008-06-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome back.

This Story part is the first part of Kip's story. Also from my Darv'nah story. Though it takes place in a very different place to the other. This is the start of Kip and Punks journey and they have a ways to go in reaching the Peaceful and non-violent ideal that the role calls for. As I write more of their story I hope to move them to a more mature non-violent approach but they are not there yet.

Let me know what you all think of this part.

Outlander

Kiphanis was cold. The wind cut through him like a knife and Kip (as he was known) could not help but let the slightest shiver run through him. He thought he had been used to the cold being raised in the Highlands, but here on the Mountains of Tares, in the dead of winter, Kip was colder than he’d ever been. He had his three pointed Peacekeeper hat pulled down over a thin, wool hood and his cloak pulled tight about him, but still he was cold through to his bones.

Not for the first time he looked with jealousy at his Shadow Wolf companion, Punk. Punk’s ghostly form sat beside Kip in the snow and the howling wind barely moved his fur. Like all Shadow Wolves, Punk could faze slightly out of this reality so things of a physical nature would have less or no effect on him. In the bright sun the wolf was barely visible. When the sun shown bright, the Shadow Wolves faded more and were much weaker. But also the wind and cold had less effect on them in the sun, for less of them was really there. This is what Kip was jealous of.

Soon Kip would take the plunge back into the waters of the Bay of Blood and help a Green Water Dragon shed it’s skin and make a long coat from its hide. Working with the half crazed Water Dragon as it shed its outer skin was dangerous and took a very controlled mind and a totally relaxed spirit, but if he now had the coat it would stop the wind and rain better than any other garment he now had. It would also symbolize his move from a Ranger class Peacekeeper to a Ranger Marshal. Not many that took up service in the Peacekeeper Core ever took the challenge to become a Marshal and stay on for a second term of service. Most were happy to do their time and return home and serve the Core as a Peacekeeper in their hometown or village. Some found just making it through their assignment to serve away from home too big a challenge and deserted or just disappeared. Both Peacekeeper Rangers that had been assigned to Tares to serve the Troll tribes before Kip had done just that. They had sent word that they had settled amongst the trolls then nothing more was ever heard from them.

So it was natural that there had not been many volunteers to go to the island of Tares. Kip himself had not volunteered but had been asked by the Tares representative of the counsel of Nations. Kip had gotten the letter handed to him by a message runner and had not actually talked face to face with the Troll representative, but they were asking for him by name, so how could he refuse them? He guessed they had asked for him because though he had little resemblance to the trolls, he had some troll blood running in his veins. Not that it had helped him much this far.

Kip had been serving in Tares almost three long, grueling years and had just earlier that week received his summons home across the waters to Yaleen and the Peacekeeper’s stronghold. It had taken him two whole minutes to fully grasp the impact of the message: he was leaving Tares and the Trolls. He had felt like dancing a jig, but his joy had been short lived.

Before he had time to make plans to leave he had been called to meet Rogarn, the leader of the mountain tribe, Nuren, here at the top of this accursed mountain. The tribe of Nuren had been the bane of Kip’s life from the day he had started his service in Tares. Two young trolls from the Nuren tribe had been waiting for him as he left the boat and then to jump him. He guessed they had planned to put him in his place and let him know he was not wanted in their land. Punk had caught their scent just before they grabbed Kip but as it was an unusually sunny day he was slow to react. Kip had felt the big hands grabbing him and had slipped to the ground and rolled away, but one of the two trolls had a firm grip on Kip’s staff and it had slipped from Kip’s hand in his roll. Next, Kip had tried to talk to them, but the one with his staff had snapped the staff into splinters and flung the shatter halves at him. He had not known trolls were that strong. The Staff was Ironwood and was supposed to be as strong as steel. The staff of a Peacekeeper was the main weapon for both defense and to send an attacker packing, other than one’s own mind and body. And less than ten steps into his mission his staff was gone.

As the two trolls had stepped in again on Kip, Punk had struck. Punk, unlike Kip, had no hesitation killing and lunged at the bigger trolls throat, and in a flash of grey wolf and dark troll blood Punk had rip the trolls throat out. Furious with himself for losing his staff and of losing control of the situation, Kip pulled his Night Staff from his belt and struck at the remaining Trolls knee. He had only meant to knock the troll down but in his anger he had hit much harder than necessary and the troll’s knee had shattered.

Much to Kip’s frustration, Punk, who had killed, was held with what seamed to pass here for respect, but Kip who had just maimed his opponent was treated with contempt. Kip knew neither he nor Punk had acted according to the peacekeepers code of non-violence, but they had lived through the first few days.

The upside of the incident was that the trolls knew he could handle himself in a fight and though he had had to defend himself a few times, the trolls had at least seen him as a force to be reckoned with. He had felt like he was not always staying true to the Peacekeeper charter but he had gained the respect of most of the trolls and though he was always an outsider, he had survived his term of service and had kept peace and helped ensure order. The down side was he had never won the hearts of the Nuren tribe. You can only do your best to live at peace and there is always two sides. When it came to him and the Nuren, a cease fire was the best he could pull off.

Standing knee deep in snow waiting for Rogarn, Kip could not wait to be done with whatever the latest trouble with this tribe was and be gone from the island of Trolls. Punk, who sat half visible in snow beside Kip, agreed. Though Punk had grown a thick coat in their time there and the wind and cold had less effect on him, he too was not liking the cold. The two had shared an unusual bond from birth and were never far apart. What one felt the other picked up on and what one sensed the other knew. This had made them an impressive hunting team and were easily the best trackers the Peacekeeper Core had. Despite this they still could be surprised. Punk’s ears snapped up and the two moved as one looking to the north just in time to see the towering figure of Rogarn lift up from under the snow. The cloak that had hidden him fell away. Both Kip and Punk jumped.

Rogarn was of average height for a troll, which put him just under 8 feet tall. He, like all trolls was hairless and his head was crowned with seven small horns. Two more dropped from his chin giving him the look of having a bone goatee. He wore leather leggings and a black sleeveless tunic. Despite Rogarn’s age he moved with the grace of a cat. Without a word, Rogarn strode forward and stopped two strides from Kip.

Kip braced himself for the curse that was Rogarn’s usual greeting to Kip. Kip had never had it interpreted but knew it was sometime along the line of, “May you die shamefully and bring dishonor to your tribe.” Kip was ready to make the warding symbol to deflect the curse.

“Greetings brother, Kiphanis,” Rogarn bellowed.

Kip was half way through making the ward and froze not sure he had heard correctly. Kip had been weary before the greeting but a warm greeting from a Nuren tribesmen set him doubly on guard. Before he could ask why the change, Rogarn dropped a bundle at his feet.

“After three years you have finally proven yourself to us and now it is time you do what it is that we called you here to do,” said Rogarn. “Tonight you become one of us for tomorrow we may die. Come!” Without further explanation Rogarn turned and started wading his way north deeper into the mountains.

Kip was stunned. No encounter with the trolls had ever suggested that they wanted him there and now the man who had seemed to dislike him the most was telling him he was to be one of them and do something for which they had “called” him to do. His mind raced. What could it be? He turned to look at Punk but the wolf stared back with out expression, clearly no more in the know than Kip.

Kip bent down and poked at the bundle of cloth with his night staff. Part of the wrapping fell away to reveal the hilt of a blade. Kip’s curiosity got the better of him and he quickly unwrapped the blade. It was a short sword with a two-handed grip, sheathed in dark leather.

“It’s a Whereblade to ‘walk the dead.’” Rogarn called. He had stopped ten strides away and was waiting but had not turn back to face Kip. “Come and earn the right to wield it.” And with that he started off again.

Maybe Kip should have never gone with Rogarn but he did. That night he became part of the Nuren tribe and over the next 2 days Kip learned to wield the Whereblade. He ‘walked the Dead’ and was never the same again.

Three months after returning from Tares and working to train new recruits for the Peacekeeper Core, Kip was still coming to terms with the experience.

Opening the door

2008-06-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the second installment in this blog.

This is from my Darv'nah story. I wrote this about a year ago and have worked a bit on the next part of the story but have not gotten it to a stage where i feel good about it. This part is raw but I like it so far but I know it still needs work.

Hope you enjoy. it is first draft and needs some work and I would love help in rewriting it or helpful comments and suggestions.

Opening the door

This part of my story is about two young teens, Rueben the son of an inn keeper and Sara his best friend. Sara's dad also works at the inn and their families have always been close. These two snuck off to go swimming one day and while they were out their village was raided and everyone killed. Rueben (Rue) and Sara find a hidden ring that Rue's father had had. With this ring and a few scraps they took from what remained of their village they set out to find some distant family of Sara's in anther village. We start about 2 weeks in to their trip as they are camping for the night under a big tree.

That night they set up camp in the cover of a big tree.

Rueben used to love sleeping out under the stars, but now that he had to, he was getting very tired of it. The ground felt harder than it ever had before and he always seemed to find a root in his back just as he was just about to nod off. This night was no different. Rue tossed and turned till early morning. Just as the sky started to lighten Rue finally fell asleep.

Rue drifted off then found himself standing in the bushes beside their campsite. He peeked out to see himself standing and looking at his hand. This dream self knelt and placed what looked like the ring on the ground, then stood and stepped back. Then, saying something that rang funny in the ears, the dream Rueben raised his arm and the ring jumped in size from a ring to a large disk the size of a gate. With another word and move of the hand, the dream Rueben started something in the ring. There was a small swoosh and like a wave crashing through the ring, the inside of the ring became like water with a light breeze rippling it. Rue’s jaw dropped. There he stood dumbstruck. He saw his dream self step to the ring and put his hand to the water. As the hand touched the water, Rueben jerked his hand back. It was as if he had touched warm water but his hand was not wet.

“Rue!! What are you doing?!?”

With a jolt Rue found himself wide awake and standing, arm outstretched, just touching the water like stuff.

“Rueben?!?” Sara was standing ashen face a step back and to his right. “What is it?”

Rue turned back to stare at the water in this large ring. He was not dreaming, this was real. He dropped his hand and stepped back two quick steps. “I was dreaming and saw myself do something to we found of my fathers and it became this. I was going to go through it… I think I still should, but why… I … uhm…”

Sara grabbed his hand, “No, Rue! I don’t want you to leave me!”

“Leave you? I was not going.”

“Yes you were!! I woke up and saw you put that water in there and then walk right to it and start to go in. You were going to go in and leave me here, and that is not going to happen. You’re not leaving me. They all left us and I am not… I don’t want to be…”

“I am not leaving you, Sara,” Rue insisted. “I was just dreaming and found myself here and…” He turned to stare at the ring again. “…What is it?”

Rue’s curiosity got the better of him and he walk to the surface again.

“No, Rue. Please.” Sara begged as she grabbed at his back to hold him back.

“Let’s just look at it, Sara. It won’t bite… I think.”

Sara was still scared but had nothing she could think to say so with so hesidency she followed Rue and the two of them walked around the giant ring. The more they looked the more Rue becoming more curious. As they walked to the back they saw that the other side looked more like it was filled with blue shining steal.

“Somehow I don’t think we go through that way,” said Rue.

“Go through? Through to where?” asked Sara, “I don’t think anything can go through it.”

“Let’s test it.”

“Test it? Are you MAD? If you think for just one second that I am going to let you try going thr..”

“Not me,” said Rue growing impatient and feeling more and more like he had found a great treasure and less like this was something to fear. “No not me, but… but something. Something like that tree branch.”

With that Rue grabbed the small branch and started to walk back to the front. “You wait here and see if it comes out. I’ll go…”

“NO!!” said Sara, wide eyed again. “Let me do it. You stay here and watch.”

“Why can’t I…”

“Because you might try going in and that is not happening.” Sara took the branch and walked to the far side, staying as far back from the ring without trying to look like she felt like running away.

“Right, here goes.” And with that Sara threw the branch through the face of the water. The branch flew into the surface and passed through as if nothing was there. Sara jumped back. It had gone through.

“Did it hit you?” she called.

Rue came around with a rush. “You threw it? Nothing came through. It has not changed at all.”

“I threw it and it went right in. It looked like it hit nothing and just vanished. I don’t like it. It just ate the branch!”

“Ate it? You threw it in. It did not eat it.”

“So where did it go?”

“I don’t know.”

They stood there together wondering what to do next. Sara looked around and then picking up the long knife they had found, moved to a low branch of the tree.

“What are you doing?” asked Rueben.

“Well, if we are going to test what this is we may as well go all the way.” Sara cut a long branch off the tree and striped it of it’s branches leaving it a long straight pole. Then she walked to stand before the ring. With a long look at Rueben, she lifted the pole as a spear and advanced on the ring. To Rue she looked like a hunter charging her prey.

Sara stabbed the pole into the middle of the ring, then with a quick gasp, she jump back and dropped the pole.

“What?” asked Rue. “What happened?”

“I hit something.”

“What did you hit?”

“How the heck am I suppose to know what I hit? Does it look like I can see any better than you?”

“Hmm… right. Well, let’s see if it ate your stick.” Rue said with a hint of sarcasm.

Rue stepped forward, knelt, and lifted the pole. It came up as easy as any other pole and as he pulled it back. The pole came out of the water-like surface. The two inspected the pole.

“Nothing,” said Sara.

“Let’s go in, Sara,” said Rue with a twinkle in his eye.

Sara thought it through. The pole went in and came out with nothing wrong, so maybe they could too.

“How about this,” started Sara, “we hold hands and you step in and just take a quick look, and if anything goes wrong, you squeeze my hand and I will pull you out, or if I feel you have been in too long, I will pull you out.”

With this plan set the two stepped toward the ring and took each other’s hands. Sara held Rue’s left hand with both hands. She braced herself and held tight.

Rueben’s mind was racing. What was this thing? What secrets did it hide? Where did it lead? What the heck was he doing? Now that he stood at the water-like edge he suddenly lost his courage. Looking over at Sara he tried to gather some courage. Then, with a rush he closed his eyes and step forward.

Thinking back on it later, he could not remember what it felt like, but as soon as he stepped into the door he was pulled in. Rue moved forward so fast that it pulled Sara right off her feet and into the door. As Sara came through, her feet tangled in the branch she had thrown through the door and she lost Rue’s hand and went tumbling. She landed on a stone floor. From the floor she looked up to a most unusual site. She and Rue had left their world behind.

The start of two stories

2008-06-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

So what am I doing here with this blog?

I want to use this blog to put out to you a few bit of story I have been writing. All of them are in their first draft or very close to fist draft stage. Some of it is just concept of stories that still need working out. I want feed back and comment, suggestions and random idea that may work with what I am writing.

I have to main stories that I have been working on on and off and to give you a bit of a heads up on them and to help keep them separate I thought I would to a quick summery of both.

Tom Ryder and the Avatar Maze

The first is the story of Tom Ryder and his magical avatar Thorn Brokensword. Tom Ryder is a Young boy who lives in a land much like our own but for 2 really big differences. First there is all kind of magic. Second there is peace, and there has been peace for a long time. This does not mean there is not strife and disagreement but there has been no wars for many decades.

Tom is a student in a very honored and well know school of magic where what the student do for fun is make magical construct in the shape of creatures and then battle them against each other. One of the teachers take it on himself to teach the students magic through there game and also tries to add a new challenge to the student where the creatures to not battle each other but most adventure through a set of mazes and challenges. This teacher also up the challenge by saying that only an "Avatar made from a mirrored soul shard" can compete.

The story is then about Tom and his avatar Thorn Brokensword as they struggle both in the challenges of the mazes and the pains of growing up.

Darv'nah: the Wondering Tavern or the Here-be-there Pub

(I am still working out the names in this one)

The second story I have put more time in to but there is a lot more to it. The main story line follows three different set of characters.

The first is Rueben (Rue) and Sara, two children forced to flew their village when it is attacked and destroyed. as the only two survivors (or so they think) they flea to Sara's relatives in a far off village and along the way discover a ring that is really a doorway in to another world. The world of Darv'nah, a pocket universe which hold the keys to so many mysteries in there own world. Their story is of them trying to rebuild there lives and make a place in the worlds for them selves.

The second main story line follows Kiphanis Dorees or Kip as he is know by most he mets. Kiphanis is from a far off set of islands where the peace is held together by the Peacekeeper core, an ancient police force that hold non-violence as the core of their beings and practice. Kip is a Peacekeeper Ranger who is sent with his Shadow Wolf companion in search of a "ring of power" that hold the key the Peace or will through the world in to a all consuming war. Those Kip is searching for Rue and Sara with out knowing it.

The third story line is that of Yana a young girl of the High Order of Sairen, a kind of UN/Red Cross for the great land where most of the story takes place. Yana is sent as a representative of the Order to broker a peace deal between the warring Elves and Trolls but along the way is thrown in to a web of deceit and a race to stop a creator of darkness before it can find a "well of power" that it can turn the world to ash with. Yana runs in to Kip and starts our story lines converging as the plot lead us to what is the power behind the door to Darv'nah and what will be the fait of the worlds.

Sound good?

Now all I have to do is write it. Or at least finish writing it.

So I will over the next while start to post what I have of these stories here and I seek you feedback and help in turning these stories from scattered thoughts in to a coherent plot and story.

Thanks for all your help and happy reading.

-Micah