Preview of My First Story
#1 of Story Previews
Well I've managed to get this out earlier than I expected. Do remember that this is 'very early' 'first draft' style, so the quality may not be perfect, and there are some revisions I do want to make to it. But I'd like to hear feedback and see what you think of it, whether you like the characters (or not!) and the story itself, or more specific/technical parts you'd like to point out.
Also... Thanks for reading this, and thanks for any and all comments. It's really appreciated!
Finally, there was a lot of inspiration from Myst, from the fantastic worlds in the games, to the wonderful idea of linking to these beautiful places by books, such a lovely idea I felt compelled to write about.
Copyright 2011 Tobias G. Husky.
Chapter 1
It was a chilly night in K'hanattee, a biting breeze blew through the forests which caused the leaves and branches in the forest to stir, and the trees to creek slowly and deeply. The sky was a deep blue, intriguing however were the galaxies and nebulas marked the sky, some of them bright enough to provide some light into the clearings of the forest. On the horizon there was a jagged ridge of mountains, capped with a layer of snow,
Deep in the undergrowth there was a creature rustling through, trying to make his way through the forest. He finally emerged into the clearing, the creature was a gray wolf, wearing a light brown fabric jerkin with a dark brown trench-coat on top. His trousers were a darker shade of brown, covering the top parts of his tough walking boots. The wolf himself had a fairly average build, however a little rugged from living in the formidable environment. He had a gray fringe of headfur which spiked up naturally, despite numerous attempts to flatten it, he had given up.
The wolf had a look of relief on his aged muzzle, he decided to sit down on a nearby log to regain his breath, however remaining alert to ensure that no creature would jump out from the darkness and have him as their prey. He opened his pocket watch to check the time, it was unusual however that it did not have hours and minutes on its face, but it instead had six hands pointing to different measures of time. He looked up and snapped shut his watch and pocketed it. In the darkness he could see a silhouette of another creature approaching him. He stood up, staying firm and waited to see what would emerge from the darkness. To his relief however a familiar face emerged, it was another wolf like himself, however this wolf had red and white areas of fur on his body, and was more built than the smaller wolf. The red wolf shouted
'Griff!! Where have you been? It's still after us, that creature, that thing.'
'I know, I know! I thought I had lost it... Bryon, we must leave the forest, otherwise we will not see the sun rise again.'
Bryon, quickly nodded, and gestured to Griff to lead the way out of the forest. Griff, took a deep breath of the night air, hoping to gain knowledge as to where the creature was. The scent was stronger than he had hoped, indicating that it was close, he grabbed his journal out of his pocket, and examined its contents, and then promptly shut it. He indicated to Bryon that they needed to go in an easterly direction. 'Time to go Bryon, we must make haste if we are to survive' The two quickly made their way out of the clearing, both of them ran together, running as fast as they could, darting between trees, and fallen debris. They both heard a deep roaring sound behind them, as the creature called out in frustration as it tried to follow their scent. Griff jumped over a stream, bolted a log, and ducked under branches as he tried to get as far away as he could from the creature that was hunting them down. Griff could see Bryon a few meters to the side, an occasional flash of red reassured Griff that he was still running... still alive. They could see the light on the forest's edge, getting closer and closer. 'Not far now Bryon!' They finally broke through the outskirts of the forest, entering a flat plain stretching all the way to the base of the mountains on the horizon. Griff looked back and saw Bryon emerging from the forest. 'I think it'll take it a while for it to get through that undergrowth, we should be safe for now.' 'What was that creature' Griff looked away, and up at the sky breathing in. He breathed deeply. 'It's the most horrific creature of this world. It fears nothing and everything fears it. For good reasons too, If you get too close to it, your death is already sealed. It is a Marwolaeth Anadl. If you ever hear its roar, or you think you have smelt its scent. Don't stop and think what it is, just run, run as fast as you can. If you don't, you will be hunted down, and you will live no longer'
Bryon had a look of utmost fear upon his face, his ears were flat across his head and his tail held low. He had realised the gravity of the danger they had just escaped. Griff, seeing how fearful Bryon had become, decided to make him feel better. He slowly walked up to Bryon, and kissed him on the muzzle, caressing his body while running his paws over Bryon's back. Griff Breathed deeply while rubbing his tongue against Bryon's. Bryon felt happier, indicated by his now wagging tail and his perked up ears, he closed his eyes as he kissed Griff back. Griff broke the kiss, looking lovingly into Bryon's.
'I don't mean to scare you, but this world is not safe. It is beautiful yes, but it is very dangerous. You must be aware of the dangers of this and every world. But I think for now, we should leave. That creature will catch up with us, and we don't want to be here when it does. Come... follow me'
Griff continued across the plain, his trenchcoat, billowing through the grass, while Bryon followed close behind. They kept walking for several miles, the forest becoming further and further away in the distance. Suddenly Griff stopped.
'Here it is' Griff pointed to a metal hatch into the ground, which looked alien in the grassy plain. He smiled widely and went down on one knee, and opened his small book. He looked at a diagram in his book, and then pressed a paw pad in specific places on the surface of the hatch. After the fifth press, Griff snapped his book shut, and pocketed it. There was a loud click, and then the hatch mechanically opened, reveling a ladder down a passage under the plain. Griff smiled widely, and gestured for Bryon to do down first. Griff climbed down into the passage after Bryon, and pressed a button on his way down which closed and secured the hatch, guaranteeing their safety.
Both of the wolves continued down the ladder, until they reached a room. The room itself was dry and had an earthy smell to it. The room was completely dark, except for a blue glowing button on one of the room's walls. Griff walked up to it and pressed it, the room slowly became illuminated. The room itself was fairly small, it was completely empty except for a pedestal at the opposite end of the room. On the pedestal, there was a very old, blue leather book. It looked as if it had sat on that pedestal for decades. Griff looked at Bryon and gestured to the book, and said;
'This is one of K'hanattee's linking books. The different linking books are held in secure rooms under the surface of this world, they are here to ensure that they are protected from the dangers of the surface, as we both experienced. If these books were all to be destroyed, say for example, weathered by the elements. There would be no way out of this world, I do not have the ability to write new books, such a craft has been lost for many years now. This book will take us back to Jaslin, where we originally started out. We've got what we came for, and we need not come back for awhile, let's go.'
Bryon nodded and asked 'What we came for, what are they used for? Why did we risk our lives getting these crystals?'
Griff smiled, 'All in good time Bryon, I'll explain when we get back to Jaslin, you go first, and I'll follow after you'
Bryon approached the book and carefully opened it, slowly turning the pages until he saw a moving image on the page. He looked back at Griff, and Griff nodded in response. Bryon hesitated briefly, and then pressed his paw over the image. Bryon's body then dissolved into particles and then disappeared into the image. Griff walked up to the pedestal and the open book, and pressed his own paw on the image, and he felt his body lurch, and then all went black.
***