just wondering...

reality

This is the start of a story I started writing a while ago, I stopped just into the second chapter as i felt the style was too 'over-done' and that it wasn't really fresh enough - recently, a friend of mine came across the old printed copy and said she really liked it, however, i think it is fair to say she is biased! Just posting this bit here to see what you think - should I leave it in its dusty grave or try to finish it?



“… and having risen from the remains of Aste, this brave courageous leader shall smite our enemies, ridding us at last of Sigawl and all his kin, so that we may, once again, revel in the glow of our freedom. So it was seen, so it shall be …” Ehrian stopped listening. She had heard the tale many times before and had yet to be impressed - perhaps when this “great leader” chose to be exposed, she would be persuaded to take an interest in the ancient words. Warily surveying the Learning Hall, Ehrian noted the captivated expressions sported by her peers. She smiled smugly, confident in her belief that the scriptures were indeed nothing more than a fairytale – and a boring one at that. Ehrian yawned and returned to gazing around the hall for distraction.

The Learning Hall was the least impressive of all Clarvein’s Halls, a dank cavern filled to the brim with scruffy wooden benches and even scruffier looking Astion students – Ehrian included. In the dull flicker of the rationed candle light, she could just about make out the shimmering robes of the elder pacing the tumult, his booming voice echoing around the hall. For a moment he turned his back and Ehrian briefly considered her chances of escaping to the dorm rooms before dismissing the notion - these days the penalties for mis-presence were always severe, even for a minor. The elder’s council liked to know where everyone was at any given time. The way they perceived it, a missing Astion may well be on the surface, and an Astion on the surface posed as great a threat to the colony as they did to themselves – it would hardly do to go leading Sigawl’s troops to Clarvein. Ehrian scowled to herself, as if Sigawl would care about their rotten underground caves when he already controlled the entire surface!

The surface. How Ehrian wished she could have seen it…

Her train of thought was cut short. A frightened looking man was dashing up the aisles towards the now silent elder. His blue robes declared him to be a messenger of the council. The two began whispering frantically and every set of ears in the hall strained for the slightest taste of the conversation. After just a minute, the messenger left the hall as hastily as he had entered. The elder turned to address the students “Minors. Unfortunately, today’s lesson must be called to a halt as I am required elsewhere. There will be no set exercise this evening. Please return to your dorms and await further instruction. Thank you.” For some time the whole student body just sat gawping at the elder. It was unheard of for classes to be cancelled. “GO!” the elder bellowed, raising a shaky, gnarled hand to point at the door.

seahorse

There is something in this reality; I found myself wanting to know what happened next, and that's always a good sign!

summer_ina_bowl