To Attain Peace, One Must Wage War : Introduction (standard:fantasy, 3062 words) [1/3] show all parts
Author: kissofthehungry	Updated: Dec 09 2004	Views/Reads: 3682/2498	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Goldabrol is a city ravaged by different groups trying to gain power. A group of youths from different lifestyles form an unlikely allegiance and begin to try to bring peace to a place where hatered rules.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story


Sykene (sigh-keene) - the huntress goddess.  She is the protector of
hunters and also kind of like a good charm to them. 

Archel (arch-el) - the god of the forest.  He is who ensures the
survival and thriving of the woods.  He helps keep the animals from 
useless destruction but aids hunters who hunt to survive. 

Lastrel (lost-rel) - the god of the animals.  He's who keeps them from
extinction, and he also leads them to or away from danger. 

Zaluhutts (zal-oo-huts) - the religious group that worships the gods of
the heavens.  With Mianutt leading them, they strive to take power away 
from Yarigon. 

Dariens (dare-ee-ons) - chaos worshippers who wish to destroy all
semblence of government.  A bloody group who thrive on murder and 
torture, they have a sacrifice day every full moon.  Aryingo is the 
leader. 

"Mikonel, come on now, be serious," the brunetter girl grinned, grabbing
for her school books.  Mikonel, a tall youth with a crooked smile and a 
lazy eye held them right out of her reach.  Ever since her brother, 
Niatho, had been discovered to have the power, he'd been assigned to 
make sure that she was safe.  It wasn't uncommon for the families of 
the gifted to be murdered in an attempt to hurt the powerful. 

"Now, tell me, why should I let you have these back?" he wanted to know,
holding the books temptingly out of reach.  Ghandra glared at him, 
chewing her lower lip in concentration, devising a plan.  He thought it 
was so cute how she did that and the way her body tensed before she 
made her move.  Without replying, she lunged for her belongings but he 
had already prepared for her, and easily avoided her clutches. 

"Shakon, be cursed, give me back my books.  You're going to make me
late," all her humor was gone and he knew it was time to give in.  With 
a shrug of his shoulders, he released her books into her awaiting 
hands.  Quickly, she grasped them tightly to her chest as if she feared 
he might take them again.  Of course, she did have good reason, it was 
the third time that trip he had taken them from her.  A haughty smile 
of triumph flashed across her features, then she darted into the 
college, avoiding further harrassment.  Mikonel watched her go, 
misgivings growing in his heart.  How was he to continue properly doing 
his job with the feelings that were blossoming within? 

Ghandra headed for her class, both amused and fuming about Mikonel.   He
was such a goofball.  It was hard to believe such a good friend could 
come out of something so horrible.  Originally, he'd been sent out 
basically as a body guard when Mianutt had taken control of Niatho.  It 
was a very bad thing that he had gained control of him.  Before Niatho 
had succumbed to his manipulations, he'd only used his gifts for good.  
Now, he was one of the many cunning and deadly sorcerers that made it 
dangerous to go out in the streets alone. 

In fact, she was one of the few students who still went to class.  The
bloodshed had gotten so bad, most elected to hide out in their homes.  
At least, that's what she hoped had happened.  Out of the nine courses 
she had signed up for, she now only had three, and each time she went, 
she wondered if the teacher would show.  That was why, despite Mikonel 
coming because of Niatho, she was thankful he had.  It was frightening 
walking through the terror stricken streets of Goldabrol.  One never 
knew what could be hiding in the shadows, waiting to cause the most 
suffering possible. 

However, she was afraid of the shadows for more reasons than just
Niatho.  As of lately, she'd been having weird dreams just as he had 
been.  In one, she'd been standing on a cliff overlooking a calm, blue 
sea.  Longingly, she had stretched her arms towards the horizon and 
suddenly, felt electricity crackling in her fingertips.  Dark gray 
storm clouds rolled out of a clear sky and a harsh wind howled fiercly 
over the water.  The waves turned hungry, slamming into the cliff wall. 
 Thunder rolled over the sea and lightening flashed like sporatic 
dancers in the threatening sky.  Ghandra had felt powerful, strong, and 
intensely dangerous.  And she had liked it. 

Her sleep was haunted by dreams such as that one, and she knew what it
meant.  They meant she was coming into power, which was unheard of.  
Usually, only one per generation was gifted but it appeared as if her 
and Niatho both were.  Niatho had the dreams and made the mistake of 
telling their parents.  They, in turn, had told Mianutt.  He'd insisted 
that Niatho come with him for "religious training" and when he was 
through, Niatho was his for the controlling.  She wasn't going to make 
the same mistake. 

Hiarushia tried to ignore the screams wrenching from the temple room in
the back of the house.  Shudders wracked her frame, she knew what was 
going on.  Her father, Aryingo, was a leader of the Dariens.  It was a 
full moon tonight, which meant sacrifices.  They usually kidnapped 
three young women and tortured them all day then killed them at the 
stroke of midnight.  Her father desired to appease the gods of chaos so 
as to attain power to rule Goldabrol.  She prayed daily he never 
achieved his goal. 

Yet she was terrified of living there for much longer.  She was getting
the feeling that her father was being encouraged to use her as a 
sacrifice.  While she didn't know exactly what they did all day to 
their victims, she had a fairly good idea, and did not want to join 
them in their horror.  Also, she knew for a fact that her father was 
considering giving her to his right hand man, Shakto.  He was a nasty 
old man, older than her father, and he was one of the main monsters who 
joined in the sacrifices.  She would rather die than become his play 
thing. 

Her mother felt the same way and was doing her best to keep him from
giving his daughter to the beast.  So far, she had succeeded but she 
didn't have much faith in her abilities to keep Hiarushia safe.  Her 
mother was now trying to figure out a way to get her completely out of 
the danger zone.  Yet it was difficult to do so for she could not go to 
any of their friends.  Her father would find her and then it would be 
all over cause she tried to escape.  It was a very delicate situation 
and she was terrified. 

Another heartwrenching scream tore through the house and she gave out a
small cry of distress.  Blinking back tears of fear, she burrowed her 
head under her pillows but it did little to silence the shrieks that 
were the girls' last hours of life.  The tears began to slide unbidden 
and she sobbed helplessly into her pillows.  She had to escape, 
somehow, someway. 

He stood faithfully against the wall, holding a sacred candle, as the
higher priests prepared for the sky ceremony.  One day, he aspired to 
be one, but he was too young and only had limited power to be a high 
priest yet.  Danama had the ability to manipulate liquid but that was 
it.  However, he was recieving training from the sacred tome that gave 
Mianutt his powers. 

The high priests of the Zaluhutts took their places in a circle on the
floor, bowing their heads low.  Now, they would pray for holy purity, 
so that they may go before the gods of the heavens and present their 
sacrifices.  If they were cleansed, their sacrifices would be accepted 
and their requests granted.  If not, their sacrifices would be 
destroyed and their requests denied.  Of course, no one would know 
whether or not they were pure enough, for the sacrifices were presented 
individually in the sky temple at the top of Mt. Arushon. 

Mianutt sat at the head of the circle, his gray beard touching the
ground, his silver eyes closed in concentration.  One day, Danama 
desired to be as he was.  A powerful entity, a leader of the Zaluhutts. 
 Through his aid, young men and women came into power, families found 
salvation, and lost souls were soothed.  He was exactly the man Danama 
wanted to be.  The candlelight flickered in the cool chamber, casting 
shadows over the old men in the inner circle and the young men in the 
outer.  It was a holy sight, and he was honoured to be a part of it. 

Ayabel grunted as the baby in her womb gave a solid kick to her lower
ribs.  A smile touched her thin lips as she settled her hands upon her 
swelling belly.  Then sadness touched her eyes and she blinked back 
tears.  Liana rubbed her shoulders understandingly. 

Ayabel had been forced to take refuge when Mianutt had taken Niatho. 
There was no way she would allow him to take her child and Mianutt 
would try.  He might believe that the babe of Niatho would be even more 
powerful than it's father, and if so, he would do everything possible 
to gain the child.  Her only consolation was that Niatho and her had 
kept their love hidden and she believed he loved her enough not to 
betray their secret. 

The baby gave her another kick and she rubbed her moving belly
hopefully.  She loved the baby moving but sometimes, it made her ache.  
Only two more months to go and yet it seemed like an eternity until she 
held her unborn child.  The sweet babe, created out of love.  If only 
Mianutt had not got to Niatho, she wanted to share the joy of their 
baby with him.  But at the time, hers and baby's best hope was to stay 
hidden and as far away from Niatho as possible.  It broke her heart, 
and as she recieved yet another kick, she fought again to keep from 
crying.  It wasn't fair, she should have enjoyed her life with her 
loved ones, not live in fear of Niatho and his master.  Already, she 
knew what she had to do to ensure the future of her child and it tore 
her apart inside. 

"Chothal," Aya asked, her blonde hair falling over her delicate face,
"Why do we have to have stupid private tutors?  I never get to see 
anyone my age and they never teach anything interesting."  A laugh 
burst out of him.  How he loved his little sister though he did 
understand her frustrations. 

"Aya, why do you ask such silly questions?  You know there are people
out there who would hurt us to hurt father.  That's the price of power. 
 Anyway, other kids your age are just a bunch of annoying, sniveling 
babies.  You wouldn't want to hang out with them," she wrinkled her 
nose in disbelief at him, which only made him laugh again.  They were 
on their lunch break and she had just finished her government lesson.  
Once more, he could understand why she was bored in that class.  
Professor Harpei had an incredibly monotone voice and a habit of 
droning on and on about one particular subject for the entire two hours 
of his lesson.  So that and the fact the subject was already boring 
combined, made it difficult to stay awake. 

Suddenly a clatter in the main hall distracted them and a terrified
voice cried out, "I support him!  I support him, I do!  Please, don't 
kill me!" Aya and Chothal looked at each other with fear and curiousity 
mixed in their eyes. 

A raspy voice replied, "Don't lie, you've made your position all too
clear.  If you're lucky, you'll only die."  In response, there were 
blubbering sobs and please then the heavy thud of a door shutting, 
silenced the voices.  A chill swept through his body, he knew the owner 
of the crying voice had no chance.  His father was cruel and vicious, 
murdering all who opposed his rule.  However, as the raspy voice had 
pointed out, if he were lucky, he'd only die.  His father enjoyed 
torturing and experimenting upon his victims, not only inflicting 
suffering but generally, uncovering other opposers.  Chothal didn't 
support his father's methods in the least, but there was nothing he 
could do about it. 

His sister and him ate without speaking, unwilling to break the heavy
silence over the dining hall, each lost in their own thoughts.  Though 
the pleas for mercy were a regular occurance, the meaning was 
undiminished.  The poor fools faced an unspeakable hell in the bowels 
of the fortress. 

With deadly accuracy, her father let loose the arrow into the neck of
the beautiful, white deer.  Khaeyana and her father were hunting on Mt. 
Arushon.  Of course, such an act was forbidden by the Zaluhutts.  
However, they did not worhip the gods of the heavens.  Their faither 
was to Sykene, the huntress godess; Archel, the god of the forest; and 
Lastrel, the god of the animals. 

"What a beauty," her father whispered and she nodded her head.  Quietly,
they crept forward, still holding their silence in case any Zaluhutts 
were in the region.  Supposedly, a passive religious group, they were 
notorious for killing those they found on their sacred mountain.  It 
was the best hunting ground for miles around and so Khaeyana and her 
father hunted there, despite the risks. 

Suddenly, she put her hand on her father's arm.  Without a word, they
dropped into the brush at their feet.  Not too far away, the crunch of 
several sets of feet could be clearly heard. 

"This is the biggest waste of time," a ranctious voice made several
birds take off, cawing in rage, "Nobody is foolish enough to be on this 
mountain on the day of sacrifices."  Khaeyana held her breath as the 
soldiers crashed noisily through the woods only feet away from where 
they hid.  They were so close she could make out whether or not they 
shaved that morning. 

"Keep your voice down Raching, even if anyone is here, you'll alert them
to our presence," the older of three soldiers chided then blurted, 
"Will you look at that!"  Her heart dropped into her stomach for she 
could clearly see her father's arrow still quivering the deer's slender 
throat.  Certainly it was going to get bloody now. 

"Poor bugger, never even had a chance," Raching groaned sympathetically.
 Her hand was on the hilt of her blade, ready for action, should it 
come to that. 

"Welcome to the way of nature, now come on," with that, they moved on,
their voices fading as they got further away.  Relieved, they let out 
their breath, Khaeyana could now see the bird remains that had caught 
the eye of the soldiers.  That had been far too close of a call and she 
was looking forward to returning back to their home with their catch.


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