This is my first Fanfiction, and really my first book. It started as an English assignment to write a gothic novel (seeing as we were studying Frankenstein at the time), and has turned from a short story to a planned out, full on book. Reviews are welcome, seeing as I'm not perfect! (Disclaimer- This is my property, all ideas and all writing in this work are mine. Do not edit it, or in any way make money from it without my written consent. All rights reserved, © Carter Bruett)

Introduction

The sound of my racing pulse filled my head. Pumping a chorus of pain in time with the beating I was receiving from Ryan and his gang. They were relentless, despite the fact that I wasn't even awake, forget coherent. Ryan hated me, for some reason almost everyone did. Maybe it was my black hair that surrounded my face, or my tall figure, or how I walked, or talked. Maybe it was just me, but whatever it was, I was always getting jumped. There was only one person I actually trusted and cared about, and her name was Guinevere. Guinevere was my only friend, and I trusted her with all of my secrets. She was tall, and had pure brown hair. Her eyes were a vivid and deep green. She always reminded me a little bit of a tree.

After several painfully slow minutes, Ryan and his crew backed off, bored with their bruised meat. Reluctant to move I slowly opened my eyes. I wasn't too far from the street, and my little pool of blood looked like it was slowly making its way to the sidewalk. Lying very still, I waited for someone to notice the poor beaten up boy in the dark alley, but no one came. I opened my eyes to find an empty street with no cars passing by.

"Wonderful! Just perfect!" I groaned to myself. I attempted to sit up, but my arm gave way and I hit the ground with a thud.

"What? Who's there!" A gruff voice cried out, "I'm armed." Elated for a minute I let out the loudest noise I could make. Slowly a figure inched into view. A short and pudgy man appeared, let out a squeal, and ran to my side.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! You poor thing! Oh! You should be glad that I came along when I did! I'm a trained Doctor!"

I tried my best to smile, "Thank… You…" I barely could move my mouth.

The man replied, "Oh! It's not a problem! Really, I'll be right back with some muscle!" The man left with me lying there and once more I was alone.

It seemed like it took that Doctor hours to find some "muscle" but he did come back. They loaded me onto a stretcher, and put me in the ambulance.

"Hey, I know you!" one of the paramedics said, "We brought you in last week, right?"

I groaned, "Yeah… You probably did." The paramedic seemed almost happy to see me, "Well that means I know who to call, much less paperwork!" he said after a short pause. That was the last thing I remember before I felt a needle enter my arm.

The ambulance pulled into the hospital and I heard some shouting outside. Slightly dizzy from the medicine, I couldn't comprehend what was being said. Blacking out again, I woke up in a hospital bed. I stared at the ceiling for a couple minutes before I looked around. I saw a nurse in the corner.

"Hello?" I croaked.

"Oh! You're awake! You're awake! Your mother has been waiting for quite some time now!" She turned and rushed out of the room, and my mother rushed in.

"Oh! My baby! My bird! Oh! Oh! OH! How are you feeling? Are you alright? Oh! Don't worry just tell me the names of those nasty boys and I'll give them a fair piece of my mind! Oh!" My mother was as frantic as ever.

"Mom, I'm fine, really I am." As if on cue the doctor walked in.

"Better than fine actually. It looks like he'll make a full recovery." The doctor wasn't the same man as before, he held a darker complexion. His hair was short and well groomed, and his face was shiny. "This is the fourth time this month I've seen you in this state. Would you care to tell me how you always seem to find your way back?"

"I can't, he said he would hurt me, worse. He even threatened my family! I-"

"If it's happening to you, it might, or is, happening to someone else." He cut in, "To end this you must tell me."

And so I did.

The Dream

That was three months ago. Winter had come and the snow was beginning to fall once more. Needless to say I had survived my encounter with Ryan and his gang, and all the jumpings I had received since. My mom had enrolled me in a self-defense class, but I quickly dropped out. It was too much added work for me. It was late, and I had just finished my report on A Tale of Two Cities for English. Sufficiently exhausted, I decided that it was hopeless for tonight. I rushed the ending and figured I'd get at least a "C." Looking at my clock, I groaned. It read one in the morning. Forgetting about showering or brushing my teeth I fell onto my bed, and passed out.

I screamed as I hit the ground. Yet I felt no pain. I heard no sound. I saw nothing. Nothing but white, white that went on forever. I called out and got no answer. Standing up, I began to wander around, searching for a way out. After hours a door appeared. It was a simple door, no decoration, but it was made of a pitch-black substance. Looking around, more doors began to materialize, red, green, brown, blue, and much more. Confused I started to test the doorknobs. First, I tried the red door, but it was locked, same with the blue door. This continued until I got to the black door I had first discovered. I touched the handle, and it turned slowly, the door creaked as it opened, and on the other side, was a man.

The man was young, and yet he was old at the same time. His wisdom was obvious, and yet his dark complexion hid it. He was clothed in black fabric that seemed to lick at his ankles, and it seemed to call out to me…

The man spoke, "Are you Victor Shade?" he asked in a deep voice.

My voice was shaking as I replied, "Yes. I'm Victor, but who are you?"

Laughing, the man replied, "Come, let us go for a walk." I followed him in silence for a long time, I'm in a dream, right? What harm could it do? I thought to myself. Glancing around, I gazed at what seemed to be an endless landscape of night. The sky was dark, and the grasses that dotted the rocky path seemed black. I noticed a lake, and even what appeared to be a village, its lights twinkling, as if trying to escape the dark world they lived in. Finally the man spoke again, "This seems to be far enough, let us sit and I will explain everything."

"I am Cornelius Shanm, son of George Linguin, ruler of the shadow kingdom, and the crafter of the best cocoa this side of the ice realm, but more importantly; I am your great-grandfather." Something in his voice made me believe him. Maybe it was the tone, or maybe it was something deeper, a bond that I felt. I went numb. My mind raced to explain what I was hearing, far off in the distance, thunder sounded. My great-grandfather was dead! Or at least he should be. My mom always mentioned him, exclaiming her deep sadness from the loss after he disappeared during the war. I pondered this for several minutes, and then he resumed, "What I am about to tell you will confuse you in some way, but it will clear your life up. I am going to tell you a story, and it is a long one, but hopefully it will answer all of your questions. When the universe was created, eight beings emerged. They shaped this dimension and all of the others. They had no names and no identity but somehow knew what to do. Modern day scientists call them the elements. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Ice, Nature, Light" he paused, "and Shadow.

After they finished crafting the universe and what not, they went their separate ways. Each of them formed a tribe of sorts, crafting their ideal partner. Obviously they were very different, Nature's tribe being, well full of nature. I only know little bits here and there about the other tribes, but I am going to tell you the tale of our tribe. The Shadows. Shadow went to an area that he called 'Shamdgara' He spent much of his time trying to form and perfect a system of leadership to maintain order. Finally he settled on a pyramid type of order. The Gods at the top, ruling all; giving orders to three mages. These mages, or magic users, were strong, and everyone listened to what they said because they feared their wrath. After that, it was just six sub-rulers and then normal people, who formed their own order of sorts.

Shadow was the most powerful Deity, and the others knew it. They fought with each other, which is why Fire and Water don't mix well together, but they always stopped once Shadow intervened. You see, Shadow didn't want the universe they had created to crumble, so he always stopped the fighting before they killed each other, but making sure that there was a clear winner and loser.

Each tribe had a style of fighting they preferred, and Shadow loved magic. He made sure that our army was made up of nothing but mages. He believed that magic was the most versatile form of fighting, 'From magic came everything, even us!' he used to say.

Every year on Nuesto 72nd, the equivalent of January 22nd, all of the Gods and Goddesses met at Mount Evarsky to discuss the state of the universe, and make changes accordingly. One year they decided they needed a seal for each tribe, as a way to tell who was a part of what tribe. You can't see it unless you know it exists and you try to see it, or when you use magic or you elemental gifts. Some tribes have their marks as permanent scars or birthmarks, but every tribe has one. Normal humans can only sense the magic, and they fear that feeling, which is why they dislike you, but as I have been speaking, yours should be illuminating just about now."

I looked down to my palm and saw a peculiar and almost indescribable symbol. The symbol was pure black and very crisp, and was made of triangles. One large one in the middle, and three smaller ones along each of its tips, using the larger one's lines for its sides. It didn't take long before it shimmered and faded out.

"Are there more? More Shadow Mages?" I asked.

"No, a long time ago the Gods and Goddesses met and decided that any number of higher warriors over two, because all tribes has at least one, was too much, and ever since then, only one higher warrior has been discovered, but in times of great crisis, three is said to still be possible."

"What happens if another is found, outside of a time of crisis?"

"They kill them. You must understand, the Gods and Goddesses are ruthless, they care about almost nothing except law, and the universe. Murder is a daily part of each and every one of their lives. We, as followers of Shadow must do our duty no matter what it is."

"If only one Shadow Mage is allowed, how is it you are alive?"

"Well, I'm not exactly a Shadow Mage as of this point, when you were informed of you role in the universe, I lost my powers, I already feel drained." I was still skeptical, how could this be? I asked myself, This makes no sense. It began to rain and I somehow tripped while I was walking forward and landed in the mud. The more I thought about it the more my mind became confused. I tried to stand up but fell down into the slippery mass. The rain got more violent and I could hear thunder and see lightning. I lay there for several minutes before I spoke again.

"If normal humans can't stand the elementals, why is Guinevere so kind to me?" He winked as the world begin to spin.

"One last word of advice… stay out of hospitals." His words faded out and as the world disappeared a black foggy shape with two seemingly empty eye sockets. The thing grinned revealing rows of pointed teeth and spoke, if even that, one word, 'Welcome.'