Soul Force

by Mamanator

Follow the early training years of a handful of new Maesters and Weapons as they learn how to wield and hone their craft. This story will be told in four parts. Book One will focus on the Soul Battle and then be followed up with three more books heading towards the final conflict. Rated T for language and mild violence.

1. Prologue I

SOUL FORCE

Prologue

I

The desert's red sand flooring was pristine. Its untouched acreage sprawled out for miles in all directions, broken only by the low lying greenery and brush which dotted the landscape and served as homes to hordes of desert dwelling creations. The tallest of these nature-made abodes stood no more than four feet above the ground. These pygmae yuccas stood proud among its neighboring brush with its bright green leaves prickling outward from each branch. Their flowers had long since bloomed and died but the dwarf trees continued to reach beneath the soil, spreading their roots far and wide, taking footing and remaining strong against the elements in which they grew. Here those animals with flight take refuge from those that slither and lie in wait on the dusty floor below.

In the distance a cloud of dust emerges from nowhere announcing the approach of something as of yet unseen by the inhabitants. They can feel the earth quake beneath them and feel the ever so slight change in the air around and above them. Something is coming. Something fast.

The wisest of the creatures take wing and those that can't take refuge beneath the sage or within the hollowed out ruts of low lying cacti and the yucca. They don't yet know the nature of what approaches but their senses begin to first tingle then scream at them to flee. Those that can… do. Those that can't use their cleverly designed camouflage provided by nature and try to make themselves as small targets as possible while they make themselves still as stone.

The black-tailed jack rabbit scuttles both here and there towards its burrow, zig-zagging across the dusty bed of the desert in a feeble attempt to outwit whatever manner of creature was encroaching on their docile territory. With its peaceful and mostly well hidden burrow hole in sight, the animal sprints quickly towards the welcoming front door. Its sprint was without success as the unseen and unheard arrow sped its way towards the beautiful animal's demise, piercing it below the left ear and came jutting out in front of the right. The animal was dead before it came to a stop just mere inches from safety.

Never breaking pace, the sun-kissed beige charger deftly strode aside the fresh kill, aptly missing the hide with its thunderous hooves, allowing its mount to scoop the prey up with the sharpened tip of its long bow. Quickly they continued on their way toward an unseen destination.