Filling the Blanks; Introduction
(Well, this is going to be fun! Oh, and just so you know, all characters except for my own OC's belong to Kenkou Cross, the sunova guy who drew, wrote so much and inspired me to pull off my very first story. Naturally, reviews are always welcome!)
Sharaan ducked behind the few rocks that the mountain range he was standing on offered, hoping that whoever or whatever was making these strange noises was not heading his way. Luck was not on his side though, and the sound, which now he could clearly identify as roars, seemed to be inching closer and closer to him as seconds seemed to turn into minutes, to hours.
"Come on Sharaan, you've been through worse…a little tiger or lion is not going to be the last thing you'll see…" He thought, but then, everything stopped. Every sound the mountain was making, it had become muted, as if there was nothing happening on it at all. Silence had fallen on the entire mountain, and even the wind became calmer. Though some humans would take this as a sign of impending danger, Sharaan was quite comfortable with that feeling. In fact, he actually enjoyed the calm atmosphere that had abruptly invaded the mountain.
He decided it was time to find out who was roaring like this. It was unlike anything he had ever heard of. While it had the tone of a wild animal, he could just make out a faint female voice crying out for something. He peeked over the rocks covering him, only to find…nothing. Only smaller rocks rolling down the mountain and gusts of wind that made clear that the mountain side was not the friendliest of places to be on right now. "Damn it," he said to himself, "another wasted opportunity…"
He expected at the very least, something to pounce on him, but instead, he was actually disappointed to see nothing there in the first place. He knew there was nothing else he could do, so he started climbing down the mountain, slowly but surely, back towards the Western Kingdom. On the way, he could not think of anything but what his friends were doing…what they were finding for him, putting their lives at risk for his own sake. He then started to think of how it just all began…
2 years ago...
"Why did it have to be me this time…?" Shaaran always questioned his father's acts, but he was not the one to judge him. However, this was the last thing he had expected from him. Sending him on a trip to Glasiron was the least he could think of, considering he was the youngest of the family. Rupert was more fit for this kind of treks, but Shaaran did not put the blame on anyone. The only thing he could do now is walk forward and pray for the best. Those metals were not going to come all the way to Eribank all by themselves.
Shaaran's family owned a blacksmith in the small, peaceful town of Eribank, a town known across the kingdom for it's skilled craftsmasters and blacksmiths. The town's swords, armor, and paintings were always forged and painted with skill and devotion, and always fetched quite high prices in markets all over the Kingdom. But, the materials used for those kinds of work were not found anywhere near the small town. They were either imported from various parts of the Kingdom, or sometimes even from outside the country.
However, the crafters of these works of art were a bit suspicious of the materials brought in from all these parts of the world, so they adopted another, more sure and effective tactic. They sent young people from their village to look over every inch of the kingdom to find the perfect materials for them. Before long, it had become a lasting tradition of the town's families, to send their young on these journeys as both a way of exploring the kingdom, as well as for the family's own livelihood.
On the other hand, Glasiron, Shaaran's destination, was a real trading town. The town's citizens were praised for their working attitude, and so did what they produced. Quarries dug inside the nearby mountains extracted all kinds of ores, and farms were always at working capacity. The materials from this small town on the coast of Larorema, the kingdom dominating the south of the continent, were valuable, hard to break, and always pure. Most blacksmiths across Larorema received the materials they needed from this town, from trustworthy people. Eribank was no different. However, instead of the materials being delivered to them, as said previously, they enjoyed taking them themselves.
Shaaran could see the small outposts set at the entrance of Glasiron. He let out a sigh of relief, knowing his journey to this town had come to a close. All he had to do now was to find his father's supplier, give him the money and take the metals his family needed. Then, it would be the same trek all over again…the same, boring journey. Except for one, small thing he did not take into account at first...
The city of Starrynesse was the last thing he had to pass through to get back to Eribank after he got what he needed. Starrynesse was the last thing he also wanted to see himself in. It was a peaceful town, with lots of taverns and grand markets at its heart. But the key word here is WAS. Recently, crime has been rising inside Starrynesse, and that was what made Sharaan weary. He did not want to lose an ounce of anything of him, not to a lowly thief or anything like it. But the only possible route to Eribank from where he was standing now was Marshmill forest. But Sharaan was not at ease with that either. There had been rumors of monsters inside Marshmill, but he, at first, despised them as myths. But worry was not something he was good at understanding, and he had to consider his chances. He finally decided that Marshmill had won his curiosity, and he started walking towards there. But then, he remembered the exact words of the rumors. They spoke of elves and the occasional centaur roaming through the forest. He felt a little bit at ease, knowing that at least, if he did nothing that attracted attention, he would come out of the forest untouched. But then, there was the possibility of those being just rumors. However, Shaaran did not want to take his chances on that, and continued on, always checking around him to see if there was anything following him…
(Phew, now that's a good introduction, for a rookie! As before, reviews are welcome, and of course, let me know if I should continue and expand on this!)
