The Only Road
by D (Insomniac Writer D)
Copyright © 2002
Disclaimer: Well, at first I had not needed one of these, until Legolas, D, and Inu-Yasha suddenly decided they wanted in this novel too. Erg. Silly creatures. Regardless, I'm going to allow them in, but I don't own 'em, so don't sue me! And expect a surprise or two! :-)
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Prologue: The Myth
It was once said that destiny was written out for every living creature in the universe. That no matter how aware of this they might be, no matter how hard they try to fight it, this is the way it is, was, and always will be.
To be brief, this person did not live much longer.
There is a lesson... No, a legend... Ah, a myth? It is hard to tell now. No one really believes in it anymore. After all... How can there be only one road in the entire world?
~*~
Chapter One: The Road Least Traveled
"I'm telling you, this is a bad idea," Jacen muttered to his companion as they rode horseback through the snowy forest. He looked warily toward the fool moon which was bathing the forest in its silvery embrace. To say the least, it was also creeping the hell of the young elfin hunter.
Kendhal sighed. 'How did I get stuck with such an incompetent fool as this?' he thought to himself. Kendhal was a master hunter from the valley. He was the most experienced elf with a bow, though he lacked somewhat with the sword. But this...idiot Jacen. He could barely lift a sword an inch off the ground, and failed miserably at firing an arrow even remotely toward the target.
'Perhaps Jacen is right,' he mused silently. 'This may indeed be a bad idea. How many horses has he killed this month with a stray arrow? Too many to count...' Kendhal scanned the area with sapphire blue eyes, taking in every slight detail.
His ears perked at the sound of nearby civilization. Humans, by the sound of it. He frowned in distaste. Thanks to humans, the elves were struggling to protect the realms from unspeakable evil as their numbers diminished after humans raided their lands, killing thousands. Didn't the stupid creatures understand that they were trying to protect them?
"Come. We must leave this place," he said quietly, urging the horse down another road, away from the sound of the humans. He glanced back toward the highly-confused Jacen and shrugged indifferently. Let the boy go to the human settlement. No doubt they would kill him. If they did, it would be one less thing for Kendhal to worry about.
Jacen paused uncertainly at the intersections of the roads. He knew these forests extremely well, but the road Kendhal has just turned down... It could not possibly exist, could it? It had not been there yester--of course it had. It had always been there. And it always will be. What foolishness was he thinking?
Still, something felt very wrong about that road. He could not place it, but it as a feeling he did not like. He turned toward the human settlement and decided to take his chances with punishment from the King of Elves for leaving his master than follow Kendhal down that mysterious path.
He looked back toward where Kendhal had rode, only to find densely packed, snow-covered trees and undergrowth of the forest. No sign of a road... Or Kendhal, for that matter... Uh-oh...
~*~
Chapter Two: Are We There Yet?
Kendhal looked around slowly. Jacen had been behind him just a moment ago. He restrung his bow. Being alone in a forest on an unfamiliar road at night usually meant trouble would seek you out. Better to be prepared than to be dead.
"Jacen, you fool. Where did you disappear to?" he muttered under his breath as he drew an arrow from the quiver strapped to his back.
He normally would not be concerned with being separated from his apprentice. Normally, he would deliberately try to get separated and hope something very bad would happen to the elfin boy who was worth nothing to the kingdom. But something about this road did not feel right.
The forest on either side of the road had changed. His biggest hint to this fact was that the ankle deep blanket of snow was suddenly gone, and that it now appeared to be mid-summer. Another clue was the fact that instead of being early morning, it was now a few hours from night fall.
"AAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!" came the cry from somewhere in the undergrowth.
******************************************************************
Current Word Count: 767 out of 50,000. (Day 5)
Thanks for reading! Please review now! I love to know what people think of my work! :-)
by D (Insomniac Writer D)
Copyright © 2002
Disclaimer: Well, at first I had not needed one of these, until Legolas, D, and Inu-Yasha suddenly decided they wanted in this novel too. Erg. Silly creatures. Regardless, I'm going to allow them in, but I don't own 'em, so don't sue me! And expect a surprise or two! :-)
************************************************************************
Prologue: The Myth
It was once said that destiny was written out for every living creature in the universe. That no matter how aware of this they might be, no matter how hard they try to fight it, this is the way it is, was, and always will be.
To be brief, this person did not live much longer.
There is a lesson... No, a legend... Ah, a myth? It is hard to tell now. No one really believes in it anymore. After all... How can there be only one road in the entire world?
~*~
Chapter One: The Road Least Traveled
"I'm telling you, this is a bad idea," Jacen muttered to his companion as they rode horseback through the snowy forest. He looked warily toward the fool moon which was bathing the forest in its silvery embrace. To say the least, it was also creeping the hell of the young elfin hunter.
Kendhal sighed. 'How did I get stuck with such an incompetent fool as this?' he thought to himself. Kendhal was a master hunter from the valley. He was the most experienced elf with a bow, though he lacked somewhat with the sword. But this...idiot Jacen. He could barely lift a sword an inch off the ground, and failed miserably at firing an arrow even remotely toward the target.
'Perhaps Jacen is right,' he mused silently. 'This may indeed be a bad idea. How many horses has he killed this month with a stray arrow? Too many to count...' Kendhal scanned the area with sapphire blue eyes, taking in every slight detail.
His ears perked at the sound of nearby civilization. Humans, by the sound of it. He frowned in distaste. Thanks to humans, the elves were struggling to protect the realms from unspeakable evil as their numbers diminished after humans raided their lands, killing thousands. Didn't the stupid creatures understand that they were trying to protect them?
"Come. We must leave this place," he said quietly, urging the horse down another road, away from the sound of the humans. He glanced back toward the highly-confused Jacen and shrugged indifferently. Let the boy go to the human settlement. No doubt they would kill him. If they did, it would be one less thing for Kendhal to worry about.
Jacen paused uncertainly at the intersections of the roads. He knew these forests extremely well, but the road Kendhal has just turned down... It could not possibly exist, could it? It had not been there yester--of course it had. It had always been there. And it always will be. What foolishness was he thinking?
Still, something felt very wrong about that road. He could not place it, but it as a feeling he did not like. He turned toward the human settlement and decided to take his chances with punishment from the King of Elves for leaving his master than follow Kendhal down that mysterious path.
He looked back toward where Kendhal had rode, only to find densely packed, snow-covered trees and undergrowth of the forest. No sign of a road... Or Kendhal, for that matter... Uh-oh...
~*~
Chapter Two: Are We There Yet?
Kendhal looked around slowly. Jacen had been behind him just a moment ago. He restrung his bow. Being alone in a forest on an unfamiliar road at night usually meant trouble would seek you out. Better to be prepared than to be dead.
"Jacen, you fool. Where did you disappear to?" he muttered under his breath as he drew an arrow from the quiver strapped to his back.
He normally would not be concerned with being separated from his apprentice. Normally, he would deliberately try to get separated and hope something very bad would happen to the elfin boy who was worth nothing to the kingdom. But something about this road did not feel right.
The forest on either side of the road had changed. His biggest hint to this fact was that the ankle deep blanket of snow was suddenly gone, and that it now appeared to be mid-summer. Another clue was the fact that instead of being early morning, it was now a few hours from night fall.
"AAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!" came the cry from somewhere in the undergrowth.
******************************************************************
Current Word Count: 767 out of 50,000. (Day 5)
Thanks for reading! Please review now! I love to know what people think of my work! :-)