Ameliorate - A Web Novel

[valegarath]

Ameliorate - Chapter III

We are not, nor have we ever been alive. We are a thing. A weapon. Adamantium is our flesh and lightning our blood. We were created under the watchful eyes of the Master Tinkerers of Man. Long hours being slowly pieced together before we were given our first instruction. “Kill,” was all this order was. A humanoid, of unknown name and race. We simply was told that he would be like us. So naturally, we assumed our target would be a Shadow Walker, a man made machine weapon. How wrong we were. It wasn’t until we came across an empty journal that we began to question the righteousness of our creators. “We threw ourselves to the emptiness of space, in hopes that we could live a normal life.” That statement creates a chasm in our thinking, for we alone know the truth. How this world and her people came to be.

The Journal of Grey-Forth

Chapter One “Trevaanan, I think it was.” “Trevaanan,” we think to ourselves. This is the name of the person we seek. While this information is of no great importance, it is a start in tracking him down. We hand a few pieces of silver over to bar owner before departing the establishment, which had the smell of hard alcohol. We step onto the dark, smooth stone roadway that covered most of the vast city we were in. “Hexanine,” we think. It has a nice ring to it. A grand city mostly inhabited by Humans and a small mix of Elves and Dwarves. Its stone buildings tower above the surrounding forests and rolling hills. It is well laid out, for such a large city that began so small. We need to make our way to a small village not far from here. Humans rarely risk going there and even fewer constructs survive the trek. For that land is inhabited by the Elishire. A proud and almost immortal species of supreme power. There are also several High Elf outposts near the small area the Elishire call home. But a darkness stirs in our homelands. The race of Man seeks war, dominion over all. A purity, we think, is what they truly seek. We decide to wait for the war to break loose before we make the several day long trek to one of the most remote villages of the Elishire, Lost Bastion. There is a forest nearby, should the people flee, where we pray they can find refuge. A few bandits bother us along the way, but nothing that provides us with any sort of difficulty. They must see a lone person walking, completely robed, and assume that they are easy prey. How quickly they learn. The village of Lost Bastion is in flames upon our arrival. Not much of note, other than the intricate stonework being consumed by the unnatural flames born of mages. What little wood remains is unsalvageable.   Not a single person is to be found, until four soldiers come looking for a fight. They were likely coming in to take care of any remaining citizens. One soldier attacks without a plan, running us through with his short sword. His celebration is cut short when we run him through with our bare hands, lingering long enough to squeeze any life from his Human heart. The other three soldiers flee into the forest. We decide against giving chase. For now. Half a day later, after a short power down period midst the flames, and finalizing our scouting of the burning city, we proceed into the forest not too far from here. The forest seems so peaceful compared to the furnace we had just departed from. Happily singing, the birds flutter above us. A darkness looms here however. The trees whisper among each other speaking tales of woe. The smoke is still thick in the air even as the burning city grows further and further away. It is not long until we come across the three soldiers that fled from us. Two of their corpses show signs of magic. The other had simply been stabbed to death. And yet, one remains. Just before putting him out of his misery with a swift strike to the head, our gaze wanders in the direction of his pointing. In the distance, we see a small, yet well constructed village situated in the tree tops. We see movement up ahead, and we find cover. Fate smiles upon us, for approaching the soldiers are two Elves and what appears to be a Human. But that isn’t quite right. In fact, it is the man we have been seeking for the last while. “Trevaanan,” we say with a smile.

[valegarath]

Ameliorate - Chapter II

The Journal of Trevaanan

Chapter Two

The forest provides me with most of what I need on my trek. I am searching for a village out this way. It is a treetop town inhabited by elves. I do not know its exact location, but it should be around here somewhere. A twig suddenly snaps behind me. “Move and you’re dead,” She says in Common tongue. “What brings you here?” “I’m afraid it isn’t my strong suit,” I reply in Al’isht. I recognize the language as Common, but as an Elishirian I do not speak much of it. “Come.” She grabs me by the wrist and pulls me along. “Where are we going?” I whisper as she drags me along. “Where?” I ask in Common. She points straight up, where I see a small collection of houses secured to the trees. As soon as her arm lowers she looks behind us, stopping dead in her tracks. A small band of soldiers were behind us, quickly gaining on us. “Go,” I say in Common, drawing my blades. While I might have little hand-to-hand combat experience, I did have some. One of the three soldiers points at us and draws a sword. The other two follow suit. A staff materializes in her hands and she steps beside me. The woman with me begins to chant. The soldiers charge, one making it to me just before the other two. My dagger quickly pierces his armor, and makes a deep incision along his stomach. That soldier falls to the ground before the other two even reach me. The next one takes a swing with his sword and misses me entirely. The other soldier thrusts with his longsword, I parry and nearly disarm the man. My dirk is blocked by the one soldier. The other is thrown to the ground by the magic missile my companion was casting and ceases to move. “Two against one. You might want to quit while you’re alive.” My ally says in Common. Enraged, the man charges her. She begins chanting once again as I intercept him. My dagger shatters against his shield and my dirk is stopped dead in its tracks by his chain mail. Staggered, he swings his blade missing my companion completely. I drop my dagger’s hilt as my dirk finds a sweet spot in his armor and the mage beside me finishes her incantation, quickly starting over. While the soldier manages to get his shield up to block, he is greatly weakened. The force knocks him back several steps. He quickly regains his balance as I charge him. My bloody dirk glances off his raised shield. With my now free hand, I tear his shield from his arm, tossing it to the side. He makes a slow swing with his blade, barely having the energy to stand. My ally finishes her spell, and finishes what little strength the man has left. Breathing heavily, I grab the hilt of my dagger and clean off my dirk. She grabs my hand and breaks into a sprint, likely fearing there were more on their way. The woman takes me high into the treetops, where her village is located. “It might be safe here for now,” I hope as she leads me to a large, yet humble home. She takes me to a central room, and brings me a chair. The woman says something in Common that I do not understand, but I infer she wants me to wait here. A man walks into the room, with the woman just behind him. “Trevaanan?” The man looks honestly surprised. I too am shocked. I cannot believe my eyes. The elf that stands before me is a person I have not seen in many a years. “Master Aelar. It has been far too long,” I extend my hand. “Elder, actually,” he says as he gently bats my hand away and embraces me. “It has been far, far too long,” he says, stepping back. “What troubles you?” “Aelar, the world of man seeks our lands. There are three soldiers down there.” “Alive, so we can question them, no doubt,” he smiles. I exchange a look with the woman standing behind him. “Ah! Forgive my rudeness, this is my sister, Thia.” Aelar steps aside, and gestures to the mage behind him. “We’ve… met. We’ve also killed three guards in the short time since then.” “Ah. Well. Come, we have much to discuss.” The three of us step out onto the rickety bridges that connect the buildings so high above the ground. “Where to begin,” he looks down. “Where indeed?”

(That’s chapter two folks! See you next time.)

[valegarath]

Ameliorate - Chapter I

[“We threw ourselves to the emptiness of space, in hopes that we could live a normal life.” Was all it said when I first happened upon that journal.

Now, there is nothing in it. A single blank page is all that is contained within this intricate leather-bound cover.

Naturally I was, and still am, curious about the book.

All attempts to write in it have failed. I can pen all I want on it, but the ink simply runs off.

But still, something tells me I should. No, I must keep it with me at all times.

It was not until my first day as an apprentice that everything would change…]

The Journal of Trevaanan

Chapter One

My name is Trevaanan. I am one hundred and seventy two years of age as of today. I have been assigned the life of a creator and today is the first day of work as an apprentice, under Master Yuoson. I have yet to meet this man though I am as prepared as I can be.

I found this journal in my father’s old house, and it seemed all the pages, save one, were torn out. The remaining page was blank when I first found it except for the words, “We threw ourselves to the emptiness of space, in hopes that we could live a normal life,” written in sub speak. These words quickly faded from the pages, forever ingrained in my mind.

After my first day of learning the expectations as an apprentice, I return home and once more attempt to pen words upon these pages, to no success. The ink simply rolls off. But several days into my training upon the completion of my first trinket, this journal I carry with me everywhere finally begins to reveal its true nature.

Several pages had appeared while I was working. I question whether a person has played some sort of cruel trick on me, and as I do so, words begin to write themselves; pages begin to appear in the journal. They detail the simple events of the day for the first few pages. But the more I work away at my apprenticeship, the more pages that are added. Pages that detail the races of Ameli, maps of the world as well as other bizarre and wonderful information begin to fill the book. It quickly becomes a repository of all the knowledge I have accumulated.

“A simple spell, really,” I think to myself. “I should be able to do this, manipulate the pages with my mind.”

But the best I can manage is to link this journal to my subconsciousness. In by doing so, I know everything that lies within these pages. It was almost as though I had a perfected memory, as some Elishirians have.

One day, I come across a large number of pages which perplexed me. It appears to be a very complicated version of a game I used to play as a child. Abilities, skills, stat points, what was in my pack, how much money, and various other things I had were laid out in front of me. While most of it was still blank, I decided to keep an eye on what was not.

Surely enough, as I create more trinkets, more and more things begin to appear. Where yesterday the word ‘Crafter’ sat alone under the heading ‘Creation’ with the number nineteen beside it, now sits the number twenty, along with two new words, ‘Jeweler’ and ‘Boneworker’.

I proceed to inquire with the Elder about this journal I have found.

He tells me plainly, it is a record of all that I have done and all that I am. The more things I accomplish, the more  pages will be added. He assures me that the book would weigh no more than it does now, nor will it take up much more room in by pack.

My father carried it and my grandfather before him. “Think of it as a very complicated, and very real, version of that game you used to love,” the Elder tells me. He gives me a run down of the basic functions of the journal from increasing my skills beyond that of a normal creature, to tracking information that could be important.

“You must never lose this,” he cautions. “To do so, would spell disaster for you and potentially all of the creatures of Ameli. Only us, the Elishire, can handle the powers contained within.”

Several days later, the armies of the human race invade our lands. I am forced to flee the village, heading deep into the woods with little training and even less equipment. All I have are my blades, my tools, a few small pouches, and a few silver pieces.

(Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Sorry for the lateness of this post. Leave any comments you want and I’ll post back as quick as I can. Look forward to Wednesday, when I can post the next chapter!) 

[valegarath]

A Little Writing Project

(Well, I have been working on something a fair bit over the past little while, and now that work has finished, I’d ideally like to occupy my time with something productive.

That something, is a writing project. Now, I do post a lot of my novels online, on a few sites, but I want to try something a wee bit different. I’d like to start writing a web novel. 

Thinking a chapter every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If I find that’s too hard, I’ll drop a day, and likely do Tuesday/Thursday. If I find I still have lots of time, I can simply up the number of days, but I’ll likely never go over Monday to Friday updates.

As for the concept, you’ll have to stay tuned in. 

I’ll let you know in on a few formatting details, however. 

Number one, my use of bracketing. No brackets are the records of the journal, which will make more sense come Monday. () are my personal notes on the story, explaining this or that, or making some concluding/opening statements. Lastly, [] implies anything else. Things that are neither myself talking, or direct reading of the journal.

Number two, it will be a first person high fantasy story.  

And thirdly, I have a handy set of dice here, for combat, and a fair number of decisions. What does this mean? Don’t get attached - I might end up killing my main character in his first fight. I don’t know what will happen too far in the future. That is for the dice to decide. 

That being said, I will go back and prepare chapter one, edit it, peer edit it, and have it all polished and ready for Monday. Maybe even do chapter two. If I get that done tonight, or rather this morning, I will continue working on lore, characters, and other background things.  Until then, fare thee well.

~Valegarath)