NaNoWriMo

I know it's been a long time since my last post, but I have an excuse.  I decided to join in the fun at NaNoWriMo.  

The acronym stands for National Novel Writing Month.  It's basically a challenge to write a novel of 50000 words in one month's time.  Everyone starts at 1 November, with no writing done before that, and then you can update your wordcount as you progress.  

The daily word count that you should get to is about 1666 words.  I thought it would be easy, but I'm already behind.  I have every intention of catching up, but it might take a while.

So, basically, I don't have time to write any short stories really, since I spend all my time writing my short novel.

Here's a link to my page there: http://www.nanowrimo.org///eng/user/529066

The event is every year, so if you don't have a good excuse, make sure you sign up next year.  Also, if you have the money, you can make tax-deductible donation to their cause. 

That's all.

Fiction : Walking Alone

Being alone was something that Kilan had been used to. In his younger days, there was never any friends to speak of, and his family hadn't cared what he did or what happened to him.

“Come on,” Hithal said.

The young man speaking to him was Kilan's newest colleague. They were assigned to do this task together. Apparently it was impossible to do alone.

“I'm coming.”

The two men jogged over the dusty street and came to the high wall surrounding the small mansion they were to infiltrate. The moonlight was bright enough for Kilan to make out small cracks and imperfections in the wall. Equipped with hand claws, to make the climbing easier, the two partners proceeded to scale the tall barrier.

It was never part of Kilan's life plan to be illegally entering people's homes and climbing walls to achieve this, but he needed the money. He actually hated the idea of being put in such a dangerous position. Mostly, Kilan had avoided danger, but now he was walking directly into it.

After a few seconds, Kilan and Hithal landed on the soft grass on the other side. The sheer size and beauty of the garden not only astounded, but also disgusted Kilan. Such a waste of precious resources and time to create these overly vast yards.

“The window is over here. You go around to the dogs. You know what to do,” Hithal whispered.

Kilan nodded and split away from their meeting. The plan had been thoroughly explained to him beforehand. The boss had said that there was only two ways that the night could end for Kilan : Success, or death. Since he didn't want the latter, Kilan hurried to his designated spot.

The rather useless dogs lay in their kennels, and had seemingly not heard the two intruders. Kilan crept closer and hid behind a large square cut bush. He lifted his hand and checked his watch. The seconds counted by, every one bringing him closer to the time they had agreed upon. Hithal would now be on his way to the window, getting ready to break it.

Fiction : Last Stand

The war was at last upon them. Fires ravaged the lands while swords cut down the people. Jial stood atop the lookout tower, gazing across the vast landscape. The sky was tinted orange, mixing with the blazing yellow light of the noon sun. Jial steadied himself against the railing when a sudden squall swept across the lands.

Finally, movement caught his eye. Thousands of black dots appeared over the horizon. Jial drew a deep breath. He could feel his heart beating furiously in his chest. The time was here.

“They're coming!” he called, turning around.

In front of him stood the last human army. Dressed in crimson and blue, the soldiers stood in perfect rows. They had long been preparing for this. It was a battle that was inevitable.

“We stand here today. On this glorious day, the sun blesses us with it's burning embrace. We all know what we face. We know the odds. This is our last day. Our final act. Let us make it a good one. Let the humans be remembered this day. Not for our loss, but for our fighting spirit. We will die today. But we will not give in. We will fight! They will strike us down, but by all that is holy, we will take them with us!” Jial paused a moment. Then he raised his hands. “To arms!”

A huge roar erupted from the human army. Jial smiled. The human spirit would explode in a glorious symbol before it was laid to rest.

Jial turned back. The enemy was almost upon them. He slid down the ladder and stood with the rest of the army. They watched as the huge wooden gates began to shake. Jial drew his sword.

 Then the gates burst open.

Fiction - The Exchange

A musty scent hung in the air. Slivers of light filtered in through breaks in the boards that covered the windows. A single table, flanked by two identical chairs, stood in the middle of the room. A thick layer of dust covered every flat space.

Michael tread carefully into the house. His gaze scanned the room, halting on the portrait that was hanging on the wall. He walked over to it, inspecting the golden frame. He wondered who the woman in the picture was. Time had eaten away at the paper, leaving the woman nearly unidentifiable. Michael easily identified the frame as early eighteenth century, judging it by the design and the damage that nature had caused it.

The door creaked behind Michael, causing him to turn around. Light blinded him for a second, and only when the door slammed shut could he finally see who had arrived.

Jeremy nodded at him half-heartedly. Michael stepped forward, holding out his hand. He had been waiting for some time to meet this man.

“How're you doin'?” Jeremy asked. His joints creaked as he sat down.

“Good, good. It is an absolute honour to-”

“I know. Now get on with it.”

“Right. I have the treasure here,” Michael said, groping around in his jacket pocket.

“You know, my grandpa used to live in a shack, just like this one. All dusty and old. I'd not be surprised if this is it.”

Michael continued searching until he finally pulled out a black stone.

“Ah, here it is. I was told you'd have the money?”

“We'd go huntin' in the winters, camping out in this lil' place. It was the only time I really got to spend with 'im.”

“Right. Do you have the money with you?”

“Money? Oh, yes.” Jeremy searched a bit and revealed a small silver case. “My old lady gave this to me. She said I should always keep my most valued treasure in here.”

 “You can keep the case, if that's what you're worried about.” Micheal quickly weighed the case in his mind, taking the possible materials into consideration. “Probably not worth much anyway.”

Fiction : Pain

Keinon looked upon the blood that covered his hands. She was dead. He couldn't save her. Suia lay on the ground before him. There were deep burns and perfect cuts over her body. This was clearly the work of a wizard. Keinon looked up.

In front of him, the guilty one stood, as if nothing had happened. Anger boiled from within Keinon.

“How could you do this, Letzner?” he yelled.

Letzner simply grinned. He could never be forgiven.

“Why?” Keinon screamed.

“She was poisoning your mind, my friend,” Letzner replied calmly, tapping his forefinger against his temple.

How could his only friend do this to him? Why? Suia was the only reason why Keinon woke up in the morning. His broken life was mended when she came into his life. She was everything. Now she was gone. There was nothing more to live for.

Keinon screamed, for his loss, for his anger. Fires erupted from his hands as he summoned the magic. He had only one goal. Even if he lost his life, he would fight. He would kill Letzner.

Fiction : Eternal

The pain in Dan's right hand was starting to become unbearable. It had happened a lot in the past, but never this severe. Perhaps it was close to completely breaking the seal.

Without the mage here, he couldn't recast the seal to ensure its strength. A feeling of regret entered his mind. He should have had the seal recast from the moment he began suspecting. Now it could very well be too late.

The pain burst into his hand at such a high intensity that his hand became numb. The pain spread further until his whole right arm was engulfed in a flurry of tiny stabbings. As he started to lose feeling in his arm, he tried his best not to cry out in pain. There were already a few people looking at him suspiciously as he grunted every now and then.

“Keep it down!” an angry man called. The opera in the background was so loud that a few grunts couldn't possibly drown it out, but Dan nodded anyway, trying his best to stay silent.

His entire right arm was numb now. Slowly, pain returned, but only on a few places on his arm in thin lines. It was the seal that was cracking.

Dan stood up and started to jog out of the room, pulling up his sleeve as he went. Angry red lines were spreading across his skin. It seemed as if his arm was cracking open. Dan knew he only had a few seconds to spare. He made a dash for the window.

But it was too late. Everything broke at once. Windows shattered and glasses exploded. Drapes and tablecloths set aflame and the people fell to their knees.

There was no escape now. They would all die. If only he had resealed it earlier.

The roar echoed throughout the city, reverberating every window of every house. The city had only a few seconds to ponder about the cause before it was engulfed in eternal flames.