ShadowBlood

[powerent]

This is my second story that I'm going to try and finish, and I may need some characters later on. Please don't say the story is shrouded in mystery, it's supposed to be at the beginning. Oh yes, if I don't make a post in a while, someone bump it because I'll be on vacation.

 

 

 

 

 

Prologue: Lies--or so I Thought

 

 

 

What I remember the best is at the orphanage, and the secrets that were being spread. That one of us had taken on an army--and won. The person was five years old at the time, and they suggested it was me. I didn't believe it. A massive amount of men, all trained warriors. Giants who had no allegiance, except to perhaps the magicians who summoned them. Quite possibly even boars made of some metal, massive ones that seemed to go crazy and destroy everything. Everything but me, they said. The entire town was demolished, everybody and everything dead or beyond repair, with me being the only survivor. There was no sign of some weapon taking control of the enemies, more like a surgeon--tearing them apart.

 

 

 

I felt fear, a fear that I would lose control and destroy all that was in my way - again. Somehow, even then, I knew that it was true, that I was an unholy terror with so much energy I could beat the entire world in a fight.

 

 

 

I vaguely remember the battle, or at least a feeling of renewed energy stirring inside of me. It was not adrenaline; it was stronger. I seem to remember a shadowy arm coming from my chest, one that was uncontrolled and shimmering. I saw an arrow, and the memory came back vividly. A massive ballista fired four, and the arm caught them and destroyed them before my very eyes. Then I think about what they said, how they found me. I was curled up, asleep, with an odd sort of shimmering wave around me. It seemed I was oblivious to what had happened, yet it looked like I was completely guilty.

 

 

 

I was both, and more than that: I knew, thinking about it then, that I was the one destined to control the world.

[smitherfolyf]

nice dude nice...

[archimage_a]

DON'T LEAVE ME!!!! er us...thats what I meant.

 

 

 

Anyway it seems good. Fairly creative all the makings of a good story...but perhaps too much mystery...and then you sort of gave away too much...

[powerent]

OK, I'll try to remain in the middle of that balance, and just to let people know, I'm going to be on vacation from the 1st of August to the 8th, and I'm not sure if I can get onto a computer during that time. This next chapter is about the person's earlier life, before the siege on the village.

 

 

 

Chapter One: First Life

 

 

 

I remember being in a village of sorts, one where everybody knew everybody else and the entire place tried to help children be happy and healthy. It was joyful and exciting, meeting new people and seeing new places. I had many friends, but they all perished in the battle. We had straw huts as homes, and we had many resources. Oxen came from other towns to trade items and money. The guards of the town would sometimes give me candy when I would go to visit a city. That was my first life. The life too good to be true.

 

 

 

The battle changed all that. I was left with nothing but myself, only me and all of me, no matter whether I wanted all of it or not. I hid secrets; some are still waiting to be uncovered. Nobody came to my aid, neither parents nor friends. I remember one thing very clearly: my mother's last words to me. "Run away from them, son. We're here to protect you, no matter what. We want you to get the best life you ca--AAAIIEEEEE!"

 

It makes me begin to shake as I think of that, and how the giant took her by the hair and threw her, while she landed o the ground, definitely dead. That was when I felt the incredible hatred and fury, and also the feeling of strength.

 

 

 

I know the past was worthless, yet I want to find my name. They call me "Joseph" at the orphanage, yet it sounds too...odd. Somehow I realize my name leads to unlocking the strength I have. That quest will begin later, once I try and get it across to my "temporary home" that I'll be leaving, ready to take control of myself and the world around me. But that'll take a while. A long, long while.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Two: Fiery Aura

 

 

 

The orphanage is nothing like the village was. Cold stone walls, frigid tiled floors, and just one tall building to hold us in. Food tastes blander, water has incredible temperature ranges, people have less privacy. I was unknown to them, and I'm still an enigma. Nothing anybody said to them could change that. Only I can change them, and I believe I can only change them for the worse. They said I was dangerous; too dangerous to be taken back. They talked about my aura, called it "fiery" and "made of midnight."

 

 

 

It seemed I was getting farther and farther away from them, and not just metaphorically. It appeared as though they couldn't get to me, like there was a barrier in the way. That was truer than I thought. I had some sort of energy emanating from me, something that froze them while they were at a small enough distance. This got to me, since I wasn't sure what was happening. I was asleep when they took me here, yet I heard every last word they said.

 

 

 

"He can't be trusted," believed the leader of the search.

 

"Fiery aura, maybe one made of midnight," another man suggested.

 

"He's definitely dangerous," one person said, and I think I felt him shiver when he said it.

 

"Too dangerous to take back," the leader thought aloud.

 

I believe, at that moment, I sent a powerful wave of energy through them, and it certainly changed their minds.

 

 

 

I decided I would consult the Head of the Facility and tell him about what I wanted to do. I had more pressing matters on my hands, though. A person dumb enough to bully me decided to. He and his friends ganged up on me in the bathroom, cornering me in a...you guessed it, corner. He grabbed at me, ready to throw a punch. I slid down under him using the slippery tiles on the walls. Somehow, I flipped backwards and [bleep]ed the back of his neck with both of my feet. He went down moaning, but he would get up.

 

 

 

The other three came at me from all directions, and I let the aura take over. Wave after wave shoved through the gap between us, trying to convince them they would certainly die if they messed with me. The waves were assuming correctly, and only one person heeded the advice. He ran away, while the other two still came forward. Each made a synchronized punch at my ribs. I grabbed their fists with my hands, and felt a surge of strength in them. Without effort I snapped their wrists upwards, breaking them. They were dumb enough to try and tackle me.

 

 

 

It was then that I felt the full force of power drive through me. My hands glazed over in a metal armor with a color mix of swirling black, gray, purple, and a shade of dark blue. I felt a ball of raw shadow in my hands, and it grew to about the size of a pumpkin. I put my hands on its left and right, respectively, and put more energy into it. When its diameter reached the width of one of the urinals, I realized an orb the size of a tennis ball could knock them both out cold for a few days. I tried to shove the energy back into me, but instead of the feeling of power I usually got from taking it out, an incredible fatigue took over. Odd, that should work the other way around.

 

 

 

I fell into the sleep that came earlier, when I had used my powers. The two idiots got hit by the raw energy of the shadow ball from a distance, and it actually did knock them out cold for a few days. I knew I was gifted, but was it a good gift or a deadly one?

[archimage_a]

Yes you have definately got the balance right...and it will be a shame that you are going on hoilday...but necessery no doubt...

 

 

 

Anyway Ratings

 

 

 

Enthralled out of Enthralled...Pretty good out of Excellent.

[powerent]

Thanks for the rating, I'm trying to get something from Microsoft Paint onto my signature, just to realize that it won't work. It took over an hour to make... :wall:

[archimage_a]

You could save it an upload it to http://www.tinypic.com

[powerent]

thanks.

[powerent]

I can't believe it! I'm actually posting! A week of vacation and then login problems made me think I would never be able to return! I'm here, stop hyperventilating. Comment on the next parts, this is the battle from the point of view of the enemy. Be warned: it will be brutal in its full extent. If you hide because you become afraid of shadows, I am not responsible.

 

 

 

Prologue 2: The Child of Destruction

 

 

 

The town seemed harmless and oblivious to their impending doom. The scouts were well-hidden, if not a bit louder than the ideal. At least they worked, and that was what I, the one known only as the Last Pure to all who I knew, even to me, wanted. The dead people were still scared. Their souls were taken, and they would never be returned. Let me inform you on souls. They are made of raw energy that is held in the mortal that they possess. The human is the body, and the refined soul is what moves it, allows to think, and at least in the smallest bit, controls very slightly what it occupies. I could feel a strong soul inside one of the members of the village, and somehow thought it was harmless. I was wrong, and the price would be incredible.

 

 

 

The scouts were just goats infected with a soul that I was tapping into and taking over. They could escape to a limited extent, but could at least see and hear the village that would die. It seemed the one who was so incredible was just a small boy, but they treated him like a god. The goats could almost see an aura of unrefined shadow, but at the time I called it nothing. The child played with them one day, and drained the darkness from the souls, unknowingly disabling my powers and almost eating them. I decided that it was time to take action, though my instinct, the one that kept me through the destruction of nearly all of the pures, said that it would be the worst thing possible. I still curse myself, as it happened to be.

 

 

 

I happened to have a nice acquaintance with Hel, Norse goddess of the underworld. A few other minor Norse gods happened to help, enabling me troops of metal boars, giants of all sorts, warriors of the dead, and weapons of siege and destruction. Somehow, they also managed to give me some shades, one of my closest ancient relatives. Zombies were coming along, and somehow made an alliance through the shades, giving me an even larger amount of control. Roaming spirits, promised with fortune and the chance to get revenge on the ones who took them over, came with us across the desert to this place. We would need all the forces of the dead, and even they weren't enough.

 

 

 

When we got within a mile of the town in the middle of nowhere, I could feel random bursts of energy, as though a shadowy aura was releasing bursts of energy like the bubbles of fire on the sun. Everybody was restless and impatient, and I soon gave the command to attack from all sides. Within minutes, the town was surrounded entirely by the forces, with me hovering above. As a fire giant hurled a ball of flame from far off and ballistas fired arrows madly, I knew the worst was happening. Ripples of energy emanated from the town, sending wave after wave into the army. The weaker men who had been hostages died first, but they didn't truly die. They were engulfed in darkness, then disappeared. They were still active, but they were inside the town preparing to fight. Fine, I thought. Two can play at that game. I'm just smart enough not to.

 

 

 

One word: "CHAAARGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

They listened.

 

They died.

 

The troops flung themselves at the village, ready to destroy it. Luckily for me, the villagers were on the outside, excluding the god-boy. They all died, besides the mother of the child himself. The fire giants just seemed to have their limbs ripped off, and a black blood seemed to spill over them. The ice giants seemed to melt into massive puddles that dragged the shades to somewhere. Their screams still echo in my mind when I think about it. Mountain giants seemed to lose control of their clubs, smashing themselves and each other. Once they were all bruised, the round maces made of rock flew together and began to spin as one, faster and faster until the energies of the giants became completely destroyed.

 

 

 

Lastly, the boars and the undead army. They were unscrewed and dismembered. Each little part of the boar was laid down in the sand with all of the same parts together. How a child make them into metal scraps, I do not know. The zombies sank into the warm sand, and the warriors of dead spirits went berserk at the center of the village. One survived that first wave, and tried to cut the boy in half with his axe. The sharpened blade flattened around the child before shattering and tearing pieces into the attacker. Blood seeped out of the spirit warrior, and I almost screamed words of eternal fury and damnation at the child as he replaced the blood with darkness, MY darkness. I dropped freely from the sky, closing my eyes as I waited land in the air face-down.

 

 

 

I slid along the ground calmly to the spirit with the ShadowBlood. It seemed to explode into a fluid motion, hurtling forwards with the axe spinning. The speed was unbelievable, and the grace of it all froze me. The blade had grown back with the shards still in the man, and they flew at me with a strength possibly stronger than my own at the time, and maybe even now. The boy with the power of ShadowBlood had to be stopped, or I would lose control of any power I had. An enemy would not be a good idea. I knew it then, and I know it now. Where am I, you ask? Wait, I answer. Time will show you all, and all will lead you here to join me.

[archimage_a]

YAY!!!!HE'S BACK YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Er...as you can see...it is agreeable to see you again. Nice holiday, all those questions?

 

 

 

On topic though (back off topic)I am really tired and it was a forced effort to read this. I liked it but my almost slothlike sleeping habit that has envolped me at the moment means I need to have at least 10 hours sleep, and be in bed another 2 hours...So...(and on)Anyway it was good. Sort of interesting to see the story from the other point of view.

 

 

 

You should read the updated tales of Noob and Snake, and think about joining that Absolution RPG...Could be interesting to have you in it.

 

 

 

Oh and I await the next chapter.

[powerent]

Thanks for the warm welcome. But how dare you make my posts shorter from up to down, and longer width-wise! I saw the new updates, and I think I'll put in powerent and the realm without violence from Noob and Snake Series. I am, I have decided, requesting to have a few people join the story. You want to say the name (no numbers, just names please), the allegiance (the boy, most likely who will be powerent himself, or the Last Pure), a short description, and their history. I'm not one to kill people off quickly, so give an idea to me of how long they should live, and how important they are. If I'm not doing well, please tell me to kill them off and I may. Archimage, I would enjoy it if you put in Archimage Aquan, His/Her/Its Bother, and other nice creations of yours. I need ideas from not too many people, and I will have to choose. Most likely the first people who sign up will get their characters in first. Please post, and I'll be back writing more, though not as much with school starting soon.

[archimage_a]

Lol sorry.....Fix that...

 

Anyway feel free to use any of my characters. I reserve the right to make you change the name if you use them in a bad way so...feel free.(Legal stuff you know).

 

And I also reserve the right to annoy powerent when he corrects me.

[powerent]

I'm sorry for correcting you again, but you put you "resever" the right, not you "reserve" the right. Cut the right...AGAIN??? I'll start writing now, but it will be in the post after this, unless someone posts first.

[archimage_a]

Yup me...Fixed...

 

This falls under the second reserve-ation...so there...

[powerent]

Now this might be boring, might be interesting, could give you a secret about a character, may add a character, or it might just have a whole lot of nothing in it. Take your chances. These few minutes here allow you to escape the world.

 

 

 

"Chapter One, POV (Point Of View) 2: Lore and Lies

 

I felt the pain of the army that had been wiped out and completely, utterly destroyed. We can't say they were all killed; some of them were dead! Then I remembered the boy, the one who had saved himself. He was standing with his hands (which were covered in the fluid the Elders call ShadowBlood) raised in the air and a gleam in his eye. He probably didn't even realize he was wrecking an army. The fact that I lost the shades and that he used the ShadowBlood on the warrior of the dead will never stop scaring me. I knew I had to consult someone, but who? Then it hit me. And boy, did it hit me hard. The wisest one known to the members (or ex-members) of the Shadow Council, Archimage Aquan. She sat near a corner on a tall chair at each meeting, perfectly calm yet somehow looked absent-minded. She would share her wisdom among whoever she trusted, and she did trust me quite well. There was a problem, though. If her bother wanted to do the opposite thing, wouldn't it "return to its new master, The Child of Destruction?" That would be a bother, which meant the Bother lived up to its name.

 

 

 

I decided to consult Archimage herself about this and the other important matters. She saw me enter the Room of Midnight from the way I opened the door, or maybe she just saw me with those oddly enhanced senses of hers. Either way, she saw me. "Come, child, I have not seen that face in Ages!" That was true.

 

"I would advise against it, my face can still powerfully stun, and possibly kill," I respond with ease, almost as though this was rehearsed.

 

"Child, ask me the question so that I may see where you have placed yourself in the worlds."

 

"I am asking to know where the 'Child of Destruction' is; I need to destroy him to stop him from trying to take my rightful control. Secondly, I would like to ask you for your continued allegiance with me."

 

"There is a story abou-"

 

"I have no time for stories, don't you understand?? I need to catch the boy before he learns of his power, and I suddenly become too late!"

 

"Young one, you may think you know everything, but I happen to know more. Among the lore and the lies you will find a gem. You have some...interesting stories they would tell. The gem inside those would be quite hard to find, but it is small and it is there. The lies are even more numerous, and they make it seem as though you have nothing. Look inside yourself, and you shall see what you need, but be careful, what you want will try and convince you that you are doing the wrong thing when doing the right thing. That's your boost for today." She smiled warmly, almost mockingly. That scared me, so I left. She said one last phrase to me: "Beware Powerent's strength, and also who he stands by. Beware me as well. When we meet again, I will not give you such a warm welcome, maybe.

 

 

 

Now I thought I was completely doomed. A friend, a person so smart and wise I truly believed she had been my last hope, a person to save me. I was wrong. And as it happens, I hate being wrong. It was not the first time, and oh how I regret it to say this, it was not the last.

[powerent]

I still need more people to come and offer their characters to the story. I also need a wider range of responses from the users of this library.

 

*******

 

Remember always, young one, that pain can be spread and shared and can also be parasitic and horribly contagious. Use the shadows correctly, for if you destroy to much, your soul snaps like a twig under a giant's foot. Always keep this in mind, and you shall become incredibly powerful and a savior to the worlds.

 

 

 

Chapter 2, POV 2: The Bother

 

 

 

I thought just one thing after losing Archimage's wisdom and strength: what about her bother? That would save me so much time and money, since it would become an ally if Archimage decided to side with that powerent guy. Who the heck was he, and why was he mentioned? I still didn't know, and all I thought of was more questions. I had to seek out the Bother and contain it, capturing, or so I believed, a section of the Unicode Bubble. With it, I could look into the way to defeat the boy and also this powerent. It all seemed so perfect. That thought made me wonder.

 

 

 

The first problem was seeking the Bother out, the second would be convincing it. I had to think of where the Bother would be compared to the location of Archimage. If she was in the chair, the Bother would be...The candy machines! I hurled myself down the hallway to the stairs. One flight down, turn right, go straight for a tiny bit, skid to a stop, and take the sharp turn into the candy machine room. The bother was small and brown, with a large round nose colored almost completely black. When it faced me, I couldn't see its tiny tail. It had two eyes, one on top of the other. Its mouth took up the place where its eyes would have been, and its ears were standing straight up, each thin pointed one.

 

 

 

Somehow I knew it would try to tell Archimage Aquan what I was doing, so I had to give the Bother slightly incorrect information. "Hello," I manage.

 

"Hi," the Bother replies absentmindedly, still focused on the candy.

 

"Archimage is-"

 

"Don't tell me how she is! I share a Unicode Bubble with her, I know!"

 

"She's on the opposite side," I finish quite quickly so that the Bother can't interrupt. "I need you to work with me to stop her from allying with this powerent dude."

 

"You are truly a loser."

 

"Why am I a loser?"

 

"You know who powerent is. It's staring you in the face, and you're not lying right now."

 

"I don't like you," I comment to him, trying to sound bored. It saw through the bluff.

 

"Get away before I eat you."

 

I decided to run, and when I got out of sight, I decided to train a little bit. I went up to a guard and picked a fight. He fired from his gun a few shots, and I dodged the lasers (which was the ammo) effortlessly. He knew it was of no use and used weak shadow-copies. "Do you not know who I am?" I ask him as a slam forward at lightning speed into him, pinning him against the wall. All he can do to reply is shake his head. "I'm the Last Pure, the one who made it alive from the destruction of most of my race. I released my hold and stepped right, and another me replaced the original in keeping the guard against the wall.

 

"Which one are you?" he asked weakly.

 

"Both," came a distant reply from far back, where I had made another clone. I happened to be the one next to the pinner, or whatever you would call him. I had a bag of throwing knives on my belt, and I reached for one. To the guard, I looked like a demonic monster holding a glowing throwing knife at close range wearing a large, flowing silk-like robe and a hood that covered the face which could possibly kill him. He was right in all of those guesses, as it happened. I hurled the knife at his arm. The clone stepped out of the way and I watched as the man felt a poison of darkness seep into his weak mortal body. This was certainly not the skill known as ShadowBlood, but it worked just fine. The poison's ability was called JellyfishSting, so a person would be called that if they had the ability themselves. I stepped through the door, ready to walk outside. The battles weren't over yet.

 

 

 

Two guards, one me, one clone. I took one out without the other noticing, and I then scared the man by hiding in the shadows and leaping out. While he was startled, I shoved him into a potted plant, where he fell. I mind-controlled the pieces of pot to keep him bound to the ground. He was stronger than the weak prison I made and hurled the shards at my face. I let them get next to my hand before they distorted and then went boom, scattering the sharpened points around the man's body. He was still fine, and I realized I would need to use a bit more force. I sprinted the 4 feet to him and slammed a dagger made of obsidian into his gut. I made it change into a wider shape, and tore it out so that his internal organs began to spill out. Blood was everywhere, so I cleaned up with some odd magic I learned, of sliding off whatever was on my robes and dagger. There was no evidence of how the man had been killed, as expanding weapons were beyond the human race's imagination. It would get harder. I was sure of that. I was right, and now I hate being right too.

[powerent]

Now it's time for more story. Take a cookie, sit back in the chair, and read what will now be the rest of the story from the boy's view. The story parts in italics, like this are little sections from the Last Pure's point of view. Nothing is better than a story, and I WILL get this story into my signature...sometime... I'm searching for people who will let me use their characters, and I'll actually get to the story soon.

[powerent]

Okay, so the link is weird-ish and I need someone to help get it into actual words, someone!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

We decided you would rise,

 

We will make you fall.

 

We aren't seen by mortal eyes,

 

and we shall destroy all.

 

--The Shadows

 

 

 

Chapter Three: Unleash the Beast

 

 

 

It was a dark, stormy night...It was the best time for me to leave, I'm not trying to make it a horror story. I promise! The lights were all turned off, so I had to grope around to get to the stairs. I was wearing dark blue basketball shorts and an Under-Armour shirt that was black. It somehow made me blend in and feel welcomed by the night, which was a comfortable but not entirely new feeling at the time. I somehow held a small dagger, pointed backwards in my left hand. I had memorized the stair patterns and locations of the steps, so I had no problem getting through. On the ground floor, I stepped lightly, trying not to land my foot on one of the roaming cats. I got to the door, and let pure instinct take control.

 

 

 

I just remember moving through the door before moving on into an alleyway to rest a few seconds to see what I would do. The plan was well-formulated, made so that I could get out of the city to somewhere. I had no idea of the exact location, except that I would be guided, and that it would be time. Time for what? Where is this location? And who would guide me? These I had no idea at the time of, but dear reader, you will know by the end of the story, probably sooner. Back to the jog to that random, unknown location. Even with athletic clothes, tennis shoes, and an enhanced breath, probably caused by the guiding force, the trip across the city was tough. I stayed in the alleys, repeatedly trying to get away from all light. I did happen to meet a few people I didn't want to, though. They weren't in any mood to fight me after I got done with them.

 

 

 

One was an old man with a bad temper, who hurled his cane at me. It sailed over a few trash cans, aimed directly at my head. I held out my hand and grabbed the butt end of the cane, spinning it in my fingers a few times before firing it back. He changed into a weird form, one that looked like a small tree with eyes, arms, and a really bad attitude. The cane snapped against its trunk like it was a tower of cards. I drew out a huge sword from thin air, and decided to throw it at the man/tree. He seemed to be cut perfectly by the sword, and it bounced off of a brick wall and came back at him, cutting through him a bit higher. I caught it and put it back in its sheath, which was nowhere at all. I got out of that pathway and decided to risk going next to the sidewalk. Nobody saw me, so I kept going.

 

 

 

When I risked getting back into an alleyway, a gun dealer was in my path. I hid in the shadows before leaping out behind him, managing to get a dagger into his back before he reacted. I felt a small drain of energy and strength, but felt another being sharing my mind; then I realized I was controlling the man. I slunk back behind a dumpster, closed my eyes, and moved him with my mind. He tore the dagger out of his spine, put it into one hand, and grabbed a pistol with the other. He moved through each alley before me, making sure it was safe. I felt an odd presence in one, and released control of him. I felt the dagger in my pocket, and a sudden tiredness came over me.

 

 

 

"Hello, child."

 

"Yes, Archimage Aquan. Hello. Who are you?"

 

"You know me, or the shadows know me. Have you heard of the small poem seemingly made by them, the one dropped on the ground?"

 

"Yes, I have," I responded almost instantly.

 

Together we chorused: "We decided you would rise,

 

We will make you fall.

 

We aren't seen by mortal eyes,

 

We shall destroy all."

 

 

 

"The Unicode Bubble will be updating your knowledge of me and of the bubble itself. Please wait a few seconds while it gives you the information," she informed me, almost as though she was talking to a toddler. I realized that it was just her age and wisdom, which she had so much of, that gave her that view on life. I suddenly knew about the Unicode Bubble and the Library of Life on the Island of the Elements.

 

 

 

The vast amount of knowledge was incredibly tiring, or was that the Unicode Bubble? No matter what, the last I heard for a little while was, "Don't worry, child. We will be going to the place where we are safe, and where the Last Pure will not dare go. My Bother shall be on his side, but it is nothing compared to either of our powers individually, let alone combined. The Library and the villagers on the Island will be glad to see you. Just watch out for Xarosen, and you will be fine. Now sleep, young one, sleep."

[archimage_a]

Why has everything got something in for Xarosen?!!!??!!!

 

It is not my alter ego, It's my creation. But alas I fear that it matters not. Anyway I am happy with the use of my character although slightly worried about how people know so much about them....Ah well Nice story, good imagery but sometimes...it just got a bit too confusing. Try to slow down, give some metaphors and more than anything give it some space...everything is so crowded up in one line...

 

Do it blow by blow, with a paragraph of maybe two lines.

 

 

 

Oh well waiting for the next part anyway...it is a very VERY interesting story.

[powerent]

Thanks for the comments, the rushed feeling is probably what spilled over from middle school. Oh, the pain! I'm trying to remember the exact poem I thought of earlier that was slightly better worded than the one at the beginning of Chapter Three, but failing. I STILL NEED MORE COMMENTS FROM OTHER PEOPLE, ARCHIMAGE CAN'T BE THE ONLY NICE ONE!

[llamster]

I had to read the whole thing several times before it made sense to me, but it's really good.

[powerent]

This next portion will be all about the Library on the Island. And Archimage, I have a few things to say to you. I did not say Xarosen was your alter ego, just that the child should watch out for him/her/it. And also, how is your name pronounced? Is it Archi-Mage or Arch-Image, or neither? It would be nice to know.

 

 

 

Chapter Four: The Tests Begin

 

 

 

I slowly moved from meditation into the actual world. The Library was massive, as I had learned when I first woke up. I saw the sheer amount of stuff, not just books and such. This place held power, strength, and honor above all else. This was the place where legends still are, being perfectly preserved. This is the tour Archimage happened to be giving me as well... I was in a room specifically designed for relaxing and I was using it constantly. I awoke from a zen-like state, the shadows inside me sensing a disturbance. They felt the air around me, tasting it and letting me know just what was there. A blade of fire, it seemed. And what is this blade of fire, I asked myself. I just had to look and find out.

 

 

 

Archimage had a large sword with an Enchantment of Flame on the sword's edge. "Defeat me," was all she said. I remained silent and made a few copies of myself in the room, which was a sheer white that made the entire room shine. There were three windows, one in each wall's center with a door on the other end.

 

"Ask and you will find. I will answer accordingly and correctly," I responded from everywhere in the room (or so it seemed), my voice staying even and perfectly cold.

 

"Are you hiding inside a shadow?"

 

"There are no shadows in this room, I would have to create one to make that happen, and no."

 

"Are you hiding from me at all?"

 

"Not really. You know where I am, you just don't realize it."

 

"I will now try and detect you, striking down all shadow-copies I find." She promptly tore apart the sitting clone with the fiery blade.

 

"Good to see that much, at least," I comment. She takes out a bomb that is specifically designed to destroy shadow-copies. "Wrong choice," I inform her before setting a small burst of raw energy expanding and rolling over itself in a destructive motion, making it look like the bomb just went off.

 

"Where are you this time?"

 

"Your other hand."

 

"How the...?"

 

"Training over, now let me read!"

 

 

 

That was the first of many trials. I had to do many other tests such as that, but those will be for later. I must tell you, insolent mortal fool, I mean kind reader, about the Island of the Elements. This is the place where nothing is left out, where secrets are taken and captured each day. I was not the only strange person on the island, in fact. I saw many people on a daily basis walking through the library or taking a walk in the gardens. I was not the only one with shadow-powers at the time at that place, but the other people were scared, and had every right to be so. I saw magicians practicing aim and ability with their spells, and a few actually welcomed me and spoke languages that seemed to give me a new strength I had not yet known. I could run faster, jump higher, throw objects more accurately, and do many other things such as that. The arcane wizards gave me great knowledge with a flick of their wrists. I felt at home. But what was home? What would be next? It would get more difficult and strenuous, I was assured of that.

[archimage_a]

Arc-im-mage.

 

The h is silent.

 

Arc-First

 

Image-Image(Duh :x )

 

 

 

It basicly means what you see is what you get, my first Image is me. Which oddly fits to this segment.

 

Other people have said it means the Ultimate Image, but it is the person that makes the character, not the name...

 

 

 

Lol ok, its just Xarosen is one of my creations, so I am slightly worried about it rebelling against me. :ohnoes:

[powerent]

OK, since I haven't been working on this for a bit I am going to put out a few segments and I'm going to hope somebody new decides to comment on it.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Strike me once and you will see the truth.

 

Strike me twice and you shall see all wisdom poured out for you.

 

But strike me three times and pain will be your last feeling.

 

 

 

Chapter Five: Taming

 

 

 

"Hello, child. Wake up now, we have a busy day today," Archimage told me as she woke me up.

 

Groggy, I replied, "And what do I do today?"

 

"Get out of bed and you will see."

 

"Why do you always do that?" I asked, and she knew it was rhetorical as I got out of the small bed. She left a few seconds later, and it was then that I proceeded to get on my clothes. It was the usual today: black skin-tight shirt, weird exercising pants with the same texture as the shirt, and a dagger with a glowing black edge. I knew to go to the breakfast hall, which meant a short walk in the pleasant weather.

 

 

 

The leaves were blowing gently with the wind. The air seemed perfect, and I wasn't the only one; other people were taking walks in the fresh morning air. I felt like I could breathe, which was what I liked most about the Library in particular, besides the rows of books. The breakfast hall was crowded when I went in, as usual. I found Archimage at a table on the far side of the room, where she was eating an orange and had a plate with some fruit on it. I said hello and went over to the buffet and took some bacon, a pancake, a waffle, and a banana. I then went over to my seat and began to eat. As usual, both Archimage and I finished at the same time. We went to a wing in the Library known as the Chamber of Training.

 

 

 

"Now I will tell you what the plans are."

 

"Finally," I replied, letting out a massive fake sigh.

 

"I will, at last, teach you something. This lesson will take many hours of practice and training to complete, and only then can we do what is required to win this war. You will learn to store energy, rather than releasing it the moment you get it. Watch me." I saw her arm begin to glow a raw red for a few seconds, before it got even stronger. I watched in awe for a few minutes, before she let the stored fire go. Her arm spun around at an unprecedented speed, a strong glow bursting from her arm. I just stared as she held a dagger and as the glow moved into it. So that was how the weapons got the odd outline. There was more to learn. And there was not much time.

[archimage_a]

Strike me once and you will see the truth.

 

Strike me twice and you shall see all wisdom poured out for you.

 

But strike me three times and pain will be your last feeling.

 

Some one is not only stealing my lines, they are miss quoting them too! :roll:

 

 

 

Anyway its good but short. Like a story that is missing a key part of itself because of the utter shortness of it...Ok its a chapter not a story but its still too short. It needs more although the text was good it sort of felt like it was going somewhere and then it died....Ruined it a bit. #-o