Stories by Me Options

[Rebecca]

......thanks, but I'm good. I don't want to spam innocent people............

Inner self: yes you do

Me: shut up!

[Mizuko]

Darn it mizuko has to go! We will spam later!

[Rebecca]

ok. you go ahead to school, while I wait to do that tomorrow.

[Rebecca]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/babtcowwalk.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cow.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/puppywalk.gif)

animals on parade!

[Rebecca]

Since it doesn't look like this is going anywhere, I'll just post chapters of my existing stories, because I'm that lazy. Here goes.



Innerworld

{Prologue}
The Lord of the Impish folk paced his throne room floor, his gray cloak with black stripes gliding behind him. He had a look of distraught upon his face, his deep, green eyes appearing to ponder something.
“Great Fatespeakers, there must be another way!” He complained as he looked at the five elders that faced his golden throne. The Fatespeakers were cloaked from head to toe in a color that was somewhere in between maroon, and blood red, the hoods of their cloaks covered their eyes.
“There is no other way, Lord Kilden. And it must be done by the end of the year, or else this land will be no more,” said the Fatespeaker in the front.
“I hope your time in the Outer Dimension was well spent, because it is almost up,” the next Fatespeaker commented.
“It was. And to save my land, I will do what I must,”said Lord Kilden with a slight look of sorrow on his face.
He then left through a window into the Outer Dimension, his body getting gradually smaller as more of him went through the window. Soon he was no bigger than a house cat.


“I guess I better go get her inside,” Rachel said. She walked towards the front door, her dark blue nightdress swaying with movement. When the eighteen year old girl stepped outside you could still barely see the sun rising in the summer's Monday sky.
Rachel waited outside on her porch for her cat to come back, the wind blowing her shoulder-length brown hair in her face, covering her even darker brown eyes. She had let her tabby out that morning to get some exercise, and it hadn't come back for fifteen minutes.
“Tiger!”she called as if the cat might respond and come running.
Then, as if knowing it was being called, Tiger the cat ran up to Rachel with enthusiasm, and jumped upon the porch. The cat was a natural-born stray, but Rachel took her in and tamed the cat.
“Who's a good kitty?” Rachel asked the cat with a baby-tone voice.
“Meow,” the cat said as if in response. Rachel picked up the cat and took her inside, closing the door behind her with one hand.
She then walked to her bedroom, cat in hands, and set the cat down in a chair.
“I love you, kitty,” Rachel said as she set her face down next to her cat's. Tiger then touched her nose with Rachel's nose as a cat might when greeting another. Rachel kissed its forehead.
The cat then leaped off the chair, and during that leap, Rachel turned to watch it scamper off, and decided to follow it out of her room. The cat ran around and then jumped on the couch in the living room, and started playing with loose bits of string. Rachel, instead, sat down in a chair in front of the computer, adjacent to the couch, and wondered why cats like to play with bits of string. As more minutes went by with doing nothing, Rachel became hungry. She got up, and walked into the kitchen of her house. It wasn't a fancy kitchen, but it was still a kitchen. Rachel walked towards her fridge, and took some lasagna out of a plastic container and placed it on a plate that she got from the cabinet that was next to the fridge. She walked another two steps to place the lasagna into the microwave. After it was done, she walked over to the computer in the family room. She pulled out a tray and placed her meal on it, and began to eat. Soon Tiger had jumped onto a chair next to Rachel, and began sniffing the lasagna.
“No, Tiger, this isn't your food,” Rachel said, and then Tiger sat back down on the chair, eyes intent on the lasagna. Rachel then leaned down to pet the cat, and Tiger started purring the moment Rachel's hand touched her fur.
As Rachel stroked the cat, she finished the lasagna. She then took the container and silverware and placed them into the sink in the kitchen, and returned to the cat. Rachel picked the cat up, and carried her back to her bedroom.
Once they were inside the bedroom, Rachel placed the cat on her bed and sat beside her. She then lied down next to the cat and began stroking the cat again.
Rachel sat up after a moment, and stopped petting the cat. She stepped off the bed and sat in a chair next to the bed, pulled out a book from a shelf next to her, and began reading.
Tiger then jumped off the bed as well, but stayed standing on the floor. Rachel set the book aside, and watched as she expected the cat to start playing.
The cat didn't start playing, but instead, it was immediately surrounded by a golden light, that swirled around it. It grew larger and larger, until it became the size of a fully grown man, about twenty years old; then, it was, with messy, black hair, and piercing green eyes. Surrounding this man was a magnificent coat, that had the same, tabby, stripes as Tiger's. What were paws, were now hands with black gloves, and feet with leather boots. He wore black pants that seemed to be almost cotton, but also, almost wool or even silk. The tail was now gone. He almost seemed to glow.
“What the-!” Rachel exclaimed as she jumped up in fright.. Just then the man that had once been a cat reached out and grabbed her shoulders.
“Do not be alarmed, Rachel. Do not fret, I will not harm thee.”
Shocked and disillusioned, Rachel staggered a reply, “H-how do you know my name?”
The man then began laughing, “I've known you for two years now!”
“I-I don't know you. Who are you?” Rachel questioned.
“Oh, do I have to spell it out for you?” he yelled. “I was the cat, you moron! On the question, I am the Lord of the Impish Folk, Kilden. Are you going to calm down now?” Rachel started squirming in his grasp.
“I have no idea what you're talking about, you lunatic, now let go of me!”
“Still not cooperating. I guess we have to do this the hard way.”
Rachel suddenly stopped struggling, not wanting to know what the hard way was. Kilden released his grip on her, and started walking towards Rachel, while she backed away.
“W-what are you doing?” Rachel asked.
Kilden was suddenly behind her, sitting on her bed, and just before she reached the edge of her bed, he placed one hand on her arm, and the other over her mouth.
“Calming you down.” He said it with such a tone that not even a caring mother could replicate towards her child, and this tone caused Rachel to begin to droop her eyelids.
“Now, relax, and forget everything you know about reality, and fantasy. Intertwine them, so that they become something only you could understand,” he said, using the same infliction. Rachel then closed her eyes, and was immediately asleep. Kilden then lifted her, and placed her on the bed. He sat next to her, looking upon her as if a knight towards his princess.
“Sleep well, my beautiful maiden.”


Rachel awoke and sat bolt upright immediately. She looked up, and to her left, to make sure that she wasn't in some other dimension.
“It was just a dream, wasn't it?” she asked herself.
“Was it now?”
Rachel quickly turned her head to the right to see Kilden sitting in a chair, one leg crossed over the other.
“What are you doing here?” Rachel asked.
“Again with the stupid questions?” Kilden folded his hands and sat them on his knee.
“What do you want with me?” Rachel asked, this time with a yell.
“That will be answered in good time. Any other smart questions?”
“Yes. What exactly are you and what have you done with my cat? Where's Tiger?”
“I am an Impish person. The lord of them to be exact. I thought I made that clear before you fell asleep.”
“Just because you rule over things does not make you one of them,” Rachel commented. Kilden looked at her in expected surprise.
“Clever, as for your cat, it's right here,” he said as he gestured his hands toward himself.
“Where? I see no cat, just a man who calls himself lord of a fairy tale creature of trickery.”
“I told you, I'm the cat, girl. I've said it twice now.”
“But, my cat's a female,” Rachel noted.
“Nice little trick, isn't it. A simple charm really. And with the cloak of animal skin, anything that happened to your cat while I was in its form did not affect me; so the skin got fixed, and I didn't.”
“This is too confusing. I need to wake up from this nightmare!” Rachel yelled.
“Hate to burst your bubble, Rachel, but you are awake.”
“No, I must be dreaming. This is all, just one, odd dream, made of stories I've heard, seen, or thought up!” she protested.
“Get up, get some air, clear your head,” said Kilden with a kindly voice.
Rachel got out of the bed, and calmed down for a moment. Then she remembered, with a blush.
“You don't remember everything from when you were my cat, do you?”
“I remember all about being your cat, and in knowing that I would, I averted my gaze.”
“Good.” Rachel was still blushing, as before she knew the cat was a person, she had commonly changed in her room while the cat was there.
“Why don't we take a walk outside, and I'll attempt to explain what I can,” Kilden suggested as he stood up and began to pace towards Rachel.
“That sounds nice, I guess, but where outside? Won't someone see you?” Rachel asked.
“Take a look outside. You will find that it is not the same as before you slept,” Kilden replied.
Rachel then paced toward her bedroom window, but instead of viewing her backyard, it showed a garden. A wonderful garden, with every flower imaginable, and some that don't exist in anyone's imagination. In the center of this garden there was a fountain, upon its center lied a structure that when looked at straight from any right angle, would show a Fleur de Lis. In this garden there were four trees, one apple, one orange, one pear, and one cherry. Birds fluttered throughout this garden, and some bathed in the fountain. The beauty of it made Rachel gasp with amazement.
“It's beautiful!”
“Isn't it? Come, lets go outside now,” said Kilden with the slightest addition of pride in his voice. It was then that Rachel remembered that she was wearing her pajamas.
“Wait, I can't go outside in this! I'll freeze!” she exclaimed.
“Oh, how silly of me. Here,” he said as he handed her a white robe with golden designs around it along with matching slippers, “put these on over your clothes.”
“Um, okay.” Rachel gratefully placed the robe over her nightgown, and placed the comfortable slippers on her cold feet. “Thank you, Kilden.”
“You are most welcome,” he replied. “Now, we must get outside where the fresh air can encourage sensible thought.”
Kilden tapped the center of the window, and it grew larger, to turn into an open doorway that led into the beautiful garden. He walked towards the white, swinging bench that hung from between the pear tree and the apple tree, and sat down in it.
“Come, sit. You aren't still afraid of me, are you?” he beckoned.
Rachel walked to the bench, and also sat. “I'm not afraid, anymore; I'm just......confused.”
“My garden here is about the most beautiful place in the Land of the Imps. I'm afraid that the rest is turning into a terrible wasteland,” Kilden said with a sorrowful look on his face.
“That's awful, but what do you need me for?”
“I'd hate to force this on you, but the Fatespeakers tell me that if I don't marry within the year, that my land will be no more. That is why I need you.” Kilden now had a regretful look upon his face. He was no longer admiring his garden, but was facing down with his eyes so very close to tears.
Rachel stared at the fountain, but not in admiration. She was pondering in shocked response.
“B-but, why me?” she asked.
“Why not you?” he replied, “You're one of the few Believers left, and you're the closest to my age.”
“Believer?” Rachel asked, “What's a believer?”
“Someone who still believes or hopes that their imagination is correct, and has never said the Five Fatal Words that kill Fairy Folk.”
“The Five Fatal Words? They wouldn't happen to be-”
“Don't say it!” Kilden interrupted. “It will cause the oldest living Fairy Folk to die. Right now, that would be the oldest Fatespeaker.”
“What is a Fatespeaker?” Rachel asked.
“People or creatures that know what will happen and what must happen to make it happen.”
“They must be very wise,” Rachel said. In her mind she was imagining elder monks hovering in a candlelit room.
“They are, but once they find a solution they like, they stick with it and say nothing else will work.”
“So, wise but stubborn?” Rachel asked.
“Sort of, yes.”
“Why is your land disappearing?”
“I feared you'd ask me that,” Kilden said. He folded his hands and placed them upon his knees. “It is because, no one believes anymore. Not in Impish Folk. Only in Fairies, and Dragons, and Elves. Imps are kept out of stories because they were thought to be wicked. Lands of the Fairy and Dragon are flourishing, while the Elves are even better. The Fatespeakers tell me that marrying will help because they believe that my wife will help people believe. I still do not understand how they believe that.”
“It does not make sense,” Rachel said.
“No it doesn't,” Kilden said. Then he remembered his question, and then turned his face toward Rachel. “Wait, how does it not make sense to you? I thought you'd have the answer.”
“No, I don't. I don't understand it either. If I were to go back to my home, and tell everyone that Elves, and Imps, and Fairies existed, they'd either lock me in an asylum, or think I'm kidding.”
“That's what I thought,” Kilden said. “I'm going to go back, inside, and get something. You wait right here.”
“Okay,” Rachel responded as she watched Kilden stand up and walk back into the doorway.


After about five minutes, Rachel stood up, and walked throughout the garden. When she reached the doorway she stopped. The room inside had changed. She glanced inside, and noticed the changes. None of the furniture was the same, except for the bed, and the colors had changed.
She thought she heard a noise, so she quietly stepped inside the room. As she got closer to the bedroom door, the sound became clearer. It was someone crying, just outside the door and down the hall a few yards.
She didn't dare peek her head through, so she just stood at the doorway and listened.
“It's not fair!” Kilden's voice yelled while still sobbing. “Why my land? Why must I suffer for what people in the Outer Dimension believe?!”
“Your Lordship,” said another voice, “it is not that it is your land, but what the people in the Outer Dimension believe, it is.”
“I KNOW WHAT THEY BELIEVE!” he screamed with his cry. “They believe that Imps aren't fit for children's stories. If they don't tell the children then who will believe?”
“I.....I don't know, sir, I don't.”
“There must be another way,” Kilden said with a final sob.
Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing. People didn't believe in Imps because they had no idea what they were.
“I thought I told you to wait outside,” Kilden said. He was standing in front of Rachel, who was kneeling down to listen.
“I-I uh-”
“It's fine. Now you know why this worries me so.”
“Lord Kilden,” said a voice. An Imp's head popped through the bedroom door. It was fairly triangle shaped, with floppy ears, like a dog's, and big, brown eyes. It looked nothing like the mischievous imps in what few children's stories there were about them.
“Leave, Lineuss. I wish to speak with Rachel in private,” Kilden said.
“But, sir, may I make one mention, sir?” Lineuss asked.
“What?” Kilden demanded as he angrily shifted his gaze towards the small Imp at the door.
“The, uh, the Fatespeakers are here now, sir, they are. And they'd like to meet Lady Rachel as well, they would.”
Rachel looked up at the mention of her name.
“Me?”
“Both of you, actually,” Lineuss replied.
“Very well. Where are they?” Kilden asked.
“They are in the throne room now, sir, they are.”
“Thank you, Lineuss, now leave please,” Kilden seemed to command. He turned towards Rachel and let his hand out in front of her. “Let us be off, milady.”
Rachel took his hand and stood up. “Just Rachel, please. ”
“If you say so, Rachel.”
Kilden led Rachel down the hallway towards a pair of large doors. He stopped her about ten meters away.
“Rachel, I suppose the thing I wanted to tell you will have to wait,” he said.
“No, right here is fine. Just tell me what it is,” Rachel said.
“Rachel, it should really wait. First, we must see what the Fatespeakers want.”


As the two stepped through the doors, Rachel gasped in amazement. The throne room was beautifully arranged. There in the center lied a golden seat, and to its right sat one of silver. The room itself was made of stone that left the feel of a castle.
In front of the thrones stood five figures, each cloaked from head to toe in a color that was between blood red and maroon. There appeared to be one from each major creature, one Elf, one Fairy, one Imp, one Leprechaun, and one Pixie.
Rachel noticed there was no dragon. Curiosity compelled her to ask.
“Why is there no dragon?” she whispered in Kilden's ear.
“Dragon's don't like to associate themselves with other magical creatures. It's a taboo to them,” he whispered back.
“We are glad we can see you now, Lord Kilden, Lady, um, what is your name?” asked the second-tallest Fatespeaker, the Fairy. The only thing that showed that it was a fairy was the pair of wings that sprung from her back out of the cloak.
“Rachel.”
“Lady Rachel, do you know why you are here?” asked the tallest Fatespeaker, the Elf.
“No, I don't. Not completely anyway.”
“You are here to help keep the Land of Imps from disappearing.” said the Imp, who was the middle in order of height. The other Fatespeakers started moving from their positions, forming a circle around Rachel and Kilden.
Rachel was trying to keep up with their movements, as they each circled in different directions, but at the same speed. The Imp remained in his spot.
“Do you know why it was you that was picked?” asked the Leprechaun; surprisingly, the Leprechaun was about three feet tall, and had no Irish accent.
“No, I don't.”
Before Rachel finished talking the Pixie had started her reply; the pixie was larger than one might expect, about two-and-a-half feet, and had a rather loud voice.
“Lord Kilden had many choices of bride, including some from the Inner Dimension.”
“May I interrupt?” asked Kilden.
“No,” said every Fatespeaker in unison.
“What is the Inner Dimension?” Rachel asked.
“It's the dimension you're in,” replied the Imp.
“A Dimension within a Dimension,” continued the Elf.
“You live in the Outer Dimension,” the Fairy added.
“Our Dimension exists within yours,” said the Leprechaun.
“Your Fairy Tales exist because we sometimes leave this Dimension,” said the Pixie. All the Fatespeakers stopped moving, making Rachel feel dizzy because she was looking at each Fatespeaker as he or she spoke. She almost fell over, but Kilden steadied her.
“So, Lord Kilden, why did you choose Lady Rachel, and not one of your own people, or someone from this Dimension?” asked the Imp.
“I chose her because she is a Believer,” Kilden replied with an infliction of anger.
“But she is human,” commented the Elf.
“It was to my knowledge that my bride would help inform people to believe in the Imps. That gave me the impression that it would be wise to have my wife a human,” he replied.
“What ever would give you that idea?” asked the Fairy. She fluttered towards Kilden and Rachel, stopping about two arms lengths away.
“Wasn't it you five that told me those words? You five told me that my wife would help people believe again.”
Rachel started inching her way towards Kilden. The Elf noticed this but the other Fatespeakers did not.
Just then the doors to the throne room opened, and everything was silent. A man stepped through the doors. He was taller than even the Elf, who was bowing, and his shoulder-length hair was so blond it was almost white. Cloaking him was a long, white cloak that seemed to billow like a cloud. His pants were black, and his boots were gray. He had eyes were a cold blue, so much that if you look into them, you would immediately avert your gaze as his eyes were like ice. His chin was even elegantly pointed, like the Elf's, but unlike the Elf, his ears were rounded, not pointed.
“What are you doing here, brother?”demanded Kilden.
“I thought I'd pay a visit to my younger brother and his bride-to-be,” replied the man as he stopped walking.
Kilden brought his arm around Rachel, knowing her confusion and fear. He whispered in her ear not to be afraid, but also not to trust his elder brother, Shul. She nodded in response and he released his embrace.
“What business would the King of the Elves have in Impish Lands?” asked Kilden.
“An Elf can't unexpectedly see his brother just because he wants to?” replied Shul.
“You never 'just want to', Shul.”
Shul then began to step forward, and nodded his head toward the Fatespeaker Elf, who stood then from his bow. He stepped into the circle that the Fatespeakers had created, and walked towards Kilden and Rachel. As he approached the two, Rachel stepped back, and Kilden stood his ground, almost in a way to confirm it as his own. Shul changed his direction away from his brother, and toward Rachel.


He stepped closer and Kilden watched with either displeasure, or anger, as his brother stopped in front of the trembling girl; even her lips were quivering. Shul reached out towards Rachel, and grabbed her chin, tilting her head up so that she was forced to look into his eyes of ice. These very eyes seemed to widen, as if he gained knowledge just from a glance, for Rachel quickly closed her eyes. He released her chin.
Just when he released her, Kilden ran up to punch him, but two of the Fatespeakers, the Imp and the Elf, grabbed his arms. He struggled in their grasp, yelling out to his brother how much he disliked him. Shul walked towards his angry brother, and glared at him; at the same time Kilden's angry eyes almost seemed to threaten his brother in return. He left the throne room, the door closing bringing a silence. The two Fatespeakers released their grip on Kilden, who then released a few grunted breaths before slapping his own face.
Rachel was becoming tired and fell to her knees. Kilden rushed to her side and supported her upright.
“Rachel, are you alright?” he asked. He waited for her to reply.
“I...think so,” she said. She tried to stand up, but gained a headache, and sat back on her knees.
“I'd beg to differ.” Kilden picked her up and carried her away; Lineuss dismissed the Fatespeakers.
“Put me down!” Rachel demanded. She began to kick as well, but her headache kept her from kicking or struggling too much.
“If you can't even stand, what makes you think you can walk?”
“It's just a headache!”
“But it kept you from even standing.”
“I stood up too fast. I was just dizzy.”
Kilden set her down, and knelt down next to her. He placed his hand on her forehead, and withdrew it in only a moment.
“You're headache is from lack of food. I'll get you some.” He picked her back up and continued walking to the bedroom. Upon entering the room, Kilden placed Rachel on the bed, and walked away to get the food.
“Wait,” Rachel said; Kilden stopped. “How did you know it was a hunger headache?”
“All Imps can do that. It's a natural ability we have,” he replied.
“You don't look like an imp.”
“You don't know what the difference between creatures and their rulers are, do you?”
“No, not really.”
“I'll tell you in a minute,” Kilden replied as he walked off.
Rachel looked around for something to do. Then, after finding nothing of her interest, she began to think about the journal that was in her bedroom, that she had always loved to draw in. She lied down on the bed, and then felt something heavier than what should be a blanket on her legs. Rachel sat up, and found that the journal was there. She opened it, and flipped through the pages, looking at how all of her old drawings were still there.
“They're pretty. Did you draw all of those?” Kilden asked. Rachel popped her head up to find him standing in the doorway with a tray and soup.
“How do you know what they look like? The journal just appeared here.” She quickly closed the journal and held it close to her.
Kilden placed the tray on the bed next to her. “When you fell asleep earlier, that was for a couple of hours. I didn't take us here for a while, so I took a look at that journal. It was right under that book you were reading. Then, later, I took us here.”
“How did the book appear?” Rachel asked.
“How about, instead of making you dizzy again, you eat?”
“You don't want to tell me?”
“I don't want you to pass out. Now eat, please,” Kilden said as he sat back in the chair next to the bed. He then began looking around as if embarrassed. Rachel responded by eating the soup, which she noticed was only broth, but still came to feel like it had chicken and noodles in it when placed in her mouth.
“Chicken noodle soup,” Rachel said.
“It's whatever soup fits your mood at the moment. Most foods here are like that. Even the meat will never be something you don't recognize by taste,” Kilden replied, “Obviously, you felt like you needed some chicken noodle soup. I still don't know how chickens made noodles.”
Rachel almost laughed the broth up, but managed to swallow it first.
“Two years in the Outer Dimension and you still don't have a clue about it,” Rachel mocked.
“Cat's don't pay attention to stuff like that. I had the attention span of a cat also. It gave me a strange interest in windows.” Rachel giggled.


Rachel noticed how fast the broth went away. “Now that I've eaten, you still have yet to answer my questions.”
“Which questions? There were so many. Humans must be very curious creatures.”
“First, why did my journal appear out of nowhere?”
“This place was created mostly by human thought, the rest by God. He made us, and we decided that we didn't like humans all too much somewhere along the line, and now the only way we survive is through children's stories. This place gets everything it has by human thought. You were thinking about your journal, and so it came. You are human, so it responds to your thought as well.”
“Okay, I understand that. Now, what is the difference between creatures and their rulers?”
“Ah, yes, I did promise you that I would tell you, didn't I? The difference between creatures and their rulers is the fact that we rulers, me and my brothers, are related for one, and for two, we are all human, in a way.”
“You said you were an Imp.”
“I am an Imp, but I am also human, in a matter of speaking. You see, the rulers are the Originals. I am the Original Imp, Shul is the Original Elf, etc. etc. We are the only creatures in this world that were not created by thought. That is why all Imps look different, all Elves look different, and why the Fatespeaker Leprechaun has no 'Irish Accent'.”
“Okay. I have one more question for today,” Rachel said.
“And what question is that, Rachel?” Kilden asked her.
“Why is your land disappearing, yet the others flourish? I still don't understand that.”
“It has to do with something that I don't understand.”
“Why don't you understand? Don't you know why?” Rachel asked.
“Yes, and no. I do know why my area suffers, but not why my brothers do not help me to stop it, for if my land disappears, then so do theirs.”
“That's terrible! So, why is your world disappearing?” Rachel asked.
“It's because the children's stories, have changed.”
“Changed, how?”
“The last humans to come to the Innerworld were the Brothers Grimm. They knew that as long as humans had of the existence of stories, there would also be the existence of imagination, and of us. We live by imagination. When they went back to the Outerworld, they started telling children's stories, and then our lands flourished, including this one. But, after they passed on, their stories began to change, and soon, Imps were out of the stories, except in the few that elders didn't change.”
“So, why am I here? How can I help get your land back on its feet again?”
“You Believe, and that is all that is required. You will be the next storyteller.”
“Me, make up stories? You've lost your mind. I can't even make a convincing debate! Hence the C in speech class,” Rachel argued.
“There are other candidates, but you seemed the most likely to commit to the task. It's as simple as reading aloud. Actually, that is what you will be doing mostly. We have the original stories written by the Brothers, and, if the legends hold true, you can even ask them yourself for advice.”
“Aren't they dead?”
“Legend holds that every time one of their stories is told, then more and more of their souls and memories patch together here. Nobody knows where they are, though. They say it can only be located by a human Believer. It's the same legend for other dead fantasy writers. Some creatures here think Mary Shelly is here too.”
“Mary Shelly is who, again?”
“The author of Frankenstein.”
“Wait, if she imagined the characters, and the monster, then, that means-”
“Victor is dead, the creature lives. He is raised from the dead every time someone starts the book over. The monster still lives because he never dies in the book.”
“Creepy.”
“You won't have a problem. I'll even help you find them.”
“I thought only humans could find them.”
“You'll need a bodyguard and a guide.”
“Good point. I don't know this world yet.”
“Alright then. What say you that we begin the journey tomorrow?” Kilden asked her, just then turning his head to face Rachel.
“Sure, but, why so soon?”
“Dragons awaken at dawn, and slumber at sunset.”
“Why are we suddenly talking about dragons?”
“Because they are the oldest of the originals. They know this land better than anyone else.”
“Alright. To the dragons it is.”


That's all I've got so far. I'm still working on the next chapter, but I hope yall enjoy this. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/monster.png)

[Hasfusel]

Needs more description and information before you just launch into the story. Very important with fantasy or people will just take one look and go "lolwhat?"

[Mizukithepanda]

Also, I'd take it easy on the dialogue. You use way too much of it. Your story seems to be driven by what people say rather than what people do. Most actions in your story don't occur unless someone says something that leads to it happening. It's a very hindering writing style. It prevents you from properly describing scenes, actions, and character relationships because you're too focused on making everything they say plot important. Instead, you should be taking Hasfusel's advice and focusing more on imagery and general description - both of the world and the events within. Fantasy just doesn't 'pop' unless you have a very detailed world with very detailed, unique characters - both of which your story seems to lack.

[Hasfusel]

Yeah, fantasy pretty much relies on the strength of your description. Since you are aiming making the reader imagine the same wonderous places, characters and events as you are, it is vital to spend as much time as you can building up the settings to allow the action to fall into place without the reader losing interest or getting confused. You've introduced several imaginary races, for a start, without giving any kind of background or information about what they are. A helpful suggestion is that before you start writing your story proper, you make a kind of glossary for all the places, characters, races, events etc. to help you properly envision what it is you intend to describe to the reader.

[Rebecca]

wow....thanks for the advice, and, this is still kind of a rough draft, and one of my newer stories, so I haven't had much time for editing and such. But, thanks.

[Rebecca]

Thanks for all the advice on that story. Now I shall introduce, my first story, still unfinished.

Stranded Underground

Chapter one: I Take an Unexpected Field Trip
I was riding home on the bus with my friends, Katy, Angela, and Susan. The stupid seventh graders wouldn’t stop cussing, the eighth graders wouldn’t shut up, the high school kids were louder than ever on their I-pods, cell phones, and CD players, and it was impossible to finish my homework. I felt like I was about to lose it, but when the bus stopped at the next red light, I heard a strange noise.
When I looked out of the window towards the noise, and saw a little goblin-like creature. He had purple skin, a large nose, and a distinctive wart on his left hand. He had on a messy green robe and was wearing some sort of crown made out of a vine on his head. There were many more. They looked nothing like the one in front of me.
I tapped Katy on the shoulder and said, “ Katy, look! A goblin!” Katy looked out the window, and turned her head back to her book saying, “ I don’t see anything, Taylor.”
“ How can you not see it? It’s right there!” I said, pointing to the goblin.
“ If you think there is a goblin there, go ahead and believe it. I have some reading to catch up on,” said Katy.
I looked around, and saw about six other kids trying to convince their friends about something. I wondered if it was about the swarm of goblins.
The bus was moving again, and the goblins vanished. Before he left, the goblin in front of me said something that sounded like, “ May neem forkna.” I wondered what it meant. Was that what he was trying to say?
Before we got to the next light, I saw a strange shadow. It wasn‘t a normal shadow, it looked almost like a hole large enough to swallow the bus. The bus driver obviously wasn‘t looking because we went straight into it, very suddenly and without any warning. There was panic and screaming throughout the students. I almost thought that I heard someone laughing maniacally. The hole was very deep. So deep that we would have died. I almost thought that we did, but as I was screaming, my face got pushed against the window. Outside of it, I saw what looked like little green specs of light. They must have been very strong, because they caught the bus, and gently let us down at the bottom.
When we finally did get to the bottom, everyone was calmed down a little. Those of us who saw the creatures looked around at the beautiful scenery. Everyone else looked completely terrified.
Susan came up to me trembling, barely managing to let her words out. “ Taylor, are w-we um, u-underground? You know, with w-worms and b-bugs and stuff?” she asked.
I then replied, “ I’m not sure, Susan. All that I see is a grassland at sunset.”
Angela stepped in. “What are you, crazy?” she insulted. “There’s nothing but dirt!”
“What? How can you not see the beautiful sunset? The peaceful meadows! How can you not see it?” I questioned at her insult. I could feel the heat of her anger melting the ice of fear. Her face was turning into a volcano waiting to erupt. Her fear of the sinkhole was disappearing, as if she had forgotten it existed.
I couldn’t think straight. I knew what I was seeing, but couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How could my best friend yell at me like that? Was this the Angela that I knew? The Angela that I knew would invite me to a sleepover every weekend; the Angela that I knew was honest enough to tell me that I suck at cooking.
Then she said, “ You know what? I can’t believe that you aren’t screaming and shaking like everyone else.”
I looked around, seeing the same kids that saw the goblins arguing with their friends. I sat back in my seat and slouched. I slapped my hand on my forehead in grief. I was thinking of the possibilities of what was about to happen.
Suddenly, it got quiet. Not a single I-pod, cell phone, or CD was on. Every student, including myself, looked out of the windows to see what was happening. The beautiful sunset and peaceful meadow was gone. It was replaced with a dreary world, one that looked like happiness was only a myth. The blood-red moon shone down on the bus, only to soon be covered by a silver mist of fear. The gloomy trees waved in the wind, mimicking the fright that we had.
I suddenly felt as if a coldness struck my body, as the gloom raised in power. Then the gloom that surrounded me was replaced with the fear of what would happen.
I pulled my backpack onto my lap, and dug for my journal. When I felt the cardboard touch my hand, I grabbed it and pulled my journal out of my backpack, so I could write down exactly what was happening.
I began to write:
This is strange. The bus is in a sinkhole, and what I see is a land of beyond what I can describe. What will happen to the other students and myself, I do not know. What I do know is this. We have to get the heck out of here as fast as possible. We have nearly no food, and no chance for survival. I doubt that most of us will know what to do. Fortunately, I do. If I could just think of a way to calm everyone down so that we can get some order, not like I expect them to cooperate. Wish me luck.

Chapter two: We Fend for Ourselves
I figured the best way for us to start to get out of here was to get out of the bus. I told Susan that’s what we should do. “What are you, crazy? We don’t know what’s out there! We could get killed!” she screamed. I explained to her why we should do that. She just yelled at me more.
I looked around, it still seemed that everybody was either shaking in fear, or hugging the person next to them. I still remembered the people who saw the goblins. I got out of my seat to go talk to them.
I started in the back. The first person that I saw who also saw the goblins was a seventh grader. He looked paranoid.
As I talked to him, I learned that he not only was not a cusser like the other seventh graders, but also had been born exactly one year before me. His name was Sean.
I told him about my plan. He said that’s what he what trying to get his girlfriend, Olivia, to do.
We walked down to the next person. This one was a freshman in high school. Her name was Elizabeth. She also had been born exactly three years before myself. I was getting freaked out.
She actually told us the plan herself. She started with, “ I have an idea to get out of here.” We agreed, but reminded her that not many other’s would.
The next person was an eighth grader. His name was Danny. He was more of the quiet type.
As we argued and negotiated the plans, We all realized that we all have the same ideas.
We kept going down the bus. The next person was a sophomore named Julie. Then it was a senior named Austin.
The last person was a junior named Alex. She was more of the happy-go-lucky type to me. The thing that we all had in common, was the fact that all of our birthday’s were on August 5th. We all found this disturbing.
We walked up to the front of the bus, finding that the bus driver had vanished. I just stood there staring at the empty driver's seat while the other’s argued who should announce the plan to the bus. They agreed on Austin saying it.
Austin stood up straight, and everyone on the bus looked at him. He looked like he should be an excellent public speaker. He had that certain look that made him seem like the next president. These were the words he said.
“I know this may seem crazy, but getting off of the bus is the first step to survival. There is a world out there that I don’t expect you to see. What we up here see is a magnificent land that changes constantly. We need to work together so that we can get out alive. We need to work together so that we can get home safely. Those of us that can see the true gloom of the night on this strange world shall find food. We will give further instructions after everyone is off of the bus. Single file!”
Everyone including myself looked at him in awe. Everyone on the bus was soon standing on their feet waiting for they’re turn to get off. We counted everyone so that we knew how many people would be waiting for the food when we returned.
Once everyone was off of the bus, we split everyone into groups by grade level. Sixth graders would gather sticks and rocks for campfires. Seventh graders would dig for groundwater. Eighth graders would find the bugs that they saw and use them as food. The ninth graders would find dry leaves to make beddings out of. The 10th, 11th, and 12th graders would make sure that everyone behaved.

Chapter Three: The Hunters Now Prey
Once everyone was organized and in their groups, we assigned group leaders and left. We figured that everyone would think that we either went through the dirt, or down a tunnel. We got in a single file line by age, me being in the back as we walked through the mysterious world, which could not be described in words.
We searched around for food, but we didn’t know what was poisonous or not. Then we decided to search for creatures that lived here. We walked until we saw a mysterious and ominous cave. It had this feeling of something inside, but you just wanted to run. We argued over whether or not we should go inside. The decision was, if they were friendly, it’s okay to stay. If they attack, run.
We entered the cave slowly. It seemed creepy, like something would attack any second. I kept looking left and right to see if anything was there. Finally hearing what sounded like odd laughter and a language similar to how the goblin from the bus was talking, we started walking faster. When we got to what was making the noise, we saw the goblins from the bus dancing around a fire.
They stopped dancing when they noticed we were here. We had no idea what to do. There was one goblin standing on a large stone. He stared at us and pointed saying, “Hena ersho kon?” We had no idea what this meant, but Austin took one step forward and said, “ We are the only people here who can see you.” The goblins started jumping around saying, “ AKRONA! AKRONA!” Still having no clue what they were saying, we just slowly turned around and walked out. We would have walked out of the cave, but there were two goblins with spears blocking the way once I tried to walk out. The others noticed and immediately turned around to try and stop them. The goblin on the stone said, “Har lesa.” I had no idea what that meant, so I said to the others, “ Go on, I’ll be fine.” I thought that I would get in the way anyway. As the others left I turned around to face the head goblin. He made a finger notion that told me to come closer. I obeyed the notion because I didn’t know what else to do. He made another notion that told me to sit; I obeyed once more. The second I sat down I felt little hands grab my wrists and tie them behind my back. I also felt more hands grab my arms and tie my body as if they were trying to keep me from escaping. When they finished tying me up, they went back to dancing around the fire. All I could do was look around. I was afraid to speak, thinking that if I did, I would get hurt.
I waited for what felt like hours for some kind of help to arrive. I started to lose hope that I would ever be free.
I started to get sleepy, but then I heard a great amount of yelling. The next thing I new, there were a bunch of cat-like creatures surrounding us.
Immediately waking up, I saw the one in the front look me in the eye. There was a sort of glare and it felt like my knowledge of language was being passed on into the creature. The thing then looked the head goblin in the eye and immediately started to argue with him. I started to get drowsy again. The arguing stopped, and the ropes seemed to fall off. By that time, I was too tired to move. I fell asleep.

Chapter Four: I Meet Cat People
When I woke up, I was surrounded by the cat creatures. Some of them were whispering to each other, some were just staring at me weirdly. I just tried to calm down, remembering how they saved me from those goblins.
The creatures suddenly stopped talking to each other and staring at me, as the tallest one stood up. The rest of the creatures stood up and took a step back making a path leading to me for the tallest one to walk through. He walked silently and stopped about three or four feet away from me. Comparing my height to his, I was tiny.
“What is your name?” he asked calmly.
I was just curious at how he could speak two different languages without pausing to think about the translations. I was astonished.
“T-T-Taylor,” I answered nervously and quickly.
He just seemed as calm as ever, gave a compassionate smile, and asked another question.
“There are six more aren’t there? What happened to them?” He seemed very curious and as I tried to remember, I replied.
“I’m not sure. I was the youngest of us, and I told them to go on without me.” Telling the truth helped to keep me from stuttering, but my fear was turning into tears quickly enough that it was getting more difficult to hold them back.
“If the whereabouts of the other’s aren’t known, then we must go and search,” he said as he nodded to the other creatures.
He walked towards one of the others that was dressed in armor. He seemed to be giving him battle plans or something.
About fifteen or twenty minutes later, the creatures offered me some food. It smelled delicious. It looked like a soup of some sort. I wasn’t sure if it was poison or not. I looked around and saw the other creatures eating it without any ill effects. I tried it after my stomach growled like an angry lion. It tasted delicious. I had no clue what was in it, but it took the cold of the scenery away.
Suddenly I noticed that the cold scenery was going away. The sun was rising. The darkness and gloom faded away, and I felt happiness again. The gloomy, leafless trees suddenly had beautiful leaves and colorful fruits. The creepy moon turned into a bright yellow sun. I believed in hope again.
Then I felt sick. Had the food they’ve given me been poisoned but they can’t tell because they’re used to it? I clenched my stomach, as if trying to keep everything from coming out.
“Don’t get nervous. You just feel unsure about what’s happening.”
I looked up. There was one of those cat things standing in front of me. He had a look in his eyes that told me that he had an experience with battle before. But that look wasn’t easy to figure out, because he had his expression in a calm, comforting manner, rather than a serious, warrior manner.
I tried to find the words to respond, but nothing would come into my mind. I didn’t even have time to think until my mind slowly began to drift out of this world, and into another.
Just as fast as the hope and warmth came into my body, it left. Fear suddenly swelled inside of me, like a fire overpowering the wood. Though the world that I was in was beautiful and hopeful, I was still being dragged into the depths of hopelessness. It pulled me down deeper and deeper, until I was completely submerged and unable to see or feel any happiness. I was suddenly in sight of a gloomy world, worse than before, seeing nothing but others in pain, knowing that I will have no chance to help them.
I heard a scream and turned toward it. I couldn’t see the person who was screaming. The scream began to become faint, increasing my want to run and help that person, but my feet were unable to move. I recognized the voice, but couldn’t think of who it belonged to.
“ HELP, PLEASE! ANYONE!” it cried. “ PLEASE, I’M BEGGING, SOMEONE!” It repeated. It was a female voice. Obviously, being tortured or trapped.
I started to begin to recognize the voice, but then I lost my memory. Someone was shaking me.
“Snap out of it Taylor! Get your mind together!”
I suddenly came back into life again a moment later, feeling weak, and worthless. Why were the creatures of this world helping me as if I were royalty? I’m just putting them into danger. I wanted to save the owner of that scream.

Chapter Five: I Get Schooled
“ Sorry, I guess I just........I don't know....GAH!...I don't even know what I'm saying.” I grabbed my hair ready to pull it out. I yelled a sort of half scream, half moan. Whatever is happening here, I didn't understand anything about it, and these creatures expected me to help them.
“ If you will listen to us, we will explain everything that you need to know at this moment.” I heard it, but didn't completely understand it.
“ I don't quite understand. What do you mean by 'at this moment?'” Simply questioning I thought it would get me an even simpler answer.
“ By 'at this moment' I mean that there is much you need to know, but now is not the right time to know it. You will learn with time. First thing to know: this land is called Larnoc. We are the Purshla, and we can learn any language by looking the thing in the eye. That's how I easily argued with that Creake. That's those.......what do you call it.....goblin-things. And my name is simply Ranor. Easy enough for a human to pronounce.” He sounded like my sarcastic science teacher.
“ I have many questions. Will you be able to answer them all? I don't mean the average everyday questions that get stuck in my head. I mean the ones about this place. What did you call it, Larnoc?”
“ That depends upon the question, but if you listen, most will be answered before you even ask it. Second thing to know: according to most of Larnoc, you and your friends have unknown powers that even the oldest and most wise of them don't even know of, which is true, to a point.”
“ Will there be any physical lessons in this? Not just these verbal lessons?”
“ Yes. Like what not to eat if that's what you mean.”
“ No, that's not what I meant. I meant like in fighting, sword fighting, stuff like that.”
“ That depends on what we encounter. But now I have a question for you. When you were in that....trance, what did you see and hear?”
“ I heard a girl, screaming for help. I saw many things, being tortured, dying, or in pain.” I lowered my head afraid of what he would ask next.
I thought for a minute or two, and a question of realization popped into my mind. Lifting my head up I asked another question.
“ Why do you stutter when you talk? I thought you learned the entire English language.”
“ I did. To be exact, I learned the entire human language. The human language is not defined. And the English language has so many words to define things that it's hard to decide which word to use so that a young girl could understand it. By the way, how old are you anyway?”
“ I'm only twelve. Why do you ask?”
“ Ah, I see. You're just a child. That's why you don't understand most of what I'm saying.”
“ Now I return the same question. How old are you?”
“ In human years, I'd be in my late twenties, early thirties. But in reality, I'm about fifty four.”
I felt my mouth start to gape open and immediately retracted. I pieced and puzzled together everything he had just said.
“ How old is the Purshla life expectancy?” I asked letting my curiosity wander.
“ About one hundred thirty five and nine tenths of a year.”
I once again felt my mouth gape open, but didn't try to stop it. “What..how is that possible?” I had only just realized I had said that aloud when he responded
“ Well, the Purshla actually mature at a slower, steadier rate than humans, and for us to live our lives to full ability, we must...grow more and have a longer life than humans.”
“ Oh,” I said, “okay then.”
Later, after many questions and answers, we began to move. The Purshla quickly packed up their camp. We had decided that the best thing to do would be to search for my companions.
While we started walking I looked at the landscaping. Larnoc was so pretty. Everything about it just gradually grew from landscape to landscape.
Before I knew it, we had come to be next to a beautiful cliff side and camped. And that's where the fun started.
Chapter Six: Trapped, Me and Elizabeth
I'd decided to sit next to the cliff's edge. I don't know why, but I have this thing where I just always have to feel something on my back if I'm sitting down. I hate sitting with my back on thin air.
Anyway, I was staring at the clouds, and I had just then noticed a small hole, small enough for me to crawl through, but probably only me. I'd gotten extremely curious about it, and was tempted to see where it went to. I looked through the hole, and saw that there was another exit who knows how far away. Furthermore, I'd also heard voices coming through the other side.
I had gotten a little too curious and did the stupid thing and crawled into it. Almost immediately after my feet were inside the hole there was an explosion-like noise that I heard, and then I heard laughter coming from the other side of the hole. I decided to crawl through and find out just who caused that.
When I was just far away enough from the exit to still be in the shadows, I heard the voice that was there say, “ That's one human down, six left to go. That little girl should learn not to sit next to cliffs. No matter, she should be dead now anyway. Now, what shall we do with this one, Krilst?”
A scruff, and scraggy voice said, “ Perhaps, Master, we should simply stab her in the heart. That would be fast and painless for her.”
At that comment I heard a muffled voice try to argue, but there was something over her, I think it was a her, mouth.
“ I agree with her protests. Simply stabbing her would be no fun. What if she does know the location of the others?”
The first voice must have removed whatever disabled the girl from speaking, because she then began shouting.
“ I told you I don't know where they went! Why did you kill Taylor? That's so cruel and heartless!” I recognized the voice now. Not only was it the screaming voice in my vision, but it was Elizabeth's voice. She had apparently been captured.
“ I know, that's just me, but humans are hindrances. There is one more idea that would allow me to spare you,” said the first voice.
“ What might that include?” Elizabeth asked.
“ Swear loyalty to me. Become mine, forever!”
“ Never! I'll never become yours.” I heard her whisper something about him being perverted, then I heard him slap her.
“ Slow and painful death it is,” said the voice. He walked next to the hole I was hiding in, ( I could see his boots) and he kicked dirt and dust at Elizabeth, and some landed in the hole. The dust got in my nose and the dirt in my mouth so I sneezed and coughed.
The man who the voice belonged to crouched down and looked into the hole. I stayed completely still, and even closed my eyes to make sure there was no glint.
“Krilst, we have a visitor, but I can't reach her. Why don't you grab her and take her out, please?” he said.
Then this large, purple, mantis thing grabbed me with claw like arms and dragged me out, and once I was able to, I started kicking and screaming. I still had my eyes closed so I didn't see the man's reaction when he saw me. It must have been shocked.
“ HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?” he screamed. I then opened my eyes and saw an angry face, with scruffy black hair, and red eyes, oh, and blood red wings, like, dragon wings. “ I made that rock slide to crush and kill you!” He ran up to me and punched me. “ Right now, you might be an asset to us. Call for help and I'll kill you on the spot,” he said and then turned to Elizabeth, “ same goes for you!”
I then got a brilliant idea. It would either get me killed, or save my life.
“ AYUDENME!” I screamed. Immediately the dragon man ran up and slapped me.
“ I only slapped you because I didn't say you couldn't use another language. I should kill you for that. Try anything else like it and I won't hesitate.”
Krilst then dragged me over to where Elizabeth was tied up, and tied me up the same way I was when the Creakes had me.
“ Now, where are the others?” the dragon man asked me with a sweet voice.
“ I don't know. I was the first to get separated,” I told him.
“ It's true!” Elizabeth said, “ Those goblin things took her prisoner!”
“ Congratulations, you have an alibi. Krilst, why don't you make some modifications to the small one to get the other to tell us where the other humans are?”
“Gladly, Master.”
Chapter Seven: Catman to the Rescue!
The dragon man sat back while I was being tortured to get Elizabeth to tell where the others were. First I had my face rubbed in dirt, then I was beat up, and even got a few cuts in the process. Elizabeth stayed quiet, except for a few tears. My face practically turned to mud, and I yelled and screamed all the while.
“ I know that you know where the others are. They must have told you,” the dragon man said. He got up and walked to me, grabbed my head, and exposed my neck. “ Tell me where they are or she dies.”
Elizabeth immediately let out a flood of tears, and had her long, blond hair fall to the ground, and she was too engulfed in her tears to answer.
“ I told you,” she half blubbered, “ I don't know! Just don't kill her!”
He glared at her for a moment.“ You could never lie and cry about someone dying like that. You're too soft hearted.” He dropped me face first into the ground. I cursed and he kicked me.
He simply left me on the ground after that, and Elizabeth was still crying, so I began to think. Where was that stupid cat? What could be taking him so long? I know he heard me. And I know that he speaks Spanish as well. I was getting so frustrated that I began to cry as well, and tried to calm myself by singing a song by Nickelback, my voice staggering between sobs.
“ Prison gates won't open up for me, on these hands and knees I'm crawling, oh, I reach, for you. Well I'm terrified of these four walls, these iron bars can't hold my soul in, all, I need is you-” Right after I sang that I just began to cry, and only cry. I couldn't sing anymore, there was no happiness, or hope. I felt like I might as well crawl in a hole and die.
“ Come, please, I'm calling-” Elizabeth began singing. Maybe she was trying to cheer me up, but the tears were still running down her face at full speed.
“ And oh, I scream for you-” I continued.
“ Hurry, I'm falling.”
“ I'm falling,” I repeated. Maybe there was hope, I thought. We could survive. Maybe Ranor did hear me.
“ Show me what it's like, to be the last one standing,” Elizabeth and I started singing together, and we sang the entire song. As we sang, our tears slowly dried up, and when we finished, we just stayed where we were, melancholy again.
After an hour the dragon man walked up to us and told us the one thing that I did not want to hear.
“ We have no need for you two anymore. We have decided to get rid of you.” Immediately, Elizabeth and I both screamed protests at the top of our lungs.
“ I'd think not, Ner,” said a voice that I recognized. Elizabeth and I both popped our heads up at the same time.
“ Ranor!” I screamed.
“ Catman?” Elizabeth questioned.
Ranor punched Ner, the dragon man, and he went flying right into Krilst, knocking them both out.
“ You called? Why in Spanish?” Ranor asked.
“ He said don't call for help so I called for help in Spanish instead,” I told him. He untied both me and Elizabeth, and we ran away before the creatures woke up.
“ Clever as usual.”
“ So, uh, Taylor, who's your, should I say friend or pet?” Elizabeth asked. Ranor gave her the serious look.
“ Friend, and your head will explode if I tell you everything he told me; maybe my head might explode first.” Elizabeth took a second to laugh at my comment and we were on our way.


I know it ends a bit corny, but I ran out of ideas.