Prologue
Leaf slowly walked up the stone steps that reached ever higher, until he stopped before the looming castle he was heading for. The grey towers seemed touch the darker clouds that unleashed heavy lashes of hail and rain numbing him. The cold seeped through his violet cloak reaching to his very bone chilling him all around, his milky-blonde hair that would usually hang carelessly over his eyes was plastered to his forehead contrasted by his amber eyes. His lean muscle body was hidden underneath his thick violet cloak, a hand resting on twin katana that hung hidden on his sides.
Leaf glanced below him to see thousands of steps leading back to ground below, though he was so high up it was lost from view. Despite the clouds he could see the barren wasteland that had once been his home, fire erupted from the ground, poisonous fumes trailing across the earth .
Several rocks slid down the mountainside causing him to flinch at the thought of a landslide, though he relaxed and kept on walking. His legs and thighs burned as they rose and fell onto step after step, his body not at all used to this amount of walking in one go. If he went back his future would be filled with death and sin, but forward a new beginning awaited him.
“Halt there trespasser!” Leaf turned around to find the owner of the voice but to no avail, all he could see was rock and stone. “You dare enter these holy grounds”.
Suddenly the wind picked up and Leaf turned to see two men before him, they were both completely identical in every way barring the eyes, one was green and the other blue. They both wore plain orange robes with an identical sage, they had a light tan like Leaf’s own but there were bald as well.
“Let me pass” Leaf said as he bowed curtly to the monks. They looked at him ludicrously before a wooden bow-staff appeared in their hands with which they held in a battle stance.
“No. You are not worthy” they replied in unison before leaping at his calm figure. They spun the staff quickly as they came the end ready to meet the traveller’s head but it never came. At the least second he ripped his katanas from their scabbards and brought them up to block the attack, then a he drew back one blade and thrusted at the green-eyed twin. After the initial shock he leapt away before swinging at his legs. He flipped over and slashed at Blue who blocked it before smacking his wrists, the swords fell out of Leaf’s hand. He reached down but Green rapped the back of his head, making stars appear in his eyes.
Leaf cried out and spun round, his foot raised until it connected with their heads, forcing the to twins fall on their backside. Just as they were about to get back up cold steel pressed against the soft flesh of their neck which made them both flinch.
Leaf held his blades before them before leaning his head closer and whispering; “Get out of my way!” They both stood once Leaf returned his katanas to their scabbards, and then to his surprise they bowed and vanished as another gust of wind blew past.
He carried on up the slick steps as the rain grew harder than ever, saturating his clothes making them cling to his body. In a fluid motion Leaf sheathed his blades and swept his hair from his forehead. Only a few steps remained before he reached the House of the Elders.
“Open!” Leaf called as he reached the iron gate rapping his knuckles against the cold metal, with beads of water slowly dripping down. Only the sound of thunder and the repetitive sounds of rain hitting stone could be heard, but Leaf was patient and stood waiting for passage into the unknown.
Extremely slowly the door opened a crack silently, light poured through the gap onto Leaf’s face before someone peering at him blocked it.
“ State your name, stranger” the voice was thick and oily obviously belonging to a sharp-tongued man.
“I am Leaf” he replied his voice rose against the storm that encircled him. The eye that was visible widened before the door opened very suddenly, blinding Leaf with the intense light that poured from the doorway. Leaf looked back once before stepping forward and was engulfed by the light until he was lost to the outside world.
Leaf found himself in a circular, fifty-foot wide room with a semi-circular oak table in front of him. Chandeliers swayed above his head illuminating the room leaving no shadow, despite the various artefacts in the room. He looked back at the table to see seven men and seven women all garbed in pure-white robes watching him intently in silence.
“So you have come young fighter” their voices seemed to merge together though none of them had moved their lips. “ But might I ask…what you came for?” Leaf closed his eyes momentarily searching for the best way to answer these strange beings, for he knew that they were not human.
“I have wish…to start again!” he stated simply looking each of the entities in turn before lowering his gaze to the lush red carpet that he stood on.
“You have a darkness within yourself, only way to redemption is through embracing it… and controlling it,” they said causing Leaf look up with mingled confusion and also realisation.
“Very well” they said raising there arms in the air. Light erupted from the hands in all the colours of the spectrum, until they connected at the centre of the room in a mass array of colours. It was so bright, brighter than the sun itself forcing Leaf to cover his eyes as the image burned into his retinas. Then a the light began to dim allowing him to look and see a wondrous sight that he could never forget.
He found himself floating a void of darkness, so dark he couldn’t see himself, though there was nothing to see. He felt like a spirit wandering through the void until collected by the higher forces. Then small pinpricks of light began to appear, it circled him, guiding him to the way. Then the atmosphere changed as a enormous beam of light burst in front of Leaf, growing larger until it became a circle of light unlike anything he had ever seen before.
Leaf then reached and put his hand into the light, before it sucked him in sending to another world, a world like no other. A world of darkness, a world that needed Leaf more than he knew…
Author’s Note: Please review and give tips for me please. Please criticise and help me improve.
Leaf slowly walked up the stone steps that reached ever higher, until he stopped before the looming castle he was heading for. The grey towers seemed touch the darker clouds that unleashed heavy lashes of hail and rain numbing him. The cold seeped through his violet cloak reaching to his very bone chilling him all around, his milky-blonde hair that would usually hang carelessly over his eyes was plastered to his forehead contrasted by his amber eyes. His lean muscle body was hidden underneath his thick violet cloak, a hand resting on twin katana that hung hidden on his sides.
Leaf glanced below him to see thousands of steps leading back to ground below, though he was so high up it was lost from view. Despite the clouds he could see the barren wasteland that had once been his home, fire erupted from the ground, poisonous fumes trailing across the earth .
Several rocks slid down the mountainside causing him to flinch at the thought of a landslide, though he relaxed and kept on walking. His legs and thighs burned as they rose and fell onto step after step, his body not at all used to this amount of walking in one go. If he went back his future would be filled with death and sin, but forward a new beginning awaited him.
“Halt there trespasser!” Leaf turned around to find the owner of the voice but to no avail, all he could see was rock and stone. “You dare enter these holy grounds”.
Suddenly the wind picked up and Leaf turned to see two men before him, they were both completely identical in every way barring the eyes, one was green and the other blue. They both wore plain orange robes with an identical sage, they had a light tan like Leaf’s own but there were bald as well.
“Let me pass” Leaf said as he bowed curtly to the monks. They looked at him ludicrously before a wooden bow-staff appeared in their hands with which they held in a battle stance.
“No. You are not worthy” they replied in unison before leaping at his calm figure. They spun the staff quickly as they came the end ready to meet the traveller’s head but it never came. At the least second he ripped his katanas from their scabbards and brought them up to block the attack, then a he drew back one blade and thrusted at the green-eyed twin. After the initial shock he leapt away before swinging at his legs. He flipped over and slashed at Blue who blocked it before smacking his wrists, the swords fell out of Leaf’s hand. He reached down but Green rapped the back of his head, making stars appear in his eyes.
Leaf cried out and spun round, his foot raised until it connected with their heads, forcing the to twins fall on their backside. Just as they were about to get back up cold steel pressed against the soft flesh of their neck which made them both flinch.
Leaf held his blades before them before leaning his head closer and whispering; “Get out of my way!” They both stood once Leaf returned his katanas to their scabbards, and then to his surprise they bowed and vanished as another gust of wind blew past.
He carried on up the slick steps as the rain grew harder than ever, saturating his clothes making them cling to his body. In a fluid motion Leaf sheathed his blades and swept his hair from his forehead. Only a few steps remained before he reached the House of the Elders.
“Open!” Leaf called as he reached the iron gate rapping his knuckles against the cold metal, with beads of water slowly dripping down. Only the sound of thunder and the repetitive sounds of rain hitting stone could be heard, but Leaf was patient and stood waiting for passage into the unknown.
Extremely slowly the door opened a crack silently, light poured through the gap onto Leaf’s face before someone peering at him blocked it.
“ State your name, stranger” the voice was thick and oily obviously belonging to a sharp-tongued man.
“I am Leaf” he replied his voice rose against the storm that encircled him. The eye that was visible widened before the door opened very suddenly, blinding Leaf with the intense light that poured from the doorway. Leaf looked back once before stepping forward and was engulfed by the light until he was lost to the outside world.
Leaf found himself in a circular, fifty-foot wide room with a semi-circular oak table in front of him. Chandeliers swayed above his head illuminating the room leaving no shadow, despite the various artefacts in the room. He looked back at the table to see seven men and seven women all garbed in pure-white robes watching him intently in silence.
“So you have come young fighter” their voices seemed to merge together though none of them had moved their lips. “ But might I ask…what you came for?” Leaf closed his eyes momentarily searching for the best way to answer these strange beings, for he knew that they were not human.
“I have wish…to start again!” he stated simply looking each of the entities in turn before lowering his gaze to the lush red carpet that he stood on.
“You have a darkness within yourself, only way to redemption is through embracing it… and controlling it,” they said causing Leaf look up with mingled confusion and also realisation.
“Very well” they said raising there arms in the air. Light erupted from the hands in all the colours of the spectrum, until they connected at the centre of the room in a mass array of colours. It was so bright, brighter than the sun itself forcing Leaf to cover his eyes as the image burned into his retinas. Then a the light began to dim allowing him to look and see a wondrous sight that he could never forget.
He found himself floating a void of darkness, so dark he couldn’t see himself, though there was nothing to see. He felt like a spirit wandering through the void until collected by the higher forces. Then small pinpricks of light began to appear, it circled him, guiding him to the way. Then the atmosphere changed as a enormous beam of light burst in front of Leaf, growing larger until it became a circle of light unlike anything he had ever seen before.
Leaf then reached and put his hand into the light, before it sucked him in sending to another world, a world like no other. A world of darkness, a world that needed Leaf more than he knew…
Author’s Note: Please review and give tips for me please. Please criticise and help me improve.