necromancer
Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2006
- Messages
- 13
This is the first draft of a new prologue for a book i'm writing called 'Rage's Call'
PROLOGUE
PARTING WORDS
PARTING WORDS
The man tried to wail, but stopped and instead made a gurgling noise, as if drowning. Poppy’s mother tried to restrain the thrashing man as his spasms became more and more irregular. The young man, who could have easily pushed aside the old healer, if he had been well, was weak from loss of blood. Still, his desperate, frantic efforts to fight death, began to overpower her mother, until the ochre haired girl who had brought him in ran across the room to help. Poppy could not tell weather she was his sister, friend or lover but she took hold of him and whispered calming words. He subsided and allowed his fragile body to be lain on the bed.
None of this had greatly interested Poppy, whose eyes had been drawn to the man’s dampening chest. She stared transfixed at hole from which the thick black liquid seeped out. It spread from his tunic and dribbled down his legs until it stained the stone floor. The stain would not come off, Poppy had seen it happen before and knew that she would have to clean it up. It wasn’t fair, she pouted. Her brother never had to do that sort of thing.
A circle of the floor around the treatment bed that was slightly lower than the rest of the floor stopped the blood from spreading too far. Stepping out of the circle, Poppy’s mother rushed over to one of many racks of potions and medicine. Carefully selecting three phials of different coloured liquids.
The first was unnamed and had a greenish tinge to an otherwise colourless solution. Clearly one of the dozens of different pain relievers. This one worked specifically on deep wounds. Poppy dodged the images of the knife wound that she had seen. It was silly she knew, in four years she would be fourteen and be expected to treat patients - under supervision of course. By fourteen she might even be allowed to use life magic. Mother said she had a fine supply, nearly as much as she had had at the same age.
Poppy knew would have to handle them. But not yet. She was not ready. Looking at the other phials, she recognised Fireroot Cleanser, an antiseptic. Only used in the most extreme cases, it cleaned the wound of all dirt and germs but caused server pain and sometimes inflammation. Even with the first potion it would be near unbearable.
Gleaming from her success so far, Poppy gleefully tried to remember what the third one was for. It had a name but she couldn’t quite remember. “Poppy!” Her mother stared at her as if seeing Poppy for the first time. “You shouldn’t be here. Go, find your brother and tell him to come.” Her quiet but powerful voice commanded her.
“But mother… I mean mistress, I can help. Thalin thought me how clean a wound and -”
“Please, I have need of your brother and you aren’t ready for this yet.”
Poppy strode out with as much dignity as possible, determined not show how angry she was; but once outside she pouted and stamped her foot. It wasn’t fair. Still she had been told to find Thalin. Grinning she tried to think of where she would find her brother. He wouldn’t talk down to her, and he was much more fun than her grumpy mother. He had shown her life magic before and used it to heal one of her pets. Still Poppy didn’t really need pets with a brother like Thalin around.
It wouldn’t be easy finding him. The hut they lived in was in the middle of a forest. Oak, cedar and ash trees seemed to shelter the hut from the outside world. All were adult trees, not a sapling to be seen. Poppy looked around the glade in which the hut had been built and found nothing except the crate of logs for firewood and the wooden rail for stabling horses which was occupied. But with only one horse. Not exactly surprising, the woman could ride much faster with one horse.
Remembering the many hiding places and haunts that they had used when playing, she decided upon the one they had used most recently. Looking to the edge of the clearing she spotted the well worn trail leading to the place and made towards it. The trees were quite close together and at other times Thalin had carried Poppy on his shoulders and they had pretended it was a shadow shrouded tunnel to another world. They had heard stories about such places.
Indeed the glade she now entered was like their own private little world. They called it the arena. Six crudely made staves were lined up at one side. Some were quarterstaffs and some shaped like swords. Thalin always let her win, but that didn’t stop her from bragging about it. He was best at everything after all. Sometimes she thought he was better than mother.
The glade was dominated by a massive oak which Thalin called the judge. On looking at the top branches, Poppy jumped. About a month ago Thalin had fashioned two spears. He never let her use them but he had showed her how to throw them. He always put them in the highest branches of the judge to prevent her from using them. She could never see why but now one on them was missing.
But he wasn’t here and Poppy disappointedly made her way to the stream. It was here where Thalin had tied a rope to a tree on one bank and had it high enough to swing to the other side. The stream was shallow and there were stepping stones to get back, but they had used it for fun not to get to the other side. He wasn’t there either so Poppy waded through the fallen leaves, climbed unto the rope and swung to the other side. It didn’t bring her the delight it normally did. Something was wrong.
She walked downstream to the furthest place away from home she had been without her brother or mother where the stream fed into a beautiful lake. Her breathe caught as she saw Thalin filling water skins. Near him rested a horse saddled and with a spear tied to its back.
She ran up and jumped on him so fast that Thalin barely had time to look around. He laughed and lifted her off him gently. His expression however confused her. It had happiness, concern, fear, surprise and the look people had when they were running out of time. “You’ve gone and messed up your hair.” He began straighten it and brush strands of it out of her face. “Girls are supposed to be worried about this sort of thing.”
“Mother wants you to come and help her with a patient. He has an arrow wound - the arrow was taken out though - and he lost a lot of blood.”
“I know.” Thalin began to fill the water skins again.
It took a while for those words to sink in. “How come you’re here then, Mother needs your help and you heal him, like you showed me before.” Tears began to form in her eyes.
Thalin who had finished with the water skins stooped and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. “It was too big a chance to miss. A distraction and a horse. Besides the only time mother needs my help is to give me experience, she can manage. I’m glad you found me, I thought I wouldn’t have the chance to say goodbye.”
Poppy suddenly wrapped her arms around her brother. “I don’t want you to go.” She said simply.
“This is more complex than what we want. Its my time to leave. I can’t stay in this place forever. I’m meant for better things, as are you.”
“Then can I come to.” Said Poppy expectantly.
“Your not quite old enough yet, but I’ll come for you one day. When your fourteen I’ll come and take you away from this place. Then our adventures could be real.”
Poppy stepped back and wiped her eyes. “Promise?”
“On my life and my magic.” Thalin embraced her one last time. “Don’t tell mother until she’s finished. Distractions could have fatal consequences. Goodbye Poppy.” He mounted his horse and began to ride away without turning back.
Poppy stood staring at him leaving for a few moments, watching him leave with the powerful feeling that she would not see him again. Just when he was barely visible through the trees she could not remain quiet.
“Goodbye Thalin.” She yelled. Thalin spun round but Poppy was already running back toward the hut.
Or maybe it's just me. But I do know of other people who skip prologues.
