Castle Paradox

[Ssalamanderr]

This is a possible intro for my current project, Shattered Glass. It is really long, probably too long, but I'm planning to change the last bit into a cutscene of sorts. Anyway, here it is:

Greetings fellow traveller! You seem a little lost. Here, come sit by my fire for a while. Dreadful night isn't it?
Hmm? What's wrong? Is it my eyes? do they frighten you? Could it be you do not know of me?
No? Well, that is good. I have travelled far to find a place to tell my tale, a place with fresh minds. Minds I could perhaps teach something too. Would you like to hear my story? You won't get far in the dark, and the rain tonaight just makes it worse. You will? Excellent. Make yourself comfortable as you can, and I will begin.
My journey began nearly four years ago, in the nation of Kynn. You've heard of it haven't you? It is far from here, but it is one of the richest and most powerful countries in the known world. Until recently it was merely a group of city states, only occasionally co-operating. In fact, back then, they often fought each other openly.
I grew up in Pesiar. A harbour city, among the largest in Kynn. My father was a former naval officer, and then an expert sailor and trader, while my mother ran a respectable inn.
My father, still very much a military-minded man, always insisted upon my training with a sword, though I never felt comfortable with one, and still prefer a pair of daggers. He was a knowledgable man, and though I complained often, what he taught me has saved my life many times. My mother was gentler, but taught me just as much. It was from her I learned how to deal with those most confusing puzzles: other people.
It was a good life, better than most, but I found I had no desire to be a soldier, or an innkeeper, or even a sailor. It was for this reason that I began studying with Arus the mage.
You understand better now I see. Yes, my eyes are the product of sorcery, though of a kind not seen on this world for hundreds of years.
Arus was a kind master, and from him I learned more than from both my parents combined. Yet I never truly became close to him. He frightened me, for even then mages were rare. Instead I befriended his other apprentice, Cilvi. She was a hard working girl, and took things much more seriously than I did. We became great friends, and studied often together. I discovered that I was a Shard, naturally gifted with magic, and I looked forward to a future where I could perfect my art.
Alas, it was not to be.
I arrived at Arus' Manse one day to find he had a visitor. It seemed I had interrupted an argument between the two. I shut the door and sat quickly, hoping to avoid my teacher's anger. However, the stranger chose that time to end the conversation, calling Arus a fool, saying he would not live much longer. Then the stranger gestured, and I felt my mind shatter.
I heard voices whispering in anguish, saw unearthly lights dancing in the dark, felt foreign prescenses invade my soul. Disoriented, unable to control myself, I let loose my magic.
I awoke to find a perfect circle of desolation around me. The priests of the Four Saviours approached, holy symbols held up, chanting songs of protection and warding. With despair I recognized they were working a spell to contain a demon possession. It could not be true! This is what I thought, but the prescences I had felt said otherwise. I think I fought then, refusing to believe I was possessed, but in the end they bound me with magic circle and chains of glass, and kept me hidden in a secret shrine.
There I stayed for three years, and the prescenses did not return.
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Ssalamanderr's Journal!: http://www.livejournal.com/users/ssalamanderr/

Ukelele no good!

[Jack]

for what it has to tell, i wouldn't say it's too long at all. you kind of leave it at a cliffhanger though (which i'm sure is where the game probably picks up), which left me wanting to find out: what the hells going to happen to him?!

anyways, great job, it was very well written. can't wait for the game (if it's not delete/cancelled)
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[Ssalamanderr]

Thanks a lot Jack! I'll probably post a bit more of the story later, but I haven't quite worked out all the details. Basically, there is a split between the cities, resulting in war, and Cilvi comes and let's him out so he doesn't get killed. A lot has changed in three years, including the development of gunpowder and the rising of a new religion. The main character's mind has split into five distinct personalities, which is incredibly confusing for him, but also increases his magical powers by quite a bit, because each personality is a Shard (naturally gifted with magic). The story is actually set several hundred years after my latest abandoned project, Bloodstone, and will have some of the same ideas in it.
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Ssalamanderr's Journal!: http://www.livejournal.com/users/ssalamanderr/

Ukelele no good!