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The Elementi Chronicles Book I: The Stone of Serenity
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I'm writing a book. Read what I have so far to understand it.
THE ELEMENTI CHRONICLES BOOK I: THE STONE OF SERENITY
Chapter I
___{:}___
The moonlight shone on the Lake's deep, fuchsia waters. Conifer trees fringed it, thickening into foreboding woods. The Lake was the center of the Faimón Forest, and it contained a great amount of magic. Its surface was smooth, undisturbed. All seemed well, yet it was not. A wild cry broke the peaceful silence. A shape tumbled down a path through the trees. Another shape hared after the first, who had a jagged gash down its side. "Tell me where it is and we can save a lot of trouble," the second animal growled. "Never! Never in my life!" the first cried, practically wailing. "Then I guess the information will die with you!" The second figure struck the first, shoving it into the Lake. After a while, its head bobbed up, gasping for air. "We. . . . won't. . . tell you! You'll never. . . find. . . . it. . . " The second animal chuckled quietly to itself. "And who's going to stop me?" It padded silently away into the trees.
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Sheena opened her eyes. Squinting through the thick water, she searched for the surface. She couldn't tell which way was which in the murky fuchsia water of the Lake, heavy with magic. It was the one body of water that Aquinas leopards couldn't swim skillfully in. There! A pinpoint of moonlight shone through the water. Sheena kicked strongly towards it, propelling herself through the Lake to that shaft of light. She could feel her breath slipping away. Just as she thought she would black out, her muzzle broke the surface. Sheena gasped for air, the gash Narwhal had given her stinging. She paddled for the shore, tail boosting her forward. The leopard reached the sandy beach and heaved herself up onto it. She shook her royal blue pelt out, shuddering.
Sheena knew that the Knowledge Protector would be proud. She would not reveal the Stone's location to anyone, especially not Narwhal, even if it cost her her life. The Aquai Leopards were the guardians of the Stone of Serenity and were part of the Elementi Leopards, along with the Ignis, Ventus, Aether, and Terra Leopards. Each kept a Stone of Harmony, like the Honesty Stone and the Joy Stone.
Each cult of Leopards selected one of their kind to keep all of said cult's lore, the Knowledge Protector. The tales and secrets of each cult were passed down through generations of Protectors. Sheena was training as the Apprentice Protector for her cult.
In addition to the Leopards in the five cults, there were Leopards that abandoned their birth cult and lived as enemies of the Elementi known as Rogues. Rogues banded together, and Narwhal lead his group, which he called the Rens. Narwhal and his group wanted to get everyone in Leovie who opposed the Stones of Harmony to join him, their goal being to capture the Stones, or destroy them, once and for all. Sheena didn't know what would happen if all balance in Leovie was destroyed, and she didn't really want to find out.
Lying on the shore now, gasping for breath, Sheena recounted the day she'd been selected for Apprenticeship by the Knowledge Protector, Ciel. . . .
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I'll add more later, I promise! Enjoy the story! Oh, and, biae!
submitted by Scylla
(February 5, 2016 - 10:02 pm)
(February 5, 2016 - 10:02 pm)
That is wholey and undeniably all right! You are under no obligation-- it's just a gift you give to me and the whole Chatterbox! :D
I'll be on the alert in a few hours. Looking forward to the Sheena portrait! :D
Ginger says 'youv'. Pardon me-- what have I done? 'Youv' done--what? ;)
(June 11, 2016 - 11:22 am)
Here's the next part...
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Sheena stared at the star pool, aghast at what her power had done. What she had done. Xiang was dead. Because of her. Sudden tears sprang to her eyes, and she sank onto the peaty ground in mourning. "Oh, Xiang....." she murmured, gazing into the pool's depths. A teardrop fell, sparkling in the morning sun, and sizzled when it made contact with the star-water. Sheena stayed there for a long time, silent in her grief. She was exhausted, and all traces of energy and strength had evaporated. She lay her head on her paws and closed her eyes. As she drifted into unconsciousness, she heard voices... Voices right behind her.
She was on her paws in an instant, glancing around for the source. A team of Aqua leopards was padding through the Marsh, noses held to the ground, probably searching for Xiang, or Sheena, or both. Sheena tensed. They don't know yet, she told herself. But they could guess, the voice reasoned. And it's not exactly normal for the Knowledge Protector's Rook who happens to have suspiciously dark fur to be sitting by a pool filled with sizzling hot star-water. Mind made, up, she slunk away.
Fighting every instinct not to break out in a run, Sheena kept her belly low to the ground and made sure the grass and reeds covered her fur. Keeping the team in her peripheral vision, Sheena clawed her way up a tree. She crouched in the foliage, watching tensely.
"...Can't scent anything," one said. His voice carried over the Marsh to Sheena's perch and she sighed in relief. The speaker beckoned to his team with a wave of his tail and they left. They're gone now, Sheena thought. But what happens now? I can't go back, not after what happened... But then she remembered. The Stone of Serenity. Narwhal. His Ferals. She suddenly knew what she needed to do. She needed to find Narwhal and end his treachery forever.... and she was prepared to kill him if necessary. "After all, I'm a practiced murderer now," she muttered to herself. Sighing miserably, she leaped from the tree and headed into the distance.
~~
The End of Chapter 4! I think. The drawing will take a while to come because I don't have all the necesary colors.
(June 11, 2016 - 3:06 pm)
Fantastic! (really fantastic.) How many chapters do you gage there'll be? :D Keep it up! And I'm still looking forward to the portrait ;) Good luck!
(June 11, 2016 - 4:26 pm)
I really don't know. There will be as many as there are by the end of the book.
Esthelle-- I really want to thank you for reading this. You're the only reason I've kept writing and without your encouragement, this story would be a pile of dust in the back of the forum. You kept me going when it mattered must and now I'm completely wrapped up in the story. You count on me to write more and I hate to disappoint you. So thank you.
(June 12, 2016 - 9:21 am)
Scylla- Oh! *tears welling up* I had no idea! Oh! Thank you! :)
(June 18, 2016 - 10:56 am)
Breaking news! I'm changing the title from The Stone of Serenity to Hidden. Admins, can you change it, please? Also, here's my picture of Sheena! I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It's oil pastels.
(June 19, 2016 - 1:47 pm)
That drawing of Sheena is absolutely-tootly amazing! I love the blue-green pelt, the splotches of cyan and green, and the way you draw the hind leg in sitting position is great! Drawing sitting cats can be very tricky.
(June 20, 2016 - 6:58 am)
Thanks! It's kind of funny, drawing sitting LEOPARDS is easier than drawing standing ones.
(June 20, 2016 - 5:23 pm)
*jaw drops*
(June 26, 2016 - 7:25 am)
Dont for got about me, your other loyal fan! Wow! Great chapter! And that is an OMGoodness amazing portrait, Scylla!!!! It's amazing! I wish I could draw and paint like you.
(June 24, 2016 - 8:40 am)
Thanks! And it's not a painting, I'm bad at painting. It's oil pastels.
(June 24, 2016 - 9:34 am)
I meant to say 'forget' not 'For Got'. I hate and love auto correct. But right now I hate it. It's like it spells things wrong on purpose. And I guess I was confused. I must have thought you meant 'oil paint' or something. I've never worked with oil pastels, but either way, the picture turned out ️Absolutely exquisite!
(June 26, 2016 - 8:27 am)
I love the story too! How's it going on the next part, Scylla?
(June 24, 2016 - 4:03 pm)
Your picture is a jewel, Scylla! You are so talented :)
(June 25, 2016 - 10:33 am)
Thank you, both of you. Now, for the next part, I've had bits and pieces floating around in my head -- little snippets I think might sound good-- but nothing's connecting. I have, however, been thinking up edits and revisions for earlier parts that I'll add into my main text document.
(June 25, 2016 - 9:35 pm)