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The Elementi Chronicles Book I: The Stone of Serenity
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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.
__________
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. . . .
________
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)
I edited Chapter Numero Uno (Chapter I). Sorry it took so long, Esthelle.
The
moonlight shone on the lake's
deep blue
waters. It was fringed
by conifer trees, which
thickened
into foreboding woods. The lake
was at the
center of the Aqua
Forest, and it hid
something more precious than anyone knew.
Its surface was smooth, undisturbed. All seemed well, yet it was not.
A wild cry broke the peaceful night
silence. A creature
with a jagged gash in
its side tumbled down a
path through the trees. Another shape hared after the first,
demanding,
"Tell me where it is and we can save a lot of trouble."
"Never!
Never in my life!" the first wailed.
"Then
I guess the information will die with you!"
The
second figure struck the first, slamming
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
remaining animal
chuckled quietly to itself. "And who's going to stop me?"
it muttered,
padding
silently away into the trees.
~*~
Sheena
opened her eyes. Squinting through the dark water, she searched for
the surface. She couldn't tell which way was which in the murk of the
lake, despite her enhanced underwater vision. It was the only body of
water that Aqua 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 moonlight. She could feel her breath slipping away, spots
dancing before her eyes. Just as she thought she would black out, her
muzzle broke the surface. The leopard gasped for air, the gash
Narwhal had given her still stinging.
Sheena
paddled for the shore, tail swishing to boost her forward. She
reached the sandy shore and heaved herself up onto it. She shook her
deep 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 Aqua leopards were the guardians of the
Stone of Serenity and were part of the Elementi Tribes, along with
the Ignis, Ventus, Aether, and Terra tribes.
Each
settlement kept a Stone of Harmony, like the Honesty Stone and the
Joy Stone. These Stones were essential to the peace and overall
harmony of the tribes, and Sheena had learned that if even one were
to be stolen, then the tribes would go to war.
Each
tribe of leopards selected one of their kind to keep all of their
tribe's lore: the Knowledge Protector. The tales and secrets of each
tribe were passed down through generations of Protectors. Sheena was
training as the next Protector for her tribe.
In
addition to the leopards in the five tribes, there were leopards that
abandoned their birth cult and lived as enemies of the Elementi. They
were known as feral. Narwhal, the leopard who had attacked Sheena,
was feral. Narwhal and his band of followers wanted to recruit
everyone in the terrain who opposed the Stones of Harmony and the
tribes, their main goal to capture the Stones or destroy them once
and for all. Sheena didn't know what would happen if they succeeded
and she didn't really want to find out.
Lying
on the shore now, Sheena recounted the day she'd
been selected as a rook by the Aqua Knowledge Protector, Ciel. .
. .
(July 11, 2016 - 4:28 pm)
Neat work! :D This is my favorite thread in BaB.
(July 16, 2016 - 2:38 pm)
Well, there aren't very many active threads in BaB so... there aren't many options? But thanks! I will either post a revised Chapter II or a continuation of Chapter V next.
(July 16, 2016 - 7:15 pm)
Cool! Editing is pretty important.
(July 16, 2016 - 5:31 pm)
still love this story! That last chapter was so...sad. :,-(
(July 22, 2016 - 11:54 am)
Looking forward to New Installment or Revision! :D
(July 23, 2016 - 12:38 pm)
Oh, I'm sorry! It completely slipped my mind! I had an art camp this week (it was oil pastels) so I was really busy. Thankfully I finished my other story, though.
(July 23, 2016 - 3:17 pm)
That's all right! Now I have a whole week to look forward to it-- and building anticipation is notoriously good for authors and their works ;) I'll be here next week, rain or shine-- unless I can't for some unimaginable reason ;D
(July 23, 2016 - 9:17 pm)
Ill definitely be checking this thread come Friday!
(July 24, 2016 - 8:18 am)
*cries* I can't believe I neglected my beautiful project for so long!
~~~
As the sun set, throwing rays of glowing orange over the marsh, Sheena realized she had no plan whatsoever. She didn't know what she was trying to do--was it stop Narwhal, or to protect and defend the Stones of Harmony? The former led her to another question: What was she trying to stop him from doing? She didn't even know what he wanted.
The marsh seemed to go on forever. Sheena flicked water from her paws, wondering when it would end. She was tired of its monotonous soggy earth, scant trees, and silence. There was hardly anything to hunt, and nowhere to sleep. Sheena tried to find a landmark, anything to guide her, but came up empty. And she faced the truth: She was lost.
Sheena was so deep into the Marsh that she couldn't see any of the forest that bordered it. She scented the air, hoping to catch a trace of the familiar scents of woodland, but found none. All she could smell was marsh. Tears sprung suddenly to her eyes. What was I thinking? I'm not even a full Knowledge Protector. Why did I think I could handle this?
Her paws dragged on the peaty ground as the first stars began to shine in the dusky sky. Exhaustion wore away at her limbs and she knew she needed to rest before she could set out again. True to her Aqua nature, she collapsed into a pool of water, thankful for its coolness as it flooded around her. She laid her head on her paws, shutting her eyes, but sleep was a long time coming.
~
(July 29, 2016 - 5:52 pm)
Wooooowwwww. Awesome! Beautiful description, Scylla. And I know how you feel- some days I get five or six pages of my story written, sometimes I don't do anything for a whole week.
(July 30, 2016 - 12:26 pm)
Thank you! For some reason, when I wrote it, I felt like it was not up to my usual standard, but it received a similar reaction so I don't know what I was worried about.
~
When Sheena woke at the next dawn, she expected to have another day full of pointlessly wandering over the Marsh. But then she noticed something that had not been there before--the faintest whiff of pine trees. Her violet eyes brightened and her ears perked up. She leaped from the water, scattering shining droplets over the reeds, and sniffed the air again to make sure it was real. To her relief, the wind was still, so the scent would not waver. Reigning in her excitement, Sheena carefully began to follow the scent.
It took the Aqua leopard on a winding trail over the Marsh, sometimes nearly disappearing. But to Sheena's delight, it began to gradually strengthen. Before the sun was at its zenith, she had reached what seemed like the most beautiful thing in the world: a forest.
(July 30, 2016 - 4:20 pm)
I do believe this is the best installment yet! Completely worth the wait-- the description is lovely. :)
Sorry I'm a little late-- I had household chores for most of the day. Once again-- my anticipation, and everyone else's, has been more than fulfilled. Thank you! :)
(July 30, 2016 - 5:14 pm)
Keep it up, Scylla! :)
(July 31, 2016 - 9:36 am)
This is amazing, Scylla! I just finished reading it, it's really creative. You're a great artist!
Also, I think I know what you meant by half moon, even if you changed the hidden to Sheela. Did you mean that Luna was going to be half Aether? On page two she was described as having indigo fur and "white spots seeming to glow like stars," like an Aether. Her name also means moon. Half moon, which seems like more of an Aether name too. She also got really freaked out when they started talking about what happens to cubs from two different cults.
(August 2, 2016 - 5:07 pm)