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This is a single write. I got the idea while drawing a sword. Random, I know, but it sparked the idea for "The Sword of Angorn." Here is the first installment. I'd love comments, suggestions or tips. Many imaginations are better than one!
Coal Maiden, or Scruff Face, is what I answer to at work. At home, Mum calls me Jayda, Jay-Jay or J-Jewel. She likes to switch the nick-names a lot. Those are just the current ones.
Anyway, I live in the Angorian town of Coffnai. We are just barely in Angorn, and no-one really cares about us. I'm Jayda, as you've probably already figured out. I spend my days cleaning houses to help Mum with all the money issues. Coffnai is known for high prices at its tiny market. We can hardly afford the basic necessities. I spend my nights sleeping, or dreaming about escaping this dump. Mum is the only thing that keeps me here, since at fifteen I could find work probably anywhere else. I've often asked her why she stays. She says it is the last remnant of my dead papa she has. I've no idea why. His body was blown up, and we couldn't even buy him a grave. This house was abandoned on the city outskirts. We fixed it up as much as possible and moved in. Mum never talks about how she brings the money home, and I never ask. Without it, we couldn't survive.
submitted by Bear of Intelligence, age 13, U.S.
(March 12, 2017 - 6:54 pm)
(March 12, 2017 - 6:54 pm)
Heeeeeeeeeeeey, and TOP;)
(March 12, 2017 - 7:18 pm)
TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP
(March 13, 2017 - 8:41 am)
???TOP??!!
(March 14, 2017 - 7:31 pm)
I like this a lot! I'm curious about the rest of the setting. Hope you write more :D
(March 13, 2017 - 7:52 pm)
Thanks
!
(March 14, 2017 - 7:19 pm)
In Coffnai, school is a luxury. If you have wealthy parents, they send you to the University of Higher Education in the suburbs. It doesn't matter whether you are smart or not. It just gives them bragging rights. My mum's parents were rich for a bit, and they did send her to the University. She taught me the basics skills, but when I showed more interest in them, she schooled me in Calculus, Latin, Greek, and writing. It came in handy for a lot of things.
The first upset to my life was when my dad was killed in a mine explosion, along with my friend Colian's mum. We cried together. Then we both moved on, me to my job, her to another town, I never knew where.
On Sabbath I like to go out to the beach. Mum is usually sleeping, so I don't tell her I go. She wouldn't like me going, I know. She worries about my "seasonal depression," aka I miss my dad. The accident took away both my parents, in a way.
This Sabbath, as I strolled along the damp sand, a crisp wind brushing my cropped brown hair back from my face, I see the sun flash against something up ahead, half-buried in the sand. I walk a little faster. The object is a charm, diamond set in silver, on a thin chain. I pick it up and examine it. The diamond appears to be genuine, and the silver of the highest quality. Jewelry is rare in this town, and makes the wearer a mug target. I hide the necklace in the pocket of my pants and strike out for home. Once there, I go to my room and lay the necklace on the pile of blankets I call my bed. I plop down on it and take the necklace in my hands, turning it over. Such an expensive item surely wouldn't just be left on a beach by accident, would it? On the back in flawless script, is engraved:
In your hands lies the heart of this land.
To protect or expose is now your command.
To keep Angorn safe is the purpose of the jewel,
And safekeeping of it is not taught in school.
If so you choose to abandon it now,
Then know that you choose to allow,
An evil to grow in the safe Land Of Snow.
But if you choose to keep it,
Then seek the lost Sword of the Hope,
And master the secret of the rope,
And you shall save the Lord of the Cape of Good Hope.
I squinted at the words, wondering if I'd misread them. Angorn was and never had been a land of snow. Maybe once a year it came, if at all. I was thankful for that, we would never be able to afford coats to protect us from the bitter cold.
The Sword of the Hope was a legend. King Taran and Queen Amber of so many years past had forged it, commandeering the aid of the elves and dwarves, and giving it a secret power. I assumed it was the "power of the rope," though it made no sense. And the Lord of the Cape of Good Hope was the king of the sea. The cape of good hope was where he met and spoke with the kings of the land. Angorn had not attended the ceremony since our revolution twenty years ago.
Hope ya'll like Installment #2 of The Sword of Angorn!!
(March 14, 2017 - 8:14 pm)
I like it!
(March 15, 2017 - 6:31 am)
Hey, I really like this! Keep up the great work!
(March 15, 2017 - 5:42 pm)
A peace ceremony at the Cape of Good Hope was due in a few weeks. It's always chockfull of guards and curious townsfolk. The idea of the ceremony was to help keep good relations between the lands that participate and the Lord of the Sea. The current Lord is just a merboy. I've heard complaints about how young he is to be a ruler. His father, the previous Lord, lived to be a mere thirty years old.
(March 17, 2017 - 4:17 pm)
Hello. I am writing this at five thirty my time, A.M., so please bear with any mistakes. *laughs cornily at pun*
After a difficult day, I usually go sleep, but with all hte strange events going on, I decide to go back to the beach with a lantern and check the area where I found the necklae for any other items. ONce there, I search adn search, and find nothing. I begin to walk towards home, and collide with a person, head to head. I find myself on the ground, rubbing an unsightly bruise on my forhead. My "attacker" is a short boy, with cropped red hair and many freckles. He sees me on the sand and immediately stumbles over to help me.
"I am so sorry. I wasn't paying atttention to where I was going, I mean, well, No-one is ever out on the beach at this hour, and I... I ..." He falters.
"Don't worry about it. I'll just go home adn dia from the post-traumatic streww, it's fine. If you are going to roam the beach at night, then maybe you should carry a lantern. It helps you avoid collsions if you can see in front of you."
He laughs nervously. I turn to again begin the trek home when he grabs my arm.
"Look, I'd better take you back to wherever you came from. This beach can get dangerous. I feel responsible for protecting you, after I almost killed you. I'm Liam." He held out his hand.
I gave him a quizzical look.
"I appreciate the good will, but I know how to get home on my own. I also can't see you 'protecting' me anymore than I can myself."
Liam sighed.
"I'll just trail behind you awkwardly, then. Your boyfriend won't see a peep of me. What's your name, though, before I vanish inot thin air?"
"Jayda."
LIam grinned, then vanished inot thin air.
(March 20, 2017 - 4:45 am)
I waved my hand over where he had been a mere second ago, but felt nothing.
"Hey! Where'd you go?" I called.
I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned. Liam stood there, beaming nerdily.
"That was incredible. Who taught you that? All magic around here is commonplace cleaning stuff."
"Umm, I sorta taught myself. You'see, I'm a scavenger of sorts, and one day, I was going through the scraps behind one of the rich houses, when one of their kids caught me. I just sort of vanished, I was so scared. I'v been practicing it a lot lately. It comes in handy fr all sorts of things. I don't think it's magic, though. It is more of just a... thing." He shrugged sheepishly, bright red creeping across his face.
"I think that's probably the most interesting thing I've seen since I ws born. I don't have anything like that, just this."
On a spur of the moment impulse, I pulled the necklace from my pocket.
(March 20, 2017 - 10:38 am)
Liam gapes at me, then grabs my hand, pulling the necklace from my grasp.
"Where did you get that? Give it to me!"
I jerk back.
"Why? I found it."
Liam cradles the necklace in his hands, then gingerly drops it into his pocket.
"This is the most precious thing you'll ever handle in your life. Did you even read the engraving?"
" Yes! That is why I was out here! I was trying to figure it out! Was it yours originally?"
Liam groans and plops down on the sand.
"This is going to mean a lot of explaining. Sit down."
I sat reluctantly.
" I got this from my mother. She dies about a year ago, when I was 15. She had known she was about to die for a while. She told me about my dad giving the necklace to her, and the story behind how it. My dad was a descendent of the Lord of the Sea. This necklace was forged as the key to the vault of the Sword of Angorn so that they would be joined. The kingdoms, that is, not the key and the vault."
(March 21, 2017 - 2:16 pm)
Hello! Sorry it has been such a long time between installments, but you know how crasy life can get.
Liam continued his tale.
"The way it worked was that, when the kingdoms were in need, they would hold council together and open the vault. The Sword is supposed to give knowledge to the user. Unfortunately, the vault's location is unknown since the recent revolution. Apparently only the Lord of the Sea and the King of Angorn were aware of the vault's location. My mission is to figure out a way to reunite the key and the vault. "
I was skeptical.
"Your mission? Interesting. I like how you claim to be sixteen, too. You're what, 5'7'?"
Liam rolled his eyes.
"I wasn't expecting you to understand. My father worked for teh Lord of the Sea. He was one of the tributes at the Peace ceremony many years ago. Apparently the tributes are't just for peace. They keep an eye on the kingdom. The peace ceremony is a farce. Who didn't get that?"
"I'm sorry. Maybe you don't remember that there hasn't been a peace ceremony for what, twenty years?"
He laughed and stood.
"This conversation is idiotic. You ought to have realized what is happening here. The Lord of the Sea is ready for war. Our revolution has made him very nervous and he's ready to annihilate us."
I snorted.
"Declare war? by how, making the fish stay away from the coast? Oh, oh, maybe he'll just send a big flood> Get real. Give me back my necklace."
Liam broke into loud guffaws and vanished.
"What a dumbo," I muttered. This wasn't closed.
(March 26, 2017 - 2:17 pm)
Hello! While I haven't been posting Jayda's tale, I have been typing it out at home, so here is an extra lengthy chapter.
I trotted home. I stomped around for the ussual amount of time after a frustrating experience. Afterwards I decided to do some research on the Sword of Angorn. A week later, I left for the home of the local soothsayer. Sharma was young, pretty, and a wise woman. Knocking, I heard her hurrying to the door. Rather than enjoy the regular smelly, mystic tent, she chose to abode in a tasteful cottage, a quarter hour's walk from the beach. She also kept a neat library, handed down from her mother, the previous soothsayer, who was absent, enjoying a final adventure.
"Jayda! How good to see you! Come in, come in! What brings you to me? I haven't seen you for quite some time!"
I'm looking for anything you might have on the Sword of Angorn. Can you help me?"
"Jay-girl! Don't waste time with pleasantries, do you? Yes, yes, I can help you. Mother dear was present at its forging. Quite a story. Why?"
"Well, that part is rather difficult to explain."
I proceeded to recap my adventure. The soothsayer looked intrigued.
"Ah, well. My mum told me that the Sword was infused with Elvish magic. It granted the user two things, wisdom and courage, and that was only if you held it. But if you knew how to unlock its full potential, it is said to bestow invisibilty, control over the sea, and not mere courage and wisdom, but invulnerability, utter fearlessness, and answers to any question."
I was floored.
"Do you know how to unlock it?"
"There are multiple different and preposterous theories, but I think the closest to the truth is inserting the charm key, the one to the Vault, into a unique keyhole at the bottom of the Sword's handle and speaking a certain phrase, only known to one."
"Who?"
"The Lord of the Sea, Prospero Neptinus."
"Well, now I understand why Liam was so desperate for the key. If the wrong person discovered it..."
"Oh, that's not an issue. Wisdom and courage never hurt an evil man. Now if an evil man gained access to a) the vault b) the key c) the Sword and d) the phrase, then worry, but I also know Lord Neptinus would never even be tempted to reveal those words to anyone. You needn't fret, my dear."
I stood and walked to the door. Sharma followed me, and embraced me as I prepared to leave.
"Jay, give that to your mum. She needs all she can get."
I nodded, stricken. I had been complaining as she struggled to keep us alive. Well, as alive as you can get in Coffnai.
As I walked home, I pondered all the things Sharma had revealed. I began to see the truth in Liam's story, although I still doubted several of his claims.
Once at home, I snuck into my mum's room, where she had been sleeping all Sabbath. She lay peacefully, the lines of worry across her forehead relaxed and smooth. I kissd her cheek and dropped a note on her pillow, since she had no bedside table for me to lay it on. I then dashed silently to my room and shoved my meager possessions into my only bag, buttoning it securely. I glanced around, satisfied I had left nothing, and exited the house. I hurried towards the beach, wondering if Liam would be stalking it again. I scouted it, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Moonlight illuminating my path, I strode towards Starshell Cove, a nearby town. It was the closest civilization to the Cape of Good Hope, and there would most likely be plenty of storytellers and bards to school me on the custom, especially since it was only two weeks away.
(March 31, 2017 - 5:21 am)
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(March 20, 2017 - 8:10 am)