Katen Kyoukotsu
06-15-2006, 09:55 AM
I started to write this a few days ago. Its meant to be the prologue of a book im writing titled Vandras. Tell me what you think and if you like it ill post more.
They traveled. And they came. They came in droves of ten, twenty sometimes even a hundred.
Where did they come unto?
To a place that would either end their lives or change them forever.
They came to Mastery.
The cold wind picked up and whipped into the unsuspecting face of Mitzer Varnen. Sitting in front of a steaming black cauldron on this high plateau he wondered. He wondered how life had brought him here. He wondered where life would take him and he wondered if he had made the right decisions. Despite his doubt he could not deny the beauty of his surrounding. In front of his very eyes was the biggest wall he had ever seen, more gigantic was this wall than even the wall around his hometown of Tallowsand. Yet all of the men said that these were not the walls of Mastery, that they were a mere guard to keep the hopefuls out. Mitzer could not believe that, yet kept his doubts to himself as he looked around.
All around him was the most spectacular view on could hope to see. Past the sea of tents that rose all over this mountaintop plain one felt that he could see the entire world displayed before him. Compelled, Mitzer rose from his seat and walked the 20 minutes to the edge of the plain. There he was stopped by a stone outcropping that rose to his chest. Looking over and down he was once again awed by the great distance to the ground from this high mountain. Looking around he once again thought of the arduous trip to the summit. Walking for days and nights merely to reach this plain where many were. He had been surprised when he arrived and saw a wall not sixty feet in front of him blocking his path. And then, inevitably he had looked to either side and seen the hundreds of tents stretching out for a full five miles in either direction.
Then a man dressed in red had walked up and tapped him on the shoulder, and Mitzer had whirled around in panic. “New I take it” the man in red had said. When Mitzer merely nodded the man said “well set up your tent Mastery won’t be opening for another two months.” And so Mitzer’s stay at Mastery had begun.
And now the duration of that stay was soon to be decided. For tomorrow the gates would be opened…..and it would be decided who lived, and who died. Hoping to get a better view Mitzer walked towards the walls of Mastery and eventually found a perfect rock to sit on that gave him a great view but allowed him to get comfortable at the same time. Leaning back Mitzer decided it was high time he caught up on his sleep. So leaning back he drifted off.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing” were the words that Mitzer woke too on this fine evening. Opening his eyes he could see a tall boy with dark brown hair and imposing green eyes. “I said what are you doing sitting in my seat you bastard.” The boy said menacingly.
“I’m sorry” Mitzer said “I just sat down without thinking about it. I’m going back to my tent anyway so you can have it. I don’t really care.” With that Mitzer began to walk away until he was stopped by an extraordinarily strong grip on his arm.
“Are you insulting me, saying that only a lowlife like me would want such a seat when you were sitting in it yourself? Heh, we’ll see what you think when I’m done with you.” And with that Mitzer suffered one of the worst beatings in his young life. Still a little unsure what had caused the boy to thrash him to such a degree Mitzer attempted to stumble back to his small tent. Unfortunately he ended up face first on the ground. Just when he thought things couldn’t get worse, they of course did. The wind picked up and Mitzer could feel the first drops of rain falling on his tired body. And suddenly he was…….rising. Looking over Mitzer saw a lean boy with raven black hair supporting him on his shoulder. The most striking thing about the boy was he eyes, eyes so blue they made the sky look gray and dull.
“Thank you.” Mitzer said a little shakily “my tents right over there, if you would take me I sure would be grateful.” The boy didn’t respond but started moving in the direction he had pointed. For the next twenty minutes Mitzer attempted to engage the youth in conversation. But to no avail, he was as cold as you can be.
After what seemed an eternity Mitzer was finally let down in front of his tent and managed to stumble in. “Hoi, Mitz you’re a right mess, what happened to you mate. You get beaten up for that hair again.” Mitzer knew he was referring to the color of his hair, which was so white it seemed almost blonde.
“No, Leo I think I can fairly well say that this time I was beat up for no reason at all. Anyway this is a fine way to be looking when I finally get to enter Mastery tomorrow, ay? Mitzer said with a bit of sadness. Taking out a mirror he looked at his poor visage. One of his yellow eyes’s black and bruised the other with a cut right above it that kept running blood. His nose luckily wasn’t in terrible shape but still managed to be bleeding, just like every other part of him. He thought with a smile.
“Well that’s how it goes sometimes. Anyway cheer up you may be in poor health but that doesn’t change the fact that were getting out of this foul lot tomorrow. Yep tomorrow you an me will be training with the Masters of Mastery.”
With a smile Mitzer merely said”Well than too tomorrow” took a swig of water and shut his eyes. Little did he know that this would be the last night he could ever be considered normal.
Mitzer woke to a rough voice screaming “Everyone who’s going into Mastery up here by the gate.”
“Come on Mitz” said a fully dressed Leo “They’re letting us in.” It was obvious that Leo hadn’t slept much Mitz thought with a smile. But that smile soon disappeared when Mitzer moved too get out of bed. His whole body was in agony he felt like he was on fire. He quickly dressed and then with Leo ran outside.
What he saw made him forget all his pain. There standing beside the guards at the gate was a man. The man was dressed in black leather from toe to neck. On his belt were two katana’s crossed behind his back so that a hilt and the end of one of the sheaths were sticking out on either side of him. The sheaths on the katana’s were also black but silver scrollwork was displayed on the length of them, the silver seemed to flow and change forming different shapes as you looked at it in different ways. The hilts were equally impressive each colored black with silver diamonds along their length ending with a silver pommel and a small crimson tassel at the end. But most strange about the man was his face. His hair was so black that it matched his cloths exactly and almost seemed to be a hood since it was neck length. His eyes were also black and when you looked at them you got a chill almost as if he was looking specifically at you. And to top it all off his skin was so white that it seemed the polar opposite of everything else about him.
“Master shade will now address you hopefuls.” The guard said as he kneeled along with the other guards.”
The man in black closed his eyes and began “Every ten years Mastery opens her gates to those who are to be her new Masters. The rules are simple you must never have had any training with any kind of weapon and you must be between the ages of 10 and 20. We will not check to see if these things are true but if they are you will most defiantly be judged unworthy.” He paused. “All of you know what Mastery represents, the hope when darkness falls, The strength when strength is needed, the home of the greatest warriors ever to walk the earth. If ye be of bold heart and courageous of soul enter now and embrace your destiny.”
And with that Mastery’s outer gates began to open.
They traveled. And they came. They came in droves of ten, twenty sometimes even a hundred.
Where did they come unto?
To a place that would either end their lives or change them forever.
They came to Mastery.
The cold wind picked up and whipped into the unsuspecting face of Mitzer Varnen. Sitting in front of a steaming black cauldron on this high plateau he wondered. He wondered how life had brought him here. He wondered where life would take him and he wondered if he had made the right decisions. Despite his doubt he could not deny the beauty of his surrounding. In front of his very eyes was the biggest wall he had ever seen, more gigantic was this wall than even the wall around his hometown of Tallowsand. Yet all of the men said that these were not the walls of Mastery, that they were a mere guard to keep the hopefuls out. Mitzer could not believe that, yet kept his doubts to himself as he looked around.
All around him was the most spectacular view on could hope to see. Past the sea of tents that rose all over this mountaintop plain one felt that he could see the entire world displayed before him. Compelled, Mitzer rose from his seat and walked the 20 minutes to the edge of the plain. There he was stopped by a stone outcropping that rose to his chest. Looking over and down he was once again awed by the great distance to the ground from this high mountain. Looking around he once again thought of the arduous trip to the summit. Walking for days and nights merely to reach this plain where many were. He had been surprised when he arrived and saw a wall not sixty feet in front of him blocking his path. And then, inevitably he had looked to either side and seen the hundreds of tents stretching out for a full five miles in either direction.
Then a man dressed in red had walked up and tapped him on the shoulder, and Mitzer had whirled around in panic. “New I take it” the man in red had said. When Mitzer merely nodded the man said “well set up your tent Mastery won’t be opening for another two months.” And so Mitzer’s stay at Mastery had begun.
And now the duration of that stay was soon to be decided. For tomorrow the gates would be opened…..and it would be decided who lived, and who died. Hoping to get a better view Mitzer walked towards the walls of Mastery and eventually found a perfect rock to sit on that gave him a great view but allowed him to get comfortable at the same time. Leaning back Mitzer decided it was high time he caught up on his sleep. So leaning back he drifted off.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing” were the words that Mitzer woke too on this fine evening. Opening his eyes he could see a tall boy with dark brown hair and imposing green eyes. “I said what are you doing sitting in my seat you bastard.” The boy said menacingly.
“I’m sorry” Mitzer said “I just sat down without thinking about it. I’m going back to my tent anyway so you can have it. I don’t really care.” With that Mitzer began to walk away until he was stopped by an extraordinarily strong grip on his arm.
“Are you insulting me, saying that only a lowlife like me would want such a seat when you were sitting in it yourself? Heh, we’ll see what you think when I’m done with you.” And with that Mitzer suffered one of the worst beatings in his young life. Still a little unsure what had caused the boy to thrash him to such a degree Mitzer attempted to stumble back to his small tent. Unfortunately he ended up face first on the ground. Just when he thought things couldn’t get worse, they of course did. The wind picked up and Mitzer could feel the first drops of rain falling on his tired body. And suddenly he was…….rising. Looking over Mitzer saw a lean boy with raven black hair supporting him on his shoulder. The most striking thing about the boy was he eyes, eyes so blue they made the sky look gray and dull.
“Thank you.” Mitzer said a little shakily “my tents right over there, if you would take me I sure would be grateful.” The boy didn’t respond but started moving in the direction he had pointed. For the next twenty minutes Mitzer attempted to engage the youth in conversation. But to no avail, he was as cold as you can be.
After what seemed an eternity Mitzer was finally let down in front of his tent and managed to stumble in. “Hoi, Mitz you’re a right mess, what happened to you mate. You get beaten up for that hair again.” Mitzer knew he was referring to the color of his hair, which was so white it seemed almost blonde.
“No, Leo I think I can fairly well say that this time I was beat up for no reason at all. Anyway this is a fine way to be looking when I finally get to enter Mastery tomorrow, ay? Mitzer said with a bit of sadness. Taking out a mirror he looked at his poor visage. One of his yellow eyes’s black and bruised the other with a cut right above it that kept running blood. His nose luckily wasn’t in terrible shape but still managed to be bleeding, just like every other part of him. He thought with a smile.
“Well that’s how it goes sometimes. Anyway cheer up you may be in poor health but that doesn’t change the fact that were getting out of this foul lot tomorrow. Yep tomorrow you an me will be training with the Masters of Mastery.”
With a smile Mitzer merely said”Well than too tomorrow” took a swig of water and shut his eyes. Little did he know that this would be the last night he could ever be considered normal.
Mitzer woke to a rough voice screaming “Everyone who’s going into Mastery up here by the gate.”
“Come on Mitz” said a fully dressed Leo “They’re letting us in.” It was obvious that Leo hadn’t slept much Mitz thought with a smile. But that smile soon disappeared when Mitzer moved too get out of bed. His whole body was in agony he felt like he was on fire. He quickly dressed and then with Leo ran outside.
What he saw made him forget all his pain. There standing beside the guards at the gate was a man. The man was dressed in black leather from toe to neck. On his belt were two katana’s crossed behind his back so that a hilt and the end of one of the sheaths were sticking out on either side of him. The sheaths on the katana’s were also black but silver scrollwork was displayed on the length of them, the silver seemed to flow and change forming different shapes as you looked at it in different ways. The hilts were equally impressive each colored black with silver diamonds along their length ending with a silver pommel and a small crimson tassel at the end. But most strange about the man was his face. His hair was so black that it matched his cloths exactly and almost seemed to be a hood since it was neck length. His eyes were also black and when you looked at them you got a chill almost as if he was looking specifically at you. And to top it all off his skin was so white that it seemed the polar opposite of everything else about him.
“Master shade will now address you hopefuls.” The guard said as he kneeled along with the other guards.”
The man in black closed his eyes and began “Every ten years Mastery opens her gates to those who are to be her new Masters. The rules are simple you must never have had any training with any kind of weapon and you must be between the ages of 10 and 20. We will not check to see if these things are true but if they are you will most defiantly be judged unworthy.” He paused. “All of you know what Mastery represents, the hope when darkness falls, The strength when strength is needed, the home of the greatest warriors ever to walk the earth. If ye be of bold heart and courageous of soul enter now and embrace your destiny.”
And with that Mastery’s outer gates began to open.