Intelligence!
05-10-2013, 09:44 AM
So, I had this idea a while back. No clue where it came from, it just sort of appeared in my head. I thought it was a pretty good idea, so I wrote something based off it for an English assignment. I got a perfect score on it, but I didn't really like the story as it went on. I started over from scratch, and here's what I came up with. This is not the full story, just what I have so far. I hope to write more of it and share it as parts are written. It's kinda lengthy, so bear with me.
The hours pass, undaunted…
Time yields for no man. Whether you want it or not, time will continue. Whether you rejoice or suffer, frolic or bleed, live or die, time goes on. The hours pass, undaunted…
Once, our afterlife was peaceful, the souls within leading out peaceful lives without sun or moon to harm them. Towns sprawled out on the plains covered by a blanket of eternal twilight, and all was calm. Those who came here from the last world would find rest and solace here. They could finally be relieved of their suffering.
Even so, peace never lasts forever.
Two souls arrived one day, their voices mute. We called them Silent Ones. These two introduced themselves to the few of us who could hear their strange speech as Dafydd and Gruffydd. These two spread their teachings – Dafydd preaching of order and law while Gruffydd advocated freedom and power – through our lands, causing disturbance as they began to develop devoted followings.
My name is Llywelyn, and I am one of the few who did not believe their teachings. I remained skeptical of them both, even as my friends left me to follow their new leaders. Unig, one of my closest friends, followed Dafydd while my other trusted friend, Cysgod, pledged his allegiance to Gruffydd. I stayed firm in defense of our realm. I did not wish to see so many spirits’ lives changed by things they could not control.
One day, Dafydd gathered his followers in Dusktown, the largest of our villages, and headed east. Most of us, including myself, thought nothing of it. After a long while, however, they returned to the village cheering. As I looked off to the horizon, I saw a golden light rising and spreading through the sky. Dafydd and his followers had created the sun, the symbol of order. Many of us shielded ourselves from the light, but some others were corrupted by it. They followed Dafydd to the southeast, where they founded the kingdom of Sol. Not to be defeated, Gruffydd amassed his own followers and headed to the east as well. After they returned, the sun had set in the west and the moon hung just above the eastern horizon. The moon had been created, the symbol of chaos. They left Dusktown under cover of night with those who were corrupted by the dark, fleeing to the southwest where the moon rose. There they founded the kingdom of Luna.
Those of us who had remained in the old towns were in grave danger. Pure spirits could not stand under the sun or the moon, lest they be corrupted by it. In our desperation, we turned to the sages who had guided us through our afterlives in this land. They told us that we were only safe under cover of twilight, the time before dusk and dawn. Knowing that we could not live by hiding from the day and night forever, I began my search for another Silent One, for they held great power. After many cycles of light and dark, I found a fresh spirit wandering through the forests that surrounded Dusktown. It was there that I discovered that I could hear Silent Ones, as so few could. I brought him back to the village where he sat and meditated, day and night, for ten cycles. Finally, at the brink of twilight’s fall to the night, he stood and walked away. We waited and waited for night to fall, but it did not. The twilight persisted, refusing to allow the night to defeat it. The Silent One had stopped time.
But the hours still pass, undaunted…
Time did not in fact stop. The Silent One had created an entirely new realm out of the whole of the original lands, a realm where a silvery light is cast over everything and all spirits are safe. We soon discovered, however, that many of us could not leave. If we tried to cross over the border between our land that that of the kingdoms, we would be met by a veil of silvery wisps of fog. Only the ones among us who could hear the Silent Ones could see the doorways in the veil. It was then that the Guides were named, the spirits who could lead others through the veil. I was named the first guide. For a time impossible to measure in the ageless twilight realm, I have led spirits to where they might find solace.
I began to lead groups of refugees, some of them corrupted, back and forth through the veil, leading them to safety. I brought those plagued by light to Sol, those infested with darkness to Luna, and those still unmolested back to the twilight realm where they might find solace. I have stumbled upon quite a few Silent Ones in my travels, but all of them fled from the twilight realm into parts unknown. Most likely, they are all dead by now, for exposure to light then dark then light again and on like such is deadly to even the most corrupted spirits. A crushing sense of despair fell over the Twilight realm as time continued on. We would never see those who left again, and we would never be able to leave again.
Nothing matched the despair felt when Silverwood, the town closest to the veil, was destroyed. Regiments of the day and night clashed there after stumbling through a doorway in the veil somehow or another. The day and night were at war, and they would do anything to gain the upper hand. Invasions of our realm became frequent, soldiers razing the villages where refugees made their homes. We had no soldiers with which to fight back. Town after town fell to the regiments, and all hope was lost. The Guides rallied at Dusktown, where the last of us hid, and we marched off to face the invaders. In the aftermath of the battles, scant few of us remained. Those of us who had died gave their spirits to strengthen the veil and allowed their souls to pass into the next world, leaving us forever.
All of us had lost hope long ago, but until then I had trusted in the work of the Silent One so long ago. I had believed that we were safe, and even that was taken from me. When we counted our losses, less than a third of the spirits who made their homes here remained. There were but nine Guides left. All we could do then was hope that our efforts to strengthen our boundaries had succeeded, or Dusktown would fall just as did Silverwood.
I continued to herd refugees as time went on, but each time I returned to Dusktown, I was met with one less Guide. I returned for the eighth time… As I had dreaded, none of the Guides returned to Dusktown. Each of my brethren had been lost. To what, I do not know to this day. What I know is all that I knew then: I was the last one who could defend the twilight realm. No others would stand in the vanguard with me.
Until the knight arrived…
The hours pass, undaunted…
Time yields for no man. Whether you want it or not, time will continue. Whether you rejoice or suffer, frolic or bleed, live or die, time goes on. The hours pass, undaunted…
Once, our afterlife was peaceful, the souls within leading out peaceful lives without sun or moon to harm them. Towns sprawled out on the plains covered by a blanket of eternal twilight, and all was calm. Those who came here from the last world would find rest and solace here. They could finally be relieved of their suffering.
Even so, peace never lasts forever.
Two souls arrived one day, their voices mute. We called them Silent Ones. These two introduced themselves to the few of us who could hear their strange speech as Dafydd and Gruffydd. These two spread their teachings – Dafydd preaching of order and law while Gruffydd advocated freedom and power – through our lands, causing disturbance as they began to develop devoted followings.
My name is Llywelyn, and I am one of the few who did not believe their teachings. I remained skeptical of them both, even as my friends left me to follow their new leaders. Unig, one of my closest friends, followed Dafydd while my other trusted friend, Cysgod, pledged his allegiance to Gruffydd. I stayed firm in defense of our realm. I did not wish to see so many spirits’ lives changed by things they could not control.
One day, Dafydd gathered his followers in Dusktown, the largest of our villages, and headed east. Most of us, including myself, thought nothing of it. After a long while, however, they returned to the village cheering. As I looked off to the horizon, I saw a golden light rising and spreading through the sky. Dafydd and his followers had created the sun, the symbol of order. Many of us shielded ourselves from the light, but some others were corrupted by it. They followed Dafydd to the southeast, where they founded the kingdom of Sol. Not to be defeated, Gruffydd amassed his own followers and headed to the east as well. After they returned, the sun had set in the west and the moon hung just above the eastern horizon. The moon had been created, the symbol of chaos. They left Dusktown under cover of night with those who were corrupted by the dark, fleeing to the southwest where the moon rose. There they founded the kingdom of Luna.
Those of us who had remained in the old towns were in grave danger. Pure spirits could not stand under the sun or the moon, lest they be corrupted by it. In our desperation, we turned to the sages who had guided us through our afterlives in this land. They told us that we were only safe under cover of twilight, the time before dusk and dawn. Knowing that we could not live by hiding from the day and night forever, I began my search for another Silent One, for they held great power. After many cycles of light and dark, I found a fresh spirit wandering through the forests that surrounded Dusktown. It was there that I discovered that I could hear Silent Ones, as so few could. I brought him back to the village where he sat and meditated, day and night, for ten cycles. Finally, at the brink of twilight’s fall to the night, he stood and walked away. We waited and waited for night to fall, but it did not. The twilight persisted, refusing to allow the night to defeat it. The Silent One had stopped time.
But the hours still pass, undaunted…
Time did not in fact stop. The Silent One had created an entirely new realm out of the whole of the original lands, a realm where a silvery light is cast over everything and all spirits are safe. We soon discovered, however, that many of us could not leave. If we tried to cross over the border between our land that that of the kingdoms, we would be met by a veil of silvery wisps of fog. Only the ones among us who could hear the Silent Ones could see the doorways in the veil. It was then that the Guides were named, the spirits who could lead others through the veil. I was named the first guide. For a time impossible to measure in the ageless twilight realm, I have led spirits to where they might find solace.
I began to lead groups of refugees, some of them corrupted, back and forth through the veil, leading them to safety. I brought those plagued by light to Sol, those infested with darkness to Luna, and those still unmolested back to the twilight realm where they might find solace. I have stumbled upon quite a few Silent Ones in my travels, but all of them fled from the twilight realm into parts unknown. Most likely, they are all dead by now, for exposure to light then dark then light again and on like such is deadly to even the most corrupted spirits. A crushing sense of despair fell over the Twilight realm as time continued on. We would never see those who left again, and we would never be able to leave again.
Nothing matched the despair felt when Silverwood, the town closest to the veil, was destroyed. Regiments of the day and night clashed there after stumbling through a doorway in the veil somehow or another. The day and night were at war, and they would do anything to gain the upper hand. Invasions of our realm became frequent, soldiers razing the villages where refugees made their homes. We had no soldiers with which to fight back. Town after town fell to the regiments, and all hope was lost. The Guides rallied at Dusktown, where the last of us hid, and we marched off to face the invaders. In the aftermath of the battles, scant few of us remained. Those of us who had died gave their spirits to strengthen the veil and allowed their souls to pass into the next world, leaving us forever.
All of us had lost hope long ago, but until then I had trusted in the work of the Silent One so long ago. I had believed that we were safe, and even that was taken from me. When we counted our losses, less than a third of the spirits who made their homes here remained. There were but nine Guides left. All we could do then was hope that our efforts to strengthen our boundaries had succeeded, or Dusktown would fall just as did Silverwood.
I continued to herd refugees as time went on, but each time I returned to Dusktown, I was met with one less Guide. I returned for the eighth time… As I had dreaded, none of the Guides returned to Dusktown. Each of my brethren had been lost. To what, I do not know to this day. What I know is all that I knew then: I was the last one who could defend the twilight realm. No others would stand in the vanguard with me.
Until the knight arrived…