Oblivious to the World

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Oblivious to the world, the hunter lay motionless. His breathes were relaxed and even, confirming all the more that he would recover, though unconscious as of now.

The hunter's imagination stirred in his mind as he recovered, and in a vibrant dream he found himself in some sort of hall. It wasn't very dark, but it was plain, aged, segmented stone that hogged all shadows that could sit under curves. He couldn't tell at all if he's standing or sitting, and could barely sense a cold temperature in the air. His hood was down, and his mane of silver hair was little darkened by the hall. Beyond him was an end to the single hall, but three doors; a light pooling out of them and keeping him from seeing what's inside.

Curiously, as if but an innocent child in this dream, the scout stepped forward until he reached the path leading to the middle door. The stone wall gave way to what seemed to be stirring life. Plants littered the ground and obscured everything in an emerald tone, while vines hung from every tree branch that allowed it. Vines even hung from the door. The air wasn't humid or uncomfortable; it seemed like a sort of paradise he could step into, but before walking so eagerly in, the hunter paused and turned to the right. Not too far there was another door. He poked his head in slightly, eyes feasting on a beautiful hall. It looked royal, but it wasn't human. It seemed like the more decorative races had all worked together to make this one perfect altar. The walls were decorated vibrantly with designs. Royal blue cloths with a golden rimming hung from these walls and donned similar designs. Pillars were evenly placed, and their marble build only added to the scene Atoleir saw.

Then the hunter looked up. There was a dome-like ceiling; knights donned in armor, noblemen and women, and rich merchants circled around one bright amber orb. It was a sphere half-lodged into the wall, and it pulsed with a warmth similar to the light itself reaching out to the young hunter. The warmth washed over him, beckoned him to walk inside, enjoy his stay in the beautiful hall. Again, before he decided to simply enter one place, he turned away. Glancing briefly at the middle door, which was still wide open and welcoming on it's own, he turned to the final door. He expected something which, beyond the forest and cathedral of art, would be the best of all doors. That it would have the most beautiful of secrets to hide.

Atoleir was shocked. There was a hall similar to the one he just gazed upon in the right door. It was as if it was the same hall that was simply connected by this damp, cold hall. This room, however, showed horrific sights. The stench of death stung the air, even though the hunter didn't bear poking his head in again to see. The pictures in the place of knights and other royal figures were ravenous demons only his imagination could think of, feasting on and torturing the poor souls of peasants who did nothing to provoke the monsters. The dome ceiling was there, and the same macabre sights covered that. On the hanging cloth, there was an emblem; a crimson droplet in the middle of a black void. The orb that should be so warm, so welcoming and forgiving, was now an eye of death itself. It was cold, black, the very sight of the dim orb somehow intimidated the young hunter. He would have gladly turned, and ran into another room to escape his imaginary fears and demons, but his eyes snagged on a figure he didn't see before.

In the middle of the room, a naked figure of a young girl sat. Her own silver hair--dirty and knotted--covered her head while she sat in a fetal position and wept into her hands. Her figure, so delicate looking, so innocent, trembled at the fears she saw in the very same room. As if one of the demons became real and tortured her without actually giving her marks to remember it from. The figure was... familiar, and that sent a chill down the hunter's spine. Another figure walked into the room, his whole form shrouded under a dirty, dark brown robe. The man wore a belt covered in decorations representing death, and he approached the child with a dagger in his hand. In normal circumstances, the scout would have dashed right in, trying to save the poor soul who wept inside the chamber. He thought he could barely even breathe. He was frozen in place, like all nightmares should make him. The figure mercilessly dug the blunt dagger into the girl's back, and she screamed out of her sobbing and fell to the side. Then, the hunter saw her face and gawked. The girl died, and Atoleir realized who it was. It was too late. He screamed--in reality, though, he simply moaned--and gained control of his body again. He stumbled back, trying to get into another door. His back met a cold, shut and locked door of steel. He looked to the middle door, and that was closed too. The man stepped closer, making little haste in his approach as he raised the dagger slightly again.

The hunter met his eyes, and froze again. Such familiar eyes, so unforgiving, brutal, and yet devoid of emotion those eyes were. Cold orbs that were already stabbing into the hunter's nerves, even as the real blade thirsted for blood to spill out of his heart. He was like a child yet again, trembling, wide eyed, terrified by the demon walking towards him. The figure grinned maliciously, and brought the dagger to mockingly poke his chest. The man lunged--

And Atoleir came back to reality, tensing and letting his breath become more active.




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Hey.

The hunter's imagination stirred in his mind as he recovered, and in a vibrant dream he found himself in some sort of hall.


"some sort of hall." needs changing, a description.

He couldn't tell at all if he's standing or sitting,


Change the 'he's' to something else. I would suggest 'was', it puts the sentence in the same tense within itself and the rest of the post.

could barely sense a cold temperature in the air.


Sense a cold temperature? 'could barely sense a chill in the air.' or something similar to chill i suggest.

Beyond him was an end to the single hall, but three doors; a light pooling out of them and keeping him from seeing what's inside.


'but three doors' doesn't make sense at the end of that sentence. It is really easy to see what your saying but something like 'with three doors' the obvious one or end the sentence and say something along the lines of
'Three doors filled the end of the hall, light pooling out of them and keeping him from seeing what was inside.'

This fixes two more minor problems, where you don't really need the 'a' before 'light pooling out of them' and the what's, which is the wrong tense, in 'and keeping him from seeing what's inside.


That's all i have time for right now. If i get the time and someone else hasn't already critiqued the rest I should be back.

In summary i like your ideas and a fair amount of your writing such as "Curiously, as if but an innocent child in this dream," but from what i managed to critique above, it is speckled with minor errors.

By the way, welcome to YWS. Don't worry too much about the minor mistakes I have pointed out. They are just that, minor and easily fixed.




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Hello Authago. Welcome to the greatest online community there is!

I thought you had some very good descriptions here, and I could feel the atmosphere you were portraying. Let me point out a few possible improvements.

breathes

should be breaths

confirming all the more that he would recover, though unconscious as of now.

Confirming to who. You should try to keep fiction grounded in a character. If no one was there to observe him, then you're using a 3rd person objective viewpoint. Always use 3rd person limited or omniscient, or 1st person in fiction. Objective is for non-fiction.

The hunter's imagination stirred in his mind as he recovered

Try and trim excess words. His imagination's obviously in his mind, so you don't need to say it.

stone that hogged all shadows that could sit under curves.

Confusing description.

Beyond him was an end to the single hall, but three doors; a light pooling out of them and keeping him from seeing what's inside.

This sentence is a little messy. Try: In front of him were three doors at the end of the hall, with light pooling out, preventing him from seeing inside.

the scout

You've called him the hunter up until now. Saying the scout is confusing because the reader thinks you're talking about a new character.

Pillars were evenly placed, and their marble build only added to the scene Atoleir saw.

Why wait until now to tell us his name. It's better if you just refer to him as one name for the whole thing. Less confusing that way.

and it pulsed with a warmth similar to the light itself reaching out to the young hunter.

What light?

In the middle of the room, a naked figure of a young girl sat. Her own silver hair

Since when do young girls have silver hair? Then again, I guess it is fantasy. Is she a different race perhaps?

He thought he could barely even breathe.

He thought? Could he breathe then?

He screamed--in reality, though, he simply moaned

He wouldn't know it was a dream, so don't mention what he did in reality. It kinda detaches the reader.

His back met a cold, shut and locked door of steel.

If you're going for a medieval setting, make the doors iron. Steel wasn't invented until the 18th century.

And Atoleir came back to reality, tensing and letting his breath become more active.

breath become more active is quite a clunky way of saying breathing faster. Always go for the more precise terminology.

That's the line-by-line done. As a general piece of advice, I think you need to quicken the pace. The descriptions are good, but often more wordy than need be. I think you could cut about a quarter of the words out, and it would be a much more succinct, fast paced piece of writing.

Happy editing :D
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Waoh. Sorry. I thought at first that those mistakes were horrid. Now you said they're just little mistakes, which means I swore for a few days about nothing. xD

Thanks for the advice, I've never been critiqued before, so I was taken by suprise... I'll start editing.




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Authago wrote:Waoh. Sorry. I thought at first that those mistakes were horrid. Now you said they're just little mistakes, which means I swore for a few days about nothing. xD

Thanks for the advice, I've never been critiqued before, so I was taken by suprise... I'll start editing.


Everyone needs editing. Don't take it personally. :mrgreen: You should meet my editor... sometimes I swear all he wants to do is :smt068 :thud: but all he is trying to do is help me. I make small, silly errors all the time. You aren't alone.
If there is one thing in the world I CAN'T stand it is the Redwings.




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I fixed it up a bit, but I think I should read it all and maybe try again on making it. Or I could just put the updated version up. I'm trying to learn from this, so I dunno.

And thanks, tanith14, I needed those words; I was wound up at the moment from things going on in real life.



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