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Followers of the Light: Prologue



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Wed Oct 17, 2007 7:47 pm
kshsj777 says...



Some minor editing thanks to Azila!

The woman ran through the trees of the forest, holding a bundle in her arms. She could hear the hoof beats of her pursuers' horses, and nearly fell as she pushed aside the tree branches clawing at her. I must not let them reach my child; God, please don't let them take her, were the thoughts running through her head, over and over. God, please don't let them take my child! They were almost upon her, and they surrounded her, drawing their swords to strike her down.

She stood there panting and frantically looked around, searching for a means of escape, but found none. "No! God, please help me!" she prayed. They advanced slowly towards her. "No!" she shouted, clutching the tiny infant in her arms. "You can't have her!" But still they crept forward ignoring her cries.

Just when the horsemen were several arm lengths away, they suddenly stopped frozen, as though they could advance no further. The leader stared at the woman, with pure hatred, but after sheathing his sword, he turned his horse around and rode away. The others followed suit. The woman didn't quite understand what had happened, but she knew that somehow, God had performed a miracle. Grateful, she resumed her journey and continued to run towards her goal. A few minutes later she came upon the cave.

"Yes!" she whispered. "Thank you, Blessed Light of the Worlds!" The woman's brother-in-law came out to greet her, with relief showing on his face.

"Good! You've got her. I was worried they had gotten to you." She handed her daughter to the man, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Take good care of her. Okay?"

"I will," the man promised. He held the child in his arms as he walked back into the cave, and the woman followed inside. Imbedded into one of the walls of the cave were four metallic rods connected to each other forming the rectangular shape of a doorway. The charata, (a gel-like substance the color of the sky) fluctuated within the boundaries of the rods. It was a portal, leading to the Gateway, to Stone Mountain.

Standing at a distance, was a second man, waiting nervously. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yes." The woman's brother-in-law passed through to the other side with the child in his arms. She was standing next to the second man as they watched him disappear.

"Are you sure that they'll be safe there?" the woman asked. There was no reply, for a bullet had pierced the second man's heart. Her pursuers had returned.

The woman panicked for a moment wondering if they should follow through the portal. But just then, the charata faded into nothingness; the portal had closed. And when it would open again, no one was certain. Enraged that they were too late, they bound her and took her away, leaving the dead body behind.
Last edited by kshsj777 on Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
  





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Thu Oct 25, 2007 3:26 am
Azila says...



She ran through the trees in the forest, as fast as her legs could carry her, holding a bundle in her arms. The woman could hear the hoof beats of her pursuers' horses, and nearly fell as she pushed aside the tree branches clawing at her.

First sentence: Delete the first comma :wink: and also, I think it should be "...trees OF the forest..." rather than "...trees IN the forest..." And also (this is the last thing for this sentence, I promse :D) "as fast as her legs could cayyr her" is really cliche. Try changing it :wink:
On the Whole: I think it would read better if you started the first sentence with "the woman..." and the second one with "she..." That way, you'd know who was being referred to.

She stood there panting, and frantically looked around, searching for a means of escape, but found none.

Unecessary comma after "panting" :wink:

The leader stared at the woman, with pure hatred, but after sheathing his sword, he turned his horse around and rode away.

Too many commas, again! I suggest you make it "The leader stared at the woman with pure hatred. But after sheathing his sword, he turned his horse around and rode away."

Grateful, she resumed her journey and continued to run towards her goal. A few minutes later she came upon the cave.

I suggest you move "her goal" to the second sentence and "the cave" to the first.

"Good! You've got her. I was worried they had gotten to you." She handed her daughter to the man, tears falling down her cheeks.
"Take good care of her. Okay?"

Fix the spacing here :wink:

The charata, a gel-like substance the color of the sky fluctuated within the boundaries of the rods.

I think you should put "a gel-like substance the color of the sky" in parenthesis ().

Anyway, it seems like a very promising concept! You do usa a bit too many commas, as I pointed out, but that is cureable. At least you don't have the semi-colon obsession I do :roll:

Very good prologue! Keep it up! :D

PM me if you have questions!



~Azila~
  





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Wed Oct 31, 2007 10:23 pm
Ryter says...



Ooooh... mighty spooky. But, one body? Where's the baby?
Pretty decent overall. Can't say much beyond what I've said. Except you've got a pretty neat story so far. Not much to lead the audience on with though.

Ryter
  





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Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:14 am
kshsj777 says...



The woman's brother-in-law took the baby with him through the charata to the other side.
  








I’d heard he had started a fistfight in one of the seedier local taverns because someone had insisted on saying the word “utilize” instead of “use".
— Patrick Rothfuss, A Wise Man's Fear