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Young Writers Society



Leviathan - Brief Prologue

by WoosiePoosie


Darkness was afoot in White Shadow Falls. Nature's voice started to die out and the Sun's glare retreated from the plains and grasslands as the the Sun went down and night fell. This little town was located in a rural, isolated area. This settlement was quite short-handed when it came to financial stability. By nightfall most residents of White Shadow Falls were safe and sound indoors, the only place where the terror which this town has become accustomed to could do them no harm. Everyone except the ones brave enough to make a stand. Noble, courageous men, previously women, who had their families to fight for, these were the ones who defended the fright-filled encampment. It was their duty to rid the town of this calamity, that was their motivation.

There were only four defenders left of the group. All four were the best fighters the defenders had. The final alliance were three righteous knights and one grisly wizard. They were once much more stronger in numbers, but not everyone is made for that type of work. Some were taken out in action and some quit. Each evening at nightfall they prepared themselves for an onslaught of drakes and a handful of bloodshed. These brave men were frequently bad-mouthed by a share of the people, often portrayed as foolish and half-witted. It didnt make a difference to them, they just considered themselves "unsung heroes." This gossip was spoken as if the town was completely oblivious to the fact that this settlement where they lay their heads at night would be in total shambles if they didn't fend off these beasts. These beasts were dragon-like creatures, they only made an appearance during after hours. This especially made them difficult to detect in the night-sky. Each one had dark scales and two deadly horns on its head. Looking into the sky with a naked eye, the only thing that could be scrutinized were the glowing red eyes of the leviathans. All that could be heard were slow, ceaseless wings flapping. It wasn't often that the beasts would exit the skies and hunt the ground, but when they did, it was certainly brutal. They only came at night, no one really understood why. Some civilians classified these monsters as "vampire-ish." That may have been so, but these beasts were still very mysterious, which made them especially hard to be slain.

That time is upon White Shadow Falls. Distant wing flapping was now in earshot, which meant the fiends were near. When the first sounds of wings were heard usually meant they were about six to seven minutes away. These beasts weren't the fastest flyers. The majority of the short population have already scurried indoors. People who had late business quickly made their way to their homes. The gravel streets of White Shadow were empty, lifeless, and deserted. The sound of wind gusted through the town. The defenders met at the town gate, equipped with their most effective weaponry. This was routine for them, every single night they did this. They stood waiting for these drakes to arrive.


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Thu Sep 30, 2021 10:04 am
KateHardy wrote a review...



Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night(whichever one it is in your part of the world),

Hi! I'm here to leave a quick review!!

Anyway let's get right to it,

Darkness was afoot in White Shadow Falls. Nature's voice started to die out and the Sun's glare retreated from the plains and grasslands as the the Sun went down and night fell. This little town was located in a rural, isolated area. This settlement was quite short-handed when it came to financial stability. By nightfall most residents of White Shadow Falls were safe and sound indoors, the only place where the terror which this town has become accustomed to could do them no harm. Everyone except the ones brave enough to make a stand. Noble, courageous men, previously women, who had their families to fight for, these were the ones who defended the fright-filled encampment. It was their duty to rid the town of this calamity, that was their motivation.


Okay, this is actually a pretty neat little opening paragraph to this prologue that you've got going here. I really like what you've created here. It establishes a nice little peaceful town that appears to be haunted by some sort of creatures in the dead of night and there's a band of brave men and women who stay up to protect everyone else and try to get rid of said creature. Neat little premise here.

There were only four defenders left of the group. All four were the best fighters the defenders had. The final alliance were three righteous knights and one grisly wizard. They were once much more stronger in numbers, but not everyone is made for that type of work. Some were taken out in action and some quit. Each evening at nightfall they prepared themselves for an onslaught of drakes and a handful of bloodshed. These brave men were frequently bad-mouthed by a share of the people, often portrayed as foolish and half-witted. It didnt make a difference to them, they just considered themselves "unsung heroes." This gossip was spoken as if the town was completely oblivious to the fact that this settlement where they lay their heads at night would be in total shambles if they didn't fend off these beasts. These beasts were dragon-like creatures, they only made an appearance during after hours. This especially made them difficult to detect in the night-sky. Each one had dark scales and two deadly horns on its head. Looking into the sky with a naked eye, the only thing that could be scrutinized were the glowing red eyes of the leviathans. All that could be heard were slow, ceaseless wings flapping. It wasn't often that the beasts would exit the skies and hunt the ground, but when they did, it was certainly brutal. They only came at night, no one really understood why. Some civilians classified these monsters as "vampire-ish." That may have been so, but these beasts were still very mysterious, which made them especially hard to be slain.


Not sure how you can say something being mysterious is hard to slay, I feel like you need an alternative word there, but otherwise, this is an interesting little tale that you've created. Seeing how the fighters gradually dwindle down to just four is very realistic and the rest of society not really realizing the magnitude of what they do might just be the most realistic part of the whole story. The description for the beasts is also pretty well done I think and on the whole, this is pretty well done here.

That time is upon White Shadow Falls. Distant wing flapping was now in earshot, which meant the fiends were near. When the first sounds of wings were heard usually meant they were about six to seven minutes away. These beasts weren't the fastest flyers. The majority of the short population have already scurried indoors. People who had late business quickly made their way to their homes. The gravel streets of White Shadow were empty, lifeless, and deserted. The sound of wind gusted through the town. The defenders met at the town gate, equipped with their most effective weaponry. This was routine for them, every single night they did this. They stood waiting for these drakes to arrive.


Hmm..the ending is an interesting one. I feel like it doesn't quite match up with the idea of a prologue as well as the other parts. That seems more appropriate for a first chapter cause it suggests that we're about to have a big of a big dramatic showdown happen in the part to come...and that's not quite what a prologue is meant for because its meant to be an independent little story of its own. Overall though, this prologue is pretty good at what it does and I find myself wanting to read more here.

Aaaaand that's it for this one.

As always remember to take what you think was helpful and forget the rest.

Stay Safe
Harry




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Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:04 pm
WoosiePoosie says...



Thanks all, I'll make the modifications. =]




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Thu Sep 09, 2010 7:42 pm
SporkPunk wrote a review...



Hi and welcome to YWS!

I'll just take the time to point out that you don't really need to beg for critiques. :) People will find your piece, like I and the previous reviewer have, and review if they feel so inclined. If no one is reviewing, you can stop by the Will Review for Food (WRFF) thread. They'll sort you out. :] Also, the best way to get critiques is to critique other people's work! :D

So anyway, onto the review part. I'm going to be fairly general with this since this is your first post on YWS.

Grammar:
--Formatting: Break it up into paragraphs. Makes it easier and less intimidating to read.
--Tenses: Stick with one tense, preferably simple past. In this piece, you used quite a variety of tenses (past, present, etc.)

Storyline:
I love your idea. In fact, your title, Leviathan, is what got me to review this. (Have you ever read the book Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld? It's brilliant.) But you could definitely work on this. Overall, the narration reads here like a text book. It's very mechanical, and you're telling the reader almost everything rather than showing. Other than that nitpick, I liked this.

Keep Writing! And again, welcome!
~Sporks




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Thu Sep 09, 2010 5:28 pm
Sierra says...



First of all, fix the format. It's very hard to read in one block of writing like it is now. Make several paragraphs.
Other then that is was VERY good. Me and my friend really like it. Keep writing!





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