Young Writers Society

This is something very new to me, so it could change very sporadically in upcoming installments. The basic idea I have for it at the moment is that it is set in a world called Avelunn (again this could change) that is in a dimension next to Earth so there a bunch of similarities. Now the language is a work in progress. So far I'm thinking medieval style with modern language. The general idea is that the "Society" is holding back technological and gender equality advances so for the most part the style of speak is modern but everything else is more medieval. Now names like the Society and the Order could change but for now that is what they are going to be until I come up with something better. Thanks for reading and hope you like it! I hope it isn't terribly basic!

Chapter One

“Daenyres Rojk, how do you plead on the charge that has been brought against you?” The executioner asked, looking at me with one grey, unruly eyebrow cocked at me.

“Which charge?” I asked, rolling my eyes. He just wanted to drag this out.

“On the charge that you slaughtered 12 knights of the Society.” He hissed, obviously not very happy with me. I just smirked, shuffling my feet.

“Guilty, of course.” I said, winking to the crowd that had gathered in the court room. The court room was really just a cylindrical room made of grey brick with stone seats going in a circle around the stage that I stood on. The executioner, or judge, stood on a podium about seven foot above the stage, looking down on me. I had already noticed the numerous guards, six to be exact, that were anxiously pacing about the room, keeping a constant eye on me. It was quite funny when I thought about it. They feared me so much that they had hired six guards to ensure my death should I try to escape. I was actually kind of flattered.

“You don’t want to defend yourself?” He asked incredulously. I suppose that he wanted to see me beg for my life or beg for a prison sentence. I would not degrade myself to that, though. They would ensure that I either died in torture or on stage. So why not keep my dignity? Besides, I did kill 12 men. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that I was the one responsible.

“What’s the point? I killed them, and enjoyed it. So, are we going to put this rope to some good use today or not?” I asked, motioning to the noose that hung next to me.

“Well, we shall see to that. But first, would anyone like to buy this filthy mutt? I’ll even give you gentlemen a good price. $600!” Immediately the room protested, shouting that the price was too high. The executioner just smiled coyly at me. He was just about to announce my imminent death when a bell rang out. Surprised, I turned around to see the sea of business men part to let an old man with a cane come forward. He hobbled along, a hood covering his face. I could only see his weathered hand clutching the cane, a large gold ring on his hand. “Sir, you would pay $600 for this piece of trash?” I turned around to the executioner and growled, baring my teeth at him. He flinched, stepping back. I turned around to see the old man had hobbled his way up next to me. He grabbed my right arm, twisting it so that my wrist was facing up. He ripped that cloth that covered my arm, exposing my birthmark. He gasped, his grip loosened in shock. I wrenched my arm free from his grasp, trying my best to cover it up.

“Yes, I would have her for that price, my good man.” Said that old man. To my surprise, his voice was smooth as the softest silk. It was still aged, but not raspy at all. In fact, it was not aged at all. It was wise.

“Alright then, the murderess is sold to this poor, old man for $600. Good luck to you, sir.” The executioner said, pounding his podium with his wooden gavel. “And Daenyres, if you kill him and escape, I will not hesitate to hang you.” He said, glowering at me. I just gave him my most wicked smile, barring my teeth. This time, he did not seem afraid.

I followed the old man to the key master. He gave the key to my chains to my new master, whispering something in his ear. I couldn’t hear what he was saying but I figured it was something to the effect that I was dangerous and blah, blah, blah. Don’t get me wrong, because I was, but I had no intentions of trying to escape. All it would take was one note to the executioner that I had escaped and my family and friends would be annihilated without any remorse.

At first I didn’t understand why the executioner hated me so much. Sure, I was a highly dangerous killer and a woman. So neither of those facts helped me out. But, from what my cell mate had told me, two of the men I had killed were his sons and two of the most respected knights in the Order. So I suppose my hopeful death would have been his revenge. But when I was unexpectedly bought, it thwarted his plans. So, it wouldn’t have took much for him to go after my own family. But he was also smart enough to know that if he did it I would have destroyed him and the rest of his family. So, neither of us tried the other.

“Master, am I to call you master or something else?” I asked sarcastically as we walked through the streets. He didn’t say anything, just tugged on the chain that was attached to the steel collar around my neck. He quickly walked through the busy streets, keeping his head down. If I had a dollar for every dirty look I got from the Society women and children I would’ve been rich. An ordinary person in filthy rags was not exactly something they cared to see on their streets. Most masters cleaned their slaves up if they lived within city limits. So naturally the ones that weren’t clean either weren’t worth the time or didn’t live in the city limits. I hoped it was the latter.

“Quiet,” He hissed at me, speeding up. I just jogged behind him, trying to keep up without getting choked. When we got to the gate the guard took one look at the old man and nodded. He winked at me, letting us pass. Confused I followed the old man faithfully as we continued our quick travel. He took a detour outside the city, using the road that most of the commoners, or ordinary people, took. I was surprised, naturally. This man had just paid $600 for me, and he took this road? We continued to travel until we were completely alone. He pulled me off of the main road into the woods, easily navigating the roots and fallen limbs as if they were small pebbles. I was amazed at how agile this he was. After a few minutes of travel he came to a halt, raising his hand to signal to me to stop. I started to ask what he was doing but he shushed me, raising his ringed hand into the air. He swirled it in a small circle, the golden ring glowing. It started to make a soft ringing noise, singing to me. He continued to do this until the ringing died down, the forest coming back to life.

When he was done he took the key to my chains and unlocked them, all of them. I rubbed my wrists where they had bled from being rubbed raw. My neck was especially sensitive from the leash. He reached out and touched my neck. I started to flinch away when I felt an incredibly warm sensation start from my neck and travel down my body, especially warming the spots of me that were wounded, such as my wrists. Amazed I looked down at my wrists, and they were quickly healing and the pain was vanquishing. I lifted my shirt, gazing at my ribs as they slowly started to stitch back together under the thin skin that protected them from the outside. I expected pain, but felt only a slight tingling sensation. I looked up in wonder at my master, who had took off his hood and revealed his face. He was definitely old, but not as old as I thought him to be. I guessed he was in his 50’s, maybe? He was handsome, his stunning blue eyes true to the magic that was so obviously in him. They sparkled with hidden wisdom and knowledge, striking me motionless. His dark, greying hair was shorter than most, barely touching his ears with a slight wave.

“Who are you?” I asked in awe. He smiled the kindest smile I had seen in ages. My insides tingled in a way that was completely foreign to me. I wasn’t attracted to him, but something felt familiar about him, like I knew him through a friend or family member. I liked the feeling.

“My name is Promius. You may call me by such. I am not your master, nor will I ever be.” He said, taking off his cloak. When he took the cloak off, his appearance rippled and became much younger. Perhaps late 20’s. His features remained the same, including the wisdom I saw in his eyes. Only his skin was smoother, tighter with a light glow to it.

“How old are you really?” I asked, amazed at the sight before me. I had seen plenty of magic in my day, but none like this.

“That, I can’t tell you.” He replied with a wink. With the cane, he looked like a distinguished young man of well means. He wore dark pants with a black shirt. The cloak he had been wearing was a light grey that had a slight sheen to it. When he had bought me, it had looked old and worm out. Now that he was not wearing it, it looked brand new and beautiful. I wondered what such a handsome and obviously powerful man wanted with me. To break me? To use me for his own agenda?

“What do you want with me? Surely you didn’t buy a feared murderess just to take me out to the middle of the woods and set me free. Because that, my good sir, would be suicide.” I said with a wry grin. He just chuckled, swinging his cane.

“You could not kill me if you tried.” He said, unsheathing a long sword from his belt. He threw it up into the air at me. I easily caught it with my hand, weighing it. It was definitely much lighter than my own sword, which was odd. This beautiful sword was much longer than my own, with a golden hilt adorned with gems of every kind.

“What do you have to defend yourself? A fancy walking stick.” I taunted him, circling around him. He didn’t bother to turn when I was directly behind him.

“Precisely,” He said before swinging around and bringing the cane down on me. Only it was no longer a cane, but a sword almost identical to the one I held in my hand. I had just enough time to bring up my borrowed sword to deflect what would have been a very lethal blow to my head. He winked before spinning around and away from me. This time I advanced on him and he easily deflected me. He swung low at my knees, I jumped. I aimed for his side and he twirled away with ease. We continued on like this for what seemed to be hours, when in reality it was probably a couple of minutes. He was so fast and strong that for the first time since I had a hard time keeping up. It was like his stamina was never ending, while mine on the other had was beginning to waiver. Just when I thought I was done for, something inside of my chest turned cocky and confident. I couldn’t lose to this over-privileged, well dressed noble, I thought to myself. Suddenly, a surge of energy flowed through me and I began to land blows so quick and fast that he was struggling to keep up. With a grin plastered to my face I brought a blow down on his blade, twisted my sword down and over and wrenched it from his grasp. He backed up into a tree, his hands up in surrender. With the point of my blade pressed to his heart, I really looked at him. He didn’t seem scared, or even nervous. In fact, he started to smile, pride in his eyes.

“Good job, Dae. I was wondering when it would hit you.” He said with a low chuckle.

“How do you know my nickname?” I demanded, pressing the blade slightly harder into his chest. I didn’t want to kill him, but I wouldn’t let him know that.

“If you’ll be so kind as to remove the blade from my chest, I’ll tell you.” He replied with a victorious grin. I slowly brought it down until I was stabbing the ground with it.

“Now if you’ll be so kind as to tell me what you specifically want from me.” I said, sarcastically imitating him. He just rolled his eyes, walking past me to retrieve his sword. He blew against the silver hilt and I watched as it shimmered and turned back into the fancy walking cane.

“I seem familiar to you, do I not?” He said, polishing the cane with the sleeve of his shirt. He wouldn’t meet my eyes, looking at everything but me.

“I guess so. Have we met before?” I asked, studying him. He did seem incredibly familiar, I just couldn’t place him. It was as if my brain said no, you don’t know him while my heart was screaming at me that I did. It was infuriating.

“We have, many lifetimes ago.” He said, finally bringing his eyes to meet mine. In two strides he was in front of me. He grabbed me by my face and forced me to stare into his eyes. A white blue haze settled over his eyes, captivating me in their depths. Suddenly I felt very dizzy, unable to stand. I was slowly falling, falling through time. I didn’t know what was happening to me, but my body seemed to know because it wasn’t panicking, but adapting. Apparently it was only my mind that was oblivious to everything happening to me. Just as an apparition was starting to form before me, I felt my mind tug away, shielding me from whatever he was trying to show me. Infuriated I tried to force my way to it. Before me was a woman in a long white cloak, kneeling on a snowy cliff overlooking a beautiful forest below. The fir trees were coated in a layer of snow, and it was still falling ever so slightly. I heard her faintly crying, her shoulders shaking. There was someone off to the side in a dark cloak, hiding in the shadows of a forest. Suddenly she stopped crying and stood up. Pulling the hood from her head, I saw white hair flow in the wind. She extended her right arm, sweeping it over the forest. A variety of vapors erupted from the trees, flowing up to her arm as if by silent command. They swirled around and around her in all different colors. They disappeared into her, one after another. When it was done she collapsed, her arm thrown out. I was pulled back all of a sudden, snapped out of the apparition. Not before I saw the mark on her right arm, though.

The same exact mark that I bore on my own right arm.