Little story that I've been working on. Actually just finished it tonight, and started back in December probably. Fantasy story about a girl's journey through a world covered in dark clouds when she strays from home. No elves or magic or anything like that, though. This is just the first chapter. If it gets good reception I'll post the other 6. Without further ado, Chapter One: Life [spoiler]Chapter One: Life "Domovok, stop your nonsense! Nobody goes out into the dark!" "The old Travellers did! They brought back all sorts of stuff, and---" "Enough! The Travellers are long gone. Now, feed the animals, there's a lot to do before noon." Varachi, me dear old uncle. Stuck in the old ways of living off the land, and never asking for more. Effective, certainly. People have been living in what amounts to the shadow of Sol Mountain, called Sol's Break, for thousands of years like that, never wandering into the darkness of the clouds. The darkness is a truly fearsome thing, much like the smells that the animals produce! It could make the most ferocious monster turn tail and run! Maybe that's why Varachi keeps Manks. Big, musty cow things. I've seen grass outsmart them. It took a lot of work to potty train them, but I did it. First one to bother, too. Animals, check. Fence repairs, check. Make sure that no violent, predatory monsters are on the field, check. Go to Sunday mass at the Church of Tem, in progress. For those that don't know, that's thanking the mountain for making a break in the clouds, for the sun for being there, and for the land for being fertile. Stuff that would happen whether we are grateful or not. Also, fear the clouds, stay away from the dark, all who enter there abandon all hope, remember to pick up this week's weather forecast on your way out. And people wonder why I want to see something new... "Domovok, my little niece, wake up! I found something for you!" "Uncle, the only thing you ever find for me is new chores..." I'm gonna see if I can set a new record for most amount of time taken to get out of bed. "So you don't want these old maps I picked up at the market?" Total time taken to reach the door: 3 seconds flat. Well played, Varachi. Well played. "How did you get these?!?" Maps are not something the layman needs here, so the only maps there are often from travellers, and contain areas shrouded by the clouds. "Miss Alice was cleaning out her house. She had them." "The old cripple? Why'd she have em?" "She got a bad back and a broken arm. For someone her age, hardly unusual. Anyways, said she happened upon the old things in a box. She isn't traveling any time soon, so up for sale they went. I saw them and thought of you!"He paused for a moment, then added, "I'd rather you have these, than you go making yer own!" "These must have costed a fortune!" "A fortune? For maps? In Sol's Break? Yer the only one who'd buy them! I gave the poor lady potatoes!" Potatoes for priceless charts. Only in Sol's Break. Setting personal records for time needed to complete my chores, I decided to take a walk to the cliff that overlooks the farm. Seven rolled up pieces of paper and I were about to become well acquainted. These are amazing! There's other mountains extending from Sol, and all sorts of exotic geography all around! In Sol's Break we got plains, a lake and river, and a few wooded areas, so exotic describes almost everything. But these are rather outdated. It says there is a farm up on the cliff I'm on, but there's nothing between me and the mountain. Except... Ohhhh, shit. Grey clouds crashed around the mountain, but instead of being diverted to either side, they came back around, unusually low and fast. A maelstrom. Rain is rare. Nothing good comes from it though. The animals! They need to be brought in before the storm arrives! Varachi was already out by the time I arrived. "Domovok, the hens, then help with the Manks, and hurry!" Sending the hens scuttling to their coop, I needed to get the Manks in. Those big stinkpits need a bath, but not that badly. The sky overhead had darkened considerably, the thunder and wind announcing the storm. Varachi had led most back to the barn, but was still busy getting them all in. "There's still a couple out there!," he shouted at me, "Find those two, bring them back! Go!" It began raining during my search. Big, heavy, and dense. I remembered the maps on my shoulder, and was glad they had come in a protective case. Through the gloom I spotted something in the distance. Two large shapes. I sprinted towards them through the many puddles starting to form. One was a wet Mank. The other was the most terrifying creature I had ever layed eyes on. A big, wet clump of grey shag and bulging muscles, it regarded me with jet black eyes. The other Mank was on the ground behind it. I was dumbfounded, unable to do anything even as a giant arm swung towards me, sending me flying out of the world. [/spoiler] [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post?id=64723319]Next Chapter.[/url]