THE LIFE OF ARCHAL, VOLUME ONE
Archal stumbled as the ground underfoot rose slightly. He could see his breath in front of him, adding to the surrounding mist. He could not see the peak of the large mountain he was climbing, although he doubted he would be able to tell he had reached the peak if it wasn't for the ground falling away beneath him. His eyes were useless here, where the snow covered everything, and the mist clouded the path ahead.
Archal sat down, and his eyes glazed over. He was thinking abck to the time when this would not have been neccesary.....
Archal was riding on a horse, with his father alongside of him. They had been exploring in an unknown land, one that they were trying to map out. They had met many strange creatures, and at times, been threatened by them, threatened with death. But they had always pulled through; they had been prepare dfor every eventuality. Now they were riding for the south west part of the area, in which they had seen mountains from a distance, their peaks covered with snow. the rest of them was also covered in snow probaly Archal's father had said, but they could not see the lower regions of the mountains from so far away. They had vowed to remedy that, and now they were on their way towards them.
Soon they reached the foothills, and they could see strange dwellings there. Amazingly, they seemed to be made out of huge slabs of ice and snow, forming a sort of dome. They could see a faint glow of a fire from the entrance. Archal wondered how they could have such a dwelling and light a fire within it; surely the fire would melt the walls? But no, it seemed that the large slabs of ice and snow were fine with fire that close. Perhaps the extreme cold outside was too great for the fire to take effect.
Archal saw a flicker of movement to his right. His father had seen it too, and he pushed Archal into the snow, making sure he was out of sight. The movement was just in time, for an arrow hissed overhead, right where Archal had been standing. Had he still been there, the arrow would have pierced his heart. He heard a noise overheard, a kind of gurgling. He raised his head and saw that his father, and arrow through his throat. Archal watched as his father struggled to say something. He put his ear close to his fathers mouth. Finally, he made out one word. "run". Soon his father lay dead in the snow, a pool of red surrounding him, sloqly freezing solid to become a red sheet of ice in amongst the white. Soon snow would cover his body, and his existence would be wiped from history.
Tears streaming down his face, Archal staggered to his feet, and began to run. He headed for the mountains, trying to ignore the huge weight that seemed to have been placed upon him. His mother and sister had died when he was young, when disease has spread through his village. Then he and his father had stood side by side at their funeral, watching through eyes moist with tears as the bodies of their loved ones went up in smoke. Now he had nothing. Now the entire family he had was gone. Archal reached the start if the mountain, and began his ascent. he needed to get away, and fast.
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Archal raised his head, and stood, ignoring his protesting limbs. He continued on his way walking through the continuous snow. His lips were covered with blood, where some spit on them had forzen into shards of ice, pricking the soft flesh and drawing blood. He dared not open his mouth, in case the whole inside of it was frozen solid. His fingers were slowly turning blue, and sure sign of frostbite. In the distance, he saw a pinprick of light, yellow, warm looking. He headed towards it, not caring whether it was a friend or enemy which had made the flames. He needed to get warm, and fast.
Soon he had reached the light. He saw another of the improvised ice shelters, and ducked low to enter it. He crawled through the tunnel, and lay down next to the fire, slowly growing weaker. The last thing he saw was four pairs of eyes staring down at him. Then his world became blackness.
Archal woke to find a platter of food in front of him. He didn't care where it came from; it was food, and he needed it. He wolfed down several pieces of meat, wrapped in some strange kind of bread, which looked normal but melted like wafers when he put them in his mouth. Soon he was full, and became aware of four people looking at him. He was amazed to see that they were human. In answer to his questioning look, one of them, who it seemed was the leader, spoke. "We came out here when we were ridiculed and despised by others of our kind. I heard of your loss and am sorry, but the people here do not take kindly to outsiders. You must leave here quickly, or you will be in much danger. You can eat as much as you want, but then you must leave." He did not say this unkindly, but his eyes were merciless, which soon quelled Archal's thoughts of trying to bargain for a place in their community. He ate some more, then left the makeshift shelter. a guide led him down the mountain, and he mounted his horse which was brought to hm without a word. Soon he was away, galloping through the strange world he and his father had visited. He wanted to be home now more than anything else. He would recieve offers of a nights stay in many places, but he would refuse them all. He just wanted to be home again. He just wanted the memory of his father, lying dead in the snow to leave him.
He wanted his old life back.
END OF VOLUME ONE
Volume two, coming soon!