Hotfirelegend

• Status: In Transit
• Cleared: 0/100
• Rank: Mark of Bravery 

• Please specify which theme you are doing when submitting entries.
• You may request for an update of your status bar any time. Feel free to put it in your signature for bragging rights.
• If I forget to update your status bar and badge, please don't hesitate to PM and remind me.

Completed:

01: introduction

08: gateway

13: running away

15: seeking solace

20: my inspiration

23: failure

25: breaking away

32: exploration

38: burning

57: slow down

59: challenged

62: irregular orbit

65: a moment in time

66: dangerous territory

68: unsettling revelations

78: change in the weather

94: reality

01: INTRODUCTION



He stared at his blank computer screen, pondering his next novel. Then the phone rang. He reached behind himself to pick it up, nearly straining his arm in the process. One of these days, he had to invest in a larger desk.

"Hello?" He spoke into the mouthpiece.

"Robert, your previous novels have sold well, but I'm afraid to tell you that your last one was a bust. Only three hundred copies sold yesterday." Came the voice from the other end. Robert wiped his brow.

"Well, three hundred isn't that bad..." He replied with a little chuckle. "They probably didn't like the synopsis or something, I'll make a better one next time."

"You'd better." The voice spoke gruffly, then the dial tone sounded.

Robert sighed, putting the phone back. Whilst not the sternest call he'd received from his editor, this one hovered in the top ten. It was true - he'd spent very little time on tweaking the finer details of his last book, presuming that his audience would simply purchase it anyway. That plan had backfired.

Turning his gaze back to his blank monitor, Robert sighed. He reached for the power button, watched it boot up, opened a word document and began typing.

20: MY INSPIRATION



As Robert typed away, he recalled scenes of poverty, famine and loss. Those in his story would have little more than the clothes on their back, yet have to survive a harsh wilderness.

The two protagonists that came to his mind undoubtably had to be a boy and a girl, both supporting each other. They were the tender age of ten at the start of his story, but Robert planned for them to grow up as it went along. The reality was far different however, as many novelists will realise.

A quill pen scratching paper, forming words. An indecipherable method of communication to any species but ours. Even then, it was only those who knew how to read the ancient languages that could interpret the lines.

"Sarabeth, please deliver this to your mother." He said, after folding up the paper carefully. The candlelight flickered in his eyes as he tenderly gave the paper to Sarabeth. Sarabeth nodded, then heading out of the door toward the fields.

"Will she be alright?" Marcdus asked, emerging from behind a thin curtain at the back of the room. The man's eyes hovered over to him.

"Yes, but you may go with her." He gestured in Sarabeth's direction. Marcdus sagely bowed, following.

94: REALITY



A massive bonfire burnt under the setting sun, filling the sky with a confused haze of orange and yellow.

Sarabeth gazed over the fields, the grass tickling the bare skin of her feet. Then she found who she was looking for - her mother. Dressed in a leather top that didn't cover her left arm, and a grass skirt, it was unmistakable. The guards on her elbows were also a sign of her status.

Skipping over to her mother who was in a teeming crowd, she held up the letter. The crowd became silent, then turned to the girl, separating to let her pass. In the centre, her mother cast her eyes over Sarabeth. She stepped forward to grab the letter roughly from her hands, at which point Sarabeth flinched. Why was her mother acting like this?

"I already know what this is." Sarabeth's mother huffed, before opening the letter to confirm her suspicions. She grunted, then tore up the paper. It floated to the ground in tiny fragments, like brown snow. Turning back to Sarabeth, she placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It is time. You must leave the village." She frowned. Sarabeth's mouth hung agape. Leave the village! Why?

As she protested, her mother stepped back, fury overcoming her.

"Leave! Now!" She demanded.

Tears streaming down her face, Sarabeth dashed through the crowd the way she had come, heading into the forest on the far side of the field, the flickering light of the bonfire dying slowly behind her as it became further and further away.

But a pair of eyes followed her. And gave chase.

13: RUNNING AWAY



Sarabeth leapt through the foliage, ducking under loose branches and valuting over fallen trees, trying to put as much distance between her and the village as possible. All the way, tears streamed down her grief-stricken face, until eventually she was ford to stop to recoup her thoughts.

Ahead of her was a long, twisting oath through the trees. Dead leaves were scattered about, and there was an almost ethereal glow enaminating from the canopy. She marveled in its splendour, temporarily forgetting the neccessity of fleeing her home. Then someone grabbed her shoulder.

Sarabeth spun around with a gasp, coming face-to-face with Marcdus.

"Brother!" She exclaimed. "Not you too!"

"No, I actually just followed to make sure you were okay. What happened?" Marcdus asked, concern crossing his otherwise youthful features.

Rubbing the tears from her eyes, Sarabeth explained.

"I- I don't know. Mother... She just told me to get out..."

"That's peculiar, they never told me anything of the sort." Marcdus furrowed his brow. "But it's alright. We'll work it out. But for now, let's get somewhere safe." He gripped her shoulder reassuringly, and Sarabeth smiled in response. Then the two set off down the path.

Nice start.  I particularly liked the pic of the hands, quill and paper.  

15: SEEKING SOLACE



Sarabeth pressed on through the forest with Marcdus in tow. He kept an eye on the surroundings behind whilst Sarabeth scrutinised the foliage in the hopes of finding some sort of shelter. The night was one of the deadliest features of nature known to man, and consequently their tribe. Unseen dangers lurked in the woods, caves and ground, threatening to consume those that crossed their paths. It just so happened that after half an hour, Sarabeth stumbled upon a clearing featuring a waterfall and nearby cave. A perfect shelter.

"Marcdus!" Sarabeth called back. He raised his attention to her voice, then gasping as he saw what she'd set her eyes on.

"That's great!" He exclaimed, hopping over a fallen tree to reach her, following her toward the cave. The last sunrays shone through the treeline, causing the water splashing off the waterfall to glisten with light. The entranceway to the cave was barely illuminated, but provided sufficient lighting for the two to prepare a fire with sticks from outside.

And so the two settled down. But that would not be the last of their night.

38: BURNING



The two sat around their hastily-assembled campfire, the warm glow touching their skin. Sarabeth and Marcdus stared at each other between the flickering flames, trying to read from each other's expressions what to make of this all.

"If this is a rite of passage of some sort, it's a very strange one." Marcdus finally spoke. He'd read concern off Sarabeth's face. She nodded slowly.

"Yes, but nothing is out of Mother's..." Sarabeth struggled for the word. "There's nothing she wouldn't do."

"Well, she certainly wouldn't have cast you out for a mere rite of passage with our father there." Marcdus pointed out. "She may be the leader, but that doesn't mean she acts without others' consideration."

Sarabeth nodded more satisfyingly. After all, if they were to get home anytime soon, they had to discover why Sarabeth had been cast out, and her brother was able to follow unresisted. Whatever the reason, it couldn't have been tied to Sarabeth being forced to go alone. That much he was sure of.

"Tomorrow..." Marcdus looked at the flames. "...What do you want to do? Go back or go further?"

Sarabeth sighed. "We can't go back. At least, not yet. If I was told to leave for a rite of passage, then it must be something to do with becoming stronger. Maybe-"

"I think you're reading this all wrong." Marcdus said as he adjusted himself to lie on the rocky ground. "We'll think clearer in the morning."

"A-alright." Sarabeth said. But as she adjusted herself, she froze. Marcdus looked up. Her eyes were transfixed on the cave entrance.

"What?" Marcdus asked. Sarabeth could only stare.

62: IRREGULAR ORBIT



Sarabeth ducked down as a ghastly figure swooped over her head, brushing against the flames. Marcdus rolled out of the way, the beast's talons barely scratching his shoulder. He put a hand to it to check for blood - not much.

"Sarabeth, get out of here!" Marcdus shouted, struggling to stand before the beast turned in irregular orbit, ready to swoop again. Sarabeth stayed put.

"I'm not leaving you here with that thing!" She gestured, diving down as the beast swooped once more, this time aiming squarely for her. Marcdus dashed over to the fire, grabbed a burning wooden stick from its pile, and held it toward the flying beast like a sword. The beast hovered in mid-air before evidently thinking better of its chances against a flame-wielding angry human. It then flew away out of the cave entrance and into the night.

"It's not safe here." Sarabeth chuckled weakly as Marcdus replaced the makeshift torch, then stepping over to help her up. She brushed herself off, looking to see if there was any path deeper into the cave.

"We'll press on in the morning." Marcdus said, reading her thoughts. I'll keep watch tonight, you sleep."

Sarabeth paused for thought before nodding in understanding. The next day, they'd aim to find more suitable shelter. Hopefully not the sort inhabited by wild beasts.

A tricky theme, imo, but you managed to find something appropriate, which is good going.

You have an interesting/unique art style Mr Hotfire

Thanks guys, I'm not very good at digiart (yet :p ) but I'm trying to improve XDDD

My next one is a lot better than most of the previous ones - focused a lot more on clothing this time around. I think the picture for Irregular Orbit was by far the worst, but I may redo it later. I had some issues with the layers. If I'd hand-drawn it, it'd be easy to add shadows and stuff, but digiart brushes tend to change shape whilst using them, making it a bit more difficult to do it right.

The next one is 25: Breaking Away, then 78: Change in the Weather.

25: BREAKING AWAY



Sarabeth panted heavily as she leapt through the heavy foliage. With Marcdus in tow, she knew she was relatively safe, but there was no telling what horrors the forest had to throw at her. She smacked away the branches that impeded her progress and leapt over fallen logs. The grass she trampled underfoot was reduced to muddy sludge as Marcdus followed in her footsteps. Neither of the two knew where they were going... But anywhere seemed better than where they'd been the past night.

78: CHANGE IN THE WEATHER



Not far away, thunderclouds rumbled as a bolt of lightning struck the sea. The heavens seemed to open, and rain poured down in buckets. The sea tossed and turned violently, as if to recreate nature's fury against humanity. Had Sarabeth and Marcdus been at sea, they'd surely have been swept away by the current. However, this not being the case, they were blissfully unaware of the storm that was soon to envelop them...

57: SLOW DOWN



As they continued dashing through the forest, both Sarabeth and Marcdus began to notice that the treeline was thinning. Ahead of themselves, all they saw was the ground seemingly change from brown to green, but Marcdus hardly gave it a second thought. Only Sarabeth's cry of "Stop!" prevented him from tumbling over the edge. He gasped, nearly skidding off the cliff, landing on his Gluteus Maximus. Hands scratched nearly to shreds, he shook himself off tenderly, turning to Sarabeth as he stood up.

"Well, it looks like we've found another section of the forest." Marcdus chuckled, pointing over the edge of the cliff. Sarabeth walked up, looked over and gasped. At the base was a lake, its surface gleaming. Surrounding the lake was another layer of forest, several feet down. If the two were to be able to get to the lower level, they'd have to struggle for another pathway, or jump into the lake. Knowing Marcdus, Sarabeth had already made up her mind.

"You first." She smiled coyly. Marcdus winked, leaping off the side.

She quickly regretted her decision.

And on what else would he land if not his Gluteus Maximus?  Hmm, could have been his nose, I suppose.

I'm enjoying this thread.

66: DANGEROUS TERRITORY



After drying off, Sarabeth and Marcdus paused to catch their breath. The soft warmth of the sun combined with a gentle breeze took them away from their thoughts for a while. The two lay in the sand by the lake, allowing their minds to be released from the stress of the past few days.

"Marcdus..." Sarabeth began uneasily, still lying on her back with the palms of her hand behind her head and supporting it. "Did anything signal that we'd be running away together? I mean, like, did our mother behave strangely around you, or...?"

"Nothing." Marcdus replied. "Just like you I guess. A normal family life with father cooking the food while mother ran the place. I wonder if something big happened to cause her to have to send us away?"

"I'm taking any guess at this point." Sarabeth sighed. She rolled over onto her front, and gasped. The smell of smoke hung thickly in the air, but they'd not noticed it as they'd been too busy drying off. It was the unmistakable stench of a campfire.

"Marcdus!" Sarabeth hissed. He turned to face her, confused. "Get behind the trees!"

Marcdus did as he was told with a grunt, brushing himself off and crouching behind the nearest tree. Sarabeth stood next to the one on the opposite side, looking around its trunk. It was just as she feared. Following Sarabeth's gaze, Marcdus looked the same way.

A village.

Did this mean something good... Or was it trouble?

-----

P.S: Yes, the character's clothes and hairstyles keep changing. I've not got to the level where I've been able to decide on a set style for the two of them, but rest assured, a character in the next one will have a rather consistent style!

68: UNSETTLING REVELATIONS



Sarabeth screamed. Marcdus was too late to help her. She fell forward, unconscious. Behind her stood a cloaked man, his face partially hidden by a black mask. The hilt of his sword that he'd used to strike Sarabeth's 'sleeper spot' was patterned with a golden spiral. Marcdus began to pedal backward slowly, but grunted as he tripped over one of the tree roots, landing once again on his backside. The second time in as many hours. He scrambled to his feet, raising a hand in a defensive position as the armed man began to approach him.

However, fortune was not to favour Marcdus. He too, began seeing stars, and fell from consciousness, oblivious to the second cloaked man behind him.

When he came to, he blinked rapidly before surveying his surroundings. He was being half-carried by the two men toward the largest tent in the camp. He craned his neck to look behind himself. Sure enough, Sarabeth was the same, also being carried in the same direction. The two were dropped side-by-side at the entrance of the tent, hands bound. Grunting as he sat up, Marcdus tried to assess the situation. Around him stood four masked guards, each with the same sword design he'd seen moments ago. Was it even moments? Since he'd fallen unconsciousness, Marcdus had lost track of time. Sarabeth stayed quiet, barely able to keep herself from shaking with fear.

"You've found two?" A voice called from within the tent. The four guards surrounding Sarabeth and Marcdus spoke out in unison: "Yes, sir!". The tent flaps soon opened to reveal a well-dressed man at the entrance. His shoulder-guards looked similar to Marcdus and Sarabeth's mother's, but his clothes betrayed that he was not from their village at all. An acorn-hatch design was spread across the front of his chest, each diamond shape within having a different shade of brown to each other. His right hand was a hook, but his left was held behind his body as if to hide further disfigurement. The man's hair was as imposing as he was tall, reaching above his forehead in jagged spikes.

"Ah. If it's none other than the Usagi Clan's siblings." The man spoke, his voice booming. The guards seemed to shudder, as if fearful about what the leader would say next. Marcdus gritted his teeth. The Usagi Clan was their clan's previous name, but their mother had changed it once she'd seized control. This event was just before either Sarabeth or Marcdus were born, so the two knew nothing of it. And this looked to be a problem.

"The Usagi Clan..." The man spoke again. He knelt down on one foot in front of the two, keeping his distance but ensuring he was at their eye level. "... Was once my clan. My name is Valant Usagi."

Alarm bells rang in Sarabeth's mind. She gasped, turning to Marcdus who was equally shocked. Marcdus had taken the man for little more than a fool wearing a seemingly beaver-like outfit, but that had been a severe underestimation. The Usagi clan - their clan - was one of the most powerful in the country. And this man was the previous leader?! Under what circumstances could their mother have outed him...?

Ohh, intrigue, intrigue!