Drakon Sssharxx

On the second day after the incident Vatra awoke feeling fresh and pleasant. Aster wasn't as slow as Vatra expected but he was still slow enough for Vatra to recover from the attack and the days spent walking before it. Vatra discovered the old man’s name during a short break from the man’s constant dictation of letters and words. Vatra stretched and sat up his stomach rumbled and the fact he hadn't eaten for a day caused him to let out a groan. Aster stirred and sat up, he looked at Vatra and sighed. “You’re hungry” it wasn't a question but Vatra answered a yes anyway. “Then go get something to eat you fool before everything goes into shelter for the day.” Vatra’s face must have shown his confusion and Aster continued in a softer tone “Go hunting my lad” Vatra regained his voice to reply this time. “I haven't hunted before sir. I’ve killed animals but that was as a farmhand and the animals there didn't need tracking.” Aster got to his feet then and walked over to Vatra. As Vatra felt the mans arm on his shoulder he felt energized and able to face the day. “That will keep you going today while I explain to you the basics of hunting and tomorrow you can give it a try.” Aster seems noticeably more fatigued. “What did you do?” Vatra asks the man. “Gave you some of my energy, don’t worry I still have enough for the day.” Aster shrugs and turns to gather his things. “But how?” Vatra responds with a look of awe on his face. “Maybe i’ll explain in time” With that Aster turns completely and stops the conversation. The day goes by as Aster explains the basic components of hunting, from habitats to tracking prints and trails, exploiting weaknesses in animals and even goes on to explain about archery and skinning. By the evening Vatra’s head is throbbing with a slight headache from all the information but he decides to head out hunting to see what he can find. He notices the forest is thinner and the oak trees give way to birch and other varieties. As he gets a few hundred meters from camp he notices an unusual track that hadn't been explained to him. Vatra had no idea what it could be. Although he didn't recognize the track itself he could tell the creature that made it had three clawed toes. Vatra felt hungry now and having found no other tracks around he decides to follow it. He enters a crouched sneak and heads in the direction of the tracks. The creature had no intention of hiding it’s tracks and they show up plain as day on the soft forest floor. Occasionally Vatra notices a tree with bare spots on the trunk. As he gets close to one of the bare trees he notices that the bark has been rubbed off and a few red scales are stuck in the tree trunk. Vatra pulls one out and examines it. It is smooth, tough and hard but unusually pliable, like a copper coin. It is blood red and it’s shape is circular except for a small indent around the circumference. The scale is about an inch in diameter. Vatra returns the scale to it’s place in the tree and continues to follow the tracks. As he progresses he begins to see more trees stripped of barks and blackened patches start to appear also. Vatra hears a twig snap behind him and he wheels around. In front of him stands a menacing creature. It is reptilian in appearance and stands about seven foot tall, covered almost head to toes in red scales. It’s mouth is bared in a snarl and inch long sharp fangs run along the muscular jaw. As Vatra watches a bit of saliva falls from the corner of the mouth and springs into flame as it falls. Vatra curses under his breath, this creature doesn't look friendly. The creature utters a hissing noise and as Vatra takes a step back the creature draws back it’s head. Vatra realizes what could be about to happen and jumps sideways landing heavily on his side. The ground where he was just stood bursts into flames just moments afterwards. Vatra rolls and jumps up to his feet drawing his knife. He turns around to face the creature just as it slams into him. A memory flashes in his mind of all the farmhands knocking him down for as long as he can remember and with the rage of past oppression lashes out with his right hand burying the knife into the creatures flank. The creature roars and retreats away from him and proceeds to circle him more cautiously. As Vatra steps to the right the creature cuts him off and Vatra attempts to go left. The two combatants proceed as such for several movements trying to gain the upper hand and cutting the other off. Vatra hears a second hiss behind him and he steps right and pivots to get a better look. Fear hits him even harder as he sees three more of the creatures approaching. Vatra moves to retreat but is backed against a tree. At that moment one of the creatures lunge at him only to have it’s face contort and freeze, then crack. The creature slumps to the ground dead. The three remaining fyoras look around to identify the new threat when an arrow comes from the right and hits the second creature in the temple. The other two look at each other and flee. Vatra looks around for his rescuer and identifies Aster hobbling towards him from his right with a short bow in hand. Aster plants himself in front of Vatra and stares him in the eye. “Well I give you an eight for finding them... Killing them however not so great. You’re a fool to try and take on a rogue fyora on your own. Seems you have even more to learn now.” With that he turns away and inspects the two dead bodies. He kneels besides the smaller of the two and pulls out a knife. He starts to cut through the skin and then pauses to look up. “You going to join me today? This is something else you could do with knowing.” Vatra shakes himself and proceeds to kneel next to Aster. Aster carefully explains each action from a large incision from the throat to the groin and then as he proceeds to skin it. He explains how the fyora’s skin and scales are fire resistant and how each organ works. He spends extra time on the purple glands in the throat, these hold the flammable saliva. He cuts one out and hands it to Vatra who was initially squirmish about holding the slimy insides of the creatures although when he takes it he finds it surprisingly dry like old parchment. Aster explains that the saliva of the creature contains high concentrates of a metal that reacts vigorously with water which is why the saliva catches fire on contact with most things. The rest of the lesson goes by explaining about antagonistic muscle pairs in the legs and core body and the main internal body organs. It is clear that Aster has a deep understanding of the creature’s advanced anatomy. With the conclusion of the lesson there results a nice sheet of fyora hide and a bunch of expertly cut meats. Aster finally cuts out several of the tendons and ligaments and stores them in a pouch. With the lesson over they collect the meat and hide and return to camp leaving the other fyora whole. Back at camp they boil some water and cook the fyora meat in a stew. While the stew cooks Vatra asks “What were they?” Aster looks up from the hide that he is cutting up. “They are fyoras a creation of the shapers. They spit globules of fire like you witnessed. Them ones in particular were rogue and vicious although normally they are created as fighting creations or even pets.” “They are made by the shapers? But how? and how could anyone keep something so dangerous as a pet?” “If kept around people and other shapers they are quite timid. The problem with shaper creations arise when they are left alone. You’ll see when we get to town there will be plenty of creations there other than the serviles that you are used too.” Aster replies. “Serviles were created by the shapers too? I didn't realize how complicated the things they created could be.” Vatra responds in disbelief. “Yes serviles were created by the shapers and many other things also, the ornks which you farmed, some of the trees in this forest, even some of the tools you use. The shapers are truly the masters of life.” Aster smiles as he finishes. “I have never thought it possible. I wish i could have been chosen to join them now although no shapers venture this far out” Vatra finishes with a sigh and serves the stew. The fyora meat is tough and rubbery but after almost two days without food he swallows it gratefully. Once finished he rolls over and feels his eye droop from the days events. He slips into a heavy sleep. Vatra’s eyes snap open, he loosens his dagger from it’s sheath as he sits up and looks around. Nothing. With a feeling of unease settling over him he stands up and puts on his cloak and without making a sound leaves the camp. He ranges around looking for a sign of anything that caused him to wake and stumbles once again on the tracks he found the previous evening. Out of curiosity, and stupidity, he starts to follow them quietly but quickly. before long he reaches the place he was ambushed the previous evening. The two dead fyoras are still there once surgically reduced to bone the other as fresh as it was left. Vatra draws his knife and maintaining his curiosity proceeds to practice what Aster taught him about the creatures anatomy. It starts off much the same as he makes the first long slice and proceeds to remove the dead creatures hide. Vatra proceeds on to the throat and glands noticing that they are noticeably larger than the others. As Vatra continues on to the muscles he notices differences in the proportion of some areas of the skeleton. he assumed this creature was simply older than the other but he begins to doubt it as he notices a larger chest and pelvis. As Vatra peels away the last of the abdominal muscles he notices first the stench of day old stomach contents but then as he observes closer he sees an enlarged organ below the stomach. Vatra cuts away the stomach careful not to loosen the contents and slowly excavates the unknown organ. Once isolated and in full view Vatra observes the unknown organ but cannot identify the purpose. In the hope of revealing the use of it he makes a long incision and marvels how the tissue parts easily as if it was stretched over something solid. As he finishes the cut the remaining tissue continues to tear and split and the cut widens over something solid and white. Vatra understands immediately what the organ was it was the fyora’s egg sac. He reaches out and pokes the egg, it feels solid and warm. Vatra thinks back on the fyora’s attacking and thinks immediately to destroy the egg he fumbles around and grasps hold of a rock, raises it above his head and remembers Aster explaining to him about the shapers creations. He returns the rock the the floor and reaches out with both hands to grasp the egg. He wraps it in the hide with some of the meat and quietly returns back to camp as the sun begins to rise.

So I wrote a lot a few years ago and after recently starting to play Geneforge again I decided that I would like to write again. Please let me know what you think of the first chapter. The golden sun rises into the sky over the fields of the village. The shadows flee as the roosters crow loudly and signal the dawn of the day. This village in particular is called Chelo and is one of the most remote places in the mainland. As the roosters cease their crowing the farm hands stumble out their doors and head out to check on their respective fields or flock, some of the farm hands are accompanied by short hunched creatures they call serviles. Of the farm hands stumbling out the doors one of them in particular is distinguishable from the rest because despite the mild morning chill he wears shorts and a t-shirt and yet is avoided by everyone else. The other farm hands spit muttered insults at him if he walks too close to them and it isn’t a surprise when one of them pushes him over into the dirt with a choice curse. This lonely outcast is known as Vatra, a young man of eighteen years and laying on the floor six foot long. He isn’t skinny as you may think from his sudden introduction to the floor but of average build which to the other farm hands is small. Now that I think on it he turned eighteen today but as you can see he doesn’t hope for much out of a birthday, it’s the same as every other day to him. Vatra slowly gets up off the floor once the coast is clear, brushes himself off and then sets about doing his work. He feeds the ornks, a cow like creature created to be hardier and more resilient to be farmed in harsh climates, tends the chickens and makes sure the rest of the farm is in good condition. As he works the day passes, he eats a small chunk of bread with some cheese for lunch. As the sun begins to set on the other side of the horizon Vatra heads back to the house. It isn’t his home, nor even his house. Just the house. The house he grew up in, the house he learnt to cook in and the house he dreams of leaving. Vatra enters through the back gate and washes the dirt from his hands and face in the garden and before he enters through the back door he removes his shoes. He enters into a kitchen and proceeds to the sink to wash more thoroughly. Once clean he starts to prep the surfaces in order to begin cooking the evening meal for the residents of the house. As he is chopping some onions he hears his name being called from the sitting room. “Vatra, come in please” Vatra carefully puts down the knife and checking once more that there is no dirt going to be taken into the main house he proceeds into the sitting room. It is not a large room in fact just large enough for a small bookcase and two wooden armchairs. In one of the armchairs is sat the woman of the house, a plump woman in her forties flicking knitting needles back and forth with dazzling speed. In the other sits a thin man in his early fifties with gray hair and squinting eyes. “May I help you sir, ma'am?” enquires Vatra, “We understand you have been trying to save up to buy provisions to take the road to the city?” the elderly man asks, “I have sir but I don’t expect to be leaving for many years and you should know I would have given you plenty of notice before I left” Vatra was starting to panic now that they may be planning to foil his dream, “We are not worried about that we can find a new farmhand. You turn eighteen today, you have been a man for two years now it is time you go into the world and find your place. Our son will be coming back and inheriting the farm while you will still have nothing to your name. You came to us when you could barely talk, we know nothing of your parents or where you come from. We did you a deed in taking you in and providing you food and shelter but it is time you be off. Tomorrow you need not tend the farm one of our neighbours has agreed to lend a hand for the week, use the time to pack your bags, you should be gone the day after.” While the speech was said in monotone Vatra liked to imagine there was emotion behind it but he had little time to think on it as his first thought was the measly pile of copper coin hidden in his pillow. “What am I to do for provisions? I wasn’t lying when I said it would take me years to save up.” Vatra asked with a hint of panic in his voice. “Don’t be daft kid you’re on a farm. Take what you need but be careful not to take more than you need.” With that the old man waved his hand to signal Vatra to continue his work. Vatra smiled as he bowed and returned to the kitchen to finish the evening meal which he served the owners of the house and retired to the kitchen to eat by himself as he always does. Once he had finished and collected the dishes from the table he washed them up and retired to his small straw bed and started making a mental note of what he would need for his journey. He struggled to get to sleep until late that night for the clash of emotions running through him. Excitement, anxiety, joy and fear were but a few of them but at last his eyes closed and he fell off to sleep. As the cocks crowed in the morning Vatra threw his eyes open, stumbled out of bed and pulled his work clothes on. He walked into the kitchen next door and grabbed a small piece of stale bread left over from the evening meal and hastily ate it washing it down with a swig of milk. Afterwards he stumbled sleepily out of the door into his boots and down the path towards the fields. As he got out the gate something big and heavy collided into his chest knocking him back into a puddle where he woke with a start. Once again he found himself knocked over by another farm hand but this time he wasn’t put down by it, he remembered he should be packing not working! He jumped up and ran back to the house kicking off his boots and walked briskly through the kitchen to his small room where he grabbed his pack. He opened it up and put into it a spare set of work clothes then carried it to the larder where he packed into it a variety of salted meat and dried vegetables, only that which would keep for a few months on the road. He packed enough for two months journey and on top of that he packed a small iron pot and inside that he placed an even smaller tin bowl and wooden spoon. He went back to his room and picked up his belt, a smooth leather belt that had a knife and sheath hooked on it. placing it at the foot of his bed he returned to the kitchen and collected his pack fastening it and leaving it at the foot of his bed next to his belt. For the rest of the day he wandered around the village and seeing the village tanner he stopped by to get his boots repaired and fitted for the journey, it cost him four of his twenty three coppers but he figured having boots the whole way to the next town was worth it. That evening he went to sleep with a smile on his face ready for the weeks ahead. This time when the cocks crowed Vatra opened his eyes and got out of bed remembering that he was leaving today. He got into his usual work clothes but this time wore full length trousers and strapped on his belt. He fastened a light traveling cloak over his shoulders and left the hood down. He grabbed a small bite to eat from the kitchen before shouldering his pack and leaving the house. The farm hands had all passed by into the fields by now and as Vatra got to the gate he looked back once more at the house he was leaving. He smiled a wide open smile and turned towards the road out of the village. The edge of the village was bordered by the forest and as Vatra passed under it’s branches with almost a skip in his step the forest seemed happy to meet him. Several hours passed and Vatra began to feel the weight of his pack and his feet dragged along the path occasionally he noticed the sky was getting dark and he figured that he should stop for the night. He found a clearing about a hundred meters from the path with a small stream flowing through it he gathered wood for a fire and used it to boiled water which he turned into a stew with some of his food. He ate and fell asleep in the roots of a tree. His days continued much the same for the next few weeks he would wake up and walk a while before he would stop to eat lunch then walk further until it was getting dark where he would find somewhere to stop for the night and eat an evening meal before sleeping. By the pace he had set Vatra figured he was about two weeks from the nearest town when disaster found him. The night before had been the same as any other night, he had eaten and gone to sleep but the morning couldn’t be more different. Vatra woke to the sound of voices, The sun was still down but he somehow knew it was early morning. Vatra kept silent by the tree hoping that the voices would pass by. As he lay there he started to notice that the ground in the clearing was heavily worn, he hadn’t noticed that last night, the voices were also getting louder. Vatra started to get scared, he was alone with strangers nearby. He was from a village where everyone knew each other. He didn’t know what to do so he stayed huddled under his cloak. Footsteps accompanied the voices until the voices cut short. Vatra heard the footsteps approaching the clearing but he hoped the night would hide him. He was wrong. “What we got ‘ere eh? A stranger in our home, bit far from the path arn’t you lad? If we weren’t respectable you may be in a pickle eh?” It’s true the closer he got towards the town the further from the path he went to sleep, also these strangers didn’t seem respectable. “What you dumb? Speak up lad” Vatra was about to speak when the second man decided to speak first. “Sod it J lets just have done with him an leave him. Looks like he still got a nice lot of food there eh?” Vatra didn’t like where this was going and was about to get up and run when a boot collided with his side. They must have been reinforced with iron because Vatra felt something crack in his chest and he cried out loud. Another boot hit him, and another until Vatra couldn’t call out anymore and his vision blacked out. He knew he had to wake up but couldn’t manage it so he just focused on keeping hold of himself as he fell through the darkness. He lost track of time but at least he was still he if you get my meaning. The thieves threw Vatra’s cloak over his body but as they were about to sort through his pack they heard a shout. The thieves grabbed the pack but in their haste some of the contents fell out. The thieves ran away with the majority of the food. As a man came into the clearing Vatra was still falling through his internal darkness. The man looked around and noticed the cloak which he pulled at to find Vatra’s body bloody and bruising. The man poked and prodded at the boot marks assessing the injuries and each time the darkness got deeper for Vatra. At last the man extended his hand and pale glowing tendrils extended from his fingertips curling towards Vatra’s injuries. As the tendrils touched the wounds it knitted them back together. Light flared through the darkness and Vatra started to wake up. He opened his eyes just in time to watch the last of his wounds heal. The man sighed deeply and sat down to rest. Vatra also felt exhausted but looks at this new stranger to see who saved him. The man is old, very old. His hair is pure white and long with a beard to match. He wears elegant green robes that hang from his thin, small and hunched frame. After several minutes Vatra regains the energy to get up and wander round the clearing. He collects his pan and spare clothes but barely enough food for a single meal. He gathers it together along with some wood for a fire. He gets the fire going and prepares a simple stew which he offers to the old man first. The old man eats his share before passing it back to Vatra. The food seems to have done wonders for the old man who looks positively awake now and Vatra feels better for it too. “Thank you sir for coming to help me, I felt for sure there was no hope” Vatra opens up the conversation to his unlikely saviour. The old man looks at him and gives out a simple “Hrumph” before looking away. Vatra decides to try and start conversation again. “Is there anything I can do to repay you?” The old man looks back at Vatra with a squint in one eye. Vatra feels quite uncomfortable under the stare. “Can you read?” The old man speaks with a raw and callous voice. “No I was never taught my letters sir” “Just your manners and your words I see hrumph.” The man seems to dislike Vatra’s pleasantries. Vatra remains quiet looking at the man. “No worries, I presume you’re heading to Gwres?” “Yes, sir.” Vatra replies “If you can be patient with an old mans pace and help me get there too then I will teach you to read. You will find it useful in Gwres and i’m sure anywhere else you plan to go afterwards.” Vatra considered the offer for a few minutes before nodding his acceptance. Whatever this strangers intentions they can’t be bad after saving him and Vatra was curious how this old man healed his wounds. With that the old man helped Vatra tie his remaining belongings into a bundle and they set off walking together while the old man pulls out a book and begins to show Vatra the alphabet.

It's been a long time fellow Gene-forgers. I stopped writing this story because I lost track of where it should be heading and (in my opinion) broke most of the fundamental structure in writing a good fantasy story. I learnt a great lesson from this but would like to say to everyone that whilst I enjoyed writing it Saraph became too strong to allow for a believable struggle and I could see the ending becoming a massive anti-climax. I will be setting my imagination to paper/screen once more and take these lessons to heart to grant you a greater and more in depth account of how I view being a shaper should be like, whilst attempting to engage the audience (you) allong the journey. For now however I say bon nuit, and let you know Saraph realised his limitless potential and passed beyond mortal desires to spend his days ignoring the world in self reflection.

That would have been a different moral, working together leads to better results.

A nicer outcome could be that they all get captured and locked in the the dungeon. Only by working together did they escape and achive their goal.

Sorry that it has been so long. I had to take some time off to regain my imagination. It may be some time between chapters from now on but do not think that I have forgotten this tale, I wish to have it finished sometime. Chapter 3 - Pinned Saraph begins to prioritise his tasks. Sorting through them he gathers together a list of things he needs to do; find the Geneforge, whatever that is, get some suitable armour and figure out the new set of riddles he has now been presented with. He decides to prioritise safety first but that in itself presents a difficult problem. What material currently known is tougher than his skin? And what is so dangerous that he needs better protection? He thinks upon all the alchemical and forging texts he read in the academy library. To his knowledge, and that of the shapers, the strongest known material is puresteel. Saraph sighs, once again he is delving into the unknown and searching for what he has not a clue where to start. Saraph opens his wings. He crouches low to the ground raising his wings in the process. With one surge he expands like an uncoiling spring forcing himself over a hundred meters into the air. As his ascent begins to slow he beats down hard with his new wings hurtling higher into the air. As Saraph gains hight his control begins to develop and the action begins to develop into second nature. He begins to experiment moving forwards, backwards, left and right and once happy he locks his wings and enters into a glide towards the tallest mountain in the circlet crowning his utopia. As he nears to land he extends his will and reforms the rock into a tower looking out over both utopia and the surrounding land. He lands heavily and clumsily upon the platform falling over onto all fours and sliding forwards a several inches before stopping. Saraph folds his wings and stands up, he looks out towards the gate as the first settlres begin to enter and look upon the clearing with smiles. The children begin to run through the fields playing games with each other while the adults walk to the buildings and begin to unpack their belongings. Saraph spots his sister and waves at her smiling. Saraph stands waiting for his sister to arrive. Saraph steps back slightly as Charlotte reaches the platform and dismounts from a disk of flame that vanishes behind her. She sits down cross legged on the platform and remarks upon his lack of furnishing. He joins Charlotte on the floor and begins to tell her of his meeting with Izotz. He then tells her that he is leaving and wants Charlotte to continue looking over those she has brought here. As Charlotte nods agreement Saraph stands up. He raises his wings in preparation to take off when Charlotte calls out to him. “Wait!” Saraph pauses to listen to her “You should look for a book entitled 'The Four Elements' it will help you with your first quest” “How do you know that?” Saraph is puzzled by Charlotte's unknown knowledge “It was read by the entity contained within the ring but it's details were long forgotten, I know only that it will help.” Saraph nods and, bringing his wings down heavily, takes flight aiming away from the hills towards the sea to the north. Saraph spends the first hour gaining competency flying, gaining efficiency and speed. After he is happy he sinks into a repetitive rhythm and begins to think upon where he would find this book his sister spoke of. He was currently flying towards the shaper academy on Greenwood isle in the Ashen isles. As Saraph thought his senses dulled and he didn't realise a gentle thudding similar to that his own wings created. Saraph starts as a loud bang sounds behind him and to his left shortly after he experiences a heavy blow to his midsection and a blur shoots away to his right. Saraph tries to regain control as he is sent spiralling down towards the ground below him. He locks his eyes upon the blur as it doubles back on itself and shoots towards him again. Saraph is helpless and can only attempt to right himself as he falls, the blur shooting towards him getting closer to him. Saraph manages to right himself just as the blur reaches him. Once again Saraph is redirected only this time the blur had solidified into a shape and was grasping Saraph by the neck and propelling both of them towards the ground. Saraph grasp the assailants arm and struggles to prise it from around his neck with no success. Moments later the ground catches up to them and Saraph is thrown into the floor as his attacker absorbs the shock through his legs always keeping his hand locked around Saraph's throat. Saraph lies there pressed into the ground on his back while he tries to see who has so easily overpowered him. The man is knelt on one knee his right arm pressing Saraph's neck into the floor his face shadowed within a black hood. The man's armour is so black that it seems to steal the light from the surrounding area as well. It looks like it is made of shadows with light wispy sections covering his body while there are solid opaque sections that lay over his shoulders and around his waist and thighs. The opaque sections also cover his hands like gauntlets and his feet are covered all the way up to just below the knee. Saraph also notes that the man has wings that are black feathered. Saraph lies still waiting for the man to reveal why he lies on his back with a hand at his throat. Sharx.

Currently expiiencing a technical block... I reformated computer and lost my microsoft word. Hence I can't open my document of the story to add chapters. Currently working on aquireing microsoft office (Urrgghh not my desired choice but it's the most widely used) until then, sit tight and ponder possible events that could happen. Sharx

When they saw the past in mera. thats the shaper attack reffered to.

You should be able to have a choice about turning smooth square transitions off. I play spiderweb games for their story not the graphics. smoothing the square transitions slows down the game. While a game that takes up a lot of time is good yes, I prefer that I spend this time reading beutifully written scripts rather than moving from one square to the next. That is why I enjoyed avernum/exile. Geneforge is still my fave though because the story is so unbelievable I find it hard to say I would have thought of that without playing the game.

It has been quite a while and my computer is deciding that my spacebar will be a pain in the bum and be tempramental but I have written another chapeter which I think you will enjoy most profusely. Saraph meets an old friend and has a lot of his history revealed while being set upon yet another course of action. Enjoy! Chapter 2 – Visitor Saraph sits upon his bench and waits patiently occasionally sharing brief conversations with the animals as they pass. After several hours he jumps up and strains his ears. Thud… Thud… Thud… THUD… THUD… THUD… Saraph looks up scanning the air for what could be disturbing so much air. After a moment he spots a dot in the distance, still many leagues away. As the thudding increases in volume so do the dot, it gains shape and detail. Saraph continues looking at it and is shocked at what he sees. The person flying towards him has the same features as Saraph. The man flying towards Saraph also has wings. They are white with flecks of silver running though them. As the figure approaches it’s wings lock off and he glides slowly towards the ground. Saraph takes a step back as the winged figure lands, its features hidden beneath its shell of metal armour. Saraph looks over the figure evaluating it with every sense that he has, and yet Saraph can tell nothing about the person in front of him. “Hello, friend” the figure reaches up at that moment and lifts off his helmet. Saraph steps back another step in surprise and after a moment smiles. Standing in front of him is Izotz, Saraph’s friend from when he was in the academy. Izzy holds out his hand which Saraph steps forward and grasps. Once they step back Izzy takes a seat on the bench nearby. Saraph follows his lead and takes the place beside him both of them folding their winds awkwardly so they both fit on the bench. “I have something important to tell you but first we have a lot of catching up to do. I think you should go first?” Upon Izotz words Saraph begins his story from when he left the academy and what his thoughts were. He explains his journey to the rebels and what they offered him, how he went to defend Poryphra successfully, how he was tasked to steal something from the Whitespires but got held up in Mera and his revelation of who and what the shapers and rebels were. He explains his reasoning behind constructing this place and what his plans are. Izotz listens patiently to the narrative and when Saraph finishes he nods gently. Izotz clears his throat and begins his story. “While you have been finding your beliefs on your long and destructive journey, I was cast aside by the shapers as you would have if you had stayed. It wasn’t so much as being thrown from their order as being sent to a far out post where my abilities would remain unnoticed. For all the shapers effort they failed, a group of people approached me. They all look like us, and yet they are different from you and me. They are old, so old that they do not count their age by the movement of the sun across the sky but by the birth and death of the stars above us. They told me of what you discovered on your own, the theft of the shaping arts. It seems that there have been people like us throughout the history of the shapers.” “People like us?” Saraph butts in. “You still have little patience. People like us; we have an affinity with essence and magic. You of all people cannot argue with that, I sense the sheer amount within you. Our history, you and me, is intertwined. We are related to each other. There were a few survivors of the shaper attack; all but one of them followed a set of rules. We are the descendants of that one man that disregarded them. You see Saraph there is more to what we can do than call forth huge amounts of destruction. It seems you have begun to touch upon that in this place. While I feel that you destroyed this place before you healed it you are beginning to learn your talents.” “Beginning to learn my talents? There is more to me?” Saraph once again butts into the conversation. Izotz sighs “Yes but I am not here to reveal that to you. I was sent here to tell you that you can’t stay here and watch over those that would settle here. Those that stay here can defend themselves easily while there are events happening in the world outside that you should not isolate yourself from in here. The power you have begun to dip into is a Pandora ’s Box to any without our ancestry. It has already been discovered once on a faraway island and there are forces at work to discover it again. You must stop it from coming into being.” “Me? What about you? And those who you work for?” “I do not work for them, we are a family. We can’t do this task because we are fighting a war of our own. You must stop them from discovering how to use our alphabet.” “Do you know where I should start?” “Go to Sucia island and look for the Geneforge” With that Izotz stand up and walks away from Saraph. Izotz crouches low down and then as if remembering something he flicks his head round and adds “Oh and get yourself something to cover yourself with. You are not invincible yet.” With that his hands blur as he puts his helmet back on and leaps high into the air flying away quickly. Saraph stands there a moment and thinks about the strange reunion with his friend. P.S. I also noticed that this post has both overtaken all others on most posts and most veiws. Thank you all for reading it.

Aye it's a long way down the corridor of ill meaning, then take a right onto the spires of deceit, all the way down untill you reach the corridors of truth and meaning. Then the left that leads onto Shapers way. Sharx

The old style adds to the game though I think. Makes it more mysterious. Sharx

I once turned the player graphics into a drakon... can't remember the process but the end result was fun! Sharx

I thought the prologue could be something showing you destroy a major place/object in a moment of insanity... The insanity results in amnesia and you retain your powers but without knowlege of them. Your previous renown makes the king interested in you and pays you to track down the people who destroyed the major place/object. An interesting twist if it somehow stopped you from recogniseing the connection until the end.

Love the star control 2 quote...

They have been through a lot. I added with his senses to further express that he is useing all of his sences and that they are sevearly hightened. Sharx

Nah I was sat at home bored. Hehe I have another one though in a couple of minutes... And now I present the opening chapter of the third and final book. Chapter 1 – Rebirth Saraph awakes. His mind slightly hazy from exertion. At that second another rush of essence restores some more of his clarity. He realises that he is inside the essence pool. Another rush of essence brings him back to pure clarity and he realises there is too much essence trying to enter his body, it will tear him apart. Instantly he tries escaping from the essence but it holds him there stationary. His mind runs through solutions until he realises his only option, to change. Adaptation is all he can do. Immediately he begins to change the essence in contact with his body so that it performs the changes he needs it to perform. In an agonising moment his back oes into spasm and his body shudders as the essence works his body into the pre-programmed shapes. Saraph stays mute and in pain while the changes happen and the essence resumes forcing its way into his body. His body willingly accepts the essence and no longer struggles to contain it. After several more minutes the essence pool is depleted and Saraph is knelt in the middle of the depression in the floor. Saraph kneels on the floor his hands placed on the floor for stability as he examines the new set of information coming from the receptors on the new set of limbs. Saraph twitches and two huge wings spread out sideways. They are feathered and pure white with golden tips on the end of each feather. With another twitch he manages to retract them and stand up. As he looks around he sees the destruction he caused and lay beside the pool is his sister. As Saraph sees her he jumps out of the depression and runs over to his sister. He brushes her hair out of her face and sees the tears running down her face. As she opens her eyes Saraph smiles and Charlotte wipes her eyes and looks in wonder at her brother. Charlotte after a moment of shock jumps up and wraps her arms around Saraph hugging him. Saraph wraps his arms around his sister and they embrace. Saraph slowly begins to gain control over his wings and with building confidence he wraps his wings around them both sheltering them from the world. After almost an hour Charlotte let’s go and Saraph releases her. He looks out over the plateau to see the destruction he caused and realises that it can all be fixed and that the ground is perfect for crops and livestock. His brain works to write the scrolls of a plant. After several minutes he extends his hand and lets the essence go to create it. After four seconds a small blade of grass begins to pop up out of the soil and grow to about two inches. It’s growth is rapid and within ten seconds it stands at the same two inches but releases a burst of seeds which spring to life as well. Ater about half an hour the entire plateau is populated with grass once more. The grass at the edge of the plateau stops growing or producing seeds. Charlotte picks a blade of grass up and immediately a seed is shed and grows to replace the grass that was missing. Charlotte smiles at how quickly life was restored to the plateau. Saraph jumps into the air and flies to the edge of the plateau where the entrance between the mountains lies, he lands lightly upon his grass. He picks a blade of grass and takes it over the edge of where his grass grows. He watches as the blade of grass in his hand curls up and crumbles to dust. He smiles at his creation. He turns his attention to the two mountains on either side and senses they contain large quantities of metal as well as stone. He extends magic filaments towards them and begins to infuse the mountain with his will. He commands it to move and forms it across the entrance to the plateau into a solid rock wall with metal reinforcements within. He forms the gatehouse into the rock and shuts it, baring it with a magic resistant steel bar. He returns to Charlotte and speaks to her. “You should go and advertise our cause to those that would join us. I will stay and continue to create the utopia.” Charlotte nods and runs towards the gatehouse, she passes through and it locks behind her. Saraph begins work on creating housing and a meeting hall. Each home has a basement below hollowed out by lifting the house out of the stone below. The meeting hall has a storeroom below it. Saraph finishes by creating a blacksmith with an armoury below. Saraph then begins to shape trees which produce fruits. He shapes bushes that produce nuts and berries and then creates some crops to produce cereals. As Saraph plucks a fruit from a tree another one grows in its place within a few seconds. Saraph smiles, food will not be a problem. Saraph then looks for a water supply and spots a series of streams running down the mountains. With a bit of adjustment he redirects them to join up and flow through the plateau. With pure water sourced Saraph is pleased that nobody will struggle to survive here. Without the need for labour to survive people can focus on their interests developing skills and abilities. Saraph creates some benches and sits down. He shapes several animals to occupy the plains to bring energy to the area. Every animal is intelligent and friendly and Saraph spends several hours talking with them. He feels that he has created a place in which the shapers always promised to provide. A place the rebels wanted from the shapers and rebelled because it was not provided. A place where both could relax and shed their problems and coexist.

Chapter 34 - A Utopian Dream Saraph sits by the fire now pondering what he needs to do next. He thinks upon the people who are suffering from the war, not the soldiers, the villagers. They have no protection other than what can be given by the shapers, they aren’t bothered about the villagers anymore they are solely focused upon eradicating the rebels. The rebels themselves have proven their uncaring for the villagers by turning them into canister hungry fighters. He needs a safe haven for them, somewhere that can be defended by very few people. He needs a utopia. He explains this to the other two and after many hours of plans and talking Astoria stands and asks what is for dinner. Saraph stands and apologises, he stands motionless with a rock in his hand as he observes his surroundings with his senses. He picks up a rustling several hundred meters away. His nose picks up the scent of deer and he grasps the rock a little tighter, pinpoints where the sound comes from and then hurls it at blinding speed towards it. There is no sound from the animal apart from the shattering of its skull as the rock thuds into it. Saraph leaps through the forest and retrieves the deer. While the deer roasts above the fire the three of them finalise plans and begin to break camp. Astoria knows of an outcrop of mountains that stands alone in the Okavano fen. It creates a raised plateau of land surrounded by the mountains and has only one entrance of about 50 meters. It sounds the perfect place to create Saraph’s utopia. Astoria finishes eating and they all gather together, once again Saraph leaves it to Astoria to transport them until he can learn the ability too. The air shimmers once more and Saraph feels himself pulled through space. As his vision begins to reappear Saraph sees himself stood in a room his eyes pick out people stood there and immediately an alarm sounds. Saraph and charlotte duck immediately and thorns fly past above their heads. Saraph realises he is holding Astoria’s hand that she purposefully separated from her body in order to force Saraph into a trap. Saraph Observes his surroundings and realises he is in the mountain range of Okavano fen but it is already populated. “I will need essence.” Saraph whispers to Charlotte. Saraph stands up straight and tall. He closes his eyes and focuses all his essence and magic into one action. In an instant the air around him ignites into a rapidly expanding ball of flames and plasma. Charlotte looks at is in awe as it parts around her creating a single bubble in which she survives. After several minutes the fire burns out and charlotte looks upon the plateau that was once populated. It is levelled and flat. The only two things she can see upon it is a pool of swirling blue liquid and Saraph. As her eyes fall upon Saraph she sees him fall to the floor and she remembers his last words. Charlotte rushes to Saraph and picks him up in her arms. She carries him to the swirling blue pool and unknowing what to do she throws him into it. The blue liquid leaps up to meet Saraph and pulls him under the surface. Charlotte witnesses Saraph sink to the bottom of the pool and tries to retrieve him but before she can get close to the blue liquid it burns her skin. She falls back and tears begin to run down her face as she thinks she has thrown her brother into a pit of acidic goop. Several minutes pass and nothing but the crying woman and bubbling of essence can be heard. Then the bubbling quietens and Charlotte realises it is over. She continues to cry besides the pool of essence. This is the end of book Two. Do not fret all will be revealed shortly.

If you can't think of a name then leave it blank until you know what to call it. Once you have more chapters a name could be more obvious.

The endings change in G2+. Sharx

I will begin work on the last chapter (or final chapters) of the second book within about a month. I will then go on to write the final book of this trilogy during my summer holidays. Thank you all for your patience. Sharx

Hello. I also started out like you have, not the same story elements but the same mistakes and writing ability. Listen what these people have to say as "the reader is usually right". If you're looking for an example try reading my geneforge story. It's long and takes a few chapters to get into things, but I think you can get some ideas on how to structure your story. you may even get some ideas to use in it. I have one question though, why did you create the flyora when there are already wingbolts? Would it not have been nicer to provide a discription of a wingbolt then suprise the reader (and Lucifer) with a realisation that it had been modified to shoot fire? I like unseen changes to creations because they allow for so much turmoil. Anyway, you can find my story here Hope you keep writing and I do hope you improve the readability (grammer, punctuation, spelling and spaceing. Sharx

If you remember, in chapter 31, Saraph made the connection between his language and the four letter language which made shaping like writing a book. Sharx P.S. Thanx for a referance... must now play G3 and G4 to find Khyryk.

Not a trakovite. He still believes that shaping is a benefit to the world. Sharx

Chapter 33 – A New Path The shaper mistress stumbles back away from Saraph, her eyes wide with wonder. “Who are you?” She stumbles over the words in her amazement. Saraph takes a moment to process all that he just saw trying to work out what happened. The lady closes her eyes waiting for Saraph to respond. Saraph realises he just saw visions of the past, of how the shaping arts came to be. The first villagers were the ones to create the shaping arts; the ceremony Saraph just witnessed was the villagers joining their language to life. They had complete control over life because it was they who created the link, the shapers stole the powers and struggled to learn the art because they did not understand the language. Saraph shakes himself from his thoughts and looks at Charlotte, She smiles back at him. Saraph turns to look at the lady to see her eyes closed and her posture broken. She learnt where she came from and the price of her power. She went from thinking herself as royalty to knowing herself a thief. Saraph puts a hand on her shoulder gently and smiles a soft smile as she opens her eyes. “I am Saraph, Come with us.” Saraph whispers to her. She looks at his a long moment before shaking her head and stepping backwards. “You are a rebel to the shapers; you are as bad as them.” Saraph takes his turn to shake his head as Charlotte looks at him with shock. “I am a rebel no longer after witnessing all that I have seen I do not wish to be a part of this campaign. The shapers must learn who they are and change. They have conquered and horded power for far too long that they can’t live peacefully with anybody. The rebels are becoming a twin to the shapers, hording power only to conquer the shapers and enforce their own ideals. They must learn to live in peace of each other.” With that Saraph looks into the eyes of the lady and with one hand mimics the child in the vision, calling a puppy into life before her. The puppy has chocolate coloured fur and jumps around full of energy. The lady looks down at it and smiles a stunningly beautiful smile before looking up at Saraph in wonder. She nods once and grabs Saraph’s arm. Saraph scoops up the puppy and asks the lady her name. “Astoria” she whispers back. “Could you please transport us somewhere away from people Astoria?” She smiles, closes her eyes and concentrates. The air begins to shimmer around them, their visions black and when it returns they are at the top of a mountain looking out over the whole of the Mera-Tev. Saraph watches as a man in the city of Mera, several miles away, drops an apple. The apple hits the floor and the man bends over to pick it up and examine it, after gazing at it he deems it unfit for sale and throws it to a nearby creation. Saraph shakes himself from his distraction and moves to erect a small camp similar to those he made while hunting. With his speed it takes less than a few minutes to gather sticks and erect three small hunting shelters surrounding a small cooking fire for heat. The shelters are arranged in a way to protect the fire and those around it from the harsh altitude winds. After shaping into existence several strips of fresh ornk meat (although the meat was never alive to begin with it holds the flavour and energy of most other ornk meat) he lays it on a stick above the fire. Charlotte beckons Saraph to follow her as she stands and walks down towards the forest that surrounds the lower half of the mountain. Saraph tags along after checking that Astoria was ok to be alone for a while. Saraph catches up to Charlotte with ease and she begins to ask him about what he has been doing that was so important to forget about family. Saraph explains his life from leaving with Andras many years ago, what he has done and his reasons behind his actions and once all is explained Charlotte nods once and begins her tale. Saraph and Charlotte eventually end up at small talk. At the mention of the fate of his parents Saraph is upset but his will to mourn is reduced by recent events. After about an hour Saraph and his sister returns to camp to find Astoria already under a shelter asleep. Saraph and charlotte sit by the fire all night catching up and neither is surprised at the others lack of requirement to sleep. As morning arrives the sun breaks over the landscape below and from their high vantage point even those as well travelled as Saraph are stopped in their tracks by the beauty and magnificence that nature has displayed.