Author's Note:
This here was the first novel I ever wrote. It's completed and someone was nice enough to edit for me. I really would like some feedback. The beginning is always the hardest for me so I hope it grabs your interest enough to keep reading. This first chapter is my shortest one and I'll let ya'll know when there is a long chapter okay? Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I.
Chosen Path
There was a world that existed in a galaxy that thrived and coexisted with magic. It was called Serenai. It was lush with plants and filled with animals. A large number of majestic and mystical creatures roamed in this blissful utopia. Among the most treasured were the unicorns, they were guardians of every living thing. Everything was peaceful and just, and evil was not known there, until an evil force entered the galaxy and destroyed everything in its path. The world itself also became a victim to this force; therefore, the once peaceful and beautiful planet turned into a dangerous and barren wasteland. The wise and kind wizard, Drackor, who helped protect the land, managed to preserve a little bit of the world's beauty and saved most of the creatures. Unfortunately, he was not able to protect the unicorns, but the unicorns' fate was not all lost.
The rulers of the unicorns managed to save their only daughter's soul. Her name was Pristine. When the king and queen learned of their beloved daughter's death, they decided to use the legendary Crystal of Life in order to preserve Pristine's soul. However, in doing so their lives would be lost forever. Ignoring the risk, they used all their power to make sure that Pristine's soul was sent to the future where she would be reborn. They succeeded at the price of their own lives. But something else happened. During the process, Pristine's soul separated into two parts. One was her unicorn soul, and the other was her human soul. When both of Pristine's souls were reborn, it had been ten years since what came to be known as the Invasion. The human Pristine, having no memory of her identity or her past life, was born to a poor yet loving family. Evil had spread throughout the galaxy like a disease, but there was still good in different places.
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And so this story began in the year 1100, eighteen years after Pristine's reincarnation. Unlike her days as a unicorn when she was a care-free, spirited, and graceful young woman, Pristine was now melancholy, quiet, and withdrawn. She knew that she was different and felt that something was missing from her life. She only had one friend, a little girl named Kyra. The eight year-old was the complete opposite of Pristine. Where Pristine was shy, Kyra was outgoing. Pristine's figure was willowy and seemed fragile. Kyra's figure was slender and athletic. Pristine trusted her instincts whereas Kyra trusted her mind. Pristine was pale completed and her platinum blonde hair was nearly white. The only color on her face was her piercing, celestial blue eyes. Kyra held more color to her face with her peachy skin and pink cheeks. Her hair was dirty blonde and her eyes were hazel. Despite their differences, they both went together like two peas in a pod. They also knew of the evils around them, but never imagined how drastically it would turn their lives up-side down.
The day started out as any regular day. Chores had to be done, kids were playing, and everything else went on as usual. Pristine was outside near a stream washing her clothing. The clothes everyone wore very worn and old. The village depended on crops people grew, but even the crops weren't many because of the poor soil quality. Some of the people left the village to the closest town for work, which was a mining town. As Pristine did her chores, she heard laugher and sighed. The laughter was coming from a group of teenage boys who took pleasure out of teasing her. She was silently grateful that most of them would be leaving soon.
Most teens when they turn sixteen made the decision to stay or leave. Pristine had decided to stay. Had she been a normal teenage girl, she would have been married by now but there never been anyone who touched her heart that way and she felt she shouldn't try to love someone when she held no love for herself. Besides, most guys who saw her thought her to be too sickly because of her pale appearance. Pristine was glad her awkward teenage years were over though. After washing the clothes, Pristine place the wet clothes in a basket before taking it to a clothes line to be dried. As she was about to grab a shirt, she was grabbed by the wrist and hauled up. She turned to see the leader of that group of teenage boys, Hunter. Even though he was sixteen, he towered over her at five feet and ten inches and was muscular. Pristine feared him the most because she always felt he had anger issues.
"Hey Whitie, are you going to miss me when I am gone?" Hunter said as his menacing brown eyes glowed.
Pristine remained silent and averted eye contact. Whitie was the 'nickname' the boys called her.
"Look at me when I am talking to you!" Hunter shouted, using his other hand to force her face towards him.
Pristine still glanced the other way.
"Looks like she being stubborn again boss." laughed another voice.
"You're right Saul. You know I think it's about time we go somewhere and teach her some obedience." Hunter agreed.
Pristine shivered in fear. She wished her parents and the other adults would come back but they were out in the field gathering crops. Her mind was diverted when she was suddenly let go. She saw Hunter and doubled over as well as some of his friends.
"Take that!" a voice shouted as a young girl kicked another guy in his vulnerable area.
It turned out to be Kyra. She had come outside from cleaning her house to hear Hunter. She reacted without thinking and after she was done, she grabbed Pristine's hand and pulled her towards a nearby wooded area. Pristine was too surprised to say anything. They ran for a bit before stopping to catch their breath.
"Are you okay Pristine?" Kyra asked.
Pristine nodded.
"Sorry Kyra." she replied as she breathed out.
"It's not your fault they're creeps. I'll be happy when Hunter leaves."
"Me too. Kyra, I don't want to go back yet. I know I need to finish my chores, but . . ."
"It's okay Pristine. We'll walk for a bit."
As the girls walked they looked at their surroundings. They hardly ever saw anything green or alive. It seemed that evil sucked up all that was living. Even during spring and summer hardly anything bloomed. Winter would be approaching soon. Pristine and Kyra knew such places of life existed on Serenai. Every now and then a merchant would stop by and let the children and anyone else look at the books he brought and sometimes talked about the places he been to. Time slipped by and before either of the girls knew it, nearly an hour passed. As the two walked along, Pristine stopped and felt something was wrong. Kyra noticed Pristine's hesitation and looked to see fear in her eyes.
"What's wrong Pristine?" Kyra asked.
"Oh, I just had this terrible instinct that something is going to happen. Let's go back."
When they reached the village, everything laid in ruins. No one was in sight.
"Oh no! Tell me this is only a dream!" Kyra gasped as she trembled in horror.
Next to her, Pristine dropped to her knees. Evil permeated from everywhere and Pristine found herself short of breath. Seeing her friend's reaction, Kyra knelt down next to her hugged her.
"Who would do such a thing?" Pristine gasped suddenly, feeling numb all over.
While she felt so many emotions within her, she couldn't bring herself to cry. It was like a part of her was missing something. She was very frustrated that she could never express her feelings. It was often why many people misunderstood her. Even her parents, who were wonderful, couldn't quite understand why she never expressed herself. Because of this, Pristine never felt connected to this place; maybe that's why she could not grieve now. Pristine was still lost in thought when a large number of soldiers surrounded them. They looked like living nightmares in black armor. They also smelled of dead and rot.
"Who are these guys?" shrieked Kyra as she and Pristine huddled closer together.
"The men who obviously destroyed our village."
"Somebody help us! Please!"
All of the sudden, a bright light appeared, and just like that, all of the villains vanished! Pristine and Kyra covered their eyes when the light appeared. They opened them and the first thing they saw was an old man standing by a burned down hut. He had long white hair and beard. His different colored eyes were green and blue. Both Pristine and Kyra imagined he was a wizard because of the style of dress he wore and the staff he held. Both girls gazed in amazement. His garments were crimson red and had gold trimmings, he also carried a dagger at his side. Pristine was the first to recover from her shock.
"Excuse me sir, but who are you?" she finally asked.
The elderly man walked forward and smiled before saying, "Greetings, young ones. I am Drackor."
"The legendary Drackor? One of the most powerful wizards! The one who was able to place three protective barriers on our world?!" asked Kyra.
Who had not heard of Drackor? He was considered a legend in Serenai. It was said he was there when the world was created. He was the great teacher and confidant to the unicorns. Whenever there was a wedding or important event, Drackor was always there. But since the Invasion, not many saw him for the evil forces always searched for him. Drackor laughed after Kyra's response.
"Indeed I am he." he replied.
"Drackor? Do you know what happened to our parents and the other villagers?" asked Kyra.
"Don't worry Kyra and Pristine. I took them to safety."
The girls sighed before Kyra said, "Wait a minute! How do you know our names?"
"I have been watching this place and many others over the years. I know everything that goes around here and everywhere else."
That was partly true. He also made a vow to always watch over Pristine and he meant to keep it. As he kept glancing at Pristine, he saw a totally different Pristine from the one he once knew. He had seen she lived a hard life. He wished he could have helped her, but he knew he couldn't for he simply wasn't allowed to by the gods that governed this galaxy. He had been tempted to ask, but once an order was given he had to obey it. He was very relieved he could help her now.
"Excuse me, Drackor, but what do we do now?" asked Kyra, jilting Drackor out of his thoughts.
"Oh, I am sorry. I have an assignment for you two. I want you to find the lost unicorn princess."
"But weren't all the unicorns killed during the Invasion?"
"Don't you remember Kyra? The last time the merchant came through he said that not all the unicorns died. Somehow, the princess of the unicorns survived thanks to her parents. He said that her soul was preserved and she was born in this time." pointed out Pristine.
This was the first time she spoken since the conversation began. She had been a little intimidated by the wise sage. She felt power radiating from him. But she sensed his goodness and felt that she could trust him. Pristine had a way of knowing who to trust and who not to.
She turned to Drackor and asked, "Drackor, why do you want us to find the lost princess?"
"Because it is your destiny to find her."
"Well . . ."
"We'll do it!" interrupted Kyra.
Pristine looked at Kyra and saw the eagerness in her eyes. Kyra had always wanted to go on an adventure and this certainly would be one. Pristine took a deep breath. Deep down inside, she knew that she must do this.
"All right." Pristine nodded.
"Uh, Drackor? How do we begin?" asked Kyra.
"First, you two must go to the Kingdom of Grom."
"But, but, Drackor, Grom is many weeks away from here. It's impossible to reach it. We have to cross an ocean."
"Kyra is right sir. It would be considered treacherous to travel right now with winter almost here." Pristine added.
"Nothing is impossible!" shouted Drackor as he raised his staff.
There was a crack of thunder and the three of them vanished in a cloud of smoke.
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The next thing they knew, they were someplace else. They stood on a hillside overlooking a valley. Patches of green mixed with dull brown to signify the changing of seasons. In the distance, Pristine and Kyra saw a castle surrounded by houses.
"Wow! Where are we?" gasped Kyra.
"We are in the Kingdom of Grom." replied Drackor.
"It is beautiful." said Pristine.
"Where do we go from here?" asked Kyra.
"Follow this road we are on," indicated Drackor, "Then head for Grom Castle. The king there is good and will help you get started on your journey."
"Drackor, how do we get into the palace? Surely there will be guards there."
"When you reach the gate, just tell the guards there that I sent you to see the king."
"But sir, surely you know that the guards are not going to believe that a couple of commoners were sent by a wizard. They're going to want proof." pointed out Pristine.
"Hmm, you do have a point there."
He made a red sash appear in his hand.
"Here, take my sash as proof."
"Thank-you." replied Pristine as she took it.
"The sash also holds my emblem on it. Now, all you two need is . . ." said Drackor before waving his hand.
There on the road appeared two horses. One was white, and the other was golden brown.
"Oh! They're beautiful!" Kyra replied, amazed.
"Thank you for everything Drackor." thanked Pristine as she got on the white horse.
Both of them knew how to ride horses because their village used to be known for their horse farms, but since the Invasion, things went into decline.
"My pleasure, Pristine."
"Man, it's been a while since I rode a horse." commented Kyra.
Unfortunately, when she got on the horse, she was facing the back! It was pretty obvious that she hadn't been on a horse in some time.
Pristine giggled and said, "Oh, Kyra! When you get on a horse, you're supposed to put your right leg on the right side of the horse, not the left."
Realizing what she did wrong, Kyra quickly dismounted and got on correctly.
"Sorry about that." she apologized.
"Are you two ready?" Drackor asked.
"Ready as we'll ever be." said Pristine.
"Then go and good luck to the both of you."
As the two friends rode off, Drackor quietly said to himself, "May the spirits of this world protect you on your quest . . . Princess."
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A/N:So what do you think? Please give me your input.
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Public release date: 22-Dec-2011
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