Sapheron
Making no sense.
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2006
- Messages
- 850
As the title says; another potential beginning to my story. Meant to make borderline amounts of sense (as it is a prologue type thing) and hopefully not too bad. It's set in London at the moment, just so you know, and in the modern day (2008 actually). What do you guys and gals think?
“Open the door, Halo.” Laura stood still. She couldn’t move. They had said Aura; it was the people who knew that name, who really knew her. Her soul name, given when she joined the Choir, she had long forgotten after she left; only the members of the Choir could know it. That meant they had come in search of vengeance.
The door of the flat exploded inwards. Laura leapt backwards to avoid being crushed. She turned and crossed the room in a single bound. She mentally unlocked the first cage around her soul and felt the power of magic course through her. With a punch she shattered the wooden cabinet in the centre of the wall. Her hand withdrew, and in it was now her weapon; Epona.
The leaf shaped dagger steadied in front of her as she settled into her fighting stance. The door was a good few metres away; far enough no one could attack without giving her time to react easily. She heard shouting in the doorway. The neighbours were demanding to know what was going on and who someone was. The Choir person was obviously not replying, as the shouting went on without change. He stepped into the room silently.
Laura’s heart stopped. The man was tall. A flowing black robe fell around him and white flames spread across his black garment from the left sleeve, and covered the limb, as well as half his chest and back. They finally disappeared under the join that went diagonally across the man’s front, at which point the two sides of the robe were held together by dozens of small ties. The sleeves were overly long and wide, and completely hid the hands of the man within. Underneath the bottom the tips of boots could just be seen. It was the robe of the Choir. It wasn’t that Laura was terrified of though. It was the face.
The man was gaunt and pale. His eyes were narrowed in what was immediately apparent as eternally present malice. No sign of a smile graced the face, nor did the memory of one. His black hair was short bar from the fringe, which fell down to his chest. She knew that face. It was a few years older now, definitely, and that of an adult instead of a teenager. However, without a doubt it was him.
“Hey!” shouted a neighbour as he entered the room behind the man. The neighbour reached out and grabbed the Choir man’s arm. Laura opened her mouth to shout a warning. The man lived in the flat next door. He was getting old as well; he couldn’t be less than sixty. Nevertheless, he had spirit, and having found a man breaking into someone’s flat he’d stuck up for them. However, before Laura made a word he was staggering away. The flame covered arm had struck him in the chest and smashed him into the doorframe. The arm rose, and Laura saw he was holding a sheathed sword inside the sleeve.
The neighbour collapsed into the corridor outside. The hilt of the sword had cracked his head. The man of the Choir turned back to Laura. His face showed no emotion, bar the silent hatred that was in his eyes.
“Where is my brother, Halo?”
“You think I’d tell you, Kodoku?” said Laura. She would never betray the one she loved; especially not to his brother, Kodoku. That was his soul name of course, his true name that the Choir had found for him. Laura had got over her first fear. Kodoku was the worst opponent the Choir could send, but it made sense. Only he would stand a chance against his brother, her husband, and potentially her at the same time. She wasn’t inconsiderable herself, after all. However, she didn’t stand a chance of winning this fight. Her only real hope was simply to survive, any way she could, until Kodoku’s brother came back. She’d need more than simply the first gate to do that though.
“You just unlocked the second cage, did you not?” said Kodoku quietly. His voice was threatening. Before it had been indifferent, but now the barely suppressed violence within him was beginning to show. However, the face he could see that… Even from him, Laura was stunned. He had opened the perception cage to let him see souls? That was the fifth to unlock. Laura could only open up to the third. How much stronger was Kodoku since they had left the Choir?
“You are a betrayer, Halo, Lady of the Choir. You abandoned us, and for that you must die.”
Kodoku lowered his body slightly, and his right hand moved to the handle of the sword in his left. Until he drew it she had the advantage. Laura crossed the room in a second and a single leap. She unlocked the third cage as she moved. Epona swung down, and the blow would have cut any blade without trouble. Except, of course, a blade such as itself; one of the Choir.
Hecate, the sword of Kodoku, was purely black, and about two feet long. He had drawn it in time. The two blades were locked between them. Laura threw the strength of both arms into the struggle, but Kodoku moved back only very slowly even using one. Laura grimaced, while Kodoku looked down at her impassively. The blades crept back towards the man.
Then Kodoku’s foot sweapt past her. Before she could react it came back down, and his booted heel met her collar bone. It snapped like a twig, and she was driven to one knee. Kodoku paused there for a fraction of a second, then span on one foot and hit her in the other side of the head with the same foot.
Laura was smashed to the floor. She could taste blood in her mouth, and feel the wetness on the side of her head and in her ear. Fear was rising again. Fear and panic. She looked back quickly, but Kodoku just stood over her. He was in no hurry it seemed. It was almost as if he didn’t really care about her. Once he had loved her though, very long ago. That was gone completely; she was a mission objective, not a person.
Laura fumbled back to her feet slowly. Her head was spinning, and her eyes wouldn’t focus. The hit to the head had been so brutally powerful. So had the other kick, as she couldn’t feel her left arm. The right still held Epona, and in her fear and pain she had held its handle so tightly that her hand was bleeding, and crimson stained the brass of the weapon. The world twisted suddenly, and Laura leant back against the wall for support.
The black blade speared forwards without warning. She could feel warmth on her stomach, and it quickly spread down her legs, though inside she was frigidly cold. Laura looked down. Hecate was through her. The diamond shaped hilt was against her skin. She could see her skin though… she wore normal clothes, not the flamed robe of the Choir. That was all they had wanted; to be more normal. Kodoku had killed her though, and he would kill his brother. At least, maybe, she could save him.
Epona lanced forwards. A jerk of a pale hand snapped her wrist. The blood stained blade fell, seeming to be in slow motion, before Kodoku snatched it out the air.
“Epona will go to someone more deserving of the Gods’ blessing. Die now Hale, and be with the Gods. Lord Azarael will judge you more justly than mortals could,” said Kodoku. Even as he watched someone die there was no emotion. He was completely cold. Had he really been hurt that deeply all that time ago?
“Halo, can I beat him?” The sudden question shocked Laura. He did care about his brother then. He still wanted to kill him. Unfortunately for the monster, it was the one person who he had not surpassed effortlessly. “I can open the eighth cage, should I wish. You saw half my full power.”
Laura saw Kodoku looking down at her. His eyes showed slight concern. She smiled at him as well as she could. A slight laugh bubbled the blood in her mouth and made her cough wetly. Kodoku narrowed his eyes. His mouth set slightly harder. Laura’s vision was fading. She could only see his face now; all else was dark.
“You… don’t stand a chance. He… he has… opened the angel cage.”
“The ninth!” Kodoku’s face showed anger. Laura was glad, in a way; simply that he had shown emotion due to her. It was better to die under the gaze of a human than a monster. His backhand smashed her head to one side as she giggled hysterically at him, and the force of the blow broke her neck and broke the plaster of the wall behind her.
Kodoku was no different really. He still only cared about beating his brother, and getting revenge. He would never do it. He would never beat his brother. Laura was glad. Kodoku was evil, and the reasons for his hate were false. He would never give them up though. If he challenged his brother now he would die. Laura hoped he did.
Hecate withdrew, and Laura collapsed to the floor. The last thing she saw as her vision faded entirely was a figure in the doorway. His shirt had torn under the pressure of a pair of white wings erupting from his back. He had opened the angel gate again. Kodoku would die. All was dark…
“Kodoku!”
There was a clang as metal met metal, then glass shattered. Kodoku must have been thrown off his feet by the blow… out the window. They were on the fifth floor… He would be fine. Go after him, thought Laura, hunt him down.
“Laura…” said a voice a long way away. It was him, her love, beside her; yet he was miles away. “I’ll find you again. I promise.”
Kodoku would live after all it seemed. Laura would not. A new voice spoke to her. It was joined by another, then another ten, then a million. The voices were infinite, yet she could hear all at once. Colours were flashing past her eyes, even though they saw nothing. It was the Soul Song. She was looking at fate.
In her soul she felt the outermost cage unlock; the eleventh, the death cage. Her soul was no longer bound, and the cages unravelled as one, allowing her soul to flow away and rejoin the Soul Song which it had split from at her birth.
Kodoku’s brother, whom she could no longer see or hear, would see this. He had to have unlocked the perception cage. He would see her soul leaving her body, and know her time was up. Laura thought of everything good in her life, last and longest of the man above her, then disappeared into the Soul Song completely.
“Open the door, Halo.” Laura stood still. She couldn’t move. They had said Aura; it was the people who knew that name, who really knew her. Her soul name, given when she joined the Choir, she had long forgotten after she left; only the members of the Choir could know it. That meant they had come in search of vengeance.
The door of the flat exploded inwards. Laura leapt backwards to avoid being crushed. She turned and crossed the room in a single bound. She mentally unlocked the first cage around her soul and felt the power of magic course through her. With a punch she shattered the wooden cabinet in the centre of the wall. Her hand withdrew, and in it was now her weapon; Epona.
The leaf shaped dagger steadied in front of her as she settled into her fighting stance. The door was a good few metres away; far enough no one could attack without giving her time to react easily. She heard shouting in the doorway. The neighbours were demanding to know what was going on and who someone was. The Choir person was obviously not replying, as the shouting went on without change. He stepped into the room silently.
Laura’s heart stopped. The man was tall. A flowing black robe fell around him and white flames spread across his black garment from the left sleeve, and covered the limb, as well as half his chest and back. They finally disappeared under the join that went diagonally across the man’s front, at which point the two sides of the robe were held together by dozens of small ties. The sleeves were overly long and wide, and completely hid the hands of the man within. Underneath the bottom the tips of boots could just be seen. It was the robe of the Choir. It wasn’t that Laura was terrified of though. It was the face.
The man was gaunt and pale. His eyes were narrowed in what was immediately apparent as eternally present malice. No sign of a smile graced the face, nor did the memory of one. His black hair was short bar from the fringe, which fell down to his chest. She knew that face. It was a few years older now, definitely, and that of an adult instead of a teenager. However, without a doubt it was him.
“Hey!” shouted a neighbour as he entered the room behind the man. The neighbour reached out and grabbed the Choir man’s arm. Laura opened her mouth to shout a warning. The man lived in the flat next door. He was getting old as well; he couldn’t be less than sixty. Nevertheless, he had spirit, and having found a man breaking into someone’s flat he’d stuck up for them. However, before Laura made a word he was staggering away. The flame covered arm had struck him in the chest and smashed him into the doorframe. The arm rose, and Laura saw he was holding a sheathed sword inside the sleeve.
The neighbour collapsed into the corridor outside. The hilt of the sword had cracked his head. The man of the Choir turned back to Laura. His face showed no emotion, bar the silent hatred that was in his eyes.
“Where is my brother, Halo?”
“You think I’d tell you, Kodoku?” said Laura. She would never betray the one she loved; especially not to his brother, Kodoku. That was his soul name of course, his true name that the Choir had found for him. Laura had got over her first fear. Kodoku was the worst opponent the Choir could send, but it made sense. Only he would stand a chance against his brother, her husband, and potentially her at the same time. She wasn’t inconsiderable herself, after all. However, she didn’t stand a chance of winning this fight. Her only real hope was simply to survive, any way she could, until Kodoku’s brother came back. She’d need more than simply the first gate to do that though.
“You just unlocked the second cage, did you not?” said Kodoku quietly. His voice was threatening. Before it had been indifferent, but now the barely suppressed violence within him was beginning to show. However, the face he could see that… Even from him, Laura was stunned. He had opened the perception cage to let him see souls? That was the fifth to unlock. Laura could only open up to the third. How much stronger was Kodoku since they had left the Choir?
“You are a betrayer, Halo, Lady of the Choir. You abandoned us, and for that you must die.”
Kodoku lowered his body slightly, and his right hand moved to the handle of the sword in his left. Until he drew it she had the advantage. Laura crossed the room in a second and a single leap. She unlocked the third cage as she moved. Epona swung down, and the blow would have cut any blade without trouble. Except, of course, a blade such as itself; one of the Choir.
Hecate, the sword of Kodoku, was purely black, and about two feet long. He had drawn it in time. The two blades were locked between them. Laura threw the strength of both arms into the struggle, but Kodoku moved back only very slowly even using one. Laura grimaced, while Kodoku looked down at her impassively. The blades crept back towards the man.
Then Kodoku’s foot sweapt past her. Before she could react it came back down, and his booted heel met her collar bone. It snapped like a twig, and she was driven to one knee. Kodoku paused there for a fraction of a second, then span on one foot and hit her in the other side of the head with the same foot.
Laura was smashed to the floor. She could taste blood in her mouth, and feel the wetness on the side of her head and in her ear. Fear was rising again. Fear and panic. She looked back quickly, but Kodoku just stood over her. He was in no hurry it seemed. It was almost as if he didn’t really care about her. Once he had loved her though, very long ago. That was gone completely; she was a mission objective, not a person.
Laura fumbled back to her feet slowly. Her head was spinning, and her eyes wouldn’t focus. The hit to the head had been so brutally powerful. So had the other kick, as she couldn’t feel her left arm. The right still held Epona, and in her fear and pain she had held its handle so tightly that her hand was bleeding, and crimson stained the brass of the weapon. The world twisted suddenly, and Laura leant back against the wall for support.
The black blade speared forwards without warning. She could feel warmth on her stomach, and it quickly spread down her legs, though inside she was frigidly cold. Laura looked down. Hecate was through her. The diamond shaped hilt was against her skin. She could see her skin though… she wore normal clothes, not the flamed robe of the Choir. That was all they had wanted; to be more normal. Kodoku had killed her though, and he would kill his brother. At least, maybe, she could save him.
Epona lanced forwards. A jerk of a pale hand snapped her wrist. The blood stained blade fell, seeming to be in slow motion, before Kodoku snatched it out the air.
“Epona will go to someone more deserving of the Gods’ blessing. Die now Hale, and be with the Gods. Lord Azarael will judge you more justly than mortals could,” said Kodoku. Even as he watched someone die there was no emotion. He was completely cold. Had he really been hurt that deeply all that time ago?
“Halo, can I beat him?” The sudden question shocked Laura. He did care about his brother then. He still wanted to kill him. Unfortunately for the monster, it was the one person who he had not surpassed effortlessly. “I can open the eighth cage, should I wish. You saw half my full power.”
Laura saw Kodoku looking down at her. His eyes showed slight concern. She smiled at him as well as she could. A slight laugh bubbled the blood in her mouth and made her cough wetly. Kodoku narrowed his eyes. His mouth set slightly harder. Laura’s vision was fading. She could only see his face now; all else was dark.
“You… don’t stand a chance. He… he has… opened the angel cage.”
“The ninth!” Kodoku’s face showed anger. Laura was glad, in a way; simply that he had shown emotion due to her. It was better to die under the gaze of a human than a monster. His backhand smashed her head to one side as she giggled hysterically at him, and the force of the blow broke her neck and broke the plaster of the wall behind her.
Kodoku was no different really. He still only cared about beating his brother, and getting revenge. He would never do it. He would never beat his brother. Laura was glad. Kodoku was evil, and the reasons for his hate were false. He would never give them up though. If he challenged his brother now he would die. Laura hoped he did.
Hecate withdrew, and Laura collapsed to the floor. The last thing she saw as her vision faded entirely was a figure in the doorway. His shirt had torn under the pressure of a pair of white wings erupting from his back. He had opened the angel gate again. Kodoku would die. All was dark…
“Kodoku!”
There was a clang as metal met metal, then glass shattered. Kodoku must have been thrown off his feet by the blow… out the window. They were on the fifth floor… He would be fine. Go after him, thought Laura, hunt him down.
“Laura…” said a voice a long way away. It was him, her love, beside her; yet he was miles away. “I’ll find you again. I promise.”
Kodoku would live after all it seemed. Laura would not. A new voice spoke to her. It was joined by another, then another ten, then a million. The voices were infinite, yet she could hear all at once. Colours were flashing past her eyes, even though they saw nothing. It was the Soul Song. She was looking at fate.
In her soul she felt the outermost cage unlock; the eleventh, the death cage. Her soul was no longer bound, and the cages unravelled as one, allowing her soul to flow away and rejoin the Soul Song which it had split from at her birth.
Kodoku’s brother, whom she could no longer see or hear, would see this. He had to have unlocked the perception cage. He would see her soul leaving her body, and know her time was up. Laura thought of everything good in her life, last and longest of the man above her, then disappeared into the Soul Song completely.
