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Chapter 3: Strange New World |
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Chained Guardian
Chapter 3: Strange New World
Once I finally came around, I felt a sharp pain in my chest and couldn’t stop wincing as I slowly reached for the arrow, which was pinning me to the truck of a tree. My mind was hazy and I felt dizzy. My vision came in and out of focus as I placed my hand on the arrow and tried to pull it out. "I can’t pull it out… It’s not budging…someone help me---" My voice seemed to fall on the deaf ears of the various small woodland creatures that lived in the area. After some time passed, I could feel exhaustion taking hold of me and just as I was about to close my eyes again, I heard a voice calling out - distant at first, but then it seemed to come closer, intensifying. “Hey, boy…are you alive?” the voice said. It sounded as if its owner was right in front of me. “Wher..m..I?” I tried to say, but my words didn’t come out to be any more than gibberish; when I tried to speak in what little English I had learned, some of the syllables from my native language mixed together with it, making it incomprehensible.
“Slow down, boy. Let’s get you off that tree…I hope you’re not a demon or sinner that will kill me when I release you…” The man muttered, the last part quiet so I didn’t hear it. The man had long blond hair tied back loosely with a thin piece of leather, and very strange looking clothes. He put on a pair of white gloves and gripped the arrow with one hand, holding the other hand up as he chanted. The last part of the chant I recognized as “Kai” or “release” and the arrow shattered, releasing me from the tree. I slid down its trunk into a sitting position and placed my hand over the place where the arrow once was. The wound was slowly healing by itself, but I decided to try and use magic to speed it along. I tried hard to remember the words to call upon the healing spell but nothing came to mind. Did I forget or had I been forced to forget? Either way, I couldn’t use any magic now.
“Does it hurt, boy? Let me take a look,” the man said as he scanned my wound with his eyes. After the scan was complete, the man held his hand over the wound and chanted something very quietly. I watched in amazement as the wound seemed to disappear in a matter of moments. “There you go. Feel better there, boy?” The man said, looking up from treating the wound, so as to to make eye contact. The man had deep green eyes and as I looked into them, I felt as if I was staring into a forest, full of lush green trees. I nodded to him, but it felt as if something was missing, though I didn’t know what.
“Well boy, you look a little hungry. I’ll take you to the village. You can get food and water there. Oh, by the way, my name is Edward and this is my country...well, I’m her valiant leader. It’s nice to meet you.” The man said, extending his hand out towards me. I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet before shaking my hand. A custom I felt to be familiar, yet I didn’t know why. “ I’m Ki---“ I started to say, but suddenly, I heard a distant voice say the name “Joseph”, so that was the name I decided to go with. “Joseph…my name is Joseph.” I said, smiling. “Well than Joey, my boy, we should head to the village now or it will be dark soon. I’ll introduce you to my family when we get there.” Edward said.
{Chapter 4 Preview: Joseph meets up with Lord Edward's wife, Juliana, and their two sons, Sebastien and Macarius. As time passes, Joseph begins to recover some of his memories of Samuel while he spends time with Sebastien the younger son.}
Names used in story and what they mean
Solomon (Joseph's dad) - Peace
Samuel (Joseph's guardian) - asked by god
Michael (Samuel’s twin brother) - gift from god
Macarius - blessed
Sebastien - revered one
Makari – Variant of Makrios. He is called Akari throughout, a shortened version of his name. Makari means blessed.
Artimus – variant of Artemas. It means follower of the goddess Artemis (Goddess of the hunt).
Alexander – defender of man
Joseph – God will add/increase
Juliana –Youthful
Edward – Wealth Protector
Devin – bard, poet. Derived from Divin – Divine, perfect
Tashir – Variant of Tahir - purity
 · Sun Aug 17, 2008 @ 11:29pm · 0 Comments |
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