<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441090218688344825</id><updated>2012-02-26T06:01:30.637-08:00</updated><category term='gay'/><category term='adventure'/><category term='narumi'/><category term='beings'/><category term='action'/><category term='hiatusnarumi'/><category term='pendant'/><category term='brother'/><category term='murder'/><category term='boyxboy'/><category term='supernatural'/><category term='parasite'/><category term='sui'/><category term='violence'/><category term='new story'/><category term='blood'/><category term='amoth'/><title type='text'>Shards of Horizon</title><subtitle type='html'>Coming Soon</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Shards of Horizon</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14075120385112633330</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YBm42P41YBQ/TSD4fTjfMxI/AAAAAAAAACA/nEXtBKZHgOU/S220/Kuro3-2.png'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>10</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441090218688344825.post-3325458030040191</id><published>2011-06-25T01:38:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-06-25T01:38:42.462-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='action'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='amoth'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='murder'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='blood'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='violence'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='adventure'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='brother'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='parasite'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gay'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='supernatural'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='boyxboy'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='hiatusnarumi'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new story'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='beings'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pendant'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sui'/><title type='text'>another notice</title><content type='html'>well, as you have noticed i haven't been uploading much. i actually started a new story. it is boyxboy so if you are into stuff like that feel free to check it out @ http://www.wattpad.com/1624965-254-years-boyxboy&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;i don't know when I will be writing a new chapter for SoH, but i have a little something in mind. any comments or whatsoever would eb nice motivators &amp;gt;3&amp;gt; its hard to keep going without any feedback or whatsoever....&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6441090218688344825-3325458030040191?l=shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/feeds/3325458030040191/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2011/06/another-notice.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/3325458030040191'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/3325458030040191'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2011/06/another-notice.html' title='another notice'/><author><name>Shards of Horizon</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14075120385112633330</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YBm42P41YBQ/TSD4fTjfMxI/AAAAAAAAACA/nEXtBKZHgOU/S220/Kuro3-2.png'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441090218688344825.post-9009070307374783092</id><published>2011-04-29T23:00:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2011-04-30T00:26:48.171-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='action'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='amoth'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='murder'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='blood'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='violence'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='adventure'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='brother'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='parasite'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='supernatural'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='narumi'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='beings'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pendant'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sui'/><title type='text'>chapter seven</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui hadn’t realized that he had fallen asleep before he was awoken by Narumi, informing him that they had arrived. He grumbled something about ’fucking noisy’ and ’good sleep’ as he got off the carriage. Narumi paid no attention to him as she looked around the street they were in. It was loud and there were a lot of people around. They were all greeting each other and stopping to chat. It wasn’t unusual for small places but Debeath was one of the biggest towns in the borderlands. Narumi pulled her hood up as she turned around. She frowned as she didn’t find Sui standing where he had been just a moment ago. All she did was sigh as she walked down the street. It wasn’t like she had chosen to go along with him anyway. She was pretty sure that she would find him as soon as he managed to start a fight. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui had wandered off as soon as Narumi turned around. He would find her later, how big could this town be anyway? He mentally face palmed as he was reminded of the fact that this was one of the biggest towns. He wasn’t going to worry over it though; he had already lost sight of her.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;After opening of a door accompanied by the sound of a bell ringing, Sui found himself standing inside a small shop. The walls were covered in countless shelves which contained things ranging from books to items of clothing. This was an antique store. Sui walked over to one of the shelves and looked at an old clock. It had long stopped working and Sui wondered why one would buy such thing. Overtaken by a weird feeling of nostalgia, he raised his hand and touched the clock with the tips of his fingers. He could see Kiyoshi smiling at him as they were standing on a field. Sui’s brother was yet again talking about how he would leave the Town and discover many different places. Well, his wish had sort of come true. Only in a very sick and twisted way. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui was brought back to the present by the sound of someone clearing their throat. He turned around and found a young man standing by the counter. He had layered hazel hair that ended just a little above his shoulders. The man had sky blue eyes and slightly tanned skin. There was a wide smile planted on his full lips. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;‘’Is there anything specific you are looking for?’’ he asked in a voice that was full of energy. Sui found it hard to tear his eyes away from the man – there was something utterly distractive and radiant about him.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;‘’I was wondering if there was anything here that would help me learn about the Amoth’s pendants.’’ Sui said as he ran his fingers through his hair. They had been bleached by the sun quite a bit and had now taken on a really light color, coming close to being white.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The man’s eyes widened slightly at Sui’s words. He told Sui to hang on as he walked to a small back room. After a few moments he came out again, accompanied by two figures, slightly taller than himself. He guided Sui upstairs, the two strangers following them silently.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The ‘upstairs’ was just a big room. It looked quite dusty as if nobody had been to there in at least a year. The paint was peeling off the walls and the floorboards creaked painfully as the four of them walked towards the only pieces of furniture in the room. There were seven chairs which formed a half circle. Sui took a seat in one of them and the two strangers sat facing him. The young man who he had seen in the shop was still standing, his hands dug deeply into his pockets. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;‘’Well, I’ll leave you three here. I’ve got to look after the shop,’’ he flashed a bright smile as he turned around and walked down the stairs.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;A long moment of heavy silence fell over the room before it was broken by a smooth yet cold voice. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;‘’My name is Hisame, and this is my brother Retsu.’’ The one who spoke had long black hair, which came down to his waist. His dark bangs fell over his eyes, covering them almost completely. Sui could barely tell that the man had bright green eyes, resembling of a cat’s. He had a beautiful face and Sui would have most likely taken him for a woman if he hadn’t spoken. Retsu looked exactly like Hisame, except that his hair was shorter than his brother’s and he wore an eye patch over his right eye. Sui guessed that the two of them were twins.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;‘’My name is Sui, I came here to learn about the Amoth’s pendants.’’ He came right to the point.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;‘’Yeah, we know, Rin told us,’’ it was Retsu who spoke this time. Unlike his brother, his voice was warm and sort of comforting. Sui could feel the other man staring at the pendant that hung around his neck before sliding his eyes back to Sui’s face. ‘’So what do you wish to know?’’ he asked, a small smirk sliding across his lips.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui stayed silent for a long time before opening his mouth. Those two were the twins the old lady had spoken of, weren’t they? Well, at least Sui could hope they were.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;‘’You two are also carriers of the pendant, right? That would explain why this town isn’t completely taken over by beings.’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;‘’Oh, you are right,’’ the one named Hisame smirked. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his pendant. At the same time, Retsu tucked some of his silky black locks behind his ear to reveal a snow white stone that had been made into an earring. Hisame’s pendant was completely black.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;‘’You see, Amoth’s pendant doesn’t necessarily have to be a pendant,’’ he said while pointing towards his ear. ‘’What grants the power is the stone, so basically as long as you have the stone, you have the power.’’ He smiled slightly as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, ‘’I have Sylan’s pendant and Retsu has Siah’s,’’ he said. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;All Sui could do was raise an eyebrow. ‘’Sylan? Siah?’’ he asked.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Hisame frowned, ‘’You really know nothing.’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;‘’Easy brother,’’ Retsu laughed and then turned back to Sui, ‘’ Basically every guardian had their own pendant which was passed down. Siah and Sylan were also among the guardians. They had the power to heal, but the trick was that one pendant wouldn’t work without the other. Yours is Asuka’s pendant, I think. Immunity against beings, am I right?’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;‘’How did you know that?,’’ Sui’s jaw dropped, amazed by the man’s knowledge.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;‘’It’s pretty simple if you use your brains,’’ Hisame said. Sui couldn’t figure out why the man was so cranky.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui’s head snapped up as he heard a loud crashing sound from downstairs. The twins automatically stood up and ran down the stairs, Sui following them. He couldn’t help but to let out an excited yelp when he noticed the contours of a person in the middle of the dust and rubble flying in the air. A huge hole had been bashed into one of the walls and Rin was nowhere to be seen. The figure started walking forward until he was completely revealed.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He was an albino. Pale skin with hair that was just a tone whiter and blood red eyes. The man was tall and well-built. His beautiful features were pulled into a wide sneer as he glared at the three men in the room. He raised one of his leather clad hands and ran it through his white hair. If possible his sneer widened even more.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;‘’It has been long, Brother,’’ the creature almost purred.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6441090218688344825-9009070307374783092?l=shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/feeds/9009070307374783092/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2011/04/chapter-seven.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/9009070307374783092'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/9009070307374783092'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2011/04/chapter-seven.html' title='chapter seven'/><author><name>Shards of Horizon</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14075120385112633330</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YBm42P41YBQ/TSD4fTjfMxI/AAAAAAAAACA/nEXtBKZHgOU/S220/Kuro3-2.png'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441090218688344825.post-5527201788799773549</id><published>2011-01-15T23:34:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-01-15T23:34:09.189-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Chapter 6: Moving On</title><content type='html'>&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;w:WordDocument&gt;   &lt;w:View&gt;Normal&lt;/w:View&gt;   &lt;w:Zoom&gt;0&lt;/w:Zoom&gt;   &lt;w:Compatibility&gt;    &lt;w:BreakWrappedTables/&gt;    &lt;w:SnapToGridInCell/&gt;    &lt;w:WrapTextWithPunct/&gt;    &lt;w:UseAsianBreakRules/&gt;   &lt;/w:Compatibility&gt;   &lt;w:BrowserLevel&gt;MicrosoftInternetExplorer4&lt;/w:BrowserLevel&gt;  &lt;/w:WordDocument&gt; &lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 10]&gt; &lt;style&gt; /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";}&lt;/style&gt; &lt;![endif]--&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Chapter six: Moving on&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui and Narumi had set up a camp on the clearing. Sui had put up a tent he carried around in his backpack and Narumi had made a campfire. She was sitting next to it, cooking some meat, while Sui was sitting farther away, keeping watch. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The color had started to return to Narumi’s face, but she was still quite weak. The idea of eating this delicious rabbit that Sui had caught was lifting her spirit. She had no idea where they will go now but she guessed that Sui had figured it out. She leaned forward and poked the meat. Guessing it was cooked enough she called Sui.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;When Sui heard Narumi calling him, he got up and walked over to where the fire was. He was glad that he had gotten out of the cold night and was gladly warming himself near the fire. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’So, have you got any plans from here on?’’ Narumi asked as she handed Sui some of the meat, also taking some for herself.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Well, we can’t go to Raighterra where Kiyoshi is at the moment, but as I have studied from his behaviour, he’s moving to north,’’ Sui said, as he took a big mouthful and begun to chew on it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Well, the next town north from here is Debeath, ’’ Narumi said, ’’by foot, it should be about a day’s journey. If we set out in the morning we should get there by the nightfall...’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Maybe we could get a ride with some traveller, ’’ Sui wondered , and Narumi agreed.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The rest of the meal passed in silence and soon they agreed that it was time to sleep. They took turns keeping watch.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;In the morning they packed their things and took off. They begun walking down the dusty road, no carriages passing by them for hours. The two of them were taking a break when they finally noticed a carriage approaching. Narumi got up and started waving her hands, trying to signal the carriage to stop.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;It drove right past them and then begun slowing down. Narumi ran to it to ask if they were going to Debeath. Receiving a positive answer she ran back to Sui and they both got on the carriage.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui and Narumi were sitting side to side, facing an old lady in her 60s. She was wearing a black dress, with a dark blue corset overneath. Her grayish brown hair was set in a neat bun above her neck and she was wearing a black hat with blue frills decorating it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’So what brings two young people such as yourselves to Debeath ?’’ asked the old lady, looking over at the two of them.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Narumi looked at Sui with uneasyness as he begun talking, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Well, we are sort of investigators, ’’ he begun, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Narumi mentally face palmed. No matter how strong or clever Sui is, he was an awful liar. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’We are investigating the Amoth’s pendants, ’’ he said, taking his pendant from his neck and showing it to the woman who pulled out her glasses and took a closer look. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’A really beautiful necklace, ’’ she said as she smiled, ’’ I believe there were a pair of twins with similiar ones in Debeath, ’’ she said. Her face grew distant , lost in memories. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’How do you know that? ’’ Narumi couldn’t help but to wonder out loud.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The old woman came back to the present as she smiled at Narumi, ’’ They are my brother’s grandchildren, I gave the pendants to them myself, ’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’May I ask where you got them? ’’ Sui asked, leaning forward .&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Oh, an old woman like me doesn’t remember such things anymore, ’’ the woman said. She started looking out of the window and both Sui and Narumi felt as if the conversation was over.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Narumi leaned back in her seat and pulled a book from underneath her cloak. Sui didn’t catch the title but the book seemed to have drawings of magic circles in it . Soon he lost interest and started staring out of the window, waiting for the arrival.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6441090218688344825-5527201788799773549?l=shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/feeds/5527201788799773549/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2011/01/chapter-6-moving-on.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/5527201788799773549'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/5527201788799773549'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2011/01/chapter-6-moving-on.html' title='Chapter 6: Moving On'/><author><name>Shards of Horizon</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14075120385112633330</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YBm42P41YBQ/TSD4fTjfMxI/AAAAAAAAACA/nEXtBKZHgOU/S220/Kuro3-2.png'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441090218688344825.post-2411403745370687189</id><published>2010-12-27T09:53:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2010-12-27T09:53:20.180-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Chapter five: The Escape</title><content type='html'>&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;w:WordDocument&gt;   &lt;w:View&gt;Normal&lt;/w:View&gt;   &lt;w:Zoom&gt;0&lt;/w:Zoom&gt;   &lt;w:Compatibility&gt;    &lt;w:BreakWrappedTables/&gt;    &lt;w:SnapToGridInCell/&gt;    &lt;w:WrapTextWithPunct/&gt;    &lt;w:UseAsianBreakRules/&gt;   &lt;/w:Compatibility&gt;   &lt;w:BrowserLevel&gt;MicrosoftInternetExplorer4&lt;/w:BrowserLevel&gt;  &lt;/w:WordDocument&gt; &lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 10]&gt; &lt;style&gt; /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";}&lt;/style&gt; &lt;![endif]--&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Chapter five: The Escape&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The prison cell Sui and Narumi had been locked in for the past two weeks,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt; &lt;span lang="EN-GB"&gt;wholly&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt; made out of stone, had one small window near the high ceiling. Sui figured that if they were going to escape, that wasn’t the way. The door was made of wood and Sui saw that it was locked with metal latches from the outside.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui sighed as he took a seat on the cold floor. He glanced at Narumi who was sitting in the corner, her dark cloak covering her face. It was very cold in the cell and even the woman’s lightly tanned hands had turned pale.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Hey, ’’ Sui began, attempting to break the silence, ’’ what do the police do with murderers in this town?’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;A moment of silence followed before Narumi replied:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;’’Depends on the motive and number of victims, we are most likely to get a death penalty. ’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;Narumi lowered her head and dark brown bangs fell out of her hood. She pulled it deeper over her head and stayed silent.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui smiled to himself. To be slaughtered they need to be brought out of the cell. That means they still have a chance to escape. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Hey, ’’ Sui said, breaking the silence once again, ’’ can you fight? ’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Narumi pulled down the hood and stared at Sui for a few moments. She looked awful. Her skin was purplish from the cold and her eyes seemed lifeless. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’What are you planning?’’ she insisted.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui sent her a playful look. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’I’m planning to slash shit up! ’’ He yelled loudly and burst out laughing. Narumi just rolled her eyes, wondering if he was going crazy from the cold.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;After a few moments Sui straightened up and said, ’’ I’m planning to get us out of here.’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’How?’’ Narumi asked, a slightly curious note in her voice.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Improvising !’’ Sui said as he leaned back against the wall and put his hands behind his head. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Narumi just rolled her eyes and pulled her hood over her head. Soon they both fell asleep without realizing it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui was woken by a hard kick in the stomach. He opened his eyes with a small gasp. He saw the sheriff bending over him. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Time to face your fate, buddy, ’’ he laughed and straightened up. He motioned to his men to grab Sui’s hands and they brought him out of the cell and onto the street. Narumi was already standing on the street, her hood pulled down and two officers standing by her side. Her face was filled with despair and&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt; &lt;span lang="EN-GB"&gt;despise&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;, but she held her head high and looked as if she owned the world. It didn’t really fit with her ragged appearance. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The sheriff exchanged a few words with his men and they began walking the two prisoners down the street. Sui’s hands were pulled roughly behind his back and the officers pushed him to move faster. It was quite hard to walk like that and he had to struggle to keep standing. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;That didn’t keep him for noticing that the officers didn’t even touch Narumi. They just walked next to her and kept a close eye on her. They probably didn’t see much of a threat in her and let her be. Sui thought that he could make use of it. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Suddenly, Sui stopped and turned to the sheriff.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Hey sheriff, ’’ he said, ’’you gonna execute us? ’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The sheriff looked at him and grinned, ’’ Bingo!’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Can I at least say goodbye to my girlfriend?’’ he asked sending a begging glance towards the officers and then looked at Narumi.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The sheriff looked like he was weighing the options and finally gave in.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The officers dragged him to Narumi and roughly released his hands. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui nodded as thanks. He slid his hands underneath Narumis cloak and around her waist. It seemed as if he was hugging her. Narumi protested with an annoyed grunt, but realizing what Sui was playing on, she relaxed. Sui slid his dagger under Narumis cloak into her hand.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Soon the blonde man pulled away and the two officers grabbed his hands as they continued walking. Before they could walk even 100 meters Narumi pulled something from underneath the cloak and threw it at the officers. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;It was one of Sui’s daggers. It hit the head of one of the officers holding Sui. In the moment of surprise Narumi started running and Sui pushed himself free from the man holding him. He pulled his dagger from the motionless body and ran after Narumi, catching up to her. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Thanks, ’’ he muttered under his breath as they continued running.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;They could hear the footsteps chasing after them but neither turned to look back.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Turning into the alley, they climbed over the fence and didn’t stop even once before they had made their way out of the town. They continued down the highway, surrounded by forest on both sides.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Not having any better ideas, Narumi turned into the forest, Sui following her. They kept going until they finally reached a clearing where they stopped to take a break.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6441090218688344825-2411403745370687189?l=shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/feeds/2411403745370687189/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/12/chapter-five-escape.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/2411403745370687189'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/2411403745370687189'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/12/chapter-five-escape.html' title='Chapter five: The Escape'/><author><name>Shards of Horizon</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14075120385112633330</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YBm42P41YBQ/TSD4fTjfMxI/AAAAAAAAACA/nEXtBKZHgOU/S220/Kuro3-2.png'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441090218688344825.post-6460272849957616193</id><published>2010-11-26T07:14:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2010-12-27T00:53:07.297-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Braincrash</title><content type='html'>Well... Im going through a major writers block as you can see...&lt;br /&gt;So i guess this story will be on hold until i come up with something.&lt;br /&gt;If anyone has any ideas you can tell me&amp;nbsp; ^^&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Also, if anyone reads this and likes it, it would be nice if you left a comment or followed ect. since thats the only proof that anyone is reading it. ^^&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6441090218688344825-6460272849957616193?l=shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/feeds/6460272849957616193/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/11/braincrash.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/6460272849957616193'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/6460272849957616193'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/11/braincrash.html' title='Braincrash'/><author><name>Shards of Horizon</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14075120385112633330</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YBm42P41YBQ/TSD4fTjfMxI/AAAAAAAAACA/nEXtBKZHgOU/S220/Kuro3-2.png'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441090218688344825.post-5532465946959361067</id><published>2010-10-23T22:06:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2010-10-23T22:06:10.777-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Chapter four: Trouble</title><content type='html'>&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;w:WordDocument&gt;   &lt;w:View&gt;Normal&lt;/w:View&gt;   &lt;w:Zoom&gt;0&lt;/w:Zoom&gt;   &lt;w:Compatibility&gt;    &lt;w:BreakWrappedTables/&gt;    &lt;w:SnapToGridInCell/&gt;    &lt;w:WrapTextWithPunct/&gt;    &lt;w:UseAsianBreakRules/&gt;   &lt;/w:Compatibility&gt;   &lt;w:BrowserLevel&gt;MicrosoftInternetExplorer4&lt;/w:BrowserLevel&gt;  &lt;/w:WordDocument&gt; &lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 10]&gt; &lt;style&gt; /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";}&lt;/style&gt; &lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026"/&gt; &lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;o:shapelayout v:ext="edit"&gt;   &lt;o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/&gt;  &lt;/o:shapelayout&gt;&lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;’’Chapter four: Trouble’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Your brother ?!’’&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Narumi stared at Sui in disbelief. The latter just nodded in response.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’The frickin’ psycho murderer who has been terrorizing Raighterra is &lt;i&gt;your&lt;/i&gt; brother?!’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui sighed and told her to calm down. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Well, physically he is my brother. But he is possessed by a being, ’’ he narrowed his eyes and snarled as Narumi’s fingers tightened around her pendant.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Don’t. You. Even. Think. About. It. ’’ he hissed as if he had read the girls mind. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;A little frightened, she dropped her hand and stared at Sui. There was about a minute of silence, the only sound they could hear was their own breathing. Finally, Narumi broke it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’There is a being running rampage and you expect me to just watch?!’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’He is my fucking brother! I can’t just sit back and watch him get killed !’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;They were both yelling. Sui’s eyes were full of anger and Narumi’s expression seemed frightened yet agitated at the same time.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’It’s not your brother!! It’s &lt;i&gt;something else now&lt;/i&gt;!’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui’s rage calmed down in a second and now he looked more like someone who had to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’But... Maybe there is a way... To get him back.. I have been thinking...’’ he said quietly.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Taken aback by the sudden attitude change Narumi also lowered her voice but kept the harsh note.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’You have been thinking, huh? While you think this being goes around and kills people! Besides, do you know any other way to kill the beings?’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui shook his head. ’’The legend says that if all the seven pendants are united, they become invincible. Maybe if I can find all seven...’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Narumi frowned and stood up from her seat. She walked over to Sui and said:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Do you have any idea how long it will probably take for you? He will be gone by then. ’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;As if the demon had been awoken inside Sui once again, his eyes were lit with anger.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Don’t you EVER say that again!!’’ he said as he threw one of the tables over, ’’Do you have any FUCKING IDEA how it feels to lose the only family you have EVER had?!!!’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Well, YES, in fact I do !’’ she spat back at him.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;They both glared at each other for five full minutes. Narumi was the one to break the silence again.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’My parents were killed, ’’ her voice was trembling in a mixture of anger and sorrow, ’’by that precious little brother of yours.’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui examined her expression and then lowered his eyes to the ground.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’I’m sorry...’’ he said&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Then let me ....’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’NO!’’ his voice was loud and rough, ’’I won’t let you touch him, ’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Well, try and stop me! ’’ She said, a stuck up note in her voice as if challenging him. She turned around and begun walking out of the door.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Bitch...’’ Sui muttered under his breath.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;With a quick step he caught up with her and locked his arms in her hair. He threw Narumi into the wall opposite of the door. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;She landed with a loud crash and sent some tables and chairs falling. When she got up, she was covered in blood. I was not her own though. The blood came from the many corpses on the floor.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;When Narumi looked up her eyes were full of anger and despisal. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’You raised your hand against a woman...’’ she breathed roughly.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’... Who would have killed MY brother, ’’ Sui finished her sentence as he walked over to her. His strength was way above Narumi’s and he knew it. His fingers locked around her neck. Hard enough to hurt but loosely enough to let her get enough air.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’So... you’re still going after my brother?’’ he said angrily, ’’ Or are you going to cooperate with me and find the rest of the pendants? ’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;As he realized that all that Narumi could manage like that was gasping and coughing, he released his fingers and took a few steps back.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’So?’’ he raised his eyebrows at her, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’I’ll cooperate, ’’ she said quietly, realizing that her strength was no match to Sui’s, ’’But the one condition is that if we haven’t found the pendants in a year, I’ll kill him. Since then, all that the being will share with your brother is looks...’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui didn’t reply, but his bitter expression betrayed the fact that he wasn’t all so pleased with the idea. Nevertheless, he walked over to Narumi and helped her up.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;They stepped out of the bar and looked around.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Well, I suppose we should clean ourselves up first,’’ Narumi said, her voice relaxed as if the incident before had never happened.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui was about to agree, when he heard a sharp voice speak to them:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’I don’t think you two are going &lt;i&gt;anywhere&lt;/i&gt;,’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui and Narumi turned around to see the town’s serif. He was a rather short man in his 40s. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Killing a houseful of people isn’t something you can get away with you know,’’ he said, spinning handcuffs around his fingers.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui frowned as&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;his hand started moving towards his dagger. Narumi was quicker than him and caught his wrist before the hand reached its goal. She gave it a tight squeeze and then let go. She smiled in satisfication as she saw red finger marks on Sui’s hand.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Then she stepped forward to speak to the serif.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’We didn’t do it...’’ she said, her voice clear and loud.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The serif laughed at her.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’And who was it then? You aren’t saying its that being again?’’ it was obvious from his tone that he wasn’t believing it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’It &lt;i&gt;was&lt;/i&gt;! ’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The serif put his hand on her shoulder and said quietly, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’I know that it’s sad what happened to your parents, but you have to move on, there aren’t any beings in this town!’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’ &lt;i&gt;But i saw him!!! &lt;/i&gt;’’ Her voice was strong and steady, ’’ &lt;i&gt;I know that it was one! &lt;/i&gt;’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Enough!!’’ the serif suddenly shouted, ’’ I don’t want to hear your folk tales anymore,’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He told his men to arrest the two of them and started walking in the front.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui cursed under his breath. This was so not going as planned.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6441090218688344825-5532465946959361067?l=shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/feeds/5532465946959361067/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/10/chapter-four-trouble.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/5532465946959361067'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/5532465946959361067'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/10/chapter-four-trouble.html' title='Chapter four: Trouble'/><author><name>Shards of Horizon</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14075120385112633330</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YBm42P41YBQ/TSD4fTjfMxI/AAAAAAAAACA/nEXtBKZHgOU/S220/Kuro3-2.png'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441090218688344825.post-5898925539081858395</id><published>2010-10-17T08:46:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2010-10-17T08:46:08.555-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Chapter 3: Raighterra</title><content type='html'>&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;w:WordDocument&gt;   &lt;w:View&gt;Normal&lt;/w:View&gt;   &lt;w:Zoom&gt;0&lt;/w:Zoom&gt;   &lt;w:Compatibility&gt;    &lt;w:BreakWrappedTables/&gt;    &lt;w:SnapToGridInCell/&gt;    &lt;w:WrapTextWithPunct/&gt;    &lt;w:UseAsianBreakRules/&gt;   &lt;/w:Compatibility&gt;   &lt;w:BrowserLevel&gt;MicrosoftInternetExplorer4&lt;/w:BrowserLevel&gt;  &lt;/w:WordDocument&gt; &lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 10]&gt; &lt;style&gt; /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";}&lt;/style&gt; &lt;![endif]--&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;’’Chapter three: Raighterra ’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;When the rain had passed, Sui went to check on Ryuu in the bedroom. As he found the boy still asleep, he begun packing. He didn’t want to wake Ryuu up, since he looked like he really needed a rest. Soon, he was done and ready to go. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;For a moment, he thought of sneaking out and leaving the boy behind, but then he remembered that Ryuu was the only one who knew the way out of here. He walked back into the bedroom and shook the shorter one’s shoulder, hoping to wake him up that way. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Ryuu slightly opened his eyes and closed them again.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Five more minutes...’’ he mumbled, trying to turn the other side.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’We have no time to waste, ’’ Sui said, an annoyed note in his voice. The last thing he needed to do was babysit some skinny brat, ’’ I’m going to leave you behind if you don’t get up now.’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;As if some magic words were said, Ryuu was wide awake and got out of the bed. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’You have anything you wanna take with you?’’ Sui asked.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Ryuu shook his head in response.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Well, then let’s get going, ’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;They took off right away. The trip was silent. Ryuu walked in the front, leading the way and Sui followed him. They walked in the forest for about an hour and then they made it to a wide road. They continued walking on the road. By another hour they arrived in the town.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;A big sign announced that the town they arrived in was named Raighterra. Sui had never been to the town before but he knew that it was one of the Eastern Towns. There were no big buildings and it rather resembled a village. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’So, umm... thank you Ryuu for bringing me here…’’&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;He began, but he suddenly noticed that the boy wasn’t with him anymore. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Damn, we must have gotten separated in the crowd... &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui thought. But since he had more important things on his mind, he didn’t bother looking for him and decided to find the&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;local inn. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;His room was rather narrow and smelled of mould. It was no better than the house in the woods, if not worse. As he was pretty tired, he went to the bar that was next door to have a drink and just relax. He had walked for a long time and was rather hungry.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The bar was dimly lit. The walls and floors were made out of big stones, giving off a medieval feeling.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Sui walked over to the bartender and took out a photo.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Have you seen this man?’’ he asked as he showed it to the bartender. On the picture there was a man in his 20s, he had white hair and red eyes. He was smiling and waving at the camera. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The bartender grunted as he turned to pay his attention to Sui. He paled as he looked at the picture. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Why do you ask...?’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’It’s my brother,’’ Sui narrowed his eyes, ’’ So have you seen him or not?’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The bartender looked suspiciously at Sui and then at the photo. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Don’t ask me... ’’ He said dryly, ’’ and I think it would be better if you left. ’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui sent a questioning look towards the bartender.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’I’m afraid I don’t understand, ’’ he said, frowning his eyebrows.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Just get the fuck out! ’’ The bartender shouted as he begun to shove Sui out of the door.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Fine, I get it! ’’ Sui was now yelling too, ’’ I’m going! Just get your hands off me! ’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He shook the bartender off and proudly walked out of the door.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui kicked a rock on his way as he walked down a narrow alley. He was getting pissed off. Wherever he asked about his brother, he either got yelled at or the people just ignored him. He grunted angrily and kicked a trash can.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;FUCKING BEINGS! FUCKING FUCKING SHITTY BEINGS!!! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;He yelled in his mind as he angrily continued walking down the street. He bet that the being who took his brothers body had killed a bunch of people here.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;As Sui was walking, he suddenly saw someone at the end of the street. He had to squint his eyes to make out the figure. He was wearing a light blue torn shirt and he had chestnut colored messy hair... it was Ryuu!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui quickened his pace and started approaching the boy more quickly. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Where were you?’’ Sui said as he got closer, ’’ I didn’t even get a chance to thank....’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;he cut off mid sentence as he felt that there was something wrong with Ryuu. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The boy just stood in the street, messy bangs covering his eyes. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Hey, you okay?’’ Sui begun. Ryuu’s head snapped up, his features turning into an ugly grin.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Well, isn’t it Sui,’’ Ryuu’s voice was low and hoarse. It wasn’t his voice anymore.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Then the fact struck Sui as hard as lightning. &lt;i&gt;Ryuu was possessed.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;But how? Didn’t he have the pendant? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Ryuu’’ let out a nasty laugh and nailed his eyes on Sui. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Ain’t it ironic, my brother possessed your brother, and now we meet here?’’ He laughed again, and begun approaching Sui.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’It’s such a pity that you have that pendant. You would make such a nice host.’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The whole time the being had been talking, Sui had slowly started backing away. He was about to make a run for it when the being noticed.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’You ain’t going anywhere, ’’ he said in his low and ugly voice and in just a moment, he was behind Sui and landed a heavy blow in his back. Sui gasped as the blow sent him flying, but he landed on his feet.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The thing with beings was that whoever their host was, they got this superhuman strength and speed. It was a real pain and fighting with them was rather hopeless but that didn’t mean Sui was going to give up.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He pulled out his two short daggers that were slightly curved at the end. He began his attack, throwing one of his daggers at the being to distract him. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Ryuu’’ easily evaded the dagger and it flew past him, into the wall. While the being had evaded the attack, Sui had kept running and the distance between the two was closing fast. Sui raised his dagger and when he thought the distance was fit, he let the dagger come down on ’’Ryuu’s’’ shoulder, pushing the dagger into it as he ran past. Reaching the wall, Sui pulled the dagger stuck into it out and using the moment of confusion, he had created while hitting the beings shoulder, he pushed the knife into his back.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Done with his attack, he pulled the daggers out of the body and quickly backed off.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He watched ’’Ryuu’’ carefully as he just stood there without moving, as if he was a statue. Suddenly, his head snapped to look at Sui so it was angled at 180 degrees. He grinned as he turned his body, the head returning to normal.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui was now sure that the host is dead. Otherwise there had been no way for him to perform such tricks. &lt;i&gt;Had he been possessed all along? Then why didn’t he kill him in the forest? Wouldn’t it have been easier?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Meanwhile, the being had started walking towards Sui at a threatening pace. Sui took in his stance, ready to protect himself from any attack that might be attempted. He kept his eyes locked on ’’Ryuu’’ as the short figure approached. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Without Sui realizing it, ’’Ryuu’’ had gotten so close to him that he could feel his breath. The next moment, a strong punch landed in his chest, pushing the air out of his lungs. Sui was sent flying and he landed against a wall with a loud thud. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He tried to stand up again. From the way he was standing, it was quite obvious that he hadn’t gotten away without suffering any serious damage. The next second, ’’Ryuu’’ was&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;already standing in front of him. His small fingers locked around his neck sealing off his air supply.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui tried to struggle but as he needed air, he didn’t have much strength left. His vision begun to blur and fade to black.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Sui closed his eyes.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;This wasn’t how he was supposed to die. He was supposed to find Kiyoshi first... He had...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Suddenly, the grip around his neck loosened. He opened his eyes again. He saw a woman and her lips were moving. She was far away and Sui couldn’t hear what she was saying but apparently the being could as his face was twisted in horror, fingers coming loose from Sui’s neck. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’shyao....danreiarge....siragargslneist......reslisjcaatd....’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The woman seemed to be chanting. She was holding something that looked like a rosary in her hands. She kept repeating the same lines over and over again. The being had taken his hands off Sui completely and was now lying on the ground, twitching in pain. There was blood coming out of his mouth and his skin was burning. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The woman bent over to the being and pulled him up by his hair. She started chanting the prayers into his ear, obviously causing the being great pain. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui couldn’t do anything but just watch what was happening in horror. After a few moments, the woman pushed the being on the ground and walked a few steps away.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’ sheyrches...adyehodames!’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The being lit on fire in a crimson flame and burned to ashes in three seconds. After the being was finished off, the woman who had been wearing a dark cloak pushed the hood down. Now Sui could see her face. She had long slightly wavy dark brown hair and hazel eyes.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’How the fuck did you do that?! ’’ Sui said, his eyes wide in a mixture of amazement and horror.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The woman reached out the hand she was holding the rosary like thing in. She opened her palm to show the its contents to Sui.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’It’s an Amoth’s pendant...’’ Sui said, ’’but I don’t understand... Don’t they just grant their owner immunity against possession...?’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’No, ’’ the woman cut him off. Her voice was loud and clear, ’’ every pendant grants the owner different power. Mine lets me kill the being... But the host will also die... ’’ she&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;said giving the pile of ashes a sad look. ’’So how did you know that it’s an Amoth’s pendant?’’ she asked, narrowing her eyes.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui thought for a moment if he should tell her about his pendant of not, but finally he took his from around his neck and showed it to the woman.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’I guess mine grants me immunity against possession...’’ he said. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The woman looked at Sui’s pendant in amazement. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’It’s the first time I’ve seen someone else with a pendant! ’’ She said, ’’I’m Narumi, nice to meet you, ’’ she said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’I’m Sui. By the way, the boy also had a pendant...’’ Sui said as he walked over to the pile of ashes, Narumi following him. She bent down and picked it out of the ashes. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’It was a fake, ’’ she declared as she showed it to Sui. “Look, the stone has cracked and turned black. If it were real, it would have remained pure even after the host’s death.’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Well... so how did you get... ’’ Sui’s sentence was cut off by a loud scream. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Without a second thought he rushed towards the direction he had heard the sound from, Narumi following him. As he turned into the next street, he heard the scream again. This time it was another voice. As he kept following the voices, he finally made it to the bar he had been to that morning and pushed the door open. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He stepped in, shocked by what he saw.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;There were dozens of people in the room. All dead. It was a bloody sight. Narumi looked grossed out as she rolled one of the dead bodies over just to discover that all of the facial skin had been peeled off.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui smiled as he walked in the room. It was the same way that the people had been murdered on the night Kiyoshi was taken. Their faces peeled off. In a public place. He could feel that his brother had been there, he could sense it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’This is the third time this kind of thing has happened...’’ Narumi said as she pushed one of the dead bodies off the chair and sat on it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’By any chance... Is this man related? ’’ He asked as he pulled out the picture of Kiyoshi. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;As Narumi saw the picture she looked surprised. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’How did you know that?’’ she asked, her voice a mix of curiosity, surprise and suspicion.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’He’s my brother, ’’ Sui grinned&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6441090218688344825-5898925539081858395?l=shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/feeds/5898925539081858395/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/10/chapter-3-raighterra.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/5898925539081858395'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/5898925539081858395'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/10/chapter-3-raighterra.html' title='Chapter 3: Raighterra'/><author><name>Shards of Horizon</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14075120385112633330</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YBm42P41YBQ/TSD4fTjfMxI/AAAAAAAAACA/nEXtBKZHgOU/S220/Kuro3-2.png'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441090218688344825.post-2055710332158778709</id><published>2010-10-15T06:07:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2010-10-15T06:07:13.773-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Chapter 2: The Meeting</title><content type='html'>&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;w:WordDocument&gt;   &lt;w:View&gt;Normal&lt;/w:View&gt;   &lt;w:Zoom&gt;0&lt;/w:Zoom&gt;   &lt;w:Compatibility&gt;    &lt;w:BreakWrappedTables/&gt;    &lt;w:SnapToGridInCell/&gt;    &lt;w:WrapTextWithPunct/&gt;    &lt;w:UseAsianBreakRules/&gt;   &lt;/w:Compatibility&gt;   &lt;w:BrowserLevel&gt;MicrosoftInternetExplorer4&lt;/w:BrowserLevel&gt;  &lt;/w:WordDocument&gt; &lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 10]&gt; &lt;style&gt; /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";}&lt;/style&gt; &lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026"/&gt; &lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;o:shapelayout v:ext="edit"&gt;   &lt;o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/&gt;  &lt;/o:shapelayout&gt;&lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;’’Chapter Two: Meeting’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;When Sui awoke it was still night. Meanwhile it had started raining. He could hear the heavy raindrops pounding against the dirty windows. He yawned loudly and got out of bed. There was no way he was going out in that weather so he decided to get something to eat while waiting for the rain to pass.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He found a small teapot in the kitchen and poured some water in it. To his surprise he found that the stove was still working. As he waited for the water to start boiling, he sat down on an old chair and begun eating an apple. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;It was his first meal since the last morning. Ever since his food supplies had been running low he had to cut down the number of meals to one. Sui was so into eating that small apple that he didnt notice the creaking of floorboards and a foreign presence.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Only when the loud whistling of the teapot announced that the tea was ready, Sui bothered to turn his head towards the door.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He gasped and dropped his apple as he noticed a boy standing in the stairway, eyes locked on him. The first thing that caught Sui’s eye, was the pendant wrapped around the boys wrist. It was a silver dragon that was eating its own tail. In the middle there was a blood red ruby. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui’s hand automatically reached to his neck and closed his fingers around a very similiar necklace. He hadn’t seen anyone else with an Amoth’s pendant before. There were only seven of them in the whole world. They gave their carrier immunity against beings. The legend says, that the pendants were granted to seven guardians, who were supposed to protect people from the beings. The pendant Sui had was passed down in his family. From the father to the second son. Sui was aware that there were also many fake pendants and he was bound by curiousity to examine the boy’s pendant more closely.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui’s eyes moved up from the pendant to the boy. He was very skinny and rather short. He had messy chestnut hair and big deep blue eyes. His skin was as pale as milk. If it wasn’t for the boys ragged state, Sui could have said that he was sort of beautiful. He estimated that&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;the&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;boy was around 13.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’I’m Sui....’’ he said cautiously, ’’ I was looking for my way out of the forest... I don’t mean any harm...’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He was replied with silence, the boys eyes nailing him in one place.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’You have a name...?’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The small boys eyes wandered from Sui to his feet and then back to Sui. He took a few steps inside the kitchen, opening and closing his mouth as if he would have tried to speak. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui took a few steps back. He knew that a boy of that size was no harm to him, but something in his mind told him to not let his guard down.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Finally the smaller boy stopped. Not removing his stare from Sui, he said quietly: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Ryuu... My name is Ryuu’’ the boy’s voice sounded fragile and weak as if it was about to break. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Well then, Ryuu, do you live here?’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The small boy nodded. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’How long...?’’ Sui just couldn’t stop the questions coming out.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’I want to eat...’’ was the only reply he got.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui sighed as he bent down for his bag. He had to admit that the boy looked skinny and it seemed that he hadn’t eaten for a long time. He took another apple from his bag and tossed it to the boy who caught it. Ryuu looked at the apple in confusion and then at Sui.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’What is this?’’ he asked, furrowing his small eyebrows.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’You don’t know what an apple is?’’ Sui asked in disbelief, ’’You eat it, its food.’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;As the boys expression didn’t ease up, Sui walked over to him and took the apple. Ryuu flinched slightly and took a small step away from Sui.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui took a bite from the apple and then gave it back to Ryuu.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’See? Its edible. ’’ he said as he walked over to the teapot and started pouring it into two small mugs he found in the counter.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Keeping a close look on the skinny boy from the corner of his eye, he noticed that the boy had started eating it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Not so bad, eh?’’ he asked, chuckling to himself as the boy didnt reply, just kept eating it. He placed the two mugs on the old tabe at the other end of the room and sat down. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He gestured Ryuu to join him. The boy understood and also took a seat. By the time Ryuu was finished with the apple, dozens of questions had made their way into Sui’s head and he thought that it was the right time to let them out.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’So... You mind if i ask you some questions?’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Ryuu shook his head.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’How long have you been living here?’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’A month, ’’ the boy answered.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui was surprised. How could someone survive in a dead forest for that long? Ryuu seemed to understand what he&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;was thinking and continued.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’There are some trees south from here that grow some fruit. They aren’t that good but its all i have. ’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’So... How did you end up here?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The boy dropped his eyes and there was a moment of silence.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’My parents were taken by the beings... The people from my village chased me out. They dont know what beings are, but i do! ’’ he said as he looked up into Sui’s eyes, as if begging for him to believe, ’’ The villagers thought that i drove them mad, that I was at fault...’’ he said quietly, ’’Do you believe me?’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui nodded, ’’I believe you,’’ he said. ’’ I’m going to try and find a way out of this forest as soon as the rain stops.’’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Take me with you!’’ Ryuu exclaimed loudly.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui was taken aback by the fact that such a small creature could have such a loud voice.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Im going to die sooner or later when i stay here so take me with you. I know the way out of the forest. There is a road nearby...’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui didn’t really need a companion but he needed to get out of the forest. He thought that he could take the boy with him and then ditch him when they get to a town. With that decision, he gave the boy an okay and told him to rest up.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’We are going to get going as soon as the rain stops so go and rest up. I ain’t gonna carry you,’’ he said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;The boy nodded and Sui guessed that he walked into the bedroom to get some sleep.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui got up and put away the dishes. He took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He looked out of the window, listening to the sound of rain. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6441090218688344825-2055710332158778709?l=shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/feeds/2055710332158778709/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/10/chapter-2-meeting.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/2055710332158778709'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/2055710332158778709'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/10/chapter-2-meeting.html' title='Chapter 2: The Meeting'/><author><name>Shards of Horizon</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14075120385112633330</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YBm42P41YBQ/TSD4fTjfMxI/AAAAAAAAACA/nEXtBKZHgOU/S220/Kuro3-2.png'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441090218688344825.post-3046313685985628602</id><published>2010-10-14T09:44:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2010-10-14T09:44:00.085-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Chapter 1 : The House</title><content type='html'>&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;w:WordDocument&gt;   &lt;w:View&gt;Normal&lt;/w:View&gt;   &lt;w:Zoom&gt;0&lt;/w:Zoom&gt;   &lt;w:Compatibility&gt;    &lt;w:BreakWrappedTables/&gt;    &lt;w:SnapToGridInCell/&gt;    &lt;w:WrapTextWithPunct/&gt;    &lt;w:UseAsianBreakRules/&gt;   &lt;/w:Compatibility&gt;   &lt;w:BrowserLevel&gt;MicrosoftInternetExplorer4&lt;/w:BrowserLevel&gt;  &lt;/w:WordDocument&gt; &lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if !mso]&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.blogger.comhttp://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /&gt; &lt;style&gt;st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }&lt;/style&gt; &lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 10]&gt; &lt;style&gt; /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";}&lt;/style&gt; &lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026"/&gt; &lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;o:shapelayout v:ext="edit"&gt;   &lt;o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/&gt;  &lt;/o:shapelayout&gt;&lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;’’Chapter One: The House’’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;It had been one month. One month since Sui’s brother was taken by the beings. Creatures, who used human bodies as hosts, sucking out their life and feeding on it. They take control of their hosts, controlling their actions. In a years time, the being and the host will become one and the host’s mind will die, leaving the body to the being.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui had set out to look for his brother Kiyoshi around a week ago but he still had no clues of whatsoever.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;He was currently in the Forest of Ivory, &lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;as the people from Town called it. It was the only way out of Town and Sui was bound to leave it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He heaved a long sigh as he took a seat on a rock. He had been lost in this damned forest for around a week already and his food supplies were running low. He knew he wouldn’t last another week at this rate and had to get out of the forest. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He closed his eyes for a minute, running his fingers through his outgrown blond hair. He breathed in deeply. Listening for any sounds, he focused all of his attention. There were no birds singing in the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Forest&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt; of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Ivory&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;. A quiet wind played with the branches of the trees. Sui could hear water flowing somewhere nearby. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Suddenly his eyes snapped open. He was sure he had heard footsteps- an animal perhaps. No, that couldn’t be. Forest of Ivory was known as one of the dead forests. No animals or birds lived there. He stiffened his body as he listened again. And again. He could swear he heard a branch snapping, as someone’s foot landed on it. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He got up from his position and begun stalking towards the direction he thought he heard the noise from. Skillfully he walked almost soundlessly, his hand slowly closing around his short dagger.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He looked around, all of his senses aware, hearing every little sound, seeing every little movement, smelling every smell. As he could hear the footsteps again, he hid behind a tree, holding his breath. The footsteps were much louder now and sounded really close.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;As Sui was sure, that whoever was there, was supposed to be behind the tree he was using as a hiding place. He stepped out, ready to cut the throat of the intruder.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He blinked a few times as he found himself completely alone. There was no sight of any human. For some moments, Sui stayed alert but after not finding anything, he let his guard down. He sighed&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;in relief but didn’t put his dagger away.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He looked around and noticed that he was standing on a small clearing. The trees surrounded it like a wall and no grass grew on the ground. It was covered in dirt and rubbles.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Sui felt good to be in the daylight again. He hadn’t even noticed how much he had missed seeing it while being in the deep forest.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;After enjoying the sunlight for a moment he continued observing his surroundings. He noticed that on the one side of the clearing the trees weren’t so thick than on the other side. He decided to go to the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;sparser part&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;, hoping to find a way out. &lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He continued walking for a good half an hour before the trees started thinning again. As he kept on walking, he noticed some sort of huge dark figure becoming visible from behind the trees.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Sui started to approach it carefully and as he got closer, he realised that it was a house. It was rather shabby looking. A part of the roof had fallen in and there were a few window glasses missing. There was weed growing up the side of the house and the wooden stairs that led to the door had rotten. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He carefully approached it. As he had made sure that the foundation was made of stone, he made his way up the rotten stairs as carefully as he could. The door, that was wide open, was hanging on the hinges as if it was about to fall off any moment. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He carefully made his way inside and looked around. To his surprise there was no dust in the house and on the inside, it looked quite neat. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;’’Anybody here ? ’’ he called out just to be answered with silence. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He took a quick look around the house and found out that it had a kitchen, a living room and a bedroom. He didn’t dare to go to the second floor as the stairs looked like they were going to collapse any second.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;He didn’t find any food in the kitchen so he decided to get some sleep. He could rest up and continue his search tomorrow. Besides it was getting late.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Sui slumped down on the big bed. It was soft and smelled of lavender, which he found strange. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span lang="ET" style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;Not bothering about the oddities, he fell asleep, not aware of the blue eyes looking at him through the dirty window.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6441090218688344825-3046313685985628602?l=shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/feeds/3046313685985628602/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/10/chapter-1-house.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/3046313685985628602'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/3046313685985628602'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/10/chapter-1-house.html' title='Chapter 1 : The House'/><author><name>Shards of Horizon</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14075120385112633330</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YBm42P41YBQ/TSD4fTjfMxI/AAAAAAAAACA/nEXtBKZHgOU/S220/Kuro3-2.png'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441090218688344825.post-3934735457986078497</id><published>2010-10-14T08:51:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2010-10-14T08:51:26.643-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Info</title><content type='html'>- So, sorry for any spelling mistakes. English is not my first language.&lt;br /&gt;-This is my first online novel, I hope you will like it ^^&lt;br /&gt;-This story is written by Britt[Hoshii] (thats me if u havent realized yet.) so it belongs to me ^^&lt;br /&gt;-The most evil Maoling is the proofreader soooo~ give her some credit x3&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6441090218688344825-3934735457986078497?l=shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/feeds/3934735457986078497/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/10/info.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/3934735457986078497'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6441090218688344825/posts/default/3934735457986078497'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://shardsofhorizon.blogspot.com/2010/10/info.html' title='Info'/><author><name>Shards of Horizon</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14075120385112633330</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YBm42P41YBQ/TSD4fTjfMxI/AAAAAAAAACA/nEXtBKZHgOU/S220/Kuro3-2.png'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
