Saturday, February 27, 2010

My Entry In The UO Writing Contest

The subject of the story has to be Mesanna's childhood. This was my entry I wrote this morning at 3 am (insomnia sux)! I hope you enjoy, it's just a short story!

A Story Of Young Greatness
By Slickjack of Cats
Our story begins, as most do, in a far off land, deep in Sosaria. One of the forgotten places of this world, yet one many will recognize: the notorious swamp Fens of the Dead…..
So many Lords and Ladies have graced our fair land with their fine and just rule, but many of us come from humble beginnings. These simple starts that I knew as a lad were shared by our heroine, Mesanna. She was born right near my family’s home in this dread swamp and our paths would be forever linked by this common beginning.
She was a gifted baby, which was evident right from the start. The night of her arrival even the usually hostile Lizardmen laid calm and no harassment or murders were committed. Little did we know why there was such peace. As Mesanna grew older, her abilities would grow as well. Our parents couldn’t send us to the private magic academies. We would learn our craft and hone our skills among our elders and spend our spare time dueling in the Fens….
I certainly didn’t know that Mesanna found something that would alter the rest of her life near those swamps.
There are many ruins around our land that are said to be magical places. One in particular, that we were warned against visiting, was just west of our homeland. This wicked place supposedly was home to an evil Seer, outcast for his practicing dark arts and necromancy. Being the ever inquisitive child, Mesanna couldn’t leave it be. One evening, at dusk, she struck out alone to find this old mage and find him she did….
As she drew near to the broken headstones and sunken graves, an eerie feeling crept over her. As she walk between the granite and marble blocks, the vines and grasses grew up quickly and bound her! A shadowy figure drifted out of the edge of the trees toward her but she did not fear it. As it grew close, a bright light shone around the young girl, propelling the dark mage away….. he yelled, “the prophecy is true, you have come to me, you have found me……” . The vines retracted to free the enslaved girl and with astonishment asked, “but I don’t know who you are”……
The Seer would simply reply “I am you teacher”…..
Over the coming hours, Mesanna would learn of the prophecy that the old man spoke of. He told her that SHE was the chosen one. That she would alone have great and terrible powers one day, but must learn to use and control them. He also spoke of an old and ancient society of Seers that once roamed the lands and were friends to many. She would resurrect these wizards and command them …..
She awoke from her dreams, back in her warm cottage, back in the Fens….. wondering if she could believe anything that lingered in her mind from her meeting with this old man at the ruins. Was it real, had she been transported home by the mage? Or was it merely an illusion of her imagination……. As she rose from her bed, something fell to the floor which was hardly noticeably in the dark room. Drawing nearer she realized, this was no dream! As she reached out to grasp the jet black shroud that the dark Seer had given her the night before, she knew she was the chosen one as written in the prophecy!
In time, she would have the power to wear this shroud and with it, control the army of powerful Seers to see the people of Sosaria back to a time of greatness!

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