The skies were cloaked in the sable of night, with neither moon nor star to break the still tranquility that lay upon the world. Lying stretched beneath the bowing limbs of an ancient willow, Danthor Balewind watched the quiet waters of the river slip past. Danthor was a quaint figure, a lone wanderer who made his home under the wide sky. 1
He wore a white tunic and darkly colored slacks, with a long ebony cloak that rested upon his powerful shoulders to end, trailing, at his heels. His leather boots were padded with soft material, to quiet his steps, and the belt he wore at his waist was studded with beads of amber and jade chips. Like the water by which he lay, Danthor made no sound. His dark eyes searched the opposite bank warily, alert to every detail and movement. From under the willow, he could see the wings of a moth stirring as it flew through the reeds some distance away.2
Breathing lightly, the wanderer sat upright and spoke to no one in particular, "Eels dwell in that water. It's not wise to tread there, young friend." 3
From the darkness a boy came hurriedly wading in to the bank. He was covered from head to foot with rank mud, his eyes barely visible under the hair that was plastered to his face. Smiling sheepishly, the boy scrambled up to where Danthor sat and began scrubbing furiously at his face with a grimy hand.4
"I ha't seen you 'round 'er 'fore." The boy mumbled as he tried to clear his vision. "How di' you know 'bout the h'eels?"5
Danthor politely refrained from gagging as a foul stench hit his nostrils. "I learned to find and see things that others would most likely not take notice of. You look as if you're in need of a wash, young one. What happened to you, that you ended up like that?"6
Grinning, the boy shrugged. He avoided the question, saying instead, "You h'are a wan'er, 'ight? Whatcha goin' t' do, mis'er?"7
Danthor shook his head at the broken speech of the the boy, but did not correct him. He stared up to the black labyrinth of the night, as if lost in thought. The boy peered at Danthor, wondering if the old wanderer had fallen asleep. 8
Danthor's eyes were closed and he breathed gently, like one caught in the realm of slumber. Then he spoke. "I shall rest here a while, my friend. In the morning I will set out, to wherever the road leads me. You are right-I am a wanderer. I never really think of where to go or why, I merely walk and see where it takes me. And you, young one? Where do you plan on going?"9
The boy fiddled with a blade of grass and didn't answer. Danthor chuckled. "A little runaway or just a boy who doesn't want a bath, eh? Go on, back to your family or home, and wash that filth from your face. It is late, and the woods are no place for a boy."10
Visibly crestfallen, the boy rose and trudged off slowly, until a playful growl from Danthor sent him scurrying. Shaking his head, Danthor settled back down. For a moment, and a moment only, he reflected on the boy's question as to where he was headed. He wondered if he should travel towards civilization or into the forest once again, where he could use nature's bounty to restock his supplies.11
It was not long after that Danthor fell to the peaceful depths of sleep. Lying on his side under the willow, with the gentle music of water humming in his ears, the wanderer drifted off. If he dreamed that night, he would not remember having done so upon waking the following dawn. But if he did indeed dream, than what sort of dream would it be? A wanderer, alone on a path that leads on to nowhere, with nowhere to go and no one to see...what would he dream?
Author notes
Every person has a shadow, yet were fear them, and when one fears, they turn to light. But, what if that light is evil...
Danthor :
age-late twenties
eye color-deep blue, like a storm tossed sea
hair color-sandy brown
ocupation-wanderer with a mysterious past
I'll have part 2 soon! Thank you for reading! I plan on finishing this one, and I want to know how people feel about it. It will be my summer project. Hope you'll enjoy the twists and adventure, thanks again!
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Comments
1 - 11 of 11
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Bravo! It's excellent. I found a few errors =o
"From his under the willow..." This is in the second paragraph and from what I see it does not make proper sense. You could simply remove "his", or insert a noun after his. You have also spelled "exert" rather than "excerpt". In paragraph two you should change "boot" to its plural form "boots". Overall, fantastic work! I wouldn't expect anything less from you ;D -
Beautiful! It draws me in! Enthralling until the last word!
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Thank you for reading, and I'm glad you liked it
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"It was not long after that Danthor fell to peaceful the depths of sleep." Hannah, this sentence is the first sentence in the last paragraph and I know when people are writing they sometimes get their ideas out and think they are typing it correctly but they misplace a word or so, so I think the sentence should be "It was not long after that Danthor fell to the peaceful depths of sleep." Okie I'm just telling you... Okie from editing aside. I think this story has a very nice calm beginning. Danthor sounds like quite the mysterious character indeed! I myself also wonders what he will dream of =p. Hehe I guess the boy asking him if he's a wanderer helped him to learn a bit about himself as well. Oh!! And the description were marvelous
. Danthor sounds hot =p. Your author notes got me thinking. Yes but what if... what if the light or "that light"is evil. How wondrous. Thank you for the great read! I'm looking forward to your next chapter. ^_^ Have a great day as well!! Love <3 Jessie. (hehe glad the boy isn't a main charater his grammar would've drove me nuts 0_o.)
<3
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Um, Jessy, you said exactly what I did....? I'm afraid I wouldn't know what he would dream of. Quite the mystery, isn't it? I call Danthor 'old' a lot, because this is in a time period in which people don't live very long lives. And I did think of having the boy be a main character, but changed my mind
Thanks, Jess!
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Oh NOOEZ!!!
Lissy hafta wait again!
You so cruel! I like Danthor! He's mysterious and kind and cool! OOOoh! I wanna see him in a battle! I bet he kicks a$$! XD And the boy...hrm...wonder who he is? His speech is so cute! I wanna hug him-after he takes that bath! Beautiful opening paragraph and fluid imagery consistent throughout the rest. I love it! Gorgeous! You have to draw a picture of Danthor for me! I command you! 
*evil grin*
Excellent writing as always!
-Lissy
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Aw, but it will take me awhile to get him just right...And you always say that I did well You're to nice for your own good Lissy
But you're still a great friend
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it was amazing! I cant wait to read the rest! could you look at my stories?
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Thank you And sure, I'll look at your stories Though it'll possibly be tomorrow before I can-I'm working on the next chapter right now
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YAYA! it's amazing. sorry if i sound like hyper... but it's just amazing... i love this story... and you should FINISH it cause i'm dying to read more
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I aim to finish it I'm working on the next bit, but since I'm being kind of lazy right now, I've put most of the chapters in parts of 2 or 3
So there'll be quite a few here by the time I'm done
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