Thought Directory

Monday, May 23, 2011

The Book of Ages

Hey there, classmates.
I thought it would be nice to give you a preview of my novel, The Book of Ages. It's a fantasy novel written in a fast-paced style, and very family oriented, trust me.

So without further ado, I give you:

The Book of Ages
By Jacob A. Howard


The wind rustled the leaves on the now nearly bronzed forest floor. He took a deep, silent breath and pulled back the string of his bow a bit tighter, waiting for just the right moment. The bear looked up from the ground and sniffed the air; he knew something was amiss. At that moment, Thadius Groffson saw his chance to strike. He let the arrow fly with the accuracy of a well-trained hunter, but the bear proved to be much more cunning than he previously thought. It moved its head just slightly to the right and the arrow instead pierced the bark of a tall oak.  The bear turned its sights directly on him and growled fiercely. Backing up slightly, it reared up and stood on its hind legs growling even louder than before. Thadius  shot another arrow and it pierced the bear's stomach. It was a fierce wound, but in the bear's rage it proved only to stagger it in its advance.  As it pawed forward with enough force to knock a grown man flat against a tree thirty feet away, Thadius barely had enough time to draw his hunting knives, turn to the side to avoid the attack, and slice at the bears paws, wounding it badly. Barely enough time indeed, but then, it's what he was trained for. He spun around and stabbed the knives into the bear's fur covered back. It proved enough to drop the grizzly to the ground. He almost smiled at his victory over his opponent, but he knew in the end it was a failure. Master Ironhand gave him the task to kill the bear silently, and in that he had ultimately failed. His master would be displeased indeed.  He sighed heavily, and made his way back to the clearing which was where he was to rendezvous with his soon to be disappointed master. When he saw that his master had not yet arrived, he sat down cross-legged on the ground. The clearing was a rather beautiful site, surrounded by many old oaks and pines, it proved impervious to people with nosey intentions. Therefore, when he took Thadius as his apprentice, Lord Ironhand chose the clearing to be their point of training. The interior of the clearing consisted of a rack stocked with many leather-gripped bows in good condition, two barrels of arrows, three targets,- each further from the mark than the one before it- and one severely abused training dummy. He breathed in the scent of the freshly crushed pine needles, a smell that this forest was well known for. As he closed his eyes to enjoy the peaceful moment, he heard a growl at the edge of the clearing. He shot up to his feet and drew his hunting knives, for he had unstrung his bow after the fight with the bear. Out of the shadow of one of the lower trees, stepped a clawed, reptilian foot. At that moment, Thadius knew that the creature was a raptor, and he also knew that it was out for a feast. The brave hunter was not at all going to be a feast for this reptile. The raptor proved to be a speedy opponent, for it rushed out from the edge of the clearing and arrived in front of Thadius so fast, he barely had time to ready himself. It snapped at his head, but he ducked. It then whipped its tail around, and knocked Thadius' feet out from under him. He tried to crawl backwards toward the forest, but the raptor stamped one foot on his chest. he knew that if the raptor's one giant claw on that notched back toe snapped down on his heart, he would be dead within seconds. Just then he heard someone speaking in the Tongue of Magic, and he began to feel immensely cold. Suddenly the raptor was frozen on top of him. It fell to one side, it's neck snapped, and its head rolled off its body. He looked to the place where he heard the voice, and there standing on the northern edge of the forest, in all his splendid grandeur, was his amazing master, Lord Ironhand. 

                     ********

So there you have it, classmates. But a taste of what's to come. I hope you liked that bit and I also hope you'll leave me some feedback in the comment section below.

Now, as I said before, I'm taking a long break from writing on my novel. It might be a month or two before you get another update/sneak-peak of it.

Anyways, I finally decided to stick with the latest template on my new blog. Hope you guys like it. Of course, I won't be stopping posts here on my thought-blog. To say goodbye to it would be like leaving and old friend that it's not necessary to leave. Speaking of goodbyes, I bid you farewell, classmates.
Leave your short stories, inspirations, or criticism in the comment section below.

As always, your host,

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