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Hello ladies and gentlemen! Gray Remnant here! As you all know, I've been writing a backstory for The Citadel, and today I proudly present the first chapter of the first book. Book 1 is entitled 'Ascension' and will consist of around 20 chapters (more or less). Please enjoy Chapter 1 - The Fall.
It was the first day of autumn. Though, to be fair, it had felt like autumn for a while. The trees were already shedding their amber leaves, and the air was cold. Fall had come unseasonably early this year, and winter trailed not far behind.
Such were the conditions Reika Tachyon found herself in on this cold autumn day. Reika was a girl of 15 years, once again taking the long walk home after a long day at school. Most kids her age hadn’t a care in the world, but Reika was different. She had a mind teeming with thoughts, and on this day she thought of wolves.
A vast forest, thick with pine trees and stirring with unknown wildlife surrounded Reika’s small village, and her route home from school took her along the perimeter. Flanked by tremendous evergreens on her left, and supporting a ragged backpack, one strap broken, Reika looked out and dreamed of a life on the other side.
Born in poverty, and oppressed by her drunken reprobate parents, how could she not dream of such things? “Maybe today will be the day”, she muttered to herself while her long black hair draped and bounced atop her shoulders. She had thought of running away many times, but she was far too smart for such a thing. After all, who would take in a scrawny, unkept child like herself? Probably no one.
But today, Reika felt particularly rebellious, and so instead of turning right, she turned left down an unfamiliar dirt road. And then, with the sun setting behind her, Reika faced the thick mass of trees, like a dark chasm. “I could die in there”, Reika thought as she considered what she was about to do. “What does it matter, I have nothing waiting for me at home”, was the deciding thought that prompted her first step into the darkness.
Which brings us back to the topic of wolves. For it was not fear of merely getting lost and starving to death that had prevented Reika from doing this before. Rather, it was the threat of being torn apart by a pack of ravenous canines, an event that had actually happened to children before in her small mountain town. Indeed, that was the one thing the otherwise fearless girl shuddered at the thought of, but on this day fear no longer bore any weight.
It wasn’t but a minute before Reika found herself tripping head over heels, landing face down in the cold dirt. “God damn it, theres roots everywhere”, Reika swore under her breath. And it was then that she heard the oh so slight sound of a twig snapping somewhere in the vicinity. She lay still, waiting and watching, but nothing happened. She exhaled and picked herself up, brushing the dirt from her ragged shirt and jeans.
The sunlight had become noticeably scarce at this point, which prompted Reika to reach into the side pocket of her pack, pulling out a small dented flashlight. It was probably the most expensive thing she owned, and not surprisingly, she had to hit it a few times to get it working. The light flickered a few times and then held strong, providing some illumination to her surroundings.
Her bearings once more in check, Reika proceeded through the dense trees. She had heard of another town a mile or two east, which made her pick up the pace. After an undefined period of time (what felt like hours to her), Reika saw something luminous on the horizon. As she emerged from the trees, her sights fell upon a house, bigger than any in her small village. She crouched behind a bush and surveyed the area.
To her left was an elaborate swing set, with a slide and a trampoline. For a 15-year-old in an impoverished school, this was like some kind of paradise. To her right, a marble patio with a built in pool, covered with a tarp for the upcoming winter season. Reika had only heard tales of luxury like this.
But is was the scene in front of her that really caught her attention. There, behind a brightly lit first floor window, sat a family of five enjoying a hearty meal. They were indulging in something lavish that Reika was too naive to recognize as a rib roast. The children bore smiles, and the parents passed plates piled with luscious food around the table.
It was at this most cathartic moment that Reika had the strangest of epiphanies. Why were they fed and she not? Why was their home grand, and her’s almost uninhabitable? These questions flashed through her mind ad nauseam, and then she came to a profound realization. She was more like the wolves than she was this happy family.
Reika had spent her entire life fearing the pack hunters that surrounded her village, when in fact they were, all of them, animal outcasts from these people’s perspective. There, sitting crouched in the foliage watching potential prey eat a meal, Reika realized the obvious truth. “I’m not like these people; I don’t belong here”. And with that, Reika scurried back into the woods, heading home.
Reika ran as fast as her legs could carry her, dodging the occasional fallen branches, roots, and rocks. “How could I have been so stupid?”, she asked herself. “What was going to happen, best case scenario? Were they going to adopt me and care for me like one of there own?” Finally, Reika’s feet failed her and she found herself, once again, face down amongst the fallen leaves.
She lied there for a while, catching her breath and getting her bearings. “Wow, I’m an idiot” she said almost out loud. “Let’s run into the forest and play renegade”, she chuckled. Most girls would probably be bawling their eyes out at this point, but Reika found the situation most entertaining. After all, she’d be dealing with her imbecile parents right now, had she gone straight home. This wasn’t all that bad in comparison.
Of course, that euphoria came to a quick and distinct end as Reika heard the most peculiar of noises. A low gurgling sound, like a guttural roar slowly unfolding sent chills down the fallen girl’s spine. She slowly lifted her head only to be confronted by her worst and, currently, only fear. Two eyes, bright red and piercing, accompanied by a jagged row of teeth. The wolves had come.
At first Reika had the impression that she was facing a lone adversary, but she knew better. One by one the members of the wolf pack emerged from the dense forestry into the clearing, all ragged and ravenous. Reika slowly got to her feet, her hands raised, as if in a non-antagonistic gesture. She took a step back, only to find that the wolves didn’t like that. They crept closer, the circle shrinking.
But Reika wasn’t stupid, she knew standing still was a death sentence, and so she ran instead. Back out through the clearing, in the direction she could only hope was homeward, she sprinted through the trees, the canine pack in hot pursuit. She dared to cast a look over her shoulder only to see one of the predators bite at her heels. Luckily, it came up short and clamped down on the back of her left shoe. She fell hard to the ground, slipped the shoe off, and immediately took off again.
The assailant remained behind, her shoe ripped to bits in it’s teeth. Reika weaved her way through the forest, trying to take the most sporadic of routes in order to lose the pursuers. But they were faster, and they knew the environment better. The gap between the girl and the dogs closed rapidly, and Reika was about to meet a most unpleasant of ends.
She almost certainly would have, had the ground not collapsed under her feet. To Reika’s surprise, she felt herself fall, unexpectedly, into the darkness. She went head over heals into the pit, and hit the ground hard.
Minutes passed, and Reika eventually regained consciousness, only to find herself in a dark place. A sliver of light shown down upon her from above. At first, she wasn’t at all aware what had happened to her. “Am I dead?”, she thought. Perhaps the wolves had gotten her, and she had found herself in some hellish afterlife. But, as she looked up at the light, she knew that wasn’t the case. She made out the silhouette of one of her attackers standing above, watching her. But the dog did not stand by, and quickly departed.
Reika decided to try to get to her feat, a decision she quickly regretted as she felt a sharp pain in her side. She had fallen awkwardly, and had consequently broken two of her ribs, though she hadn’t any idea at the time. She coughed up blood and wiped it carelessly on the hem of her shirt. Reaching into her pack, she grabbed her flashlight and tried to turn it on, to no avail. She hit it three times, and her surroundings lit up.
She was in a cave of some sort, vines hanging down from above, the ground cold and rocky. Above her was the hole from which she had fallen, and in front of her a ruinous doorway of some kind. She stepped forward, wincing in pain, and grabbed the wall for support. Slowly, she made her way through the archway.
What she found on the other side surprised her at first. Such an odd thing to find in a hole in the ground. But nonetheless, Reika’s eyes saw what she could only interpret as an altar. It was hand-chiseled with strange drawings that she tried to make out, but her flashlight failed. “Damn it!” she shrieked as she knocked it about. No success this time, though; the flashlight was dead.
Suddenly, Reika realized that there was something else in the room, an object on the alter emitting a strange glow. While not a plentiful source of light, it gave her some vague idea of where she was standing and she stepped forward. There sitting on top of the altar, was a gemstone of the deepest shade of amber. Reika’s mouth hung open; she could hardly believe what she was seeing.
Reika, a child of poverty, had only ever dreamt of coming across an item like this. She extended her arm, as if to touch it, but quickly retracted. She felt the strangest sensation, a sort of impending doom. She felt dizzy, and realized that her head was bleeding. Perhaps she had suffered a concussion on the way down, and she logically accepted it as the source of her profound sense of fear.
So, once again, Reika reached out to touch the stone. The tips of her fingers grazed its surface, and Reika’s world immediately went dark. The glow from the stone ceased, the room spun, and she knew no more.
Thus began the fall of man. The fall of civilization. The fall of all. And Reika Tachyon, who knew it or not, would end up with the fate of the world in her hands.
Thank you very much for reading! If you liked this story, please consider tossing me a diamond. If you're wondering what happened to 'Week in Review', I'm sorry to say that the mods took it down. Nevertheless, you can continue to stay up to date with Week in Review on my Youtube Channel. I highly suggest you subscribe to me there in order to get updates. Thanks for the support you guys. See you next time!
It was the first day of autumn. Though, to be fair, it had felt like autumn for a while. The trees were already shedding their amber leaves, and the air was cold. Fall had come unseasonably early this year, and winter trailed not far behind.
Such were the conditions Reika Tachyon found herself in on this cold autumn day. Reika was a girl of 15 years, once again taking the long walk home after a long day at school. Most kids her age hadn’t a care in the world, but Reika was different. She had a mind teeming with thoughts, and on this day she thought of wolves.
A vast forest, thick with pine trees and stirring with unknown wildlife surrounded Reika’s small village, and her route home from school took her along the perimeter. Flanked by tremendous evergreens on her left, and supporting a ragged backpack, one strap broken, Reika looked out and dreamed of a life on the other side.
Born in poverty, and oppressed by her drunken reprobate parents, how could she not dream of such things? “Maybe today will be the day”, she muttered to herself while her long black hair draped and bounced atop her shoulders. She had thought of running away many times, but she was far too smart for such a thing. After all, who would take in a scrawny, unkept child like herself? Probably no one.
But today, Reika felt particularly rebellious, and so instead of turning right, she turned left down an unfamiliar dirt road. And then, with the sun setting behind her, Reika faced the thick mass of trees, like a dark chasm. “I could die in there”, Reika thought as she considered what she was about to do. “What does it matter, I have nothing waiting for me at home”, was the deciding thought that prompted her first step into the darkness.
Which brings us back to the topic of wolves. For it was not fear of merely getting lost and starving to death that had prevented Reika from doing this before. Rather, it was the threat of being torn apart by a pack of ravenous canines, an event that had actually happened to children before in her small mountain town. Indeed, that was the one thing the otherwise fearless girl shuddered at the thought of, but on this day fear no longer bore any weight.
It wasn’t but a minute before Reika found herself tripping head over heels, landing face down in the cold dirt. “God damn it, theres roots everywhere”, Reika swore under her breath. And it was then that she heard the oh so slight sound of a twig snapping somewhere in the vicinity. She lay still, waiting and watching, but nothing happened. She exhaled and picked herself up, brushing the dirt from her ragged shirt and jeans.
The sunlight had become noticeably scarce at this point, which prompted Reika to reach into the side pocket of her pack, pulling out a small dented flashlight. It was probably the most expensive thing she owned, and not surprisingly, she had to hit it a few times to get it working. The light flickered a few times and then held strong, providing some illumination to her surroundings.
Her bearings once more in check, Reika proceeded through the dense trees. She had heard of another town a mile or two east, which made her pick up the pace. After an undefined period of time (what felt like hours to her), Reika saw something luminous on the horizon. As she emerged from the trees, her sights fell upon a house, bigger than any in her small village. She crouched behind a bush and surveyed the area.
To her left was an elaborate swing set, with a slide and a trampoline. For a 15-year-old in an impoverished school, this was like some kind of paradise. To her right, a marble patio with a built in pool, covered with a tarp for the upcoming winter season. Reika had only heard tales of luxury like this.
But is was the scene in front of her that really caught her attention. There, behind a brightly lit first floor window, sat a family of five enjoying a hearty meal. They were indulging in something lavish that Reika was too naive to recognize as a rib roast. The children bore smiles, and the parents passed plates piled with luscious food around the table.
It was at this most cathartic moment that Reika had the strangest of epiphanies. Why were they fed and she not? Why was their home grand, and her’s almost uninhabitable? These questions flashed through her mind ad nauseam, and then she came to a profound realization. She was more like the wolves than she was this happy family.
Reika had spent her entire life fearing the pack hunters that surrounded her village, when in fact they were, all of them, animal outcasts from these people’s perspective. There, sitting crouched in the foliage watching potential prey eat a meal, Reika realized the obvious truth. “I’m not like these people; I don’t belong here”. And with that, Reika scurried back into the woods, heading home.
Reika ran as fast as her legs could carry her, dodging the occasional fallen branches, roots, and rocks. “How could I have been so stupid?”, she asked herself. “What was going to happen, best case scenario? Were they going to adopt me and care for me like one of there own?” Finally, Reika’s feet failed her and she found herself, once again, face down amongst the fallen leaves.
She lied there for a while, catching her breath and getting her bearings. “Wow, I’m an idiot” she said almost out loud. “Let’s run into the forest and play renegade”, she chuckled. Most girls would probably be bawling their eyes out at this point, but Reika found the situation most entertaining. After all, she’d be dealing with her imbecile parents right now, had she gone straight home. This wasn’t all that bad in comparison.
Of course, that euphoria came to a quick and distinct end as Reika heard the most peculiar of noises. A low gurgling sound, like a guttural roar slowly unfolding sent chills down the fallen girl’s spine. She slowly lifted her head only to be confronted by her worst and, currently, only fear. Two eyes, bright red and piercing, accompanied by a jagged row of teeth. The wolves had come.
At first Reika had the impression that she was facing a lone adversary, but she knew better. One by one the members of the wolf pack emerged from the dense forestry into the clearing, all ragged and ravenous. Reika slowly got to her feet, her hands raised, as if in a non-antagonistic gesture. She took a step back, only to find that the wolves didn’t like that. They crept closer, the circle shrinking.
But Reika wasn’t stupid, she knew standing still was a death sentence, and so she ran instead. Back out through the clearing, in the direction she could only hope was homeward, she sprinted through the trees, the canine pack in hot pursuit. She dared to cast a look over her shoulder only to see one of the predators bite at her heels. Luckily, it came up short and clamped down on the back of her left shoe. She fell hard to the ground, slipped the shoe off, and immediately took off again.
The assailant remained behind, her shoe ripped to bits in it’s teeth. Reika weaved her way through the forest, trying to take the most sporadic of routes in order to lose the pursuers. But they were faster, and they knew the environment better. The gap between the girl and the dogs closed rapidly, and Reika was about to meet a most unpleasant of ends.
She almost certainly would have, had the ground not collapsed under her feet. To Reika’s surprise, she felt herself fall, unexpectedly, into the darkness. She went head over heals into the pit, and hit the ground hard.
Minutes passed, and Reika eventually regained consciousness, only to find herself in a dark place. A sliver of light shown down upon her from above. At first, she wasn’t at all aware what had happened to her. “Am I dead?”, she thought. Perhaps the wolves had gotten her, and she had found herself in some hellish afterlife. But, as she looked up at the light, she knew that wasn’t the case. She made out the silhouette of one of her attackers standing above, watching her. But the dog did not stand by, and quickly departed.
Reika decided to try to get to her feat, a decision she quickly regretted as she felt a sharp pain in her side. She had fallen awkwardly, and had consequently broken two of her ribs, though she hadn’t any idea at the time. She coughed up blood and wiped it carelessly on the hem of her shirt. Reaching into her pack, she grabbed her flashlight and tried to turn it on, to no avail. She hit it three times, and her surroundings lit up.
She was in a cave of some sort, vines hanging down from above, the ground cold and rocky. Above her was the hole from which she had fallen, and in front of her a ruinous doorway of some kind. She stepped forward, wincing in pain, and grabbed the wall for support. Slowly, she made her way through the archway.
What she found on the other side surprised her at first. Such an odd thing to find in a hole in the ground. But nonetheless, Reika’s eyes saw what she could only interpret as an altar. It was hand-chiseled with strange drawings that she tried to make out, but her flashlight failed. “Damn it!” she shrieked as she knocked it about. No success this time, though; the flashlight was dead.
Suddenly, Reika realized that there was something else in the room, an object on the alter emitting a strange glow. While not a plentiful source of light, it gave her some vague idea of where she was standing and she stepped forward. There sitting on top of the altar, was a gemstone of the deepest shade of amber. Reika’s mouth hung open; she could hardly believe what she was seeing.
Reika, a child of poverty, had only ever dreamt of coming across an item like this. She extended her arm, as if to touch it, but quickly retracted. She felt the strangest sensation, a sort of impending doom. She felt dizzy, and realized that her head was bleeding. Perhaps she had suffered a concussion on the way down, and she logically accepted it as the source of her profound sense of fear.
So, once again, Reika reached out to touch the stone. The tips of her fingers grazed its surface, and Reika’s world immediately went dark. The glow from the stone ceased, the room spun, and she knew no more.
Thus began the fall of man. The fall of civilization. The fall of all. And Reika Tachyon, who knew it or not, would end up with the fate of the world in her hands.
Thank you very much for reading! If you liked this story, please consider tossing me a diamond. If you're wondering what happened to 'Week in Review', I'm sorry to say that the mods took it down. Nevertheless, you can continue to stay up to date with Week in Review on my Youtube Channel. I highly suggest you subscribe to me there in order to get updates. Thanks for the support you guys. See you next time!
-Gray Remnant
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Also, I'd love to see some type of story in the future that revolves around a dark palace of some sort. I don't know why, I just really love those stories. In addition, ever since I read Allegory of the Antithetical Creeper - The Baleful Sound of Wrath, your writing's had me hooked!