![[Novel] The Zodiac Empire - Page 2 Empty](https://2img.net/i/empty.gif)
First topic message reminder :
Hey guys sorry bout not giving you anymore chapters of Heaven Academy yet, my editor has been MIA. So to make up for it, I'll show you the other novel im working on, The Zodiac Empire.
Read in link below or the spoiler
http://sta.sh/07llp2htzep
Last edited by Linda-Senpai on Thu Jan 21, 2016 5:55 pm; edited 1 time in total
Hey guys sorry bout not giving you anymore chapters of Heaven Academy yet, my editor has been MIA. So to make up for it, I'll show you the other novel im working on, The Zodiac Empire.
Read in link below or the spoiler
http://sta.sh/07llp2htzep
The Zodiac Empire
Prologue
Spoiler :
Raging infernos and chilling frost. They say that this is all there was when the world began. To the south lay Rafendile, a land decorated by raging flames and boiling magma, inhabited by the giants, the only ones who could stand such blistering heat. To the north, Kricade, land of the dragons, the only ones who could live in the arid deserts of snow and ice which encompassed the continent. Though these regions lay on opposite ends of the world, their winds managed to reach each other, and through this phenomenon, a long road connecting the two lands was formed. When this path appeared, both the giants and dragons were curious of what lay on the other side, and so set off to discover what was at the end of this road.
When their paths crossed, both races were caught by surprise. It didn’t take either party long to suspect the other of trying to invade their land. Wishing to avoid conflict, Nircogard, leader of the dragons, took it upon himself to try and reason with the giants. The dragons were merely curious, he explained, of what lay at the end of this road which had suddenly appeared. They hadn’t known anything but ice and snow existed in this world. In response, Egitnafir, leader of the giants, explained that they too were curious, as they’d only ever known raging flames. So, the two sides struck a deal. The dragons would allow the giants to enter their home to show them what lay there, as long as the giants did the same.
The journey to Kricade was long, but certainly worth it for the giants. They were amazed by how much land there was in Kricade. Unbeknownst to the dragons, the giants had long since outgrown Rafendile, and so needed new land to sustain their people. So, while Nircogard and Egitnafir discussed the issues of their peoples, the greedy giants made secret plans to exterminate the dragons and take Kricade for themselves. So when the dragons were lead to Rafendile, they were not prepared for the sudden attacks launched at them by the giants.
The war was long, brutal in nature, and by the time it was over, no dragon remained. However, the giants had not escaped unscathed. Few giants remained standing, burning with rage due to the death of their own leader, Egitnafir. However, the giants knew that both Nircogard and Egitnafir would be back, as the end is always followed by a new beginning. In preparation for this, and to avoid the snowstorms that suddenly ravished Rafendile, the giants carried the corpse of Nircogard into the depths of Kricade, then returned to Rafendile to await Egitnafir’s return.
Centuries passed. A new continent known as Drazilwalnd formed to the west, with the souls of the deceased reborn as a new species, known as the Casters. These revived souls had no memories of their past lives. The only ones who did were Nircogard and Egitnafir, reborn as twins. They had remembered everything. However, as they were now of the same race, they agreed there was no more reason to fight, deciding to live their lives together in peace. Yet this peace was tenuous, for one day Nircogard awoke to find his twin sister missing, left only with rumours that she had fled south, in the direction of Rafendile.
Knowing he must act quickly, Nircogard told everyone of their past lives, warning them of the dangers to come. Some laughed in his face, while others toyed with him, pretending to believe him only to go behind his back and make fun of him. No one believed him, though he couldn’t blame them. Who would believe such a ridiculous story?
Alone, the dragon king travelled north, to Kricade. The journey took two months, traveling across glaciers and deserts of snow, before he found what he was looking for. The corpse of his dragon form, buried in ice, preserved for centuries. Knowing that he must be a dragon to stand against the giants, Nircogard struck from his corpse a tooth and an eyeball, from which he crafted a wand. With the wand, his magic was enhanced tenfold, and he was able to fuse himself into his original body. Returned to dragon form, he made preparations to fly back to Drazilwalnd, but when he felt the earth rumble beneath his feet, he knew it was too late. Egitnafir had arrived.
Flying with the utmost haste to meet his sister, Nircogard was horrified to find that she’d brought with her a legion of her giants, each wearing a necklace, strung with the corpses of the people of Drazilwalnd. Overcome, first with grief, then with insatiable anger, Nircogard struck, taking Egitnafir’s head off with one blow. Though he met with his demise soon after, Nircogard was glad that he’d taken the giant’s leader from them once more.
More centuries passed. Once more, the souls of those who’d been dragons were reincarnated as Casters. But this time, the giants had been reborn as powerless humans. These humans resided in another new continent that had risen from the seas at this time, known as Maeruthan. In addition, the giants that remained received a new continent for themselves as well. Residing between Rafendile and Kricade, this continent was named Nohegimat. And, as if destiny was trying to prevent another genocide, both of these new continents were surrounded by massive walls, trying to keep these races away from each other. Through all of this, neither Nircogard nor Egitnafir had been reincarnated, but it is said that their souls are reincarnated every eight generations.
“And the baby will be the eighth, right father?” asks the little girl, sitting in her father’s lap.
Her father chuckles, running his hand through the girl’s blonde locks, “That’s right, Cosena. Soon, very soon, your brother shall be born. Then, one day, he’ll lead us all, as king. King of the Zodiac Empire.”
“That’s so cool! My baby brother is an ice-breathing dragon! Tell the rest of the story!” Cosena replies, clutching onto a teddy bear.
Her father, however, shakes his head, “Sorry Cosena, but you know daddy doesn’t like to talk about what happens next…” He turned his head away with a sigh, brushing his fingertips across the cold, metallic mask that covered the right side of his face.
“But why!? I wanna know what happens next!” Cosena whines, jumping up and down in her father’s lap.
“Because,” her father began, grabbing her gently, “You’re far too young to understand.”
“How do you know that!?”
“Because you’re… ticklish!” he grinned, tickling Cosena roughly, causing the girl to fall back, giggling uncontrollably as she thrashed about to try and get him to stop.
“N-not fair!”
“Until you stop being ticklish, you’re too young for that part of the story,” her father said, letting her sit back up, “Speaking of which, I believe it’s your bedtime. It is eight, after all.”
“But I’m not tired!” Cosena retorted, giving her father a pout before yawning, doing her best to suppress it.
“You may not be, but someone here is,” her father chuckled, reaching over to his other daughter and running his hand through her magenta hair. She stirred slightly at this, before curling up, gripping a stuffed frog that was clutched tightly between her fingers.
“But Alsen is little! I’m a big girl!” Cosena pouts before picking up her little sister and carrying her to bed, “See! I’m big enough to put Alsen to bed! So I must be big enough to stay up all night!”
“You’re a very good big sister,” he smiled, kneeling down to look Cosena in the eye “And that’s why I need you to stay by Alsen's side forever. I need you to protect her in case anything bad happens.” Cosena stood silently for a moment, then nodded. Going to turn around, she hesitated, stopping to embrace her father.
“I want to see mother…” she whimpered, hugging her father tightly.
“I know you do, Cosena, I know. But your mother is far too sick for you to be around…”
“It’s not fair… She’s been sick for so long… I miss her…”
“Don’t worry Cosena… She’ll be better soon… I promise,”
“Then we’ll be a happy family again… right?” Cosena asked, wiping a tear from her eye “You, me, Alsen, mother and the baby?”
“Yes, We will. Always,” her father replied, patting the girl on the back “Now go to bed. You’ll see your brother in the morning,”
Once Cosena is in bed, he turns off the lights and walks off, shutting the door behind him. Walking through the castle to his office, he moves straight to the balcony, stepping into the cool air, staring up at the starry night sky.
He remembers all too clearly when this land was called Drazilwalnd, full of witches and wizards like himself. He remembers that history, doomed to repeat itself, brought destruction upon Drazilwalnd. For humanity, like the giants and dragons before them, outgrew Maeruthan. Overtaken by both curiosity and need, they explored beyond the walls around their continent until they found Drazilwalnd.
He remembers the first ships. The first armies. The strategic strikes. The destruction. He remembers the mountains of corpses that lined the city streets as the humans committed genocide, like the giants before them. He remembers the smell of burning flesh, the sight of red mist, both so potent that many who escaped fell sick.
During this, one young man named Sartur Raizu realised that there was only one way for them to survive. Gathering his best friends, he dug underground and hid throughout the remainder of the war. Once over, they disguised themselves as humans and snuck on a boat back to Maeruthan. Moving forward, they began to work to create their own empire, one in which they could live in peace.
“Why am I thinking of this now…?” he mutters to himself, shaking the horrific memories from his head. He sits down at his desk, staring blankly at a picture of him, his daughters, and a beautiful woman with sky-blue eyes, her hair a swirling sea of magenta and blonde.
“Freylar… Soon our dream will come true… Soon we will live in peace…”
“MASTER SARTUR!” Looking up, he sees an older man with scarlet hair, racing over to the desk. Skidding to a stop, the man rests his hands on the desk, panting heavily.
“Yes, High Priest Zephan?” Sartur asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Y-your son… Your son has been born!” Zephan exclaims, coughing hard. He’d clearly exerted himself greatly to reach Sartur’s office, “B-but… y-your wife… s-she’s…”
Sartur blinked, looking down to his knees. His hands curl into fists as he feels rage beginning to simmer within him. He grits his teeth, not wanting to hear what the priest would say. There's just no way something like that could be true.
“I’m sorry, Master Sartur… B-but there’s one more thing… Y-you’ll have to see it to believe it! Please, come quickly!”
“Wait, you couldn’t possibly mean…?” Sartur leaps from his chair, knocking it over in surprise. Leaping over his desk, he follows on Zephan’s heels as he dashes from the office and down the hall.
When their paths crossed, both races were caught by surprise. It didn’t take either party long to suspect the other of trying to invade their land. Wishing to avoid conflict, Nircogard, leader of the dragons, took it upon himself to try and reason with the giants. The dragons were merely curious, he explained, of what lay at the end of this road which had suddenly appeared. They hadn’t known anything but ice and snow existed in this world. In response, Egitnafir, leader of the giants, explained that they too were curious, as they’d only ever known raging flames. So, the two sides struck a deal. The dragons would allow the giants to enter their home to show them what lay there, as long as the giants did the same.
The journey to Kricade was long, but certainly worth it for the giants. They were amazed by how much land there was in Kricade. Unbeknownst to the dragons, the giants had long since outgrown Rafendile, and so needed new land to sustain their people. So, while Nircogard and Egitnafir discussed the issues of their peoples, the greedy giants made secret plans to exterminate the dragons and take Kricade for themselves. So when the dragons were lead to Rafendile, they were not prepared for the sudden attacks launched at them by the giants.
The war was long, brutal in nature, and by the time it was over, no dragon remained. However, the giants had not escaped unscathed. Few giants remained standing, burning with rage due to the death of their own leader, Egitnafir. However, the giants knew that both Nircogard and Egitnafir would be back, as the end is always followed by a new beginning. In preparation for this, and to avoid the snowstorms that suddenly ravished Rafendile, the giants carried the corpse of Nircogard into the depths of Kricade, then returned to Rafendile to await Egitnafir’s return.
Centuries passed. A new continent known as Drazilwalnd formed to the west, with the souls of the deceased reborn as a new species, known as the Casters. These revived souls had no memories of their past lives. The only ones who did were Nircogard and Egitnafir, reborn as twins. They had remembered everything. However, as they were now of the same race, they agreed there was no more reason to fight, deciding to live their lives together in peace. Yet this peace was tenuous, for one day Nircogard awoke to find his twin sister missing, left only with rumours that she had fled south, in the direction of Rafendile.
Knowing he must act quickly, Nircogard told everyone of their past lives, warning them of the dangers to come. Some laughed in his face, while others toyed with him, pretending to believe him only to go behind his back and make fun of him. No one believed him, though he couldn’t blame them. Who would believe such a ridiculous story?
Alone, the dragon king travelled north, to Kricade. The journey took two months, traveling across glaciers and deserts of snow, before he found what he was looking for. The corpse of his dragon form, buried in ice, preserved for centuries. Knowing that he must be a dragon to stand against the giants, Nircogard struck from his corpse a tooth and an eyeball, from which he crafted a wand. With the wand, his magic was enhanced tenfold, and he was able to fuse himself into his original body. Returned to dragon form, he made preparations to fly back to Drazilwalnd, but when he felt the earth rumble beneath his feet, he knew it was too late. Egitnafir had arrived.
Flying with the utmost haste to meet his sister, Nircogard was horrified to find that she’d brought with her a legion of her giants, each wearing a necklace, strung with the corpses of the people of Drazilwalnd. Overcome, first with grief, then with insatiable anger, Nircogard struck, taking Egitnafir’s head off with one blow. Though he met with his demise soon after, Nircogard was glad that he’d taken the giant’s leader from them once more.
More centuries passed. Once more, the souls of those who’d been dragons were reincarnated as Casters. But this time, the giants had been reborn as powerless humans. These humans resided in another new continent that had risen from the seas at this time, known as Maeruthan. In addition, the giants that remained received a new continent for themselves as well. Residing between Rafendile and Kricade, this continent was named Nohegimat. And, as if destiny was trying to prevent another genocide, both of these new continents were surrounded by massive walls, trying to keep these races away from each other. Through all of this, neither Nircogard nor Egitnafir had been reincarnated, but it is said that their souls are reincarnated every eight generations.
“And the baby will be the eighth, right father?” asks the little girl, sitting in her father’s lap.
Her father chuckles, running his hand through the girl’s blonde locks, “That’s right, Cosena. Soon, very soon, your brother shall be born. Then, one day, he’ll lead us all, as king. King of the Zodiac Empire.”
“That’s so cool! My baby brother is an ice-breathing dragon! Tell the rest of the story!” Cosena replies, clutching onto a teddy bear.
Her father, however, shakes his head, “Sorry Cosena, but you know daddy doesn’t like to talk about what happens next…” He turned his head away with a sigh, brushing his fingertips across the cold, metallic mask that covered the right side of his face.
“But why!? I wanna know what happens next!” Cosena whines, jumping up and down in her father’s lap.
“Because,” her father began, grabbing her gently, “You’re far too young to understand.”
“How do you know that!?”
“Because you’re… ticklish!” he grinned, tickling Cosena roughly, causing the girl to fall back, giggling uncontrollably as she thrashed about to try and get him to stop.
“N-not fair!”
“Until you stop being ticklish, you’re too young for that part of the story,” her father said, letting her sit back up, “Speaking of which, I believe it’s your bedtime. It is eight, after all.”
“But I’m not tired!” Cosena retorted, giving her father a pout before yawning, doing her best to suppress it.
“You may not be, but someone here is,” her father chuckled, reaching over to his other daughter and running his hand through her magenta hair. She stirred slightly at this, before curling up, gripping a stuffed frog that was clutched tightly between her fingers.
“But Alsen is little! I’m a big girl!” Cosena pouts before picking up her little sister and carrying her to bed, “See! I’m big enough to put Alsen to bed! So I must be big enough to stay up all night!”
“You’re a very good big sister,” he smiled, kneeling down to look Cosena in the eye “And that’s why I need you to stay by Alsen's side forever. I need you to protect her in case anything bad happens.” Cosena stood silently for a moment, then nodded. Going to turn around, she hesitated, stopping to embrace her father.
“I want to see mother…” she whimpered, hugging her father tightly.
“I know you do, Cosena, I know. But your mother is far too sick for you to be around…”
“It’s not fair… She’s been sick for so long… I miss her…”
“Don’t worry Cosena… She’ll be better soon… I promise,”
“Then we’ll be a happy family again… right?” Cosena asked, wiping a tear from her eye “You, me, Alsen, mother and the baby?”
“Yes, We will. Always,” her father replied, patting the girl on the back “Now go to bed. You’ll see your brother in the morning,”
Once Cosena is in bed, he turns off the lights and walks off, shutting the door behind him. Walking through the castle to his office, he moves straight to the balcony, stepping into the cool air, staring up at the starry night sky.
He remembers all too clearly when this land was called Drazilwalnd, full of witches and wizards like himself. He remembers that history, doomed to repeat itself, brought destruction upon Drazilwalnd. For humanity, like the giants and dragons before them, outgrew Maeruthan. Overtaken by both curiosity and need, they explored beyond the walls around their continent until they found Drazilwalnd.
He remembers the first ships. The first armies. The strategic strikes. The destruction. He remembers the mountains of corpses that lined the city streets as the humans committed genocide, like the giants before them. He remembers the smell of burning flesh, the sight of red mist, both so potent that many who escaped fell sick.
During this, one young man named Sartur Raizu realised that there was only one way for them to survive. Gathering his best friends, he dug underground and hid throughout the remainder of the war. Once over, they disguised themselves as humans and snuck on a boat back to Maeruthan. Moving forward, they began to work to create their own empire, one in which they could live in peace.
“Why am I thinking of this now…?” he mutters to himself, shaking the horrific memories from his head. He sits down at his desk, staring blankly at a picture of him, his daughters, and a beautiful woman with sky-blue eyes, her hair a swirling sea of magenta and blonde.
“Freylar… Soon our dream will come true… Soon we will live in peace…”
“MASTER SARTUR!” Looking up, he sees an older man with scarlet hair, racing over to the desk. Skidding to a stop, the man rests his hands on the desk, panting heavily.
“Yes, High Priest Zephan?” Sartur asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Y-your son… Your son has been born!” Zephan exclaims, coughing hard. He’d clearly exerted himself greatly to reach Sartur’s office, “B-but… y-your wife… s-she’s…”
Sartur blinked, looking down to his knees. His hands curl into fists as he feels rage beginning to simmer within him. He grits his teeth, not wanting to hear what the priest would say. There's just no way something like that could be true.
“I’m sorry, Master Sartur… B-but there’s one more thing… Y-you’ll have to see it to believe it! Please, come quickly!”
“Wait, you couldn’t possibly mean…?” Sartur leaps from his chair, knocking it over in surprise. Leaping over his desk, he follows on Zephan’s heels as he dashes from the office and down the hall.
Last edited by Linda-Senpai on Thu Jan 21, 2016 5:55 pm; edited 1 time in total