Untitled, Unfinished Story

Is this worth finishing?

Eons ago in world where things impossible were everyday occurrences, the three Guardians of Life came into being. There was Aquana, a beautiful woman who ruled over beauty, intellect, and the sea; Terrari, A simple yet lovely woman who governed virtue, agriculture and the earth; and finally Moenakk, A handsome man who embodied battle, air, and flame.

            One day they looked upon the world, and a culture that they had not seen before had appeared. This had happened before, so they paid no attention to it. But the culture began to adopt inhuman practices, such as slavery. They built up an army and started to carve a path of blood across the world, conquering and burning.

            The Guardians were appalled by such horrible acts. They wanted to unseat this cruel empire, but the laws of the Universe prevented them from directly interfering with human affairs. Aquana and Terrari went into a state of mourning, as they were convinced that the end of their precious world was near.

            But while his sisters wept, Moenakk planned. He could not directly unseat the Empire, but he could give a small nudge in that direction. He went to the world of humans in disguise and began to seek a hero. And one day, he found one.

            “Hurry up, girl!”

            It was all Aya could do not to glare at her taskmaster, because that would just get her whipped. She grunted in acknowledgement and increased her pace. Aya hated hauling feed sacks. Out of all the jobs she did, it was by far the most exhausting. She much preferred working in the kitchens, where the worst part was the sheer monotony. But hauling feed sacks made her stronger, so she did it as often as possible. She wanted to be strong enough to one day escape her captors.

            Aya was a slave. When she was still a newborn, the Namors invaded her village and took the people captive – those who resisted were “disposed of” by the Namors. Her mother was also a slave. She worked as a maid for the governor, who was fat and ugly and vain as a peacock. Aya never knew her father. Her mother, Kanniyah, said he was a traveler who she met in the forest one day, but that was all she would say. When people asked his name, she’d respond “He had many.” And she would refuse to say anymore.

            Aya never pressed the issue. Truth be told, she wasn’t all that curious to know who her father was. He wasn’t here, so he wasn’t important, that was her philosophy. He probably doesn’t care. Aya thought bitterly. If he did, he’d be here right now.

            The taskmaster blew his whistle to signal the ten-minute lunch-break, and Aya inwardly sighed with relief. She took a small wrapped bundle out of her pocket, the lunch her mother had packed for her this morning. It would be the same as usual – hard biscuits. But when she opened it, she saw instead a small loaf of bread and some soft cheese. And a note. After getting over the initial shock of the small luxury – she could hardly believe it, real cheese! – She read the note.

            Happy Birthday, Aya. You’re officially 15. Love, Mom.

            Oh yeah, it was her birthday. She never kept track anymore. The days just seemed to blur together. Aya wolfed down the bread and cheese, savoring the taste of a decent meal. She had just finished when the taskmaster blew the whistle to work again.

            Sighing, Aya followed the other slaves to the pile of feed sacks and went back to work. Her friend Dinal, a boy her age, fell into step beside her. “Did you hear?” He asked. “The Namors are launching another attack on Fenrir’s Hollow.”

            Aya shook her head. “They never learn.” She said with a sigh. “As long as Moenakk’s blessing is on Fenrir’s Hollow, they will never fall. And there’s the Battle Academy to consider.”

            Fenrir’s Hollow was a small community of warriors and scholars to the far North, home of the prestigious Battle Academy. The founder of the Academy, Philnor, was a warrior who was revered in his time. He was very old now, but he could still fight and he taught the elite classes at the Academy.

            Also, Moenakk, the Guardian of Battle, had blessed Fenrir’s Hollow with his divine protection. All armies lost half of their men before they even reached the Hollow due to a strange sickness that only affected those with ill-intent. Messengers and traveling merchants could visit the Hollow without any trouble from the sickness. When armies finally arrived at the Hollow, they would face an army of elite warriors and archers. Fenrir’s Hollow had never lost a battle in their entire history.

            “If I ever was freed, I’d want to go to the Battle Academy and become a warrior.” Dinal said with eyes lit up. “Then I could become a Legend, like Taheen!”

            Aya raised an eyebrow. “Taheen?” She questioned. “Never heard of him.”

            Dinal looked shocked. “He’s the coolest Legend ever!” He exclaimed. “He’s an instructor at the Battle Academy, he teaches only the best of the best.” Suddenly he frowned. “But there’s a rumor that there’s a man stronger than him wandering the earth.”

            “Oh?” Aya was curious. “Tell me about him.”

            “He calls himself Reak.” Dinal explained. “People first began to spread the rumor about his strength when he came into a town and found it ransacked by some rogue Namorian soldiers. They had taken a bunch of the children – probably for slave purposes – and when they told Reak about it, he was livid. He tracked down the soldiers and killed them all, and there were fifteen of them! Nobody knows how he did it, but he did.”

            Aya was entranced by the story.

That's all I have.