Xanthor

[Littlelink3]

Well. It's just a story I started writing somewhat recently. I haven't gone over it much, and will probably edit some things later, but this is all I have now. (I know it's not that good.) Well, here it is.. Sorry, i forgot to warn you about the horrible "cliffhanger"... WARNING. Well, if you have any comments, you can post them.


Xanthor
Version 0.35
A Work In Progress
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In the small, underground, town of Des Roc, life never improved. Every day, people would systematically rise at about noon, when the sun shone through a medium sized crack that revealed the sky above their small community. The town was dark over half the day, with no difference throughout the seasons. It was mainly cold in the small town. Winter was the only season that brought change. All it did was make it colder. It was thought by many that it would be better up above. but it was forbidden for the people of Des Roc to travel to the above world that was widely known as the Over. It was unknown to commoners what rested on the surface of the planet. It was a secret that wasn’t allowed to be known by anyone. Not even some of the highest up people in the system. The secret was only known to one…
“Get back here you scum!” He ran as fast as he could. They were going to catch up. And when they did… He didn’t want to think about it. It was inevitable. They would get him and that would be it. “You can’t run forever freak!”
They were yelling at him again. Giving him names that had nothing to do with him. It had gotten on his nerves after a while. Though not many people actually knew his real name. Xanthor. Two years of being called by names that had nothing to do with him had made it quite annoying. All that he ever did was run away from these people. They constantly chased him for their own enjoyment and to “rid the town of the worthless”. It was almost time. They would catch up with him soon. There wasn’t much ahead. Just a small rock and a few doorways to enter. The rock was fairly tall, so It could provide some defense if he got atop it. He struggled to climb the rock as the people behind him got closer. When they finally got there, he was on the top of the rock and thinking about what to do. The others started climbing the rock. This was his chance. He jumped down on their heads and finally reached the ground. The people who were following him were piled up on the ground and were already trying to get up. He took off and ran away into one of the nearby buildings. Nobody was inside, so he wouldn’t be pointed out right away. He ran up a flight of stairs where he found a mostly empty room except for a chair and desk. He took the wooden chair and tried to smash it against the wall to get something to defend himself with.
The others heard the banging and entered the building. They searched the bottom floor until another sound was heard. The chair finally broke. He picked up a few parts of the chair and hid directly to the side of the doorway so nobody would see him from the stairs. They came up and entered the room. He used the wood in his hands and smashed the pieces on the group that had pursued him to this floor. This wasn’t enough to stop them completely, but was enough to stall them while he got away.
He ran back to his small hideout where he was usually safe from the group of people who chased him around. He only had to leave to get food and try to talk to people during the “day”. This was when they usually found him. Back in his hideaway residence, he had only a few possessions. A few light, and mostly dirty blankets, and an old sword were enough for him. The blankets could be used to keep warm and sleep on, and the sword would be used when absolutely needed. He had always wanted to go to the Over but never had enough courage to try to escape. The guards at the exit couldn’t even get up there. Xanthor had never really known anybody. Only a few people who could occasionally be seen wandering the streets. Now wasn’t the time to leave, but tomorrow, he decided, he would make a plan to get out of Des Roc.
The next morning was nothing special. Just another normal day. This was one reason he wanted to leave. Nothing ever happened. He decided to go fetch a couple pieces of food from the other end of his hideaway. He picked up a small, red fruit and bit into it. He chewed slowly and savored its sweet taste as he contemplated his plans to leave. Maybe if he could gather a big enough group, he could overpower the guards about halfway through their shifts. The other guards would be away, and no new ones would be heading there for a while. The new guards or those who weren’t used to being awake during their work hours would be the easiest to overtake. They would be tired or inexperienced. That would make the fight a lot faster so no reinforcements could arrive. All he needed to do now was get a few recruits to help break out of the small city where he lived, and get into the Over. And he knew exactly where to look.
Skief was the Drane of the present time. The only one who knew what lay above the ground. And the ceremony was beginning. Nobody would be allowed to stand in his way as he rose to Altro. The drums were beat upon slowly and dimly. The sound echoed throughout the dark granite halls of Teayra. He marched forward solely with thousands of eyes on him. The guards were struggling to hold the people in their places.
A single armored man approached him. “Have you readied yourself? We’re ready to open the Gate.”
“I am expected. None of my possessions need be carried with me.” Repied Skief.
“And you are sure of this?” The guard asked him.
“Are you sure you’re done?” He quickly answered.
“I suppose so.” The guard took a few steps back after making this statement. He knew it was time to open the Gate.
“Then it is time for me to depart.” The man stood as the guard calmly walked back out to give the order for the gate to finally slide open again. Shortly after he had spoken, a few citizens pushed back one of the new guards and made it into the main walkway. The guard had been trying to use his hands instead of holding his spear sideways to block the people like all of the other guards. This particular guard was very hot headed and immediately stuck his spear through the body of the closest person who had passed by him. A few of the nearby guards gave a strong push against the wave of people they were holding back so they would have time to stop some of those who were escaping. Only a few were left and rushed up to Skief in a small group. He quickly revealed a large metal tube with a wooden, curved end. He took the item from his cloak in an instant and aimed it at the approaching citizens. “Do you really think you are my equal? Trash like you isn’t allowed in the same places as me.” He laughed as the band of citizens approached him. The first in the group stopped as Skief opened a small compartment on the top of the weapon and inserted a couple of smaller objects. They stood nervously in front of him as he closed the compartment and positioned his hand on the wooden piece of the weapon. His finger was placed on a small trigger under the pipes. The man in back slid to the left just in time to dodge the fire from the gun. The people in front of him slowly slid to the ground as their blood spread around their bodies. The man’s hands shook while he took a few steps back. Skief loaded more ammo into the gun as the man turned around. He began to run away from the man with the weapon, but was stopped by a guard who held out his spear in front of him. He turned around just as Skief pulled the trigger again. This time, the shot hit the man. He slid a bit back, then collapsed onto the ground. Everyone else being held back stopped pushing as they saw the man dead on the ground in front of them. “Guards. If any other trash tries to get forward to create an impurity in Altro, get rid of them.” He calmly said this as he took a few more steps forward to the Gate.
A loud noise echoed from farther down the street. “What the hell was that?” Xanthor stopped running and looked down the street for the source of the sound. After a couple seconds of standing, he continued running down the street. When he reached the next street on the left, he quickly changed directions and continued to run. He slowed down after another half a block. He’d been running for a while now and was exhausted. The building was just ahead. He made his way up while half jogging. He fell against the door and stumbled into the room. Of course, it was empty. If it wasn’t, this place wouldn’t be so secret. He walked forward gasping for air and leaned against a wall. He slid down and sat for a while until he had regained some of his energy. He lifted his arm and knocked against the wall with the back of his left hand. “Hey Kore. Are you there?” He heard a bit of shuffling from behind the wall after he began to speak.
“Haven’t seen you here in a while” An unfamiliar voice spoke to him from behind.
“Of course you haven’t. You don’t even know who I am do you?” He got up and turned around to face the wall. He took a few steps back and got ready to run out the door if the person behind the wall turned out to be hostile.
“Of course I know who you are! My voice may have changed, but you’re pretty much the same.” The hidden door in the wall slid open as the unknown person spoke. “And you still use the same knock over and over again. Just one hit against the wall. You’d think that would be common wouldn’t you?” The person stepped forward. He appeared to be around the age of 14. Maybe 15 at the most. He was wearing a mildly dark green shirt, and had fairly long, dark brown hair.
“So it really is you.” Xanthor dropped his guard and spoke to his friend. “So how long have you been in there?” He asked.
“Meh. Not that long. Only a couple days.” Kore replied.
“You know. That’s still pretty long.” Xanthor said this and slid his hands into his pockets. “So why are you here?” Kore asked.
“Well. I was wondering if you wanted to finally go to the Over.” Xanthor said somewhat nervously.
“Let’s see. You want to get to the Over by defeating all of the guards and somehow making it to the gate after that?” Kore asked.
“Well, yeah. You got it perfectly.” Xanthor answered.
“Then we’ll need some supplies. I’ll get it.”
“So you’re bringing it out again Kore?” Another person stepped into the room. They were heavily armored and held a spear in their right hand. “I may not know what it is, but I heard you were going to try to defeat all of the guards. Why don’t you just try beating one first? I can’t let you get to the Over so easily you know.” The guard raised his spear and readied himself for battle.
“So you really want to fight in this small of a room?” Xanthor asked. “Fine with me.” He took out his sword and held it with both hands, the tip pointed at the guard’s head.
“You think that you could beat me? All you have is an old sword. You don’t even have any armor! Is this some kind of jo-” The man stopped talking as Xanthor pushed the sword straight through his armor. “…The hell?” The guard fell to his knees and loosened the grip on his spear. Xanthor pulled his bloody sword back out and swung it in the air to get the red off of it.
“Do you really think I would joke about something as serious as that?” Xanthor wedged his sword between the guard’s back and his armor and pried the armor off. The back was thrown to the side, and the front fell to the floor under the guard. Xanthor swiped the sword at the guard and left a cut in his arm. “If all guards are this easy, we’ll have no time getting to the Over.” Kore leaned against the wall casually and watched Xanthor as he kicked over the guard. “I’ve waited a long time to get up there. I’ll make it, and you guards won’t stop me.” He slammed the flat side of his sword against the head of the guard.
“Little…trash…” The guard spoke as his head fell to the floor and he went unconscious. His spear fell to the ground beside him and rolled away.
Kore walked over and picked up the weapon, carrying a bag on his back, and holding another in his hand. “So he thought we were trash? Could trash really defeat him?”
“It sure seemed like it.” Xanthor lifted his sword and put it back in its place.
“Maybe. He was really full of himself. Well, you probably want this.” Kore held out his arm holding the bag.
“I guess I would.” He showed a small smile as he took the bag and put it on his back over the sword.
“Well we should get going now, or we might not make it” Kore took a few steps over to the door and put his hand on the handle.
“Make it?” He asked the question and displayed a quizzical look on his face.
“Yeah, you picked the perfect time to start this up. The Drane is going to the Over right now. He’ll probably be gone when we get to the gate, but it might still be open.” Kore opened the door. “Now let’s go. The gate might close soon.” Kore dashed out the door and stopped at the end of the block. “Hurry up Xanthor!” Xanthor walked out the door and closed it slowly behind him. “Oh come on! We’re going to miss it!”
“Fine.” Xanthor jogged over to Kore and hurried with him the rest of the way to Teayra. When they finally reached there, they entered the doors to find three guards already standing directly in front of them. When they heard the sound of the doors, they turned around and positioned their spears for battle. “Sorry, but we have to get to the Over now. We can’t afford any delays.” Xanthor took his sword in his left hand and held it to his side.
“I can’t afford any delays either. It seems you’re causing another one.” The guards stood to the sides of the path as Skief spoke. “It seems that you want to get to Altro. My trip has already been delayed. Sorry for the surprise, but I’m still here.”
“Damn.” Kore muttered. “He’s still here. This’ll be harder than I thought.”
“Well, you won’t be staying here much longer. You’ll have to be leaving soon. The gate is going to close. I don’t mean you’re going with me, you’re going to die. If the gate closes, I’ll just have to wait longer. That’ll be pretty annoying. So goodbye trash.” Skief took out his weapon again and loaded the ammunition into the gun.
“You did bring it right?” Xanthor asked Kore.
“Duh. I’m prepared all the time remember?” He reached back with his hand and opened the bag on his back. “I just hope it works.” He began to take his hand out of the bag, holding a small dagger. The guards took a step back when he began to take his hand out, but stepped back up when they saw it was only a dagger.
“A two on three fight? In case you haven’t noticed, you only have a dagger and a sword. We have three spears. Our victory is eminent.” The guard jabbed his spear into the ground in front of him.
“Then why don’t you come closer and kill me?” Kore held the knife with three of his fingers. Ready to throw it when necessary.
“You really want to die? Fine with me.” The guard picked up his spear and positioned it for a throw. However, the other two guards wanted to just rush straight into battle. The first, obviously a beginner, brought his spear down from above and struck the ground. Kore Rushed over next to him and slashed at an opening in the guard’s armor on his leg. After being struck in the back of the knee, the guard collapsed onto the ground and madly flung his spear around trying to land a hit on Kore.
“Get out of the way trash.” Skief commanded in a normal tone. He lifted his weapon and aimed at the guard on the ground. The guard turned to see what Skief had said when he pulled the trigger. The guard slid back a few inches after being hit. The gun was a powerful one. More people pushed up from the depths of the crowds to see what had happened, while the people in front drifted back.
“So you were the one who made that noise before.” Xanthor began to walk toward Skief. “If you’ll excuse me, it’s time for me to get to the Over.
“What other lies will the trash tell?” Skief reloaded his gun again and aimed at Xanthor. Xanthor raised his sword to block as the other guards backed away into the awed crowd.
“You have to use that to defeat me?” Xanthor held his sword tighter and got ready to move it and block Skief’s fire.
“It was made to make killing easier. That is what it shall do.” He moved the gun to the lower left on the ground and swung it back up and fired at Xanthor. The sword blocked the shot, but rumbled in Xanthor’s hands as he held it. “I guess a normal shot can’t beat that sword.” Skief reloaded the gun again, but this time he concentrated on one point.
“You think you can break through this sword? Didn’t you see what happened last…” Xanthor froze as he heard the loud bang of the gun shooting the bullet. This one was different. It had a blue glow on it. It crashed into the center of the sword. Xanthor once again felt the shot hit the sword. “I told you it wouldn’t work.” He held up the sword to show that it had blocked yet another shot. “What?” Xanthor noticed a large hole in the center of the sword. It wasn’t a normal, round hole. This one was shaped like the blade of the sword itself. “What the hell just happened?”
“It shouldn’t really matter to you trash, but I removed the heart of your blade. The part of it that gives the rest support and strength. Without it, your sword is weak.” Skief loaded his gun once again, turned around and began to walk towards the gate.
“It’s still a blade. It can cut you down.” Xanthor grasped the hilt of the blade even tighter with his hand. His palms began to sweat as he advanced closer to Skief. Skief stopped walking after he had almost reached the gate. Xanthor did the same. Almost expectedly, Skief turned around and fired his weapon. Instinctively, Xanthor brought up his sword, even though the blade no longer possessed a “heart”. He shut his eyes and tried to take his mind off of the bullet riding towards him on the air. However, he did not feel the pain. His arms felt as if a bullet had once again hit the sword. He opened his eyes about halfway to see what had happened. The heart of his sword had been replaced with a black substance. Skief stood staring in awe at the sword.
“Another cheap trick garbage?” Skief stood up straight and acted as if nothing had happened.
“It wasn’t a trick! Didn’t you see what he did?” Kore stepped forward, finally taking his eyes off of the guards and the sword.
“Whatever it was, it doesn’t matter. The gate is closing. I’ll be the last to get to Altro. Nobody will follow, and I shall rule.” Skief stepped forward into the Gate and began to disappear. After all, it wasn’t a normal gate. Xanthor and Kore began to dash forward. The guards who hadn’t been paying attention to their jobs, were pushed back by the onslaught of people they were supposed to be containing. The gate began to close before them all.
“Damn! It can’t close now!” Xanthor sped up and almost fell over as he ran toward the gate. The portal like gate had almost disappeared. A few of the guards had left behind their armor and began to throw their spears to stop the others. The last thing he saw was a blinding light flash.