OoC: 400 words? Should be easy enough. Here's
Chetarren Caesar. Now, let’s see…
BiC: The stag he was stalking seemed oblivious of the aging centaur barely a dozen metres away. It walked through the wood, pausing to nibble at random patches of fresh grass pushing up through the soil.
Silently raising his spear, Chetarren prepared to kill the stag. Having eaten nothing for four days, he knew it was either the stag’s death or his starvation, because there were few beasts in or out of the forest with enough meat on their bones to feed a full-grown centaur. But this knowledge couldn’t stop the small twinge of sadness at the prospect of such a magnificent creature dying in it’s prime.
Chetarren threw his spear with all the strength he had in his body. Seeming to sense it’s impending doom, the stag suddenly looked up from the grass and locked it’s gaze with Chetarren’s own for a single, short moment before the spear passed through it’s neck. Jerking once, the creature fell to the ground, dead. That night, Chetarren fed well.
Two days after he killed the stag, Chetarren’s wanderings took him into the heart of the forest. The trees grew thick here, blocking much of the light and leaving the forest floor bare. There was a sense of age about the place, a feeling of untold millennia pressing down on the centaur’s shoulders. Strangely, the pressure lightened his mood, reminding him that his life was but a short span in the annals of the world he lived in. It made him feel decades younger.
Intrigued by something for the first time since he left his home, Chetarren forged ahead, moving deeper into the forest. The further he went, the more the feeling grew, and the lighter his soul began to feel. At least, until he found the tunnel.
It was a shadowy opening into the side of a mound of earth close to twice his size. The wind whispered as it passed by, in a place where there should not have been any wind. It spoke to his mind, presenting visions of horror that would cow most mortals, warning him that to enter would be lunacy.
Dismissing the wind’s whispering as the illusion it was, Chetarren carefully moved towards the opening. The closer he came, the more images and sensations that were thrown at him, until he stood in the mouth of the cave itself. Then, Chetarren took one step forward, entering the cave proper…and the wind vanished.
Stretching out in front of him was a long, straight tunnel, dimly lit by glowing fungus that ran along the walls. Idly swinging his hammer, Chetarren moved down the passage at a brisk trot, watching for any sign of instability in the rock walls.
After what felt like an age, he saw an opening at the other end of the tunnel. Finding himself eager to find what lay beyond, he broke into a gallop, shooting towards the opening at breakneck speed.
Emerging from the tunnel, Chetarren slowed his speed and took stock of his surroundings. He found himself in a meadow, with what appeared to be a town in the distance. The grass was green, and the air was fresh. Then, he looked at the sky, hoping to see sign of his gods in the sky.
Instead, what he saw was a great white dome.
OoC: Oops. 549 words. Hope you don’t mind the extra.
03-09-2005, 07:25 AM
(...again.)
