Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Quest for Echelon's Ring

So, I got an idea for a story and it's about a pair of bounty hunters (Elisha and Lin) who go on this quest to find a ring that belonged to one of the great historical figures of their land, a man named Echelon. I'll eventually end up posting the story here, so I'm not going to give you any spoilers, but a little glimpse into who's who and a teaser...

Elisha (No. 958): A nineteen-year-old bounty hunter who was raised on the streets who narrates this piece. He's an expert at things like picking locks, gathering information from strangers and is a pretty bright young adult. He is one of the Shieniel, who are people who have had some sort of encounter with the non-physical world. His choice weapon is a sword, though he rarely uses it. He also carries around exploding canisters and poisoned darts for ranged attacks.
Lin (No. 843): Elisha's eighteen-year-old partner, a fellow bounty hunter. Her expertise lies primarily in the physical aspects of the job and she's in really good physical shape. Before she became a bounty hunter, she was just an average citizen of the town and Elisha hints at the fact that she originally took an apprenticeship to help take care of Nemo, her younger brother. Her weapon of choice is a blast pistol and for close range, she usually fights unarmed.
Jordan: Identification number unknown. He was the bounty hunter who originally trained Elisha, but since then, he has left to go on a search for Veritas, or Ultimate Truth. It is revealed that the sword that Elisha now wields used to belong to Jordan and was probably given as a gift at their parting.
Mark: ID number unknown. A fellow bounty hunter and close acquaintance of Elisha. It is revealed that Elisha loaned him his "time-keeper" (basically a watch).

A few additional notes:
Veritas: Otherwise known as the Ultimate Truth. Only Shieniel can properly seek it and really only a few Shieniel are interested, as most believe it is a highly theoretical and not very practical area of interest.
Shieniel: People who have had some sort of encounter with the non-physical realm. They're often treated as outcasts to society, especially since people forget that there was a time when everyone was a Shieniel. Elisha and Jordan are both Shieniel.
Luaniel: People who have never encountered anything outside the physical realm. They make up about 95% of the current population. Lin and her family are Luaniel.
Echelon: Elisha explains this myth within the context of his narration, but Echelon was a town elder during the time where people were beginning to become Luaniel.
Melekhiel: a mysterious being. You'll find more out about him in Elisha's narration.

And... now for a teaser! This is just the first two paragraphs.

I don’t know what brought me here or even why I decided to stay. This whole place is a bit of a creepy castle, like the kind you read about in stories about medieval times with knights and princesses and dragons. To be honest, I never cared for much of that. No, I was always caught up in the practical aspects of life, like where I would find my next meal. Living on the streets is hard, even if you do happen to land a good paying job as a bounty hunter.

I didn’t always start out as a bounty hunter and I guess that’s not even what I really am. Not truly, anyhow. Jordan was the one who gave me this sword and taught me just about everything I know. He helped me get my first job, but since then, I’ve moved on. He helped me find my place in a society where everyone treats us badly because we are different. Actually, what am I spending time telling you this for? He doesn’t even come into the story that I’m about to tell you. In fact, I haven’t seen or spoken to Jordan in about three years. Last I heard, he went off on some quest for Ultimate Truth or, as he called it, Veritas. My story actually starts much later than that.

So there you have it. I think this story will actually get done pretty soon because I actually have a clear idea of where it's going.

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