Moon of Malgharen

Hey, guys. Here's chapter one of my book, Moon of Malgharen. It's only my second draft, so don't expect it to be at its best quite yet. Don't forget, I'd love to hear about anything that I could change!


Chapter 1~ Jet Rudderson

Jet sat alone on the hillside. His purple eyes flashed as he watched the Great Fiery On rest on the peaks of the western mountains. Night was approaching. Shadows began to fall across the land of Malgharen.
Jet sat there and pondered about the Great Fiery One. Was he really an actual being? Did he have the power to morph as Jet did? If it were his will, could he bring the world to an end with a blink of his eye? Jet wondered if the Great Fiery One was an actual god. Legends say that he was once human.
Jet exhaled through his nose. He watched the Great Fiery One slowly sink behind the mountains until only a sliver remained. Jet swiveled to face the eastern mountains. Behind him, the Great Fiery One disappeared and the last traces of sunlight left the sky.
It was as dark as the inside of a nightfish, despite the twinkling dimension fairies scattered throughout the black sky. Jet waited calmly for a few seconds. Then, he showed himself. The Great Icy One. The glowing orb of white rock spread light again on the earth, but just faintly.
Jet stood and faced the awe inspiring encasement of the most powerful god that ever existed. Jet let his wings take their place on his back. They unfurled through the tears in the back of his shirt and stretched to their full wingspan. The lunar light seemed to warm Jet’s wings. They felt stronger.
Jet brushed a strand of golden hair out of his eyes and smiled up at the Great Icy One. This was definitely a god. This being could destroy the earth with a blink of his eye. But this god was trapped within his rocky coffin floating out in the void of the unknown. He was placed there by Zothexis.


Long ago, there was a man with no name. He was a traveler, and explored the lands of Malgharia, Shulin, Vittosah, and more. He created maps, now hidden in some unknown place. A place that was so hidden, people said that you needed the maps to find the maps. The man with no name was a talented fighter, and when he stepped into darkness, there seemed to be a faint aura about him. People called him Gleovok, which meant “fairy light.”
Now, Gleovok had a brother. He too, had no name. This man was a vender, and sold a large variety of goods. When people would go shopping, they would first go to his stall. He was humorous, and polite, and everyone loved him. When he stood in darkness, he also had an aura, but much brighter than Gleovok’s. He was named Flarvek, which was Malgharian for “a flame in the darkness.”
At this time there was no light in the sky, besides the dimension fairies. To see, people crafted torches and lanterns and a whole lot of tools using fire and light. Nobody liked the darkness, and villages would have huge bonfires burning for hours. Because there was no day, people would sleep at random times, and some wouldn’t get enough sleep at all.
The goddess of the fairies felt sorry for the people of the earth. She decided after some time, that one of the brothers would be able to provide light for the earth. She chose Flarvek, seeing that he was the brightest, and sent a pillar of white light down on top of him. Flarvek transformed into a magnificent orb of fire and rose into the heavens. As he rose, he grew until he was half the size of the earth. The people rejoiced, seeing now that the plants would grow better then ever before.
Now, there was another god, named Zothexis. He lived far down in the middle of the earth, and was the rival of the goddess of the fairies, who was named Lumiluck. Zothexis guessed that Lumiluck had started a competition to see who was more powerful. He watched Gleovok for a time and decided what he would do. One night, when the circular form of Flarvek—now the Great Fiery One—disappeared beyond the horizon, a large tongue of flame lashed out of nowhere and caught Gleovok. The traveler curled into a ball, and a cocoon of ice and rock enveloped him. He rose and grew until he was the same size as the Great Fiery One. The Great Icy One was born.
However, the encasement of Gleovok didn’t quite work out as planned. The Great Icy One radiated light from his prison, providing nourishment for the life forms of this world. It flowed through the land, allowing plants to grow twice as fast. Healing every wounded animal. Creating new life forms never seen before. This was what was born from the lunar light of the Great Icy One.
Noticing his mistake, Zothexis tried to break Gleovok out, but his magic could not be undone. At least, not by his power alone. He would need Lumiluck’s power to break the encasement of ice and rock, or else become the most powerful god in existence.
Becoming the most powerful being ever was no easy feat, but Zothexis would rather choose that path than ask for Lumiluck’s help. So he sent his familiars out into the world, to search for monsters and demons and all manners of dark creatures. His plan was to unleash war upon Lumiluck and to steal her power from her very soul.
But what Zothexis didn’t know was that Lumiluck had the power to find out of his most evil scheme. She had the dimension fairies, and when Zothexis sent his familiars out to search the world, his very plan was revealed unto her. Lumiluck knew that she and Zothexis were evenly matched, but if her enemy made an army before she was ready, the humans of the earth would meet their end just to soon and to swift.
Lumiluck descended to the earth in the form of a woman. She walked the streets of earth, looking for a person who would be able to help her. She soon met a woman who sparked an interest in her. Lumiluck looked deep into the woman’s soul, and knew that she was the one. Lumiluck called one of the dimension fairies down from the sky and sent it after the woman. The fairie flew up behind the woman and bit her on the neck. The fairie dust sunk into the woman’s blood and ran through her veins. The woman did not feel the bite.
The next day, the woman gave birth to the first Tekala child. His eyes blazed purple and when he grew up, he began to show his powers. At the age of seven, his arms would change to the shape of wings and back. Wings and arms. Wings and arms. At Age of eight, he showed his skill with fire. He could wave his arms through the air and twist flames into curious shapes. When he turned nine, his first two powers mixed. His mother was astounded one day when he changed into a flaming falcon.
The child grew up and had children of his own, but none of them had the powers that he possessed. But every now and then, throughout the years, a child was born with these strange powers. They could change shape, control a substance and turn into that substance. One in every thousand people would be born as a Tekala.
Lumiluck planned to use these Tekala as a protective defense against Zothexis’ armies that desired to take away her power. With the Tekala at her side, it would be harder for her enemy to defeat her. Even though Lumiluck’s plan took longer than Zothexis’ plan, she was quite sure that the Tekala would be even more skilled the longer it took to create them.
And so, the two gods created their armies, preparing for the war which was to come. A war so intense, that it was said that the Great Fiery One and the Great Icy One would hide in the shadow of the earth, away from the ferocity of the battle.


Jet stood there and marveled at the Great Icy One. If the legends were accurate, Jet would live longer than anyone else in the world. He would outlive his children and their children, until the time of the Clash of the Gods.
Jet turned away from the Great Icy One. He looked over the little town of Durge. His home town. The glowing windows of the clod houses beckoned him to come to bed.
Jet obliged. He thought that tonight he should get to sleep at an earlier hour. There would be no fairie watching tonight, although it was entertaining laying there, and looking at the heavens, and wondering what it would be like to meet an actual dimension fairie. Jet thought that it would be an experience above all other experiences.
Jet flexed his wings. He felt the wind blowing gently to the east. Jet ran down the hill against the wind, flapping his wings swiftly. The wind caught his wings, and he lifted off the side of the hill. Catching an updraft, Jet circled upwards. He broke away from the updraft and glided towards Durge, flapping now and then.
Jet was the age of twelve, and had already learned how to fly with his griffin wings. He had learned how to twist metals into strange shapes, but not useful ones. However, he wasn’t able to alter his atoms into the substance of metal, like he was supposed to be able to do. This was supposed to be possible at the age of nine, but it was not within his power for some reason.
Beginning his decent, Jet pondered about Pohlkra, one of the Houkyia. He was a Town Elder, and a very old one at that. Pohlkra claimed to be a Tekala that had lived for 249 years so far. If he was a Tekala, he didn’t show it through his actions. Most of the towns people dismissed this as utter nonsense. Few people, such as Myhli, actually believed him. Jet wasn’t sure whether or not this was true.
Jet lowered silently towards the earth in front of his clod house. He landed carefully just outside the door, but the toe of his boot struck a pebble and it skipped across the dirt path four or five times before skidding to a stop.
“Heard you.” Hafh called from inside. “Again.”
The tips of Jet’s wings drooped to the ground as he groaned with annoyance. “I can never seem to land right.” He complained as he walked through the doorway.
“That’s because you never concentrate enough.” Hafh said as he was cleaning up his wood carving tools. “And you need much more practice besides.” Hafh carried his tools to his tool box and started sweeping up the wood shavings littering the table and floor. “It just takes time and patience, Jet. Just practice it, and it will eventually work for you.”
Jet retracted his wings into the flesh on his back. “I’ve been practicing for two weeks now, and I still can’t master the ability to land on the stinkin’ dirt.” He sat at the dining table in the middle of the room and started toying with the edges. Normally, he would feel rather disappointed with himself, but the lunar light had calmed him to the bone. He felt like a new person.
Hafh looked sternly over his glasses at Jet as he placed his painting kit next to his carving of a hikam. “What was the most important word that I just said, Jet?”
Jet laughed. “It’s ‘patience.’ I know, I know.”
Hafh dipped his brush into a bowl of wild yellowflower concentrate. “Just remember, Patience…”
“…is in the soul of every true hero.” Jet finished, fingering a loose string hanging from his shirt. “I’ve heard you say it many times before, uncle.”
“Then why don’t you listen to it and follow it?” Hafh asked, bringing his brush down the back of the hikam, creating a smooth golden line. “It seems like every time you fail, you get frustrated. You must learn to calm yourself. It’s a good thing you came home early tonight. I will teach you how to meditate tomorrow. We’ll start at 9:00.”
Jet nodded, taking a fresh jelklado out of the fruit basket in the center of the table. He bit down and chewed. After a few moments, he spit a seed out the window and swallowed the mush rolling about his mouth. He inspected the fruit in his hand and took another bite.
“Oh, and did I tell you?” Hafh said as he added yellow stripes on the hikam’s cheek bones. “Vylstan has come back from Myrhelm. He arrived while you were up on Stargazer Hill…”
Jet choked and swallowed the seed he was about to spit out along with his mouthful of jelklado. “Is he okay? What exactly happened at Myrhelm? Oh, chupacabra compost, I haven’t seen him in months…”
“Patience…” Hafh said, but Jet was already out the door. “Wait, it’s time for bed! Get your feathered tail back in here! Mortobor won’t be happy when he gets home from the marketplace!”
Jet didn’t listen. He was thrilled at the thought of seeing his cousin again. Vylstan had gone to Myrhelm on a matter of business. He was a bit of an adventurist, and loved travel and excitement. Well, excitement is what one might find when traveling in the shadow of Mt. Asterona and crossing the perilous Stony Desert.
Jet raced down the trail towards the main square. The silhouette of Vyl’s bulk stood out in the glare of the bonfire. Jet kept running, slowing only to make sure that he didn’t bowl Vyl into the fire. But, considering Vyl’s size, Jet guessed it didn’t matter. He ran headlong into Vyl’s back, throwing his arms around his cousin’s waist. But no sooner than Jet had touched Vyl’s tunic, he found himself lying with his face smashed in the crook of Vyl’s elbow and a giant arm holding him in place.
“You need to learn how to be quieter.” Vyl’s deep voice sounded right next to Jet’s pointed ears.
Jet tried to get his arms free to jab Vyl in the gut, but the muscular arm only tightened. “Fhyl, oo stnkn clwn. Leggo o me.”
Vyl’s thunderous laugh almost blew the bonfire right out. “Speak clearer, Jet. My word, you sound just like a hikam about to be slaughtered!”
“Dung rit I do. Now, leggo o me o I wil pek yur eys out wen I git out o ths!”
“Fine, fine.” Vyl let go of Jet, still chuckling to himself.
Jet had to breath deep for half a minute before he could start plying Vyl with questions.
“Whoa, whoa. Relax, rufghadd. I’m fine.” Vyl smiled as Jet. “The worst injury I couldv'e gotten today was if you pecked my eyes out. I mean, come on. It takes more than a mountain and a bunch of rocks to wear me down.”
“How about the creatures that live among them?” Jet asked, still breathing hard.
“Nope.” Vyl said. “If there were any pursuing me, I was to fast for them.” He grinned at Jet smugly.
Jet laughed and was about to say that a hikam could never outrun the creatures that live in Stony Desert. That was when he felt a hand on his shoulder. A hand with no pinkie.
Jet closed his eyes and slowly turned around to face his father. The man he looked at was rough-faced and had powerful shoulders. His eyes were as dark as dark could be. His wedge-shaped ears quivered as a muscle twitched in his clenched jaw.
“I’m going, father.” Jet mumbled and turned back towards the trail.
“And make sure you stay there.” A strong, scratchy voice sounded from between Mortobor’s cracked lips. “I can hardly call you my son if you don’t obey me.”
Jet glanced back over his shoulder to see his father nod once at Vyl and disappear behind the raging bonfire. Vyl looked at Jet and mouthed, “Stargazer, tomorrow, 8:00.” He then urged Jet to go home before he, too, left.
Jet stood there looking at the bonfire for a few more seconds, then he spun on his heel and strode home at a brisk pace. He was going to be in deep trouble with both Mortobor and Hafh. Couldn’t they wait a few minutes before he went to bed?
Jet strutted through the door to his house and didn’t speak to Hafh as he walked to the giant nest on the corner. He lowered himself into the circle of twigs and braches covered in straw, and curled into a ball. His wings extended from his shoulder blades and covered him, enveloping him with warmth. Jet lay there for three hours until he heard Mortobor come home and thank Hafh for watching over things. Hafh left, and the oil lamp was blown out. Jet listened with his highly acute ears as Mortobor lowered himself onto his cot, rolled over, and began to snore. The rise and fall of his chest sounded like bellows with a nest of drunken hornets inside.
Jet felt a breeze of cool air flow from the window and under his wings, chilling his arms and back. He pulled his wings closer to his body to cut the circulation of frigid air. It felt like there was never a day where Jet wouldn’t get into trouble. First, he would accidentally molt on the table. Second, he would forget to retract his talons and gouge long tears on his father’s cot. Next day, he would get caught on the roof lying in wait for a bird to fly by that would make a nice afternoon snack. Jet felt like an outcast among his family.
As he listened to his father’s not-so-gentle-snoring, he imagined what it would be like to have a different family. One where his dad wasn’t so strict, and he wouldn’t get in trouble for tickling people with his feathers, and one where he still had a mother…
At the thought of his mother, Jet’s eyes became moist. Havai had been the best mother anyone could ever ask for. Jet could barely remember her. She had golden hair that had hung down to her waist. She had loved to play with Jet. She used to sit in front of the house as the Great Fiery One disappeared behind the canopy of Harpie Forest. Her eyes had been purple. Just like his. Havai had been a Tekala-mother-Tekala. The only one that had ever existed for over 500 years.
Jet could not remember what her alternate guise was. All he really remembered about her was her face. Nobody could forget her face. She and Jet and Mortobor had lived together peacefully for about five years.
After that, disaster struck.
Late one night, something broke into Jet’s house. Jet could not remember anything about that something except that it was shady and it filled up practically the whole doorway. Jet could not remember past that point. Mortobor said that it loped quickly into the room and tore the place apart before it left. Jet and Mortobor were unharmed. Havai was never seen again.
The loss of Havai grieved Mortobor deeply. He became rough and stern. Nobody lingered for too long around him, for fear of getting stared down.
Jet curled up tighter as a small gust of wind ruffled his feathers. Mortobor would say nothing about the something, though Jet would often hear him thrash about at night muttering, “The fangs… The yellow fangs… No, please, Nightflash… Don’t do this to me… no… Havai…” Jet figured if he ever met a six-foot tall shady being with yellow fangs and named Nightflash, that would be whoever had killed his mother. The devil would regret ever laying a fang on Havai. Jet would take the monster out with one swipe of his hooked talons, and would hang its corpse upon a post just outside the village to scare away chupacabras from the livestock.
Jet closed his amethyst colored eyes. The dreams… Gleovok’s dreams could help soothe him…
Jet soon fell into a peaceful slumber, his wings tucked about him like a blanket.

Hola!

Hey, peoples! This is my Blog. Like it says to the right, this blog is for posting my stories that are too long. I'm going to say that this site is part of the War of the Words Blog. With my instructors' permission, of course. I want everybody who visits War of the Words on a regular basisto also know about my Blog so that they can comment on my longer work as well.

~Lightningwriter~