Chapter 1: The Colours of Magic

Chapter 1

This was the end.  The sky was grey for the sun had not yet risen but the moon had already faded.  Nothing made a sound, leaving a charged feeling of expectancy in the air.  A woman with long tangled black hair walked to the end of the thin piece of land that jutted out into the water.  Her torn black dress trailed on the ground behind her.  Her whole being gave off a feeling of desolation but great strength shone through.  Her left hand was clenched in a fist, holding something tightly, her breathing came in shallow gasps.  Once she reached the end of the peninsula she dropped the object into the sea.  Now it was safe, gone forever to all but her.  The woman stood there and waited.  There was no where for her to go, and she couldn’t keep running.  

Shouts echoed in the distance.  They were coming.  The woman desperately tried to think of where she could go.  The one place she needed to be was too far,too far to transport, too far without the talisman.

The shouting got louder as the men got closer.  Finally they burst from the trees and ran across the plain towards the woman.  Someone blew a horn.  Now more would be coming.  She would be coming.  The woman closed her dark brown eyes and let the colour of her magic take over.  An arrow burnt up inches from her heart, someones sword narrowly missed her face, she blocked the next strike with a whip of darkness.

The all soldiers fought the woman at once, but she kept them at bay.  Her feet no longer touched the ground.  She hovered half a foot in the air, suspended in darkness.

  Another horn sounded in the distance.  She was coming.  More darkness swirled around the woman.  

The sun had risen but the day remained grey.  A thick layer of clouds masked the sun as though even it wanted to hide from what came next.  

More soldiers poured out of the trees and raced towards the woman.  Even with her eyes closed the woman recognized her.  She shone through the darkness, ablaze with light.  The soldiers backed away.

“You can’t run anymore Duana!”  she yelled and dismounted her horse.

The woman, Duana, opened her eyes and sank back down to the ground,  “I’m not running,”  she replied calmly.

“I can’t let you go around wreaking havoc in my kingdom.  I don’t want to kill you, but I will if I have to.  Please surrender,”  she demanded.

“No Seraphina, I want nothing you have to give.  I have no need for your mercy,”  Duana said steadily.  

“Then you would rather die?”  Seraphina asked.

“I would sooner die,”  Duana said firmly.

The soldiers had stood aside while the two talked but now Duana sent a burst of dark magic at them, killing them all.  “You’ll never find it.  It’s gone, and with my death it’s gone forever,”  Duana said callously.

The two fought sword on darkness.  The sky rumbled and let down a torrent of rain.  Waves smashed onto the shore and the wind howled.  

Finally Seraphina’s sword slid past Duana’s defenses and into her chest.  The darkness around her vanished.  Duana stumbled backwards and pulled herself off the Seraphina’s sword.  Red blood soaked her dress.

The wind quieted, the rain fell softly, and the waves stilled, returning the plain to a charged silence.  

“You should have taken my chance,”  Seraphina said sadly.

“I would sooner die,”  Duana repeated with a grimace as more blood poured from the wound.

“And now you will,”  Seraphina said softly.

“If I am dead, I am dead.  If I am caught, I have no power over my fate,”  Duana said stoutly.

“Death will bring no peace for you.  Not with darkness in your heart,”  Seraphina said sorrowfully.

“What would you know about darkness?”  Duana asked faintly.  She swayed slightly from blood loss and pain.

“I know that no one who embraces darkness gets a happy ending.  Darkness brings only pain and suffering to everyone,”  Seraphina said adamantly.

“So naive and sure of yourself, and single minded.  So certain that everything follows your black and white ideals of good and bad, believing that there are no shades, no grey,”  Duana said weakly, she put one hand to her chest and looked down.  Her hand was stained red with blood.  The edges of her vision blurred.  It didn’t matter where she went, she was dying, she could feel her life draining away.  She was no healer, there was nothing she could do, nothing she could do.  Black smoke swirled around Duana hiding her from view.  When the smoke cleared Duana was gone, leaving Seraphina alone in a field of death.  

Reviews

[Confused Author]

I really liked the sentiment of the good in evil. The shades of gray that life can take on. I honestly have no advice other than to say i eagerly shall pour over the next chapters.

[Daisygirl]

Thanks, I'm really glad you think it's good because this is the first time someone not in my family has read any of my writing so I'm a bit nervous.