NaNoWriMo fic, Karrah
Nov. 1st, 2008 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sagesariaI'm rewriting Karrah for NaNo. I'm gonna spare the intro cause I'm lazy. I will say that I will be accepting feedback for how to make this better, I just won't be taking it until December 'cause it's NaNo; the point is to write not edit.
Also my widget may be wrong throughout all this 'cause NaNoWriMo.org's servers are wonky.
Karrah, chapter one. Number of words: 1649
Karrah
Chapter 1
She knelt on the smooth hardwood floor, legs tucked under her, hands on her lap. She kept her eyes close, staying perfectly still. The others stood attentive around the room, unmoving, watching her closely. A pair of hands brushed her face, pushing her long hair out of the way as they tied a cloth taught over her eyes. She didn’t move, listening carefully, the layout of the room still clear in her mind’s eye. Wooden floors, papery walls, the only supports the wood pillars in the corners.
She listened, straining her ears for the slightest squeak in the floor. She frowned in concentration, her senses on full alert. She could feel them moving, creeping on bare feet in tedious caution. Unmoving, waiting, she felt someone behind her. Not the one who was there before; a new target. She waited, listening to the slight tapping on the floor as he crept closer…
Closer…
Closer…..
NOW!
Using the balls of her feet she suddenly launched from her kneeling position, jumping into the air and vaulting over the opponent behind her. Bringing her jump into a twist and a flip, she twirled in the air and landed gracefully on her feet, her hands raised and her feet positioned in a prepared martial arts pose.
Footsteps all around. She listened carefully; five opponents, swarming from all sides, but not all approaching at once. She ducked a punch she felt coming for her, and as she crouched she threw a punch of her own, connecting with someone’s stomach before she rose and struck them under the chin with a swift kick. Her foot touched the floor at the same time she snapped her hand up, the back of her fist causing a crack she recognized as someone’s nose. The first hit made, she dropped her hand to elbow her opponent in the stomach. They didn’t crumple with the hit, instead grappling her around the neck. She grabbed his arm, pressing herself against them to give herself leverage to throw herself forward as she grabbed her opponent’s sleeve and flung him to the floor. Two sets of footsteps charged from behind. Again she jumped, flipping over them and landing behind, slamming her palms into their backs, sending them to the floor.
In her focus on the duo, she noticed too late the fifth and last opponent sweeping their leg under hers. Her legs forced out from under her she fell forward, catching herself on her hands and performing a twisting kick as she leapt back up, hoping to hit her opponent, but her foot only hit air.
Upright again she paused, hands raised defensively as she reached out with her free senses. She sensed nothing, heard nothing. Where did they go? She clenched her hands into fists, hesitant to move.
Finally the floor creaked to her right. She didn’t even think as she turned, throwing a punch, immediately blocked by a larger hand. She continued to swing and kick, unable to break through the sequence of blocks. They practically danced around the room as she stepped around him trying to land a hit and they evaded. Her brows furrowed, getting frustrated, until finally her opponent took the offensive. A rush of air caused her to lean back to barely avoid a punch, then she grabbed the attacker’s wrist in both hands, turning her body so that they were no longer targeting her and were right behind her. Her elbow slammed into the side of their head, and as she felt them fall to the floor she relaxed, touching her hands together and lowering her head slightly in a victorious half-bow.
“Enough!” called a voice from the other side of the room. With that signal she bowed her head more as someone came behind and removed the blindfold. She blinked her eyes open, glancing around the room to see her fellow students knelt behind the master of the dojo, one of them nursing a bloody nose. The master smiled, flicking his hand smoothly in a beckoning gesture.
“Come forward, Karrah.”
Obediently Karrah approached, coming to a stop just a few feet away and standing still with her head low.
“You focused your attention too much. That is why you were knocked down. Always keep your senses aware and wide-reached.”
She nodded slowly, not speaking. She had heard that criticism before, and knew that it meant more training like this.
“However you are improving faster than I predicted. You did well today, Karrah. We will hold your next lesson tomorrow. Get some rest.”
“Thank you, master.” she bowed again, turning on her heel and padding slowly out of the dojo into the town.
As she disappeared from the doorway, the master sighed.
“She is so close to completing her training, but her attention is divided. She may need more time here.”
Another student of higher rank spoke up sadly.
“She can’t stay here much longer, master. She longs to leave this town. She wants answers.”
“I know,” replied the master, “And I will not hold her here longer than I have promised. I only hope she will be alright.”
Outside, Karrah glanced around the town, her eyes showing no emotion at all. Tired merchants wheeling their carts to market, rats scurrying down the street and frightening an elderly woman, guards chasing some poor Paladin from the city walls. She shook her head with a sigh; another typical day in Qeynos. At least it wasn’t raining at this very moment.
She knelt by the stream that ran past the monk’s guild, scooping a pool of water between her hands and splashing it in her face, shaking her head as the cool water sprayed from her long bangs and soaked into the top of her training gi, washing away some of the sweat. She let out a refreshed sigh, running a hand through her sweaty hair. Then as she looked down to take another handful of water, she caught her reflection in the rippling surface, and her eyes wandered to the scar on her forehead.
She had had four years to loathingly memorize that scar. It was deep, a fading red line trailing across the center of her forehead to her left temple, the skin barely fused together again. She remembered the searing pain she suffered when she first awoke with that scar, when it was still bleeding. But Quelious alone knew how she had gotten it.
All she knew was what the monk guild had told her. They found her just outside of the city unconscious, barely clinging to life with horrible wounds. After nursing her back to health they found as she did that she had no memory.
The guild had offered her a place to stay, calling her “Karrah” in place of her missing name. She lived in the guild house, training under the master there, Dareth, in their ways of martial arts and meditation.
She frowned as she pulled her long bangs back over her scar. One could see her training to be a monk and assume she was leading a good life. But her lost memories haunted her even as she enjoyed her daily lessons. She felt uneasy not knowing her past. Her age, her name, her family, all a blank slate. She dwelled on it so, she couldn’t sleep at night without meditating to empty her mind. She wanted more than anything to regain everything. Nobody in town had ever seen her before. The answers must have been in another town. Perhaps Freeport, the other human city in Antonica. That was her next goal, come the end of her lessons.
As her monk training grew closer and closer to a close, she thought about Freeport more and more. A bigger city, more lively, cleaner. Even if she wasn’t looking for her lost identity there she was certain she would long to move to Freeport. To be away from this town of vermin. Everything about Qeynos made her sick; the filth, the rats, even the people. All of them wandering the streets thinking only of themselves, with no time to care for others or enjoy anything. The only ray of sunlight in the whole city was the bard guild in the southern part of town, but even they had few places to perform; the guards broke up any street performances, and it took a long time for anything to have permission to perform on the stage. She rarely even had a lot of time to even see shows, with her heavy training.
Karrah scoffed quietly as she thought about the troubles with the town and the cold people who lived in it. She had decided long ago that if they didn’t care, she wasn’t going to try to earn their favor.
Thunder rumbled overhead, and in seconds rain poured over the city. Karrah jumped to her feet, cursing under her breath as she ran back into the guild house, completely soaked by the time she reached the door. A few fellow students approached her asking if she was ok, but she merely brushed past them, her arms crossed over her chest with cold. Silently she padded barefoot across the dojo, currently not being used, and slinked into the chamber that was being used as her room. She let her mind wander again as she slipped her wet gi off of her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor and brushing her bangs over the left side of her forehead again self-consciously.
Just a few more days, she told herself. A few more days and your training will be complete, as promised. Then you will be free.
Also my widget may be wrong throughout all this 'cause NaNoWriMo.org's servers are wonky.
Karrah, chapter one. Number of words: 1649
Karrah
Chapter 1
She knelt on the smooth hardwood floor, legs tucked under her, hands on her lap. She kept her eyes close, staying perfectly still. The others stood attentive around the room, unmoving, watching her closely. A pair of hands brushed her face, pushing her long hair out of the way as they tied a cloth taught over her eyes. She didn’t move, listening carefully, the layout of the room still clear in her mind’s eye. Wooden floors, papery walls, the only supports the wood pillars in the corners.
She listened, straining her ears for the slightest squeak in the floor. She frowned in concentration, her senses on full alert. She could feel them moving, creeping on bare feet in tedious caution. Unmoving, waiting, she felt someone behind her. Not the one who was there before; a new target. She waited, listening to the slight tapping on the floor as he crept closer…
Closer…
Closer…..
NOW!
Using the balls of her feet she suddenly launched from her kneeling position, jumping into the air and vaulting over the opponent behind her. Bringing her jump into a twist and a flip, she twirled in the air and landed gracefully on her feet, her hands raised and her feet positioned in a prepared martial arts pose.
Footsteps all around. She listened carefully; five opponents, swarming from all sides, but not all approaching at once. She ducked a punch she felt coming for her, and as she crouched she threw a punch of her own, connecting with someone’s stomach before she rose and struck them under the chin with a swift kick. Her foot touched the floor at the same time she snapped her hand up, the back of her fist causing a crack she recognized as someone’s nose. The first hit made, she dropped her hand to elbow her opponent in the stomach. They didn’t crumple with the hit, instead grappling her around the neck. She grabbed his arm, pressing herself against them to give herself leverage to throw herself forward as she grabbed her opponent’s sleeve and flung him to the floor. Two sets of footsteps charged from behind. Again she jumped, flipping over them and landing behind, slamming her palms into their backs, sending them to the floor.
In her focus on the duo, she noticed too late the fifth and last opponent sweeping their leg under hers. Her legs forced out from under her she fell forward, catching herself on her hands and performing a twisting kick as she leapt back up, hoping to hit her opponent, but her foot only hit air.
Upright again she paused, hands raised defensively as she reached out with her free senses. She sensed nothing, heard nothing. Where did they go? She clenched her hands into fists, hesitant to move.
Finally the floor creaked to her right. She didn’t even think as she turned, throwing a punch, immediately blocked by a larger hand. She continued to swing and kick, unable to break through the sequence of blocks. They practically danced around the room as she stepped around him trying to land a hit and they evaded. Her brows furrowed, getting frustrated, until finally her opponent took the offensive. A rush of air caused her to lean back to barely avoid a punch, then she grabbed the attacker’s wrist in both hands, turning her body so that they were no longer targeting her and were right behind her. Her elbow slammed into the side of their head, and as she felt them fall to the floor she relaxed, touching her hands together and lowering her head slightly in a victorious half-bow.
“Enough!” called a voice from the other side of the room. With that signal she bowed her head more as someone came behind and removed the blindfold. She blinked her eyes open, glancing around the room to see her fellow students knelt behind the master of the dojo, one of them nursing a bloody nose. The master smiled, flicking his hand smoothly in a beckoning gesture.
“Come forward, Karrah.”
Obediently Karrah approached, coming to a stop just a few feet away and standing still with her head low.
“You focused your attention too much. That is why you were knocked down. Always keep your senses aware and wide-reached.”
She nodded slowly, not speaking. She had heard that criticism before, and knew that it meant more training like this.
“However you are improving faster than I predicted. You did well today, Karrah. We will hold your next lesson tomorrow. Get some rest.”
“Thank you, master.” she bowed again, turning on her heel and padding slowly out of the dojo into the town.
As she disappeared from the doorway, the master sighed.
“She is so close to completing her training, but her attention is divided. She may need more time here.”
Another student of higher rank spoke up sadly.
“She can’t stay here much longer, master. She longs to leave this town. She wants answers.”
“I know,” replied the master, “And I will not hold her here longer than I have promised. I only hope she will be alright.”
Outside, Karrah glanced around the town, her eyes showing no emotion at all. Tired merchants wheeling their carts to market, rats scurrying down the street and frightening an elderly woman, guards chasing some poor Paladin from the city walls. She shook her head with a sigh; another typical day in Qeynos. At least it wasn’t raining at this very moment.
She knelt by the stream that ran past the monk’s guild, scooping a pool of water between her hands and splashing it in her face, shaking her head as the cool water sprayed from her long bangs and soaked into the top of her training gi, washing away some of the sweat. She let out a refreshed sigh, running a hand through her sweaty hair. Then as she looked down to take another handful of water, she caught her reflection in the rippling surface, and her eyes wandered to the scar on her forehead.
She had had four years to loathingly memorize that scar. It was deep, a fading red line trailing across the center of her forehead to her left temple, the skin barely fused together again. She remembered the searing pain she suffered when she first awoke with that scar, when it was still bleeding. But Quelious alone knew how she had gotten it.
All she knew was what the monk guild had told her. They found her just outside of the city unconscious, barely clinging to life with horrible wounds. After nursing her back to health they found as she did that she had no memory.
The guild had offered her a place to stay, calling her “Karrah” in place of her missing name. She lived in the guild house, training under the master there, Dareth, in their ways of martial arts and meditation.
She frowned as she pulled her long bangs back over her scar. One could see her training to be a monk and assume she was leading a good life. But her lost memories haunted her even as she enjoyed her daily lessons. She felt uneasy not knowing her past. Her age, her name, her family, all a blank slate. She dwelled on it so, she couldn’t sleep at night without meditating to empty her mind. She wanted more than anything to regain everything. Nobody in town had ever seen her before. The answers must have been in another town. Perhaps Freeport, the other human city in Antonica. That was her next goal, come the end of her lessons.
As her monk training grew closer and closer to a close, she thought about Freeport more and more. A bigger city, more lively, cleaner. Even if she wasn’t looking for her lost identity there she was certain she would long to move to Freeport. To be away from this town of vermin. Everything about Qeynos made her sick; the filth, the rats, even the people. All of them wandering the streets thinking only of themselves, with no time to care for others or enjoy anything. The only ray of sunlight in the whole city was the bard guild in the southern part of town, but even they had few places to perform; the guards broke up any street performances, and it took a long time for anything to have permission to perform on the stage. She rarely even had a lot of time to even see shows, with her heavy training.
Karrah scoffed quietly as she thought about the troubles with the town and the cold people who lived in it. She had decided long ago that if they didn’t care, she wasn’t going to try to earn their favor.
Thunder rumbled overhead, and in seconds rain poured over the city. Karrah jumped to her feet, cursing under her breath as she ran back into the guild house, completely soaked by the time she reached the door. A few fellow students approached her asking if she was ok, but she merely brushed past them, her arms crossed over her chest with cold. Silently she padded barefoot across the dojo, currently not being used, and slinked into the chamber that was being used as her room. She let her mind wander again as she slipped her wet gi off of her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor and brushing her bangs over the left side of her forehead again self-consciously.
Just a few more days, she told herself. A few more days and your training will be complete, as promised. Then you will be free.
