Ethereal Rift - (working title, subject to change)
Wes Bridges
Prologue
~~~~~~~
It was a cold night. The chilling wind brought waves of rain like icy
needles that rended both flesh and soul. Through the thick sea of dark
clouds, the pearlescent moon shone faitly, providing the only light in the
late night storm, save the few streaks of lightning which lit up the skies
like a display of fireworks. Aside from the rolling thunder, which cracked
the air like a wooden board that had been deprived of water, the only sound
that disturbed the quiet suburbian neighborhood was the engine of a sleek
black sedan which carefully strolled up to the gates of a small dojo and
stopped.
The driver and passenger side doors opened, and two men in suits stepped
out into the freezing storm. One opened the trunk, while the second opened
one of the rear doors allowing a small girl, about the age of seven out. Her
dainty feet splashed in a small puddle as she got out of the car and pulled
her grey cloak around her to protect her from the driving rain. The man who
let her out of the car took her hand and led her to the massive gates
leading into the dojo grounds while the second man returned with a suitcase
from the trunk.
Beyond the gates which lead into the walled yard of the dojo, which in
itself was not large, but sizable compared to most homes in the crammed
suburbian cities. In the yard, there was a small pond with several large
Japanese carp, a small stone pathway with an archway, not unlike one that
could be found at a Shinto shrine, halfway between the gates and the main
house. On each of the heavy wooden doors of the gates were carved the family
name "Shiratora" in black laquer.
As the three stepped up to the veranda the porch lights turned on. A bolt
of lightning flashed across the sky, and the following thunder split the
silence with a resounding rumble. The door to the house opened and a middle
aged man and his wife greeted the trio at the door. The young girl looked up
at the couple, he deep blue eyes glimmering like a gem through the dark
shadows made by the hooded cloak she wore. Her disheveled auburn hair
plastered agaisnt her face by the chilling rain.
"We thank you for taking her in." one of the men in the suits said. "Her
only remaining family were unable to take proper care for her. You were the
only freinds of the family they mentioned."
"Its alright." Mr. Shiratora, the man in the house said, "her mother was a
good friend of ours, we are glad we could help her."
"Indeed. If you could please stamp these forms, we will leave her in your
care."
"You must be Yumi." Mrs. Shiratora said brightly as she knelt down to the
little girl. "Your mamma told us a lot a bout you. They say you haven't
eaten or slept well lately, I have some rice balls made up for you why don't
you come in and have some?"
"I-I'm sorry to be such a burden," the girl said timidly, as she was led
inside by Mrs. Shiratora while Mr. Shiratora handled the forms and took her
suitcase inside.
The Shiratora home and dojo was a large two story house. The majority of
the house was on the ground level with a large area for training,
meditiation rooms, and separate baths for the students on one side of the
home, and the kitchen and family areas on the other side, the bedrooms were
all on the second level which really only spanned over the middle portion of
the house itself.
Mrs Shiratora took Yumi on a quick tour of the house before finally coming
to the kitchen where she sat her down and gave her a wedge shaped rice ball
and sitting at the table across from her. Yumi nibbled the rice gravely as
she stared off into space.
"You won't get your strength back if you don't eat," Mrs. Shiratora warned
her, "and if you don't get your strength back I don't think your mamma or
your brother would be very happy with you."
Saying nothing, Yumi forced a larger bite of the rice, and that was all it
took to kick her appetite in. As she began to wolf down the remaining rice,
Mrs. Shiratora returned to the front door to speak with her husband.
"She really was hungry." she said to him.
"I can imagine, the poor thing," he responded. "After all she's been
through this past week must have been really hard on her."
"She'll come around I think. She just needs some time and love to cope with
all that's happened."
"That no good father of hers couldn't have helped things at all."
As the two returned to the kitchen, where Yumi had finished the rice ball
and already fallen into a deep sleep by the time they had got back. Mr.
Shiratora gently took her in his arms and carried her up the stairs to a
room where a futon had already been prepared for her arrival and set her
down, and Mrs. Shiratora tucked her in.
The storm had passed over, and the sky was clear. The moon was full and
shone like a giant pearl and the stars complimented its luster. The night
became peaceful, and the remains of the rain storm were mere drips off the
leaves into the carp pond, where the waters returned to their calm innocence
before the storm.
* * * * * * * * * *
Yeah, thats how it all began. I never thought I would regain my innocence,
but now that I think about it, it all happened on that night when the moon
shone so brightly. I was terrified back then, not only of what the world had
become, but of myself. Every fiber of my being seemed foriegn to me, but
thats how everyone feels when they first experience something about
themselves that they don't fully understand.
You see, the world has changed a lot from the time that "it" happened. I
suppose "it" really isn't enough to describe what really happened, but so
much happened in such a short span of time that no simple phrase can really
sum up everything. Armageddon, Mappou, Ragnarok... all of these are names
that were suggested by many religious teachings, but in truth, it was the
sum of all of these and more: a new power coursed through the veins of
millions who had no control over them; fire scarred the land, waves
swallowed the earth, winds swirled and scattered entire cities, and the
earth tore itself asunder; wars raged; hundreds of millions were killed
Eventually, they called 'it' "The Rebirth," and while there is still great
debate over what exactly caused it, no one debates the fact that it centers
around the discovery of an artifact called "The Tome of Origin." This tome
is now heavily guarded by powerful sages that run the Ethereal Order, an
international agency that sets the law for uses of the ethereal powers:
Magic, Psionics, and Ki.
Magic, Psionics, Ki... all these powers once thought to be purly fantasy
became a reality. While not everyone was gifted, or perhaps cursed depending
on their point of view, with these new powers, a large enough population did
that a whole school system was quickly formed to teach those with the power
how to use it, so that they wouldn't be dangers to society. I had always
known that I was different, not only from those without ethereal powers, but
even from those with them. It took a long time for me to find out just how
different I was, and to truly learn what my fate had in store for me...
Author's Notes-
~~~~~~~~~
This is a kind of story idea that spawned off an RPG that I created that
seems to be on the brink of death. I thought I'd try to write in the
universe adding some other things to it and changing some things a bit, and
just wanna get a take on it. Naturally, the story will be written in the 3rd
person for some reason the later half of this prologue came out easier in
first. I know it ends rather vaguely, but its just something of an intro to
the idea and I want to know if the idea seems interesting enough to
continue.
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