New Novel (Prologue) (Patreon)

A bit of a surprise but I wanted to start posting what I've been working on on the side. Chapters will be uploaded on and off, but I'm mainly using this to get some feedback and thoughts (whether good or bad) on this. I'm used to posting on Royalroad where every commenter has thoughts on how the novel is! Lay it on me :) 

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My earliest memory is a flash of lightning in a stormy sky,  highlighting my way as I wove through towering trees and across sodden foliage, and a voice echoing in my head, screaming at me to run. 

My life prior to that night was dark gulf, empty of memory. As a child, I was left to wonder at my origins, to fantasize about my family. But of that night I can recall the details and events with such overwhelming clarity: the desperate pace of my headlong rush through the dark, splashing in the shallow puddles on the ground; the myriad of lights fading from behind as the fierce rain battered me; my arms wrapped around my bawling infant sister, fighting off the biting chill that pierced into my very bones; and the heavy weight of the broken sword I was carrying on my back. 

I remember running for hours, ignoring the sharp branches clawing at my skin and clothes. I had continued to huddle over my sister, protecting her until her shaking became too violent for me to continue. 

Every so often, whirring beasts with spinning blades that kept them aloft would fire down pillars of light—as if searching for something. My instincts screamed at me to avoid and hide from those beasts. I hadn’t been sure what would happen if I fell under their rays of light, but I knew that I couldn’t risk finding out.

The thick roots of an old tree provided some refuge from the storm and the lights while I kept Hanna’s frigid body close to my own for warmth, constantly rubbing her skin to create what little heat I could. 

A crushing sense of grief, loss, and rage had filled me, but I hadn’t been able to remember why. An intangible, but ever-present, blanket of confusion enveloped me, boiling over into choking sobs and teardrops lost in the rain. I couldn’t even explain why. 

“I’m sorry for this, but I hope you’ll understand someday. Run, Torrin, and keep Hanna safe.” 

Those were the words that had brought me back to my feet, pushing me to persist. Crawling out from under that canopy of twisted roots and dragging Hanna back into the cold and the dark was the scariest thing I’d ever done, but I knew we had to keep going. We continued running through the night, the emotions clouding my mind only growing stronger with each step, until I caught the tantalizing fragrance of a cooked meal and couldn’t help but stop. 

Soon after, a small building had come into view, emanating a gentle warmth that drew me in. I’d never seen anything like it before, but it was a clear sign of people and, maybe, even safety. Little electric lights flared to life as we walked up a narrow gravel path to the front door. I had staggered underneath the eaves overhanging the tattered door, barely able to stand and hold my sister at the same time. 

My instincts had urged me to break in, to fight for and take whatever food, whatever comfort, was available there. Before I could do anything, though, a light blinked to life next to the wooden door, which groaned open slightly a moment later. Squinting at us from behind the door was an elderly lady and a boy about my age, peeking his head out from behind her suspiciously. 

“My… why are you children all the way out here? You must be cold, my dear. Come in and wash up, I have some stew boiling in the pot.” 

Those had been her first words to me. In the face of a feral boy dressed in patches of hide and cloth, soaked and caked in dirt and blood, she had welcomed me unequivocally and without question. 

With what little sanity I had left, I relaxed my clawed hand and stretched out my arms, entrusting her with my sister before falling unconscious. 

That was how my sister and I came to live with Abigail King and her grandson Benjamin. Despite our short time living under Abigail’s roof, I, a boy with a broken sword and no memories of the past, have always been grateful for her and only wished it could’ve lasted longer.