A Crack In The Wall

Prelude “Beautiful. Just astounding,” rasped the man with the eerie golden, catlike eyes. He looked relatively human, but had the air of not actually being there, like a shadow. He looked at the struggling young girl being held down by two large creatures. These creatures had the build of humans, but they were about a foot taller than the average man, with inhuman strength and bald heads. They had scars covering almost every inch of their bodies and were wearing belts carrying weapons such as the sword and the mallet. “Good work,” the man with the golden eyes and the creatures grunted and attempted a sort of smile, revealing rows of crooked yellow teeth. But the man was no longer paying attention to them; his attention was back on the young girl. She was wearing a tattered green and brown elfin dress and was still struggling hard against her captors. Though her pretty but tangled brown hair covered her pointed elf ears; her beautiful emerald eyes, strong determination and strength gave away the obvious fact that she was an elf. He gently stroked her chin with a long finger and she attempted to bite him. He then slapped her across the face. She cried out with pain for the man also had an inhuman sort of strength. “You’ll never get away with this _____________,” she said with much hatred in her voice, the place where he had struck her turning a bright red. “That is where you’re wrong Änoræ. It seems I just have,” he hissed with a chuckle. He held her face in his hand and began to drain her energy. Änoræ felt this drain on her power and with the remainder of her power said the words that she hoped would help save her people;

*Ven Karvja lontæn!

*The ancient Elvin language roughly translated is: Ven [van]: let Karvja [karv-sha]: the savior; the bringer of light and safety Lontæn [lon-tay-een}: be opened; be found; be revealed In other words, “Ven Karvja lontæn!” is: “Let the bringer of light and safety be found!”

A young boy sits up in they middle of they night, gasping and sweating. He is no more than fifteen and looks it too. He stands up and looks out his window to the horizon and sees a faint glow from the place where the sky meets the earth. All he remembers of the dream is the girl in the brown and green dress, saying words in a language he did not speak or understand. His name is . He tousled his messy, light brown hair and sighed. This wasn’t the first time he has had a dream like this. The same girl was always covered in a shroud of fear that seemed to radiate off her, and she was always running or hiding. He had thought that these dreams would end after one or two days, but it continued. And now he did not know what to think of them. Perhaps they were just figments of his imagination, although this concept was becoming more and more extraordinary as time went on and the dreams failed to cease. trotted down the small, cramped hall to the washroom where he proceeded to pour water into the basin and splash it on his face. This did not help to clear his thoughts at all so he crept past his grandfather’s doorway and slipped out of the house. The cool morning breeze felt good on his face, bringing along with it the sweet scent of dew. He rounded his small, cottage-like house that his grandfather had built in his younger years and stepped out into the fields. The cold dirt tickled his bare feet and as he walked he could see the sprouts of this years crops growing, promising that this would be a good year. He continued walking until he reached the edge of his family’s farmland, of which was surrounded by a thick forest, miles wide. This forest was called the Forsaken Lands and had long been controlled by the king, King _____________; a crazy, power-hungry maniac who managed to take control of the whole kingdom of Ãgröndæle. It was against the law of the land under ____________’s rule to hunt in the area, punishable by death. This forced the people of _____________’s hometown of Kilgen to hunt in forests either five towns away or depend on trade for meat. It was also dangerous to go into the forests for many which went into the Forsaken Lands never came out. There were said to be beasts unimaginable within the forests and darkness so dark that it was said to constrict people and many supposedly died of fright. But this did not deter ______________. He picked up his bow and quiver, of which he had hidden beneath a large, gray rock and he strung the bow. Then he crept into the forest quietly, so as not to scare any animals. Slowly, slowly he crept into the forest, hoping to find a good-sized deer to take home and show his grandfather. His grandfather knew that

___________ went into the Forsaken lands and did not approve, but could not argue with the size of the game that ____________ always came back with. He crept in carefully but soon his steps quickened to a quiet stride and he stepped even deeper into the forest. It was oddly silent for the forest at night, as it was usually filled with the signs and sounds of life. He heard the snap of a twig behind him and whirled around, but there was nothing. Again, he heard another twig snap from behind him and once again, nothing. Perturbed, he looked around warily, eyeing for any signs of movement. In his peripheral vision, he saw what seemed like a female, human form dash behind the trees. It was shrouded in darkness, blanketing the figure so that it looked like it was not there. He quickly to an arrow out of his quiver and placed on the bow. Swinging the bow around, he aimed it towards shadows and movement. Seeing the form again, he swung around and released the arrow with one fluid movement. Somehow, the arrow passed right through the figure! Placing another arrow in the bow, ____________ swung to face the form again, but it had disappeared. In its place, was a note written in fluid script that was rather hard to decipher. He placed his bow on the ground and picked up the note. But once he had, it read:

Tus meres falta en mere pon slouta. Mere ista lipen taki, Karvja. Ãvandalorœå requaeed mere. Yif requaeed mere. Takin yill Elvin glan. This confused but also startled him. He couldn’t understand what the note said, but wasn’t the word “Karvja” what the girl in his dreams had said? Could he still be asleep? was curious, but not enough to be crazy and travel deeper into the forest. Still wondering about who or what for that matter, that creature was; he stepped out of the forest and back into the crisp morning air. Could that- that THING be just my imagination? He thought worriedly. He saw that the sun was now rising over the western treetops so he hurried back to his family’s small, cabin-like home.

Translation & Pronunciation Guide Tus: [toos] it/ it is Mere: [mare-ay] you Forms of mere: Meres: [mare- es] your Meren: [mare- en] you are

Taki: [taa-kee] safe/ safety/ the state of being safe/ protected/ secure Forms of taki: Takin: [taa- kin] (past tense) save

Falta: [fall-ta] fault/ the state of being at fault/ liable/ burden

Requaeed: [ra-quee-d] need/needs/require

En: [ĕn] if

Yif: [ya-eef] I/me

Pon: [pon] get/give/receive

Ven [van]: let

Slouta: [sl-owt-ǎ] hurt/injured/wounded.

Karvja [kar-v-sha]: the savior; the bringer of light and safety

Ista: [ee-sta] must/required/should Lipen: [lee-pen] stay/not change/always be/continue to

Lontæn [lon-tay-een}: be opened; be found; be revealed Yi’ll: [yeh-eel] the Glan: [glaa-n] race/tribe/species/people