Rift and Aeon

*FANFARE*

WHOO! Thank you, you're all too kind. That's right folks, I return from the long night of sleep to once again update my blog! For those of you that still actually check this thing, I commend and thank you, and for those of you that have long since given up on my writing....well....no one likes you. So there. Anyways, this is a segment I've actually worked on for some time. Started out as my jotting down in my little moleskine (thanks mom) just ideas and eventually I just streamed some consciousness out. I kinda went over again when I typed it up and made it sound prettier. However the end is rough, just barely happened like 2 minutes ago, so go easy on your critiques and comments. (Don't you love how it sounds like I'm talking to a larger audience as opposed to my actual 4 readers and 2 comments, I love being delusional.) Well without further delay, I present you................THIS (Look below, I couldn't find a down arrow so this is the best you get)

The mid-day sun hung directly overhead, brilliantly shining down between the monolithic sky scrapers. Rift loved this time of day; it was the only time he could see the sun without actually topping the huge buildings and risking drawing attention to himself. Attention was just the thing he needed none of now. The engagement with Enforcers had nearly ended him. Their normal armament of light anti-personel weaponry was relatively easy for Rift to deflect. Over time it grew strenuous, but typically he could overpower his adversaries quickly. But they were adapting. Several anti-armor weapons had been employed and the force of the explosive shells nearly shattered his shield. He had been forced to retreat and hide in an obscure alleyway where he vomited blood and passed out.

The harsh realization of how fragile he was shook Rift. Behind the shockwaves and deflective fields he threw about, he was a simple human, as weak and fragile as the next. Until now he had felt all powerful, that he alone could end the tyrannical reign of the Cybers with barely an effort. Though for all his power, he was alone, and could only fight so long as he had the stamina. Against him stood the technological advances of every world nation for the past millennium and the armies of the largest human civilization known to history.

He shook himself. Regardless of the foe he faced, he had to succeed. If he did not, then every Normal would eventually be subjected to cybernetic integration, and forced to live in the illusion of progression and happiness that permeated all Cyber cities. I cannot allow that to happen. Images of his homeland flashed in his mind. Burning corpses and leveled homes filled his mind’s eye. He could still hear the sickening crunch of bones as Assault Suits made their way through the pogrom. The children too young to remember screamed as surgeons bored implants into their necks. If I fail here, that will be every home, every Normal , and every child. Absorbing every shot fired was heroic and instilled fear and wonder into his enemies, but it would ultimately get him killed. He had to learn and adapt as they were. Perhaps some practice was in order, but the very thought tired him.

His shoulders slumped in fatigue as he navigated the busy streets of the poor districts. Walking helped him think and he found it refreshing to be amongst people that were not attempting to end his life. Though for all their cybernetic limbs and augmentations he hardly regarded them as people. Though as fortune would have it, they shared his loathing for the executive heads of the synthetic world, making it especially difficult to monitor the districts. Any attempt to extend the Sonic Imaging Network into the poor part of the city resulted in vandalism and rioting. And since the impoverished of the cybernetic society kept chiefly to their own business no one bothered to spare a second glance at his hooded face. Everyone in the Cyber world knew him from police news feeds, but no one expected him to be out taking a stroll on the street.

His thoughts perpetually rested on the engagement of the previous night. It was probable that from extensive study Cyber scientists knew more about the nature of his abilities than he did. If they could shift and adapt at greater rate than he then it was only a matter of time before his end. But how could he do so as well. Would it be as easy as practice to develop his new powers? He could not even fathom the possibilities before him; much less did he know where to begin. The powers were his, but he knew practically nothing about them. Perhaps he could learn to fly…

He was jerked from his thoughts as he ran headlong into another pedestrian. Stumbling, he retained his feet and quickly offered an apology and moved on, keeping his head down. That was bizarre. He thought to himself. I never even saw them. Typically he was very observant and on alert, how could he have missed someone directly in front of him. He pressed on through the river of people flowing along the streets of the decaying district. He could not shake the uneasiness of being caught off guard, and was completely unprepared when it happened a second time.

“Who would have known that Rift was such a klutz?” A voice behind him said softly.

Wild eyed he whirled on his accuser instinctively readying a shockwave around his fist. To his surprise a young woman stood before him amidst the throng. She was short, slender, and dark. Brown hair fell from under the hood she wore, framing the soft features of her pretty face. A happy grin revealed glistening white teeth. Her dark eyes matched her smile, innocent and beautiful. Were Rift not ready to kill he would have been quite captivated. No implants were visible, so she must have been upper class to afford the Bio-Cyber enhancements.

She waited patiently for him to respond, continuing the grin. Rift looked around nervously; no one appeared to have noticed when she said his name. He was a common topic of discussion, and hopefully the incident had been written off as just another conversation by passerbies. He turned back to the girl whose expression was unchanging.

Rift stepped into an inset of the decaying building just off the walkway, gesturing her to follow. “Who are you?” He asked once the two were out of the pedestrian traffic. Typically he would avoid conversation altogether and just cut to the fighting. But her manner was strange; no military personnel or assassin would have addressed him before attacking, ruining the element of surprise. She must have had a more personal agenda. Whatever the case, he had no choice but to stay and find out or run the risk of identifying himself to the crowd. If that happened, poor district or not, he would have only minutes until Enforcers were on top of him. His present condition suggested that this would be a terrible turn of events.

“Someone just like you.” She replied smiling.

Rift held in scoff and waited for her to elaborate. Likely some pathetic metaphor from yet another metallic sympathizer that wanted to aid the fight against tyranny. He had no need of synthetic aid, their acrid stench filled his nostrils without relent; why on Earth would he take aid from such a creature. Yet his interest was piqued. He made great efforts to be elusive and impossible to identify; that a non-governmental party had the skills to pick him out of a crowd and keep pace was miraculous in of itself.

Her silence made him impatient and anxious, “Really?” He said sarcastically, “And how do you suppose that is? I don’t have gears in place of a heart.”

She looked slightly taken aback at his words, as though she had not expected such hostility from the man attempting to tear down her society and way of life. “I’m not one of them! I want to help you.” She said lightly gesturing to the moving throng about them. “I’m a Normal like you, and I have special powers—“

“And we’ll just stop this conversation there.” Rift said cutting her off with a raised palm. “I don’t know what you are, but you’re not a Normal. The only reason I can avoid getting apprehended is because of my abilities. And you are definitely not like me. But most of all, I don’t need your help.” His tone was harsh and intentional. He turned and moved back into the writhing crowd slipping from her view. Though her claims intrigued him, they could be no more than a farce to earn his trust. She was likely a journalist of some sort masquerading as a Normal to get on the inside and make a fortune on the story.

He looked over his shoulder methodically as he moved. Whatever she was she was nowhere to be seen. He must have lost her for the moment, but getting discovered like that was serious. He needed to disappear. One of the many alleyways that networked the slums came up on his left and he parted from the mass into the dark. The wider main city streets that had once been purposed for automobiles left room for sunlight shine down on the city’s inhabitants. But over the centuries of the city’s existence the skyscrapers had grown higher and higher eventually completely obscuring the alleys from sunlight. Relatively few traversed the murky paths if but for a small shortcut. Rift had always found that they were a haven from prying eyes. Making several turns deeper into the spider-web like heart he finally was alone. Sighing, he leaned against a dingy wall. His body shook with adrenaline and fatigue, and after resting a moment he pushed away and began to move again. But as he turned he nearly cried out in surprise when he found himself nearly nose to nose with the young woman from before, her hand on his chest shoving him backward. His fall to the filthy pavement lasted an eternity. He was too shocked but to think a single question: How?

The unforgiving cement hurt as he crumpled onto it. Slowly, sluggishly, he stood; not for sore muscles, but sheer depletion of energy. He wearied a bewildered look at his aggressor while his mouth attempted to form words that refused to exit. The pair stood silent for a moment while the young woman smirked at Rift’s attempt to stand. She spoke only once he had fully regained his feet.

“You don’t need help?” She asked rhetorically. Rift attempted to rebuttal but she cut him off. “Rift, a child could have toppled you. If Enforcers found you like this you would be hauled off to some lab where a scientist would dissect you like a Junior School class experiment to see what makes you tick. I came searching for you, because I believe in what you’re doing and I want to help make a difference. Much as you may hate to admit it you can’t do this alone, and you need help; my help.”

Rift finally managed to stand. “Really? Do you always approach strangers like this? Claiming to know all of their needs and wants followed by shoving them over?” He said. “I don’t even know what your name is or at least what to call you, much less should I just take your word that you’re an honest anti-cyber enthusiast and you have all the knowledge and skills to make my mission here a success.”

The young woman smiled her row of perfect white teeth. “I was waiting for you to ask.” She said excitedly. “Call me Aeon.”

Rift - Random 2

Well it's late again, and I felt like writing. Ciara has been encouraging me to do so. This is a bit continued from the last Random Rift segment, since it was kindof a cliffhanger. So we'll see how this turns out. Also, I edited the last post to give a better description of the city, if you'd like to check it out.

Series: Rift

Segment: Random - 2

Stage: Rough

Times Through: 1

Rift's heart pounded in his ears as he blitzed through the sparse pedestrians with the Enforcer hot on his heels. It would be on him in a moment or two, he had to do something. No! He thought to himself, I can't open up like this just yet! Ducking down side allies and streets he kept a fragile distance with the wailing air-car. The ghettos of the Cyber cities were the best places to elude Enforcement. Thin streets and even more thin ally ways made it tough for an air-car to navigate at full speed, which gave a fugitive on foot a fighting chance. It helped that the Cyber government was in such neglect of the ghettos that they did not even have ground forces based in the lower parts of the city; any foot or ground vehicles had to be flown in. The Enforcer was shouting something over the speaker, but his attention was too focused on escape to hear.

Rift looked like a shade sprinting through the streets with dim holographic light passing over his cloak almost reluctantly. Rift had to come to a screeching halt as a green plasma bolt lanced over his shoulder and struck the building to his right. Debris and garbage exploded outward in a fatal barrage. Falling to the ground he covered his head as the shrapnel passed over. The white Enforcer vehicle sped closer at his pause and he had to dive out of the way as it swooped low and a black-armored Enforcer leaning out swung at him with an electrified stun rod.

The vehicle landed in the ally past the debris, blocking the way. Two Enforcers stepped out, almost invisible in the night excepting the green eyes of their helmets. The black armor was plated and segmented, leaving space at each joint for maximum flexibility. A black mesh that could stop a vibro-knife was worn under the plating, filling in the spaces so not a single bit of flesh showed through the suit, if the cyborgs had any flesh left. The two upholstered their sidearms and slowly approached Rift as he stood coughing.

"Citizen, you are under arrest for lack of proper ID-tagging, and will be detained until you have received your chip." The foremost Enforcer said, his voice deep and mechanical through the helmet.

Rift turned to run and beheld another Enforcer air-car setting down on the opposite side of the ally. He was boxed in. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this. He thought. Turning to face the Enforcer he stood with his hands out, in feigned surrender. With his mind he reached out to the space around him. Beyond the flashing lights and Enforcers, beyond the massive city, beyond the world as most knew it, he touched the fabric of space. Brushing lightly upon it with a familiar touch, it rippled gently around him, distorting his image like the heat from flames.

The Enforcers paused at the bizarre spectacle. The first turned to the second, "I think my optics are on the fritz, are you seeing something strange?". The second nodded in reply. The pair from the second air-car had just stepped out, and were staring at Rift quizzically. One gave a hand signal, and all four slowly approached.

They'll have radioed in already, more will be coming, I need to be brief. Rift thought. Though he had every reservation about it, he had to reveal himself. He focused on the space around his his right fist. The rippling air intensified for a brief second, and all Hell broke loose.

Lunging forward he swung at the empty air. A massive shock-wave erupted from his fist and caught the two Enforcers before him. The two looked as though a freight train had caught them in the chest and flew backward, slamming into their air-car with a deafening crunch as the metal bent inward and the vehicle flipped into the air with the Enforcers embedded within its hull.

Rift turned to the second pair before the air-car landed. With a yell they opened fire. Green bolts sizzled through the air. Focusing on the space around him even before they fired, he deflected the bolter fire with a solid shield made from rippling space forming a hemisphere in front of him. Green plasma fire bounced off and blasted the buildings to either side of Rift ripping apart the stone and metal.

With a mental shove Rift threw his shield forward blasting both Enforcer's off their feet landing several meters back. Before they could fully stand Rift swung his arm in an arc in front of him, whipping a shock-wave with it. The base of the building to his right ripped out explosively and the wall of pure force caught the two stunned Enforcers and slammed them into the wall of the ally. The stone cracked as their armored bodies crumpled up against it. A moment of silence followed as blood leaked out of their broken suits onto the mucky floor. So they were still at least part human. The red flashing light of the remaining air-car was the only thing that disturbed the dark stillness.

They will have seen that on the car's cameras. No point in hiding it now, I need to move before more come. Rift leaped to the building next to him and planted his feet on the wall for a split second. A shock-wave fired at his feet, launching him up the side of the sky-scraper and breaking out a small segment of the wall. With long bounding leaps he flew up the side of the structure, leaving small indents with every step. Quickly cresting the massive building, he deftly landed on the roof and blasted forward to the far edge with a single bound. With a massive shock-wave he launched into the silvery night sky. It was done, he had begun his war.

That's all, post your thoughts, comments, suggestions!

Rift - Random

This segment is me late at night, listening to good music, and feeling like writing. This bit will be about Rift, and really it will be a stream of consciousness, though I'll attempt to set him in the place I would hope the storyline would take place.

Series: Rift
Segment: Random
Stage: Rough

Times Through: 1

Rift contemplated his drink for a long moment. Water; pure water. It seemed such a strange phenomenon within the twisted and warped world around him. Everything was changed, altered, polluted. But here in front of him, in the simplest of substances, he found purity, amidst the storm of alcohol and synthetic drinks the bar served. Studying the other patrons about him, all clad in dark earth tones to match the depressing air and poor light of the bar, he discovered he was the only present with the beverage. He turned back to his drink, smiling in understanding. He too felt like an island of the untouched, surrounded by a tempest of false images of happiness.

"How long are you going to contemplate that before you drink it?" Zatz asked, startling Rift out of his thoughts. "It's not poison, no nanites or anything, I don't think the bartender knows you're a fleshie."

Rift cast a half smile at his cybernetic companion. The left side of Zatz's fair face was metallic and rough with a red synthetic eye gazing acutely at Rift. Sandy blonde hair fell over the edges of the metallic modifications that came up to the left side of his crown. His natural blue eye smiled with his lips as he suppressed a chuckle.

"I swear, I'll never understand you fleshies, you seem so clueless to what's happening around you." He said, and then added, "Well, except you. You seem more like you're sizing up the planet for a fight."

"I have to be on edge; if the authorities found me they would try to throw me in a laser-barred cell." Rift replied, gazing once again at his water.

Zatz laughed quietly. "Really Rift, I don't know what you're about, but I doubt you're that valuable...wait where are you going?"

Rift stood and quickly downed the small glass before setting it softly back on the steel bar-counter. Deftly he wrapped his dark cloak about him and pulled over the cowl. "That simply reminds me," He said, "I've been in one place for too long, it's time I moved on." With a small gesture of farewell, he headed for the door, almost becoming invisible as the dull ambient light of the holographic dancers above them blurred the figures below.

Zatz nearly lept after him, barely catching the hem of his cloak, "Now hold on! We just barely sat down, what are you so scared of?"

"I enjoy our talks Zatz, it's nice to have someone I can come chat with that doesn't treat me like a freak." Rift said, pulling his cloak from the cyborg's hands and passing through the hologram that served as a door.

Zatz followed him onto the street cursing quietly. The pair stepped onto a filthy street, broken machinery and filth lay mixed in with the lowest of the city's inhabitants. The perfect place to hide from Enforcement. Massive skyscrapers covered in neon light and holographic advertisements almost completely obscured the sky. The mucky roadway was lit only by the menagerie of colors above. The full moon was barely visible, drowned by the city smog, casting wilting rays of silver moonlight onto the filthy street that became lost amongst the neon. The hum and buzz of air-cars and hover-trams filled Rift's ears. The quiet of the open country seemed all but a distant memory to him. He felt like retching every time he walked amongst the towering structures. But if he did not do what he must, there would be no home or open country to return to.

"Now don't get me wrong, I still think you're completely bizarre; but that intrigues me and I thought at least I'd learn more about you. You're the first natural I've known!" Zatz said shattering Rift's thoughts again. "What you're doing in the Cyber Cities is a complete mystery to me."

Rift turned and faced his friend. As a reply was on the tip of his tongue his eyes glanced upward. Red flickering lights from an Enforcer air-car were approaching from the sky, almost aimed perfectly for him. Damn! He thought, I thought I'd have at least a few more minutes. With blinding speed he turned and sprinted down the street, deftly flowing amongst the occupants. Small gusts of wind washed over Zatz at his departure.

What was that about? Zatz queried silently, That was fast even for a cyber. He puzzled for a moment and nearly lept from his skin when a wailing siren erupted from the Enforcer vehicle directly above him. Red lights flashing in a fury it barreled down the road only meters above the pedestrians. Zatz's eyes widened at the spectacle. What in blazes are they after him for?

Well that's all for tonight, I'm tired. Lemme know what you think

The Dance: Adelei

This piece some of you may already be familiar with, but I figured I would post it up anyway. It's from one of my more primary ideas were I ever to write anything extensively. I like it, just gives you an introduction to one of the characters and a small look at some of the lore and such in the world.

Series: The Dance
Segment: Adelei intro, later on

Stage: Rough

Times Through: 1 with some editing

The morning sun poured through the blown glass window of Adelei's quarters. Warm rays pierced the chilled winter air, lighting upon her elegant face as she lay under her fur bedding. With a grumble she stirred and opened her sky blue eyes. Yawning, she sat up and her blanket fell from her shoulders, leaving her nakedness only covered by her long, brilliant blonde hair that fell to the middle of her abdomen. Her full lips split as she smiled at the new day, revealing straight white teeth.

Smoothly she slipped from under her covers and stood on the cold stone floor, completely nude. Of average height, she was as slender as a rapier. Bumps raised all about her fair skin in the chilly air.

The room was large and elaborately adorned. Magnificent tapestries, portraying the history and feats of her family's reign in the Winter Kingdom hung about the stone walls. The white wolf's head in a deep blue field of the Mizael family crest, hung above the heavy wooden door across from her. Ornate furniture, all in matching white and blue, was all about; dressers, wardrobes, chairs, tables and couches. All fit for the only heir of Esdraelon.

Adelei drew in a long breath and closed her eyes. She reached out with her mind and touched the air around her. Instantly it responded with a familiar warmth and peace. She smiled, stretched out her arms, and gracefully pirouetted. The air followed her invitation to Dance and whipped around her with frightening ferocity in a miniature whirlwind. The tapestries and curtains all whipped and cracked in the violent tempest, as snow white feathers materialized in the air and coalesced about Adelei's body. The feathers gathered about her legs, waist, and torso, linking themselves together into a fabric. The wind died down and left her garbed in the blessing of the Wind Aeon.

The feathers from the great Eagle, Vashti, adorned her body as clothing. Though soft as snow, Vashti's feathers were as strong as chain mail. Flat-soled boots, stopping just short of her knees, guarded Adelei's legs. Feathery trunks sat snug about her hips, dropping to her mid thigh. A sleeveless tunic covered her torso, leaving her abdomen bare. The neckline was U-shaped, tracing just below her collar bones.

Flipping her hair over her back, she approached the large door to her quarters. A white hooded cloak hung from a hook next to it. The cloak was a soft white wool, with white fur along its edges, including the cowl. With an upward wave of Adelei's hand, wind billowed underneath the cloak and lifted it from its perch. It floated along the ceiling for a moment, then softly settled on the Wind Dancer's shoulders. She reached up and fasted the silver wolf-paw brooch and pulled the cowl over her head. The garment had been specially made for Adelei to match her Eagle Feather garb, the only place she could be seen without it was the training ring.

Invisible hands of air jerked open the door and she descended down a long, stone spiral staircase. The spiral was illuminated by sunlight shining through the frequent windows. Smoldering torches sat in brackets on the wall, likely extinguished by servants only moments before the princess' descent in herald of the morning. As she passed each window she glanced out at the monstrous castle of Wolfgard surrounding her, and the snowy forest beyond its massive walls. Adelei's quarters were in the top of the Maiden's Tower, at the heart of the castle. Ever since Damien Mizael conquered Esdraelon hundreds of years previously and erected Castle Wolfgard as his fortress, the Maiden's Tower and it's many rooms had been inhabited by the Mizael princesses. Now only Adelei's room was occupied.

Adelei had always longed for a mother to show her the ways of womanhood; but Lady Tonetta had died in childbirth and her father, Lord Tyron, was too grief stricken to remarry, leaving her the solitary heir of Esdraelon. So her father gave her to the noble ladies of the courts to teach her the ways of women. She spent her youth in magnificent gowns and tiaras, learning the courts, and entertaining suitors. As the Winter Kingdom's only heir, nobility came from near and far presenting her with potential husbands. But after her twentieth birthday, all of that changed.

Rift

This is a short little bit that I figured I'd throw on here simply for content if nothing else. It's a little idea I had when I asked myself "If I could make up a super-hero, what would it be like?" And Rift is who I came up with, the piece really doesn't do much to introduce you to the character, nor takes place in the actual timeline I hope to place him in later on, since my ideas of him have changed since writing this, but there are some things in principle that are the same, and if nothing else, was the writing any good? It's REALLY rough, so be gentle.

Series: Rift

Segment: Random, not associated

Stage: Rough

Times Through: 1

Rays of moonlight pierced the low cloud cover over New York City. The silver lances were lost as they fell amongst the brilliant city lights. The light, noise, and shadows blended into dizzying ambience; making the dark figure flitting amongst the rooftops go completely unnoticed.

The figure paused on the roof corner of a dilapidated office building in an older part of the city. The light from below seemed to fold and wrap about the figure, never actually touching it, leaving it barely discernible as a wavy haze. It remained still; waiting.

A man clad in a dark trench coat below broke from the sparsely trafficked sidewalk and headed down an alleyway between the decaying office building and the next. The alley was poorly lit and filthy, but the man paid no heed, he moved with purpose down its dank corridor.

The dark figure above moved as the man entered the alley. Almost in anticipation, it stayed perfectly parallel to his movements on the rooftop. The air momentarily rippled and distorted with its passing before reverting to normality.

The alley came to a four-way split and the man turned right, following the edge of the office building, oblivious to the dark lurker above. The space behind the building was wide and filled with trash and broken furniture as well as a few dumpsters. The man in the trench coat stopped in the middle of the space. After a moment a he began to hum to himself, a strange, almost dismal melody.

The humming stopped and several figures stepped from the shadows around him. He half-grinned as they phased into view. Even in the poor light, their bodies were shrouded in total blackness for a few moments before it passed from them; slowly, unnaturally.

Shadowmen.

Star Wars (Fanfic, how unoriginal of me)

Ah my first post! Yes, as you can see above, it's a fanfic, how depressing to start my blog with such. BUT, I figured I'd save my better, or at least my favorite, pieces for later, right? Well that's my plan anyway. But really my primary purpose in writing this, wasn't to come up with anything profound or special, just simply writing practice. Half my frustration with my writing is its poor quality, so I figure I should practice. This bit is particularly focused on making combative situations come alive and pop out at the reader, instead of a stale sequence of poorly described 'moves' the characters employ. Anyway, have a taste!

(Note, due to some of my stuff being written in Open Office, formatting may be off.)

Series: Star Wars Fanfic

Segment: Beginning: Chapter 1

Stage: Rough Draft

Times Through: 2

Foster dropped to one knee, panting from fatigue. His green lightsaber hissed and crackled as it scorched the stone floor of the ancient temple. His tattered and burned Jedi tunic and trousers hung loosely from his sweat-slicked body. Fresh lightsaber burns sizzled on his torso and legs, throbbing in blinding pain. He fought the impulse to retch for a moment before looking up at his opponent with teeth gritted in frustration.

Darth Sheol looked down on the fallen Jedi with cool confidence, playfully twirling his crimson lightsaber in his right hand. Shadows danced on his pale, smirking face in the temple's failing artificial light. Despite his youthful appearance, silver hair swept back down to the base of his neck. His black robes concealed his slender frame in darkness, barely visible in the dim light.

"That was a foolish move, following me here." The Darth said.

Foster cursed himself silently, agreeing with the Sith. In the heat of the battle he had acted rashly, with fiery determination to not let the dark lord escape. But now a massive obelisk had sealed him inside the temple, separating him from his comrades. The Jedi had hoped to ambush the group of Sith who set out to explore the temple the pair now stood in, and make short work of the formidable Darth Sheol. But they had underestimated the size of his escort, and were held back long enough to allow Sheol to retreat behind the impenetrable walls of the temple. Foster had dashed after him alone, barely slipping under the monolith that now trapped him inside. He now knew why the Council had dispatched a dozen Jedi for the mission.

Foster bit back the pain and stood, clasping his emerald blade in both hands, taking battle stance. He would die here, it was certain, but if he could prolong the battle, perhaps his allies would still have a chance at catching the Sith. He quickly re-assessed his surroundings; the pair stood in a spacious entrance hall. Flickering light strips encircled the hall along the high edges of the ceiling. Their soft light faintly illuminated the brown stonework that matched the desert world. A ring of balcony traced all along the walls of the room high above them. Several corridors led out of the hall at the back, but otherwise the room was open and flat.

Foster looked across at his smirking foe. The outcome of the impending conflict struck fear into him. Foster had only months previously graduated into the ranks of the Jedi. Were it not for his endless pleading to his uncle on the Jedi Council he never would have been selected for this mission, and even then he was only to be a support. But his opponent was a seasoned Sith Lord, skilled and mastered in ways Foster could not even imagine. The battle thus far had been play for the man, and so it would end.

Sheol's grin grew wider. "Though you lack experience in every sense of the word, your resolve in the face of death is admirable."

'Resolve' was not a word Foster would have used. Though he understood he would die and refused to do so kneeling, he nearly quaked from his despair. He sighed, there was no sense in listening to the man patronize him. He answered with silence, never breaking eye contact with his foe.

Foster lunged forward and hammered a two-handed sidestroke at the Sith with all his might. Sheol reacted instantly, never off-guard; twirling gracefully, he re-directed Foster's blade away with his own. The Jedi stumbled on his own momentum, but quickly turned and blocked the Sith's counter swing.

That counter was delayed! Foster thought. He could've split me in two if he wished;, he's toying with me!

Darth Sheol smiled in affirmation of Foster's thoughts, which he was obviously reading.

Humiliated, the young Jedi's assault took on new fury. His green lightsaber blurred as he laid into his smug foe with surprising speed. Darth Sheol never appeared pushed, deftly parrying each blow effortlessly. The pair moved all about the open floor, illuminating the room with flashes and sparks as their blades crashed together.

Foster appeared drunken in comparison to Sheol. The black-cloaked man twirled and spun, moving with fluidic grace from stroke to stroke. His crimson blade moved with perfect rhythm, humming a war song to which the Sith danced. Sweat flew from Foster's face as he spun. His muscles screamed in protest and his strokes grew sluggish. Sheol pressed him harder, expiring the last reserves of his strength. The Sith Lord deflected a sloppy down stroke and blasted the Jedi in the chest with an invisible fist of the Force. Foster reeled backward and crashed into the stone floor. His lightsaber flew from his hand and extinguished. The wind went out of him and he spent several moments trying to painfully fill his lungs.

Darth Sheol deactivated his lightsaber and approached the motionless Jedi. With a flick of his fingers, Foster's discarded weapon flew into the Sith's hand and quickly disappeared into his dark robes.

"You are a foolish, inexperienced, and clumsy little Padawan." Sheol said, standing over his foe. He let the words sink in before he continued. "Yet you are brave, determined and possess much potential to be great."

Foster attempted to groan a reply, but no audible sound left his lips.

"It's a pity such potential always goes to waste." Sheol said as he extended his hand. Blue-white lightning arced from his fingertips with a crackle and raged all about Foster's fatigued body. He convulsed violently on the floor in a silent scream of agony. The lightning danced all about him, searing his flesh and starting small fires on his garb. No thoughts crossed his mind as his consciousness was enveloped in a blanket of darkness.

Welcome!

You have somehow haphazardly stumbled upon my page, the method of which is unsure. But since you're here, may as well poke around! The Shibby Files are a collection of my many writing ideas. I dream of being a writer....like every other ten billion teenagers out there. The unfortunate thing is I'm in my twenties, so one would think I'd have grown out of the phase by now.

Not so! I intend to live in my little dream land of one day being successful as long as possible. With that said, let me tell you the types of things you'll find on here.

Being a harsh critic of myself, I find my work frustrating and have a hard time really getting anywhere as far as pounding out consecutive chapters of any storyline. Reading over again I tear it to pieces and practically throw it all out the window. So what this page will contain are random segments or bits of different story ideas that I've actually been able to sit down and write. For the most part they'll be science fiction and fantasy, cause I'm a nerd, and I'm okay with that.

What I would ask of you, the reader, that if you're to do anything but read and enjoy (or not enjoy); feel free to comment and lend me advice, or praise if needs be. The purpose of this is to get outside opinions of my work. So comment and advise away! But anyway, enough introduction, I'm sure I'll do plenty of gabbing in each individual post, until then, adieu!