Arizona

That Moment

There's always that moment. The moment of ultimate clarity. The moment when you realize that what happens in high school, like drama and all of the pointless arguments, aren't going to matter a bit in the long run. That moment when you just finally get it. You realize, that you just need to let go. What happens happens. You cannot, and I mean, CANNOT take yourself so seriously. That, my friends, is key. The Key to life. The key to success. Some would argue on that statement, but really, that statement has been proven to me. You will soon look in to this. Then, you will have that moment and be able to let go and just cruise.

Always Changing

Gazing out over the canyons in Utah. What does it feel like? I'll start by telling you it is amazing
and that i have never seen anything like it. its the only place where you can look out and see the farthest. The one and only place where you can get lost for months and it will only feel like a few days. Even the darkest and dampest nights seem to be alive and waiting just for you to discover new things hidden deep inside yourself. The slot canyons are easy to get stuck in but not so easy to get out of. There are free solo climbs everywhere. climbs that make your heart race and your chest ache because of the excitement of not knowing whats at the top of this monstrous rock you are about to accomplish. Maybe a 15 year old girl who is scared of the world goes and by the end of it, has done crack climbs and a 250 repel in to six feet of water from the near flood the night before. the weather is almost like Colorado weather. it is taken for granted. it can be 80 degrees out and then BAM! there's loads of snow on the flat ground in the morning.
Utah, ah Utah. is always the same and yet, people i spoke too change every time they go there. They see new Things and Meet new people. Get chased by angry mountain goats or maybe a Windego if their imagination is cruel enough.

Hey guys here is a book that I started a while back. its not done but I am considering continuing to create the story. What do you think? Its i bit long but it needs to be read. I would appreciate some constructive feed back.

Bascalia

            School had never been easy for Jamison. It had always been a place full of bullying, drugs, and violence. That day that he found the entrance to Bascalia was his 17^th birthday, and, the most challenging day at school he had faced yet.

            The bus stopped and Jamison took off running for the peaceful woods that lie just behind the farmhouse he called home. It was cold, foggy, and about to dump snow on him and the tranquil forest surrounding him. As he ran, his warm, steamy, breaths were visible in the crisp air. His eyes filled with water, not because he was crying but because of the cold, and he decided to keep running until he found the other side of the wood which he had never been able to accomplish. No one knew where he was, and he himself wasn’t even keeping track any longer.  Jamison, distracted, couldn’t have cared less.

            If it had been fates choice he would have kept running for days, months, maybe even years. No one could have stopped him. But fate was not completely in charge at this time. It was merely the fact that Jamison wanted to escape the world he was living in and Bascalia wanted to find him.

            He suddenly fell to the floor of the forest writhing and gasping for air. He was struggling. He had no clue why. He had never had an experience like this. When he was once again ready to continue his journey he decided he should probably go home. Rolling on to his back, he checked the time. There was no time. The screen had a symbol on it. It was a cross with intricate runes circling the outside. Jamison couldn’t even begin to comprehend what he was seeing. He blinked as if to check his eyes and the symbol was gone. The watch did not return to working order.

            Jamison got up to return home. He had no idea, which way he came from. There was now heavy snow on the ground. He looked for any signs of which way he came from. There was nothing.  Not even a trace of snowy footprints. The woods had swallowed up every trace of life, leaving behind an empty, eerie silence.

            He was astonished. Having no clue which way he had came from, he turned in a circle trying to find any landmark he recognized. To his left there was a large cliff; to his right he saw nothing but white blowing snow. Then he turned back to the original direction he had been looking in. the landscape was empty a few seconds ago and now there was a towering mass of what looked like a building. It was getting cold and near to white out conditions. He rushed to the building not even caring about what it looked like. Stepping up to what he thought was the front entrance he gave it a knock hoping for an answer. There was none.

            Jamison, now fearing the cold pushed the ridiculously heavy door aside and stumbled in to the building. The inside of the building was foreign to him but familiar at the same time. Like he had read about it in a book long ago. There were ancient looking torches lining the long hallway. In amazement, he walked a little further down the main passage he stood in. In a sudden wave of random panic attack he tried to go back and find the door he came in. it was nowhere to be found. Jamison cursed at himself for not leaving it open.

“ But wait…” I thought to himself  “            I did leave it open.”

            Upon this startling realization his stomach leaped in to his chest. He thought he might have walked further down the hall way expected. Jamison grabbed a torch to ensure he always could illumine the path ahead of him and started to trudge down unknown passages and tunnels. It wasn’t long before he hit a dead end. He walked straight in to it. The first thing he noticed about the wall was the strange pictures. It suddenly dawned on him exactly what kind of building he had walked in to. He had walked in to an Unknown. He had only heard of them in stories and books.

Unknowns were the most dangerous and fatal of all ancient labyrinths. They came when you least expected and lead you to your fate. They sometimes killed you and other times lead you to your destiny.

Upon realization that his death could be waiting for him around every corner he sharpened his senses. Thump. There was an echoing thud behind him. Jamison didn’t have the nerve to turn around. He could hear whatever it was breathing down his spine.

Jamison would never know if he had turned around on his own. A strong wind whistled through the tunnels. A force tugged on his clothing trying to turn him around to face the thing behind him. He resisted and refused to give in. Sweat beaded on his forehead making his dark shaggy hair stick to his forehead. The force continued to weaken him until he had no other choice but to give in.

The wind forced him around. In front of him was a monster. A monster with black scaly skin and hypnotizing green eyes. The things eyes spellbound him. They weren’t all monstrous they were somehow… human. The snake was about as tall as him. A good five foot nine. A normal boy would be terrified. The snake waited for a reaction it seemed. Jamison had none. He wasn’t afraid, sad, or dreading anything.

“Yesssssss, it issss himmmmm” the snake said.

            The building seemed to whistle and whisper back. Before Jamison could even process what was going on, the snake turned its beautiful green eyes on him once again.

“Pleassssssse come witthh meee” bellowed the snake.

Jamison thought of resisting. After stalling for a minute he abandoned the thought. If he did he would certainly die in the Uknowns. He would just become one of the many men who went in by accident and never saw sunlight again.

            The snake slithered towards the wall. Its red tongue liked the stone leaving glowing green trace. The wall shuddered; rocks showered him and the snake. He put his hands over his head in fear. The snake froze and then vanished with the blink of an eye.

            Where the wall was there was now a small door. It had cracked covering the surface and gray musty light seeped out giving just enough light to see there was writing but not enough to read.

            He reached out to the door against his will. His palm found the door. Green light shot like veins sprouting out of every letter.            The light faded from all the inscriptions but one that his palm was laying upon. He raised his hand in shock. Lines, curves, patterns, twists, and last but not least, the symbol from his watch earlier was being burned in a metallic green color on his arm. The Markings snaked their way up his arm and ended near the nape of his neck. He bent to the ground stiff with pain. Screaming and writhing, his eyes were now a chocolate brown color with gold flecks scattered like broken shards of glass.

            The pain subsided all at one moment there was now not a mark on the door but the green glowing light and a mirror. The mirror was dead center and had the words:

“In a sacred moment I live. Strange things lie within. Her lies Bascalia.”

            The second he was done whispering the words to himself the small door opened as if waiting for him to come inside. He hesitated but couldn’t think about going through before the forceful wind shoved him through and the door behind him shut. He was in a different world. He turned towards the door behind him. There was no longer a door, just a huge mass of trees and thick underbrush approaching from all directions.  He had never been in a stranger situation.

            Deciding to use some of his skills in the woods he picked a direction and started walking. He headed north in hope of finding any type of civilization. He walked for what seemed hours until night began to fall. He looked for any food sources, and started building a make shift shelter.

            The shelter was a lean to made out of strange wood that resembled bamboo. He found a small muddy spring that was bubbling and simmering with silver liquid on top. He was starving and parched by the time he had made his shelter. Jamison didn’t even trust the water a little bit but he bent down and began to smell it. He was stopped by a crunch behind him just as the liquid was about to touch his dry lips.

“I wouldn’t do that if I was you” said a cool hard women’s voice behind him.

Jamison froze hoping, praying the voice belonged to his own race.

“Turn around and drop your weapons” said a different harder voice to his left.

Jamison stood and slowly, subtly, turned around. To Jamison’s delight the two people that had spoken were human. At least the boy was. The girl was out of this world. He couldn’t comprehend how strikingly foreign yet familiar she was. The women walked up to him and took the arm that had been previously burned with the strange pattern.

“Yes, its him” she said.

“Are you sure?” said the boy who Jamison didn’t quite like.

            The girls’ eyes flashed as she turned to an answer. The boy didn’t dare to meet her gaze and almost immediately dropped his gaze.

            Ahah! Her eyes! That’s what’s so familiar. Jamison found himself staring in to them. She looked back at him realizing that he had finally figured it out.

“So, you finally figured it out. It is you. I am Raven. The snake who led you here.” She said.

“What the hell! That’s so screwed up! You’re a human not a snake!” Jamison said.

“Great going sis” said the boy who fit the description of a typical ginger. “He didn’t even know yet.”

Jamison who was still trying to put the puzzle pieces together, sat down on the ground and gazed up at the siblings.

“So you’re telling me, that you…. Raylin…” he said

“RAVEN! Like the bird.” She corrected.

“… Can turn in to a giant black snake and disappear.”  Jamison continued.

            “Well… yes.” Raven replied.

            “And what is your problem?” Jamison said turning to Cadence. “Can you shoot fire out of your hair?”

            “Hell no! I’m just a ginger you ass.” Retorted Cadence with an angry half glare.

            “Well this is just fantastic. I’m surrounded by crazy people.” Jamison muttered under his breath half sarcastically.

            With this raven picked up a stick and whacked Jamison upon his head. Raven swung at him so hard that he was knocked down to the damp forest floor.

            “What the hell dude?!” He said.

            She whacked him again. With a sturdy thud Jamison now had possibly the biggest headache known to mankind and close to seeing stars. He got up and staggered to the nearest tree. He had also tripped in to the pool that Raven had said not to drink from.  In a moment his body was on fire. He writhed in agony screaming and having angry tears. Then it just stopped. It was like a switch being flipped on and off inside his head.

            Raven looked at him with an evil smirk. “I told you not to touch that.” She said with amusement.

“As I recall you said not to drink that stuff.” Jamison said. “What the hell is it?”

“That is the blood of a Shinue.” Said Cadence.

“Sinue?” Jamison asked in a worried voice.

“Yep they are the native wolves. You just got it all over your body. Be glad we stopped you from drinking it. It would have killed you.” Cadence said. Amusement was clear on his freckled face. 

“Well…. Why did that happen to me?” Jamison questioned.

“Well. I’m not actually sure…we lost a girl to it last week but it didn’t look anything like that.” Raven said in a quiet voice.

It was getting darker. The night was closing in around them. The stars were starting to rule the sky under the moon.

Cadence looked up.  Worry flickered on his face in a moment.

“Ehhem” he cleared his voice rather obnoxiously. “Raven we better get going”.

Raven looked up as well and obviously got the hidden meaning of that statement. She looked at Jamison who was clearly not quite on his feet. She motioned to him to be quiet and to follow her and Cadences lead. He obeyed simply because he didn’t know what else to do. They all took off at a run. They ran for  over ten minutes. The group arrived at a small shack with light glowing softly out of the shuttered windows.

“What the hell! Why did you leave the lights on?!” Raven hissed to Cadence.

“Don’t blame me!! I didn’t do it…. Or not that I remember anyways.” He said back in a low voice.

Raven drew her bow and slowly approached the house. The darkness swallowed her and Jamison could see nothing. They saw the light of the house seep out in to the night as raven slowly open the door. They saw her walk in. She was quieter than the smallest mouse and more graceful than a cat. She slinked back in to the light of the half open doorway. She motioned to them to come in slowly. They obeyed. Once they were inside they sat Jamison on the small couch that sat in the middle of the kitchen. Raven disappeared in to one of the two doors that went off of the main rooms. When she came back she held a black wad of cloth. She handed it to Jamison and pointed to the door.

The door led to a small dark room lit by one candle. There was a bed made out of straw with a wool blanket covering the roughness. The top blanket was made of a Gray and black fur that refused to lay down straight. By the bedside table there was a jar with a sun and mood on top. The jar was filled with the silvery liquid from earlier.

After taking in the whole room he changed. He was now dressed in something similar to the other kids clothing. The clothes were simple and black with a dark violet cloak to cover it. He felt strange in the cloak so he avoided putting it on.

There was a small mirror on the backside of the door. Jamison peered in to it. He did not look like himself. The same marks that had appeared on his arms now had grown from behind his shoulders and covered the left side of his face.

Deciding that he didn’t want to look at his face anymore, Jamison walked back in to the main room. The lights were now off. Glowing embers and a massive candle lit the whole room. The two other kids were sitting at the table eating. There was a chicken leg or something of the sort sitting in front of the empty chair.  He sat down and started eating like he hadn’t eaten in fifty years.

The other kids looked at him with an odd stupor and passed him the whole chicken.

“So. How did you find the pyramid?” Cadence began.

“I was running. Away from the world. I was in the woods and it was snowing.” He started. “Then I really ran in to it. Literally.”

“Interesting….” Raven said in a distant voice.

There was a loud silence. The candle flickered creating shadows on the three kids faces.

“So, Akai… Is there anything that you could be punished for.” Raven asked.

“My name is Jamison but no, not that I can remember.” He said with a mischievous grin.

“From now on, you are Akai. It means wolf blood in our ancient language.” Raven said in a monotone voice.

“Okay then, can it at least be Kai because I don’t think that your native wolf thingy’s will appreciate my name.” He said.

“I guess… Kai just means blood though.” Cadence said.

“That’s fine with me as long as I don’t get attacked whatever they are called.” Kai said.

“Sinue. And I wouldn’t go around talking with that much disrespect if I was you. They have eyes and ears all over the place. We are not in good relations with them at the moment.” Raven said.

“Aright.” Kai said.

“It’s getting late,” Cadence, said after a pause. “I will go take my post.”

“I am going to bed as well” Raven said.

Turning to Kai she said “You can sleep outside or on the floor in my room.”

Cadence walked out the door.

“He usually sleeps outside” Raven said. “He enjoys it.”

Seeing as Cadence and Kai hadn’t gotten along at all since he was in Bascalia. He agreed to sleep on the floor. Kai was too high up on his horse to admit that he was frightened of the outdoors at night. Kai entered the room and lay down on the floor. Raven tossed him a blanket. He was soon asleep. Raven silently slipped in to her own bed and curled up. She too had been exhausted from the long day.

The morning came sooner than the kids would have liked. The frost on the tips of tree branches was fresh and starting to melt under the sunlight.

At roughly six AM Raven tossed a bucket of icy water with a drop of wolfs blood on him. Kai woke up with a start.

“Wake up! We’ve got work to do.” She said as she disappeared through the door.

The Darkness Swallows

Darkness swallows emotion
It waits for a flicker of happiness
Then crushes it as soon as it appeared
It waits.... just waits

Trying to get a notion
It does its job well... its no shabbiness 
You sit there trying to get your head cleared
And it seals several fates