Wednesday, February 4, 2009

The Nature Hero

Well, I have decided to post the first chapter of my new book on here. Well, here it is, the first chapter:







A Sad Trial and a
Weird Scroll

Zathuran was the son of a king. This king, Zyrean, was king of a whole entire planet, with one huge island on it, and more than three quarters of the whole entire planet. Zathuran gazed at the sun, which to him looked very beautiful on the horizon. Zathuran was a strong sturdy fellow, with dark hair. He was also tall, like his father. He had sea blue eyes, which he had inherited from his mother, who was long gone. Zathuran was hungry, so he called for his servant, Kareem. Kareem came in almost immediately.
“What is my bidding, Zathuran?” The faithful servant asked.
He was about the same age as Zathuran, a little bit smaller, and had dark hair. He was pretty strong of a build, and rather looked like a fighter than a servant.
“I’m kind of hungry. Can you bring me a meal?” Zathuran asked Kareem.
“What shall I grab you?” He asked.
“Anything. Oh, and grab me a soda too.” Zathuran said as he looked at his paper.
Through chuckling, the servant said, “Sure thing.”
Kareem wasn’t really a servant to him; he was more like a brother. Zathuran was really bored, so he decided to have his meal outside in the sunlight. He was very athletic, and loved to just run and leap over things and climb very hard and very tall trees. He had never heard of an earth, because the planet he dwelled on was called Zarcadia. Zarcadia was a small planet, and mostly covered in thick forest. It had mountain ranges, valleys and deeper in the ground valleys. The valley that Zathuran lived on was not the deepest, but it wasn’t a plateau.
For the most part, it was about the most in between you could get. It was in the mountains about an elevation of 2,995 ft. high, or that’s how high we’d say it here on earth. That valley that they lived in was called Zyran, and was the largest of the valleys. Zyran Valley was just north of the middle of the massive and only body of land on Zarcadia. The exact middle of Zarcadia was the largest mountain in all of Zarcadia. Zathuran’s great, great, great grandfather had given the massive mountain its name. The name was Zarcathca Mountain, which meant “The Great Large Center”. The elevation was nearly six times the size of Everest. Which, I’ll do the math for you.
If Everest’s elevation is 29,029 ft, then mount Zarcathca is therefore 174,174 ft. That is really high! But let’s get back to our story. Zyrean walked out to his son without a sound, and when he talked he startled Zathuran.
“What is the mountain range that encloses our valley?” Zyrean tested him.
Zathuran let out a groan.
“Answer me my boy.”
“It’s the easiest thing. The Zyran Mountain Range.” Zathuran replied.
“What is the mountain range that is on the west side of mount Zarcathca?” His dad shot another question.
“The Zarath Range.” Zathuran answered as he took a sip from his liquid.
“What is the valley that is enclosed by that range?”
“The Zarath Valley, what else could it be?” Kareem answered as he walked out with his dad’s salad.
“I asked my son that.” Zyrean said sternly to the servant as he glared at him.
“I knew that.” Kareem zipped it out.
“Okay, what is the range that is south?” Zyrean glanced to his son to indicate that he should answer.
“The Racath mountain range is south of Zarcathca.”
“No! Just kidding, you got that right.”
“What is the valley?” Zyrean asked.
“The Racath Valley.” Zathuran answered simply.
“The east range?” Zyrean turned to Kareem.
“The Cathca mountain range.” He answered dully.
“The Cathca Valley.” Zathuran answered guessing the next question.
“Yes, you’re smart, both of you.”
Zathuran remembered the two legend caves. Well, actually there were three. He remembered the one on the mountain too. The first cave he had ever learned about was Abel’s Cave. In the legend, Abel was a giant turtle with a white horn on his head. This creature was very honorable and loyal to the king of the planet. That cave was in the very north, with the Icicle River. That river got its name because it was always cold. It actually started from a mountain in Zyran. Icicle River at its end was the first waterfall he’d learned about, but it wasn’t the biggest. And this cave was a massive cavern, with no series of little caves or tunnels, just one huge room.
The second was a legend of a creature named Ablaze. It was the king of beasts, and the largest in fact. This beast was about the same size as Abel. This one had several hundred caves in it. Also, Ablaze was an enemy of the king. There were actually two on Zarcathca Mountain. One was just an ordinary cave, at the foot of the large mountain. It didn’t have a real significance. Then the other one had a great significance. It was said that this cave was literally made of crystal, and also that it had a great secret. The longer river was called May. It also had a secret and it had the larger falls at the end.
His father was suddenly sick in three days. Zyrean knew that this would be his last day. He came to Zathuran and spent the whole day with him, very sick as he was.
“Father, can’t you just heal yourself?” Zathuran asked with a tear.
“No, I can’t. It doesn’t work that way at all. Now you will become king over this planet.” Zyrean answered his son.
“I don’t think I could rule without your help.”
“I will always be with you, even though I won’t be alive. Here, I have this for you. Read it, and find all the components to it, and then you will be ready.” Zyrean assured him.
Zathuran took the scroll and unrolled it to look at it. When he looked up his father had left.
“Kareem?” Zathuran called.
“Yes sir?” Kareem answered as he entered the room.
“Where did my father go?”
“He died. Didn’t you know this?”
“No. But he gave me this before he left.”
They both looked at the scroll.

Find the large cave in the north,
He will call you to come forth.
Answer him and ask,
And he will help you finish your task.
Find the secret to the May River at its tail.
Seek the Warrior in time of trouble,
And he will help you face off evil.
Then you shall raid the chain of caves.
At depths end cave that the beast guards,
Something you will find.
Now you shall find the secret of the Zarascan Falls.
Arms you will find taken from people of old.
For this part, you will need to find a current,
Then when you see a huge ice mountain, your next thing will find you.
If you are daring enough to take another step,
Scale mount Zarcathca and enter the cave of legends,
Obtain the power and wealth without deprivation.
And for your final possession,
Travel to the forbidden valley.
Search for the powerful steed,
That is the only thing that keeps this dark valley balanced.

“Okay, so obviously the first part we go to Abel’s Cave.” Zathuran remarked.
“Yeah, and we will need some stuff. I will pack some weapons, just in case.” Kareem decided.
In a half-hour they were ready. They rode their horses over the passage in the Zyran Range to the north. They followed the river for a couple of hours. Finally they came to the end of the river, and they saw the waterfall with a rainbow end over it.
“That is very beautiful.” Kareem nodded towards it and turned his horse.
“Okay, we need to ride down the hill to that beach.” He said as he read a map that they had brought with them.
“Last one there has to be eaten by the shark!” Kareem yelled to Zathuran as he galloped away.
“Hey! That wasn’t fair at all!” Zathuran came to the shore last.
Kareem laughed.
“You have to be eaten by the shark, and then I become king!” He yelled as Zathuran drew to a stop.
“You wish it could be that way.”
“Never mind, let’s get on with it shall we?”
“Sure, but let’s tie our horses to the log.”
Zathuran and Kareem finished tying the horses to the log and went down to the beach.
“Okay, this has got to be done…” Zathuran trailed off.
“Let’s do this.” Kareem thought a loud.
They jumped down and started to swim. They saw a massive opening as they dove down. They swam up and soon were able to stand in the rocky shore. They were standing before an enormous cave.
“Who allowed you to come up in here?” A strong voice called down.
Zathuran noticed that the big round stone off to their left was a huge turtle shell.
That is huge, Zathuran thought.
“Yes, I’m quite large I know, but answer me. You don’t need to be afraid, if you answer quickly.” The creature which Zathuran assumed to be Abel told them.
“We are Kareem and Zathuran, now king of Zarcadia, due to his father’s death.” Kareem spoke.
“Yes, and on account of a scroll riddle.” Zathuran spoke in a quick voice.
“Oh! Silly me, sorry Zathuran I just thought you were intruders.” Abel said in a low tone.
Zathuran read the riddle again to Abel.
“Gosh. I would have thought Zyrean would have put me in his riddle.” He groaned.
“What do you mean?” Kareem asked.
“Well, it is a custom to before the king dies, he will write a riddle for his son to complete and then he will take over the throne, did you not know that?” Abel answered.
“I never knew that.” Kareem said doubtfully.
Zathuran just ignored the question.
“Are you supposed to give me something?” Zathuran asked Abel.
“I don’t think so because he didn’t send me anything. I guess I’m to aid you with your hunt. I will only help you understand the riddle only if you can’t figure it out. But both of you have to try before you give up. Got it?” Abel pointed with his horn.
Zathuran just now noticed that the horn was pure white.
“Yes, I got it.” Zathuran answered.
“Me too.” Kareem shrugged.
“Okay the next line says, “Find the secret to the May River at its tail,” What secret of the May River?” Kareem asked Zathuran.
“Wait a minute. He said “Tail.” Look at the map! See right there, doesn’t that look like a tail?” Zathuran remarked as he looked at the map.
“Well, I don’t see anything else that it could be.” Kareem looked hard to see otherwise.
“I guess we should go then, shan’t we?” Abel asked Zathuran.
“Your assumption is right.” Zathuran answered.
“But how will we get there fast?” Kareem asked.
“I don’t know, but you’ve got a good point.” Zathuran noticed.

“It is like miles and miles and a ton of mountains to pass over! How will we get there in several hours? If we go by land, it would easily take three weeks.” Kareem became a little bit out of the right mind.
Zathuran looked at Abel, an idea forming in his head.
“Ohh no, I know what you’re thinking. Definitely not!” Abel seemed to read his thoughts.
“But you saw the riddle.” Kareem added.
“Something is there. Plus, I’m the new king.” Zathuran pointed out.
“Not until you find all the secrets. I bet I know what your father has in mind before you become king though.” Abel pointed out in defiance.
“But in the meantime my father ordered you to help me either way.” Zathuran announced.
“True. Oh well. I wouldn’t bring your horses on me though. Here, I’ll kneel for you to get on my shell, and then I’ll go through the main entrance, as I can’t really fit through the other one. Now hop on.” Abel told them.
“You mean there is another entrance?” Zathuran asked in shock.
“Yes. Only a few know about it though.” Abel noted.
“Where is it?” Kareem asked.
“Through icicle falls is the hidden entrance.” Abel answered.
“Oh.” Kareem nodded.
“I should have known that’d be an entrance.” Zathuran shook his head.
“Well, let’s go.” Abel announced.
“Okay.” Zathuran and Kareem called out at the same time.
Abel dove through the cave entrance with ease, and he sped off to the west, following the shores.


* * * * *


Please give me note of how you thought of it, and if you noticed any errors.


Thank you,


Ben L. Swanson Over 'n Out

9 comments:

Jincy said...

Whoa! thats really good!

Jincy said...

I mean like that is REALLY good.

Anonymous said...

Really? Did you think so? Were there any typos? It's my second book, so i'm gaining experience. After all, every best writer even needs a handfull of editors.

Jincy said...

Okay in the sentience: This king, Zyrean, was king of a whole entire planet, with one huge island on it, and more than three quarters of the whole entire planet. You don't need a comma after "Zyrean".

Jincy said...

drat! My foot is num

Anonymous said...

Fixed it. Well, not on the post on the blog, the real thing.

Jincy said...

Awesome! so......what's up?

Jincy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jincy said...

Awesome! I'm going to to the Pink Panther 2 Saturday!!