Chapter 1-arriving
Huh? Oh, hello. Didn't see you there. Say what? You want to hear a story about a random guy? Umm, okay. I guess I'll just make one up on the spot. Where to start? Oh yeah, I'll use a classic starting.
The hooves of horses clomped on the road, and the wheels didn't make much noise.Dang, I've got to name my main character... I mean Walter Crewe looked out of a plain white carriage. There were green leafy trees, mostly pines, everywhere in the land of, um, I need to name the place too Samravia. Walter was sadly eight years old, the age all noble boys are when they get sent over to a nearby lord to train to be a knight. The first step was to be a page, of course, and a knight could easily flip a page over, as they were a good deal stronger than pages. Now Walter was both eight and heading over to Hasty Castle (which has nothing to do with Hastings), where Lord Leo, Walter's uncle a bajillion times removed and whatever, lived.
Walter knew that the Lady Loreena, Lord Leo's wife, would teach him good manners. He'd already learned that you should say "good speed" whenever you entered a lord's place, though he didn't know what it actually meant. Probably to make you run faster.
Walter would also be taught how to fight with swords and stuff. He'd already practiced with it, but he wasn't very good yet.
"There it is!" Exclaimed the driver of the carriage, who was a short man with a mustache so big you couldn't see his mouth. In the distance, Walter looked up and saw a huge castle. At least it looked huge to him, because his father owned a manor, which was of the same sort but smaller. The carriage started up a hill. The greenery, which consisted of a very green forest, some greener bushes, and even greener grass, kept getting greener, and it was green even for the green green land of Samravia. Occasionally, they would pass a dirty small town that wasn't green.
Half an hour passed. They were almost there. Walter could see the wall clearly, just up the road. It was the wall surrounding the village, and it was ginormous (and it wasn't green). There was a super-green shield, probably Lord Leo's coat of arms, suspended in front of the gray rock wall.Or is it grey? The towers, also called bastions, were around 10 feet taller than the rest of the wall, and heavily lined with battlements, murder holes and other stuff Walter couldn't describe. The horses clomped the last few steps, and the carriage came to a stop. A few guards were posted outside the gates, even in times of peace.
An extra-tough looking guard, wearing an extra-green greenish green uniform questioned someone from Walter's escort. Walter's father couldn't come. He was a busy man. After a moment or three, the carriage started moving again. Walter looked out of the not-so-fancy carriage at the fancy gate. He could see the raised portcullis' spikes. They look just like the ones at home, just fancier, thought Walter as the carriage moved on. Walter looked up and saw more holes in the ceiling that were more murder holes used to fire arrows and stuff in a battle. The carriage moved on before he could stare any longer.
First, near the wall, there were fields full of crops (even greener than outside and the guard) and some brown toolsheds. They soon passed a rock well and some peasants filling their buckets, trying not to spill any water. Walter couldn't see why they were trying to be so careful. The water was a bit brown. Then the carriage passed a really small brown dirty shack, more like a dog house, with a hole in it's roof. Then more houses began to appear, squished and cramped together, each house looking worse than the next one, because even though the last one is amazingly ugly, the ugliness of the next one still surprises you. In the village, there was very little grass, but the grass that did grow was almost as green as the crops. Walter passed some more poor guys staring at the sky hoping it would rain, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky that day, and the sun was going down. Walter bet the guys in the house with the hole in the ceiling hoped it wouldn't rain.
Finally they passed the poor section of town, and the houses started to look inhabitable. Soon they arrived at some sort of town square. The road was no longer super-green with moss, and there were shops around every corner. One sign, made of wood, was decorated with a knife and a cow. It was a butcher's shop, and there was a horrible smell wafting from the entrance. Ugh. The carriage moved on again.
After a while they arrived at another rock wall, which was taller, and had more guards and another extra-green coat of arms. There was a tall elf with a bow and a quiver strapped to his back talking to the second-toughest looking guard there, who was tougher-looking than the toughest one outside the town gate, so the escort turned to the third-toughest one, because the toughest was talking with fourth-toughest looking guard. After much random talking and questioning, Walter was told to get off the carriage, and that was what he did. Then everyone else walked off to other parts of town, and Walter was left alone with the guards wearing the supergreen uniforms, bored out of his mind.
Walter supposed he should go through the gate, so he took a deep breath and went in. There was a small courtyard. There was a little super-duper-green grass, and the elf guy that Walter had seen outside the gate. He had gotten through the gate when the random questioning was happening.
Walter supposed he should knock on the door to go into the main keep and meet Lord Leo, and was just about to do so when the elf dude said, "Hello, you must be Lord Leo's new page, yes?"
"Um, no, I'm not," Walter said, because he had no idea what the elf was up to. Never trust an elf, eh? In fact, it was his first time seeing an elf. The elf was unmistakably an elf, because he had pointed ears, golden hair, and he was very tall. (the Lord Of The Rings type) He also had no mustache. Some people said elves were immortal. In that case, all elves die young, thought Walter to himself.
"Well, new page, my name is Galandias Silverleaf. Nice to meet you," said the elf, ignoring the fact that Walter had just told him he was not the new page.
"New page?" Said a different, lower voice behind him. Walter turned around to see a dwarf, only slightly taller than he was, but he was really buff and muscular. He had a large head, larger eyebrows, a larger mustache, and an even larger brown bushy beard that went all the way down to his waist. "Why, I'm here to see Lord Leo on advice whether-"
Just then the door opened, and out came an ugly man who was missing a few teeth.
"Ah! There ya are! Lord Leo's bin looking all over fer yeh. Come on in." And with that Galandias Silverleaf and the dwarf waved, and the man pushed Walter in, slamming the door behind them.
"By the way, call me Merek. I'm Lord Leo's advisor. It has nothing to do with the author's name just because it rhymes, ok?"
Before Walter could ask who I was, Merek mumbled something else, and then started explaining about this, and then explained about that, and then explained about this and that as they went through the castle. Soon after the long tour, which included the great hall, the library, the kitchens, the toilet, of course, and many more random rooms, Merek led him outside the lord's room.
"When ya go in, stand still as a stone til' the lord speaks, then bow before you answer, mmkay?," Merek said.
Walter held the bronze handles of the oak door, took a very deep breath, and pushed the door open.
A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
The hooves of horses clomped on the road, and the wheels didn't make much noise.
Walter knew that the Lady Loreena, Lord Leo's wife, would teach him good manners. He'd already learned that you should say "good speed" whenever you entered a lord's place, though he didn't know what it actually meant. Probably to make you run faster.
Walter would also be taught how to fight with swords and stuff. He'd already practiced with it, but he wasn't very good yet.
"There it is!" Exclaimed the driver of the carriage, who was a short man with a mustache so big you couldn't see his mouth. In the distance, Walter looked up and saw a huge castle. At least it looked huge to him, because his father owned a manor, which was of the same sort but smaller. The carriage started up a hill. The greenery, which consisted of a very green forest, some greener bushes, and even greener grass, kept getting greener, and it was green even for the green green land of Samravia. Occasionally, they would pass a dirty small town that wasn't green.
Half an hour passed. They were almost there. Walter could see the wall clearly, just up the road. It was the wall surrounding the village, and it was ginormous (and it wasn't green). There was a super-green shield, probably Lord Leo's coat of arms, suspended in front of the gray rock wall.
An extra-tough looking guard, wearing an extra-green greenish green uniform questioned someone from Walter's escort. Walter's father couldn't come. He was a busy man. After a moment or three, the carriage started moving again. Walter looked out of the not-so-fancy carriage at the fancy gate. He could see the raised portcullis' spikes. They look just like the ones at home, just fancier, thought Walter as the carriage moved on. Walter looked up and saw more holes in the ceiling that were more murder holes used to fire arrows and stuff in a battle. The carriage moved on before he could stare any longer.
First, near the wall, there were fields full of crops (even greener than outside and the guard) and some brown toolsheds. They soon passed a rock well and some peasants filling their buckets, trying not to spill any water. Walter couldn't see why they were trying to be so careful. The water was a bit brown. Then the carriage passed a really small brown dirty shack, more like a dog house, with a hole in it's roof. Then more houses began to appear, squished and cramped together, each house looking worse than the next one, because even though the last one is amazingly ugly, the ugliness of the next one still surprises you. In the village, there was very little grass, but the grass that did grow was almost as green as the crops. Walter passed some more poor guys staring at the sky hoping it would rain, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky that day, and the sun was going down. Walter bet the guys in the house with the hole in the ceiling hoped it wouldn't rain.
Finally they passed the poor section of town, and the houses started to look inhabitable. Soon they arrived at some sort of town square. The road was no longer super-green with moss, and there were shops around every corner. One sign, made of wood, was decorated with a knife and a cow. It was a butcher's shop, and there was a horrible smell wafting from the entrance. Ugh. The carriage moved on again.
After a while they arrived at another rock wall, which was taller, and had more guards and another extra-green coat of arms. There was a tall elf with a bow and a quiver strapped to his back talking to the second-toughest looking guard there, who was tougher-looking than the toughest one outside the town gate, so the escort turned to the third-toughest one, because the toughest was talking with fourth-toughest looking guard. After much random talking and questioning, Walter was told to get off the carriage, and that was what he did. Then everyone else walked off to other parts of town, and Walter was left alone with the guards wearing the supergreen uniforms, bored out of his mind.
Walter supposed he should go through the gate, so he took a deep breath and went in. There was a small courtyard. There was a little super-duper-green grass, and the elf guy that Walter had seen outside the gate. He had gotten through the gate when the random questioning was happening.
Walter supposed he should knock on the door to go into the main keep and meet Lord Leo, and was just about to do so when the elf dude said, "Hello, you must be Lord Leo's new page, yes?"
"Um, no, I'm not," Walter said, because he had no idea what the elf was up to. Never trust an elf, eh? In fact, it was his first time seeing an elf. The elf was unmistakably an elf, because he had pointed ears, golden hair, and he was very tall. (the Lord Of The Rings type) He also had no mustache. Some people said elves were immortal. In that case, all elves die young, thought Walter to himself.
"Well, new page, my name is Galandias Silverleaf. Nice to meet you," said the elf, ignoring the fact that Walter had just told him he was not the new page.
"New page?" Said a different, lower voice behind him. Walter turned around to see a dwarf, only slightly taller than he was, but he was really buff and muscular. He had a large head, larger eyebrows, a larger mustache, and an even larger brown bushy beard that went all the way down to his waist. "Why, I'm here to see Lord Leo on advice whether-"
Just then the door opened, and out came an ugly man who was missing a few teeth.
"Ah! There ya are! Lord Leo's bin looking all over fer yeh. Come on in." And with that Galandias Silverleaf and the dwarf waved, and the man pushed Walter in, slamming the door behind them.
"By the way, call me Merek. I'm Lord Leo's advisor. It has nothing to do with the author's name just because it rhymes, ok?"
Before Walter could ask who I was, Merek mumbled something else, and then started explaining about this, and then explained about that, and then explained about this and that as they went through the castle. Soon after the long tour, which included the great hall, the library, the kitchens, the toilet, of course, and many more random rooms, Merek led him outside the lord's room.
"When ya go in, stand still as a stone til' the lord speaks, then bow before you answer, mmkay?," Merek said.
Walter held the bronze handles of the oak door, took a very deep breath, and pushed the door open.
