Summary;
A noble, Sierra, finds herself as an escaped slave and mixing with the lower class of Arrenai after her hometown Otorro is downed in a brief feud with neighbouring land Shadur. As she struggles to find sense of the madness ensuing, another threat looms on the horizon as Arrenai and Shadur battle it out for supremacy and power - something which makes the lands petty troubles of war and peace pale in significance. Can the world work together to meet this threat, or will they turn on each other like they have for years?
The summary is a bit loose at the moment as I haven't exactly mapped out all the possible turning points of this story. I also know I need to edit this a lot, but I'm just releasing the rough drafts first in case any one wants a read xD Constructive criticism is appreciated.
It was a typical cold winter’s night in Arrenai, as Sierra trudged along the street, wishing she had warmer clothes and something hot to drink. As she wrapped herself with her ragged shawl, and rubbed her palms together to try to warm herself, she looked around the market square. Few people were out tonight, and light flickered in the distance. Sierra shivered. She would have to go back underground, and quick, if she wasn’t about to freeze to death first. While walking towards the secret hole in a back alley that ran to the underground shelters and winding passages, she passed by an alehouse, titled ‘The Thorns in the Vine’. She hadn’t been to seen her friend, Edward in a long time – he owned the alehouse with his sister, Rachael. She had enough money saved in her pocket to get a drink to warm her, even at least a little bit, and the biting cold was enough to persuade her to go inside.
As she pushed the door open, she was greeted by a warmer and sourish smell of ale, smoke and sweat. Sierra wrinkled her nose, driven back by the unfamiliar and unpleasant smells. Suddenly a familiar face appeared beside her. “Sierra! I was wondering if you’d been struck down by that flu or some’n,” a man with sparkling green eyes and dark brown hair joked to her. Sierra hesitated, then grinned. “Not me, Edward. I haven’t seen you in a while!” She exclaimed, as she allowed herself to be led to an empty table near the back of the alehouse. Edward signaled to a maid to get them drinks and food, as Sierra dug around in her pockets for the coin she had stolen from a purse earlier in the week. Edward shook his head. “I can’t take that Sierra, you know I can’t,” and motioned for her to put the coin back in her pocket. He then frowned at her. “You should come visit me more often; you look like you haven’t eaten a decent meal or slept in ages!” he said, studying her face carefully. Sierra looked away, feeling self conscious. “Yeah, I’ve been busy. You know, since I joined Brian and all them,” she gestured her hand in the air. Edward looked at her, eyebrows raised. "Brian? You mean that gang leader...you've joined him? Sierra laughed and nodded. “They’re harmless, and I need them Edward. They're my only friends here, apart from you. You worry too much. Honestly! I’ve been doing fine, apart from this dreaded winter,” she muttered. Edward sat back in his chair and nodded. “Yeah, lots’a people gettin’ sick this one. Even the people in court have gotten the sickness.” He closed his eyes. “It’s only gunna get much worse, I’m tellin’ you. It’s only the start too…”
They were interrupted by a maid bustling up with two sloshing mugs of ale, and a chunk of meat with bread and potatoes. She was obviously busy with other things on her mind though – namely the man in the cloak, sitting far to the right of them. Sierra looked at him, feeling a sense of curiosity and unease. He didn’t seem like the typical Arrenite, and he possessed a mysterious aura around him which made him seem different and dangerous. Edward looked at her and guessed what she was feeling. He motioned his head in the man’s direction. “He’s been here for the past week or so. Staying in one of the rooms too. All the men ‘ave been asking me who he is n’ where he comes from. I’m telling them to ask him themselves, but they’re too gutless,” he chuckled. “I don’t know what it is about him…” he shook his head as if trying to remember something. “I tried talking to him once, a few nights ago. “When he looked at me, I could practically feel his eyes burning into mine. He is definitely not from Arrenai.” He frowned then. Sierra prodded for him to go on, looking at him expectantly, while sipping from her mug. “He said that it was none of my business, and that if I was the one to pry, he would never come back here again,” he grinned again. “So after that I left him alone. Interesting man, that one. Very interesting…”
He broke off, realizing Sierra had finished her ale. “Hey anyway, how about you come stay in the inn with me ‘n Rachael for a while? I know it must be freezing down there, even if it is underground,” he looked at her, concerned. Sierra shook her head. “No Edward, I couldn’t. I don’t want to cause any trouble…besides what would Rachael say!?” She snorted as she thought of her. Rachael was not as friendly to Sierra as Edward had been when they first met – although she was just a middleclass merchant and partly owned the alehouse, she never did like mixing with the people of the slums. Edward shrugged. “She’ll live. Besides, she’s kind of gotten over her phobia for slum dwellers.” He winked at Sierra and glanced over at Rachael, who was sitting at another table next to a handsome, yet scruffy man. Her same green eyes sparkled as the man looked at her and stroked a hand through her long auburn hair. Sierra’s eyes widened, not believing what she was seeing. She choked down a bit of food as she tried not to laugh. “Edward! Are you saying…?!” Edward laughed with her, his eyes dancing. “Nah, I don’t reckon it’ll last. But who knows?…Sierra, please stay. Just until the winter cold dies down abit. I worry about you sometimes…” “Not all the time?” Sierra threw back, innocently. Edward rolled his eyes. “Come on, I’ll go find a room for you.” He started up and waited for her before walking towards a wooden door at the edge of the room. While pausing to unlock the door, Sierra glanced back at the alehouse. It was busy and gaily as usual, but the image of the mysterious man had unnerved her thoughts. She would have to keep a look out for him in the future, especially if he was living under the same roof as Edward. He didn’t seem like the traveling type at all, and she suspected he was up to something in Arrenai. Sierra shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, and followed Edward down the hall in front of her, then up the stairs.
The alehouse was an inn as well as a place to gather for social occasions, as were most of the alehouses in Arrenai. As the got to the top, he motioned for her to the far end of the corridor. “You can stay in here as long as you like,” he said swinging the door open. Although it was small, sierra was glad to see a bed and thick blankets. She looked back at Edward, and dug around in her pocket again for the one coin she had saved until now. Edward shook his head, trying to smother a smile. “Sierra, you’re my friend. Friends are meant to look out for each other, right?” He reached out and grasped her shoulder. It felt warm through Sierra’s thin shawl and shirt. “You need anythin’ just yell.” He pressed a key to her hand as he glanced downstairs. There was a shout through the door for him – sounding as if there was about to be a brawl of some sort. Sierra reached out to hug him before he turned to go downstairs. “Thank you Edward,” she whispered. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” Edward grasped her tightly before he released her. “Don’t worry about it Sierra. I ‘ave to go. I’ll talk to you later?” Sierra nodded. “We have a lot of catching up to do!” he told her as he started downstairs. Sierra chuckled to herself and closed the door, feeling grateful. It was much better than the hole she lived in underground.
As she threw herself on the bed, she was glad she had a friend like Edward. He was one of her only few friends in Arrenai, since the last year when she arrived as a slave. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Arrenites though, she thought bitterly. Sierra tried to shut out the thoughts of her past as she embraced what she had now. Although Arrenai had destroyed her town and her family, she had learned to live with it and realize not all the people in Arrenai was as cold blooded as the ones that had killed her friends and her family. She had found friends in the city, and that was more than she could have asked for, especially since she was an outsider, and only thirteen when she was carted off to Arrenai. Apart from Edward, a few boys on the street had made life easier for her and befriended her – including Brian and Gavin, two other street urchins. She smiled as she thought of Brian, the leader of the Northern Fight Gang. He was one of her closest friends and ally now. Sierra smile to herself, drifting off to sleep as almost silent footsteps carried themselves outside in the hallway, pausing just outside a room not far from hers. She was oblivious.