Chapter 1 Teaser

Hey people,
This is a bit of the first chapter of my upcoming book "The Written". I'm about halfway through so should be a few months and we'll have a first draft. It'd be cool to get some feedback along the way, so send me and email, or come bother me if you know where I live! Hope you like it.


The cloaked figure picked up a handful of snow and rubbed it between his fingers, wiping the dust from his palms. He bent to pick up another handful and a shadow passed over him like a silent cloud. The man sighed and stood straight, throwing off his cloak and drawing his sword with a flourish. Spinning his sword in his right hand he surveyed the peaceful countryside calmly.
‘It’s not even noon yet and a man has to deal with worms.’ The stranger muttered to himself as his eyes kept roving the horizon.
A huge screeching roar came from the skies above him and a massive shape plummeted into the snow drift not ten feet from him, sending ice flying in all directions with a huge crash. The man stood ready, watching the snow settle around him. Out of the white haze a creature snarled and reared an ugly blue head, shaking its horns with a rattling shiver and spreading stunted turquoise wings. A ridge of sharp brown spikes ran from the head to the tip of its serpentine tail. The monster’s claws dragged at the snow, razor sharp and curved like a cat’s, and its eyes were like black pools of jet. The worm let out a deafening hornlike scream and took one step forward, hissing at the man in the snow as its aquamarine scales rattled.
It had been a while since the man had seen such a large wild dragon, and even though it was a juvenile it still towered above him. The creature stank of old meat mixed in with a musky reptilian scent. The stranger began to circle the creature, holding his sword out straight towards it. Some of the wild ones could still talk, so he tried to reason with the terrifying creature.
‘Leave now, or this will end badly for you worm.’ The man spoke in a measured tone to the beast, still treading sideways through the deep snow. The dragon snarled, obviously not understanding him, and stamped its enormous feet menacingly. It gave a gigantic roar and sent foul spit flying into the man’s face.
‘I will take that as a no then, shall I?’ He said.
The beast suddenly charged at the man, but he was more than ready. Dropping to one knee like lightning he dug his blade into the snow with a thud. A solid wall of magika ripped outwardly through the snow like an earthquake, knocking the terrifying reptile flat with a low whine. The man jumped up and swung his sword at the beast, the blade cutting a long path across its scaly back. Blue blood stained the snow but like lightning the beast’s tail whipped forward and sent the stranger flying into a nearby snow drift. He landed hard and the hungry dragon was quickly after him, snarling and digging with its razor-like claws. A sharp talon scraped across his armour and found soft skin underneath. The man grimaced and rolled sideways to avoid the long claws, red blood mixing in with the dirty snow. Getting to his feet with incredible speed the man smacked his gauntlets together and a massive blast of heat pierced the air. The fireball hit the dragon in the chest and sent the creature reeling backwards. It roared with pain and waved it’s legs wildly, but the man was swiftly after it. His blue-stained sword burst into flame and it flew from his hand like a spear. It buried itself in the dragon’s ribcage with a sharp thud. The beast uttered a last mournful whistle and toppled over against a tree with a crash. The man strode forward and wrenched his blade from the carcass of the smoking reptile. He felt his side and winced, feeling the wet blood seeping from the long gash. Retrieving his cold cloak he sighed and began to slowly follow his footprints back in the direction he had come from.

Take it easy!
Ben
(C) Copyright Ben Galley 2009