Teaser

So I had a request for a teaser of my book. I am currently editing my first book, so I am leaving a teaser of my work in progress. I hope you enjoy. It's a rough draft (as in completely untouched! No editing at all, please don't judge too harshly).

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The rolling hills comforted me little. I could feel the tears fighting to break past my defenses as I ran. The way was steep pulling me down toward the valley. I felt the pull and struggled against it. The weight was unbearable. Earths gravity pulled me in one direction while the crushing weight from above shoved me downward. Only my shear will kept me moving up. Higher ground. That is what I needed. If I could only reach the top of the hill, see what lies beyond.

My teary eyes just made the route more difficult. I knew that the path was easier, less steep and smoother, but I refused to go that way. The village is all too visible from it and I needed no reminders. I doubt that anyone would be watching, or even care if they saw me leaving. No one cared about me anymore. I could feel the weight press harder on y chest with the thought. I was on my own.

I could see the gentle mound that is the top of the long hill. I was almost there. The mystery of the beyond no longer scared me as it had in my youth. The last three days had pushed me beyond the fears of childhood. I now had bigger fears.

Just as I reached the top my foot connected with the bare granite that composed most of this hill. Gravity finally won out as it pulled me down on my face. I could feel the soft dirt now covering my face turn to mud as the tears finally escaped their dams. I pulled my knees to my chest as I let the pain have me. Waves of sadness, regret, and loss rolled over me.

The bright light of day faded through twilight to the soft dark blues of dusk before I was able to regain any sense of composure. Fighting to once again contain the racking emotions I managed to put them all away into their box hidden deep within my chest, next to my now tiny quiet heart. I could feel the sobs lessen until they no longer left me trembling. Slowly I focused on relaxing my muscles until I could stretch out my legs, spread my fingers from their tight clasp, and finally sit up.

The valley before me was only faintly visible in the failing light. It was empty from the foot of Manform Hill to the base of the Ranker Mountains in the distance. The plains of the valley were covered in tall grasses and criss-crossing rivers. It was fantastic to think this large valley was uninhabited when just behind me our own tiny valley was over populated to the extreme.

Besides our small village there are two other towns within our tiny valley. With only the one river through the middle it seems odd that no one has crossed Manform hill to settle this mass of land before. After all how many other laws are broken everyday in the outerlands. Kenser alone is known for it’s thriving black markets being situated as it is on the edge of three different kingdoms. Even our just King looks the other way as long as he gets his share in Farinth. Garithville is so much smaller that they freely poach the forest just to fill their bellies. No one in Manithton think too much of breaking laws, not really, and yet, here this land sits empty and fertile.

The sinking sun casts shadows on the ground before me. Soon the darkening valley will be lost from view entirely. I have no desire to return, but the vastness of the valley before me suddenly feels me with dread of the path I have chosen. Maybe waiting to cross at first light will be the better option. I begin to search for a suitable place to camp the night. I have brought no supplies with me and my stomach is loudly protesting this fact. If I am lucky I will find some roots or edible plants while I search for shelter.

Unfortunately the failing light isn’t aiding in my search, so it is by shear luck that I find a wild strawberry patch. Nestled in between several trees just fifty yards down the hillside is a natural spring feeding the patch. In my desire to remain dry I actually stepped on the ripe fruit before realizing it was there. The soft squish beneath my feet provided the information in time to save the rest of the patch from my large feet. I sat on the roots of a tree as I gathered and ate my fill. The cold fresh water was a blessing as it served not only to quench my thirst but also to relieve me of my dirt and grime.

With my tummy full and my face and hands clean again the journey before me no longer felt as hopeless as it had moments before. The hillside was just as steep on this side. If I didn’t know any better I would say that it was the same side I had been on all morning. I even glanced up a few times to make sure that the tell tale lights of Manithton weren’t visible, the dips and folds of the land were so familiar at times.

About three fourths of the way down I finally stopped for the night. There the land curved into the hill making a sort of cove. I lay in the soft grass and stared up at the sky now covered in twinkling stars. I could feel my thoughts fighting me again. The pain swelling up within me, fighting to get out. If I gave in to so much as one memory of the last week I knew I would lose it entirely, but how to keep the thoughts at bay?

All I wanted to do was think about her, and all I wanted to do was to forget about her. How could such contrasting feelings exist so strongly within me at the same time? It felt like I had been a part of a battle for too long. First the ridiculous battle that was imposed upon us by our King, the great battle in which I lost my father two years ago. Then the battle to survive that my mother and I had fought since. The battle for respect from my mother stung to think about now that she was gone too. I had lost my battle with my emotions once already today, I didn’t feel like repeating that one again anytime soon. The only battle I had even begun to win so far was my bid for freedom.

I loved my home. It was always messy in the tiny home that I had shared with my parents and older brother. When the conflict with Darnorth, the kingdom to the south of Gronum first arose my brother join with the Kings army. Convinced of his own invincibility he left for war with a spring in his step. His cheerful wave as he left was the last sight of him I would ever have. I knew mother never gave up hope of his return. Often when she was baking I would see her hands slow until she was staring out the window still with dough on her hands. With a soft sigh she would always shake herself out of it, but I still noticed. After dad too left for the war I hoped with a ferverant hope that one or the other would return to us. No one ever comes back from war though. Not to our tiny cottage. As hope died mother and I had to get creative to save ourselves.

Mother had always been known for her baking. For years she had made a few coins a month baking for a few families. With no one to provide for us anymore she decided to put her skills to work. We turned our front room into a shop hanging the small sign with a painted loaf of bread over the door. We made enough to survive, but here wasn’t much left over for the finer things in life. I wasn’t allowed a coming out as I would have received if Father had never left. I watched as my friends married and settled as I worked. I held my hands in front of me looking at the angry red marks that were splashed across the backs. I had long since grown accustomed to the course feel of my palms. Hands that had one been soft and white, a sign of my station in life had become a sign of my new position. With little to recommend me anymore I was left with few options when mother grew sick. I did my best to carry on, but once she was gone I knew so was I. What did I really have left for me there?

I’m not sure when in my thoughts the tears returned, but this time they were tame, running silently down my face without the body racking sobs that had accompanied them earlier. I was now committed to my path. A path that would lead me through the unknown, into the Ranker Mountains and hopefully to the equally unknown Kingdom of Ranker. Although unsure what I would find I had hope. What more could I ask of life now than hope?