I'm sure you know the routine, read, go on, read, go on... So get on with it!
	WhiteShadow knew he had to gain the knowledge of this world, as he saw others who looked like the faces he saw in the rivers and lakes when he bent to drink, but that face always seemed familiar - and so did these. Unfortunately, WhiteShadow's lonely travels continued for years, simply surviving from day to day, until he reached the age of 8 and he found the cave. At first, it seemed like any other cave - dark, and damp. Sheltering from a storm, WhiteShadow had nowhere else to go, as he usually found out in the wilds. Before resting, however, he knew to search the cave first in case a larger predator had found itself a home for the night here also. As WhiteShadow went deeper and deeper into the cave, he found that it lengthened, rather then coming to an end -unknown to the uneducated boy, he was entering a great series of subterranean tunnels, lit by the glow of moss on the walls. On he went, through many twisting tunnels and through multiple junctions, until he realised that he was irrevocably lost. On the other hand, he was warm and felt safe here, so he decided to get some rest for the night. He awoke with a start when he felt the ground shake beneath him... He got to his feet, and saw a great sandworm, almost filling the entire cavern, towering above him... Before it could strike, however, WhiteShadow was off, racing down the nearest tunnel at a phenomenal speed, but he couldn't run forever, and he could already hear the sandworm burrowing into the soft ground as it began to pursue him.... WhiteShadow kept running, the echoing tunnels never allowing him to be sure of exactly how far behind him the sandworm was, or how fast he was travelling. But WhiteShadow's heart lifted as he saw what he thought was daylight - the glow of the moss on the walls had given way to a golden light emanating from the nearest tunnel mouth... WhiteShadow stumbled through the opening, almost blinded by the great light after hours of semi-darkness... But then he saw what this place truly was and almost cried - all he knew was that this wasn’t the outside, and that he was still trapped in these caverns with a sandworm... Of all the knowledge WhiteShadow had so far gained, he still didn’t know that a glittering pile of gold could be considered a good thing. Suddenly, WhiteShadow heard the sandworm behind him, clearly, more distinct this time. Panicking, he ran up the pile of gold, hoping that the sandworm couldn’t dig through it and wasn’t tall enough to reach him at its highest point. The gold and gems cut his feet as he ran up the pile, and various weapons in the treasure pile only made the going worse. Again, WhiteShadow's foot was cut, but this time the weapon stayed in his foot - as he was attempting to remove the curved blade, he heard the rumbling again, and the entire pile shook - the sandworm emerged from the treasure pile, not far from where WhiteShadow was standing. In shock, the frightened Motavian fell backwards onto the pile, wrenching out the scimitar embedded in his foot in the process. WhiteShadow almost screamed out loud as he saw the great sandworm looming over him, and he did the only thing that came to mind at the time; he cowered. With the scimitar still in his hands, he covered his face, its blade protruding outwards. Almost blind in the great bright light, (it had been tracking WhiteShadow through the vibrations in the ground) the sandworm failed to see the blade as it swooped down to take the life of this tiny morsel - it hadn’t eaten in years. WhiteShadow had closed his eyes, waiting for death, as the way of the jungle prescribed it; eat or be eaten. WhiteShadow had resigned himself to his fate when he heard a large squelching sound, and felt a warm liquid shower over him. Opening his eyes, WhiteShadow looked up - and screamed.... WhiteShadow found himself covered in blood, with the skewered corpse of the sandworm just above him. Slowly, but ever so surely, the sandworm was inching its way down the blade towards crushing the much smaller creature. Despite the pain in his feet, WhiteShadow struggled to his hands and knees, still clutching the scimitar that saved his life, and could still rob him of it, like grim death. Focussing, he called upon his speed to release the scimitar and roll out of the way before the sandworm crashed down. Crawling again to his feet, and feeling relieved to be alive, WhiteShadow looked mournfully at the remains of the giant sandworm. Underneath that beast lay the instrument that had saved WhiteShadow's life - the instrument that could change him from being the prey to the predator. He spent the next few hours resting, before searching the large treasure pile exhaustively, looking for another curved blade. Not understanding that any sword would do, WhiteShadow was not satisfied until he had two similar scimitars strapped to his belt. Feeling much more confident and relaxed, WhiteShadow slept for many hours after that. When he awoke once more, and remembered his situation, WhiteShadow once again fell into despair. He looked down at the tunnels from whence he came and the masses of upturned earth that marked the sandworm's path... WhiteShadow smiled, and suddenly leaped down the pile gleefully. He could follow the sandworms trail! Although the creatures preferred such caves, the sandworm would have had to have been forced above surface - and outside the tunnels at some point. It might take a while, but WhiteShadow could find his way out. By carving patterns into the moss when he passed by, he found that he didn’t retrace his steps, and after a few minutes of searching found an outlet into the forest. Although it wasn’t the entrance WhiteShadow had originally used, by noting the position of the stars (WhiteShadow had been in the tunnel system for over 24 hours) he found his way back to the town he had run from, feeling bold and unstoppable due to his new acquisitions, WhiteShadow strode proudly into the middle of the town, to find that no-one emerged. Guessing that they all must be sleeping, WhiteShadow searched for a place to spend the night himself.
				So, what do you think so far, dear reader? You can always go back to the main page if you like, or you can journey onward...