Home > Stories > Staff of Light

For quite some time now I have had the desire to write a novel. As ideas flowed I began to write them down. The need to write a longer piece for assessment gave me the chance to put my ideas into a novel.

The Staff of Light is written in third person omniscient as thisstyle gives me a chance to go into more detail about what the characters know and feel. The names that I have used in this piece are the names of people I know and are unique to my novel, as I have never seen them being used in a novel of this kind. The jewellery that I describe in this piece are either pieces that my father has made, or my friends wear. Gobblenibble is based on a cat I have at home called Sherpa Tensing, who is a Himalayan Berman cross. I noted his colourings, moods, likes, dislikes and characteristics. I then developed him into Gobblenibble who will play a major part in the book. The golden animals that adorn the characters are symbols of luck as the characters believe that a golden animal such as a dragon or eagle represents power, luck and good fortune. In the first chapter I wanted to develop the characters visually and also their personalities through detailed description and a lot of dialogue. For a pleasant role reversal I deliberately made the women more dominant and bossy than the men, or as some would say, the way life is normally portrayed!

Smoke rose formidably from the ancientTower of Truth. Markus ran inside to find a pool of blood surrounding his mentor's body. Gobblenibble paced the floor on the edge of his master's slain body mewing sadly as Markus entered the chamber. "The staff of light is gone! Zanatos ..... is dead, my mentor is....gone!" Markus whispered as a single tear ran down his cheek. Quietly he covered his mentor's body with an ornate silk robe that was hanging in the far corner of the room. He knelt quietly next to Gobblenibble, his fists began to clench tightly as he sat in deathly silence with his new familiar. Gracefully he rose from the floor, Gobblenibble stared up at Markus sadly. "No, why now, it shouldn't of happened. No.... No!" Markus began to shake his head as his anger consumed him, suddenly he turned for the door. "NO!" Markus yelled desperately as he ran down the spiral stairs. "NO!"

Sunlight danced through the Ancient trees of Shardwood Rainforest. A whispering breeze swayed and rustled the leaves slowly and soothingly. Quietly hiding halfway up one of them stood a beautiful young elven woman called Marishka. Her lengthy flame red hair swayed in the gentle summer breeze, as if to mimic the rustling of the leaves that soothed the forest. Her pale skin complemented her deep blue eyes. Someone of her beauty should not be climbing trees and wearing such dull leather armour. Only a few silver earings and an emblem of a gold dragon adorned her. Even her cloak and boots were as dull as the earth, but they were essential for survival. She quietly scanned the forest looking for any sign of danger. Humans on horseback could be heard in the distance as they made their way through the dense rainforest, one of them seemed to be doing a lot of complaining. On closer inspection of the three riders she noticed a large cat, about half the height of a horse, following at a steady pace behind the last horse. 'Humans' she thought. 'They are so noisy, you can hear them coming before you see them.' She grabbed one of her delicate white feathered arrows from her quiver and aimed her bow carefully. Her intense blue eyes scanned for her father "Ah", she whispered as she let the arrow fly. Marishka's aim was the most accurate in her village, no matter how many times her father denied it.

Out of nowhere her arrow found her father's feet and planted itself safely in the ground beside them. 'Damn you Marishka! One of these days you are going to hit someone.' Thorne, Marishka's father sneered to himself. "What do you see dear?" He questionedhis unseen daughter sarcastically. "Three humans, all on horseback and what looks to be a large cat of some kind." Marishka coldly replied. "Keep an eye on them! If they come too close bring them to me." Thorne said as he continued about his business.

Not far from Marishka on another large tree stood her only friend Raven. She was as beautiful as Marishka and the only human to be accepted into the elven family. Raven had wild, coarse long hair that was blacker than the night itself. She also had flawless pale skin and dull armour to protect her from the elements. The only jewellery she wore was a delicate silver chain around her left wrist with a single amethyst set in an eagle's claw. Her eyes were violet and she was almost as tall as her elven companion, but she was a little more heavily set. The only other thing that separated her from her friends was her kind-heartedness and her sense of fun. Slowly and painfully she taught Marishka the same, but this was to the Chieftain's dismay. Thorne could not change his headstrong daughter. 'If only my wife was still alive, she would not permit this nonsense,' was his usual reaction to her now human-like qualities.

Intensely Raven and Marishka watched as the foolish adventurers rode closer to the waiting women. The colourings on the cat were unique, he was also exceedingly large, both in height and width, with creamy coloured fur and dark brown markings on his ears, feet, face and tail. His tail was lengthy and considerably bushy. Quietly he strode next to the last horse, which was sandy in colour and did not seem to mind his presence. The magnificent horse next to the cat was adorned with violet reigns and horse blanket. The rider's face remained cloaked, as did the rider on the horse in front of him. The second rider's horse was a large and well muscled black Mountain horse. It was the colour of Raven's hair and he was as graceful as the cat that followed them.

The spectacle that rode the magnificent white horse was an eye full in itself. He wore a large hat with a purple feather out of it and his shirt seemed to be made of vivid blue silk. His cloak was a deep ruby red colour with gold trimmings. But he was wearing surprisingly dull pants. His boots seemed to be blessedly free of mud, which was common on most riders in these parts.

Both Marishka and Raven could not help but laugh quietly at this overdressed human. "Where did they get the first rider from?" Raven said in a hushed but amused voice to her companion. Marishka merely shrugged, with a grin on her face, and pointed towards the horses. Quietly the two women climbed down the trees, readied their bows and patiently waited as the horses drew near. Only the sound of hoof beats could be heard as they made their way closer to the patiently waiting women. Raven aimed her bow carefully. 'Just enough to spook the lead horse should do it,' she thought to herself as she signalled Marishka.

In a flurry of frightening seconds Raven's arrow had landed where she had planned. The magnificent white horse reared up in surprise, dismounting the rider straight into the mud. Three bewildered men, one in the mud, and a smug looking cat stared at the two women. "This is Lord Thorne's forest!" Marishka informed the men arrogantly. "What is your purpose for travelling through here?" Marishka stared confidently at the men, as Raven retrieved their black and white feathered arrows. "How dare you do this to me you insignificant, stupid woman! Do you know who I am and do you know how long it takes silk to dry?" fumed the dismounted rider as he stared furiously at the two women from under his strangely large hat, with a now mud covered feather drooping from it. "No we don't know who you are, why don't you tell us?" Raven said smartly. "I am Fredrick." He spluttered as he made his way clumsily back to his horse. "Well Fredrick, we don't know how long silk takes to dry. I suppose it would take as long, or even more than that ridiculous hat of yours." Marishka joined in at Fredrick's expense. Fredrick's mouth dropped open and he decided to ignore them as he tried to make himself look half decent.

As Fredrick continued to curse to himself one of the other riders softly spoke. "I am Louis, this is Markus and his familiar Gobblenibble. We would like to speak to Thorne about some of his rangers or fighters joining us. I have heard he has the best in the land." Louis gracefully pulled back the hood on his cloak to reveal his face as he softly explained their presence in the forest. His thick, satiny blonde hair was neatly tied back out of the way, pools of deep brown eyes and full lips enchanted Raven. A gentle smile swept across his smooth tanned face. "Well then, you better come this way" Marishka said as she directed them to the village and tried to compose herself. She too was caught off guard by this handsome stranger.

A large crowd had gathered to see what all the commotion was about, whispers and giggling echoed through the villagers. Quietly the visitors were escorted into the village. "Thorne, this is Louis, Fredrick, Markus and his familiar Gobblenibble. They wish to talk to you and to ask you for some help."Marishka coldly informed her father. "Markus, what brings you back to our village without your master, oh, what was his name? Oh yes that's it, Sorcerer Zanatos." Thorne questioned Markus as he looked him up and down. Markus' robes were much like Zanatos' except his were a deep blue with gold edging. But the same golden symbol of a hawk sat gracefully around his neck on a golden chain. A recent scar had etched its way across one side of his tanned baby face, making him look more his age than before. Markus' steel grey eyes stared back at the Chieftain from under his curly black hair. Silence swept through the party and Gobblenibble mewed. "He was killed and his staff of light was stolen" Markus muttered sadly. "We wouldn't come here if we didn't need your help. Do you have any good fighters or rangers who would like to join us in recovering the staff?" Tholan continued quietly as Markus stared solemnly at the ground. Thorne's face paled at the news of his old friend's death. Even though Thorne didn't like humans the crafty old Sorcerer had helped him out on many occasions. "Markus, I am truly sorry about his death. I cannot give you any of my men, I can offer you the services of my daughter Marishka and her friend Raven, who escorted you into the village." Thorne said sympathetically. He tried not to smile as he thought to himself, 'Perhaps if they accept my offer I will be rid of that stubborn red headed daughter of mine and her human friend. Besides they are not safe here, they will only be in danger if what Markus is saying is true.' "Thankyou for your kind offer, may we consider it." Tholan asked kindly. "You have until tomorrow morning, then you must leave with or without them. You can guard the northern perimeter with them tonight to see if they are worthy" Thorne answered them sternly, as he got up to leave he turned to Gobblenibble and smiled, then continued on his way.

"I'm sorry about my father, he is quite a cold man since a party of Drow soldiers killed my mother in a raid on the village" Marishka said to the men. Then she continued, "Raven and I will show you where you can leave your horses and, of course, somewhere to sleep." "Is there somewhere where we can bathe and you can wash my clothes?" Fredrick interrupted rudely. "Sure there is!" Raven smiled mischievously.

Raven guided them to a magnificent waterfall that was near to the camp on the northern edge of the village. "Don't bother about taking your clothes off, I know a better way!" Raven said as she picked up Fredrick with the help of Marishka and threw him in. Gobblenibble mewed in delight and started to rub up against Raven's legs. Markus and Tholan laughed at the sight of a furious Fredrick as he spluttered and yelled. "How dare you! Don't you know who I am?" Fredrick yelled angrily. "A pompous, overdressed rude human" Raven and Marishka chimed and left with the other two men to show them where the camp was.

Evening soon came. Markus sat quietly next to Gobblenibble and patted his furry companion while the others chatted quietly amongst themselves. "He doesn't say much does he?" Marishka questioned Tholan as she noticed Markus' solitude. "No, he does not. He's been like that since an opposing evil Sorcerer killed his mentor whilst he was out visiting me. So in a fit of rage he went to the sorcerer's castle to revenge his mentor's death. But the evil sorcerer was too powerful and he gave Markus that scar" Tholan whispered quietly to Marishka. "I might go over to see how he is. I will be back in a minute" Marishka said as she gracefully stood up and walked towards Markus. As she approached Gobblenibble looked up at her with his emerald coloured eyes and mewed acceptingly. Markus stared into his hands at a beautiful sapphire on a gold chain. "He likes you and Raven you know" Markus whispered without even looking up from his hands. "Why, because we hate that wussy Fredrick?" Marishka said sarcastically as she sat next to Gobblenibble. "Yes, he can't stand him either. But the feeling is mutual, it's quite amusing to watch them tease each other," Markus said as he looked up at Marishka with a half hearted smile. Quietly she studied Markus' hands and found them to be surprisingly smooth; a golden dragon had been tattooed on his left arm. "I have a friend who would love to get her hands on a beautiful sapphire like that" Marishka said as she gazed at the deep blue sapphire. "Oh really?" Markus replied dully. "Yes, Archesh, she is quite a good little thief. Not to mention her quick wit, she always seems to get herself out of trouble as quickly as she gets herself into it," she said hoping it would hold the conversation together, but he did not answer her. Silently they sat and watched Gobblenibble creep up behind Fredrick. "Watch this," Markus whispered amusingly. Fredrick began to sniffle and rub his nose. Slowly he began to rub his eyes and within moments he was sneezing continuously. Gobblenibble slinked back to Markus quietly as Fredrick continued to sneeze. Fredrick darted an evil look at the snickering trio. "Keep that cat away from me! Or I'll.... I'll..." Fredrick began to stutter as Markus stared back at him. "Or you will what?" Markus sneered as Gobblenibble rolled over onto his back so Marishka could pat him.

Raven, who had been watching the performance with Tholan looked up at Marishka with a serious look on her face. As she did so Marishka heard the sounds of intruders making their way towards the clearing. In a flourish of gestures and words Markus made the fire die to warm glowing coals as the others grabbed their weapons. "It's Orcs," whispered Raven; Marishka nodded in agreement. The Orcs moved noisily through the forest towards the party, but before they reached the clearing a white feathered arrow found its mark securely in an Orc's neck, sending him crashing to the ground. Immediately a black feathered arrow followed, striking another.

A flourish of arrows flew silently to the oncoming enemy with deadly accuracy. Quick as the battle had began it was over. "Come on, we need to drag them into the clearing. Markus build the fire up again please," Marishka ordered the stupified men. "We didn't even get a shot in! Are you thinking what I'm thinking Markus?" Tholan blurted out in surprise. "Yes I am, they are definitely hired," Markus said. Gobblenibble mewed in acceptance. Quickly he built up the fire again with a flick of his fingers. Silently he joined the others, bringing the Orcs into the clearing. "Why must we do this now. I will get blood on my clean silk shirt." Fredrick whined. "Tough luck, if we didn't kill all of them and it gets to another party of Orcs, they will find us and revenge their deaths."Marishka sneered at Fredrick. "Besides, I want my arrows back. Do you know how hard it is to make these?" Raven said sarcastically.

Quietly the group checked their victims' pockets, slit their throats and tossed them onto the blazing fire. Fredrick was made watch person for the night, to compensate for the others having to put up with his whining. In the small hours of the morning Raven relieved an exhausted Fredrick. She quietly sat next to the fire and readied her pack for the adventure that lay ahead of them. Sunlight danced gently through the trees in the early hours of the morning, as Lord Thorne made his way through the forest to their campsite with some of his council men. When he arrived at the quiet northern camp he noticed Raven on guard as the others were asleep.

Without one word she made her feelings known, a look of relief enhanced her face as she thought about her new adventure and achance to get Marishka away from her pompous father. Thorne made sure his entrance was loud enough to wake the others before he started to talk. "Well then..." Thorne said loudly, pausing to make sure everyone was awake and paying attention. "Have you decided?" he asked hopefully. "Yes we have. We thank you for your generous offer..." Fredrick started to say. Tholan continued politely as he cut in on Fredrick. "That is, if you don't mind not seeing these two for some time" "No, not at all. I will see them both on your return. By the way, Raven and Marishka know of a great little thief, if you are interested of course," Thorne said coldly as he walked away hoping he would not see the pair for quite some time. Raven and Marishka saddled up their horses ready for the ride, as if nothing mattered.

"So, I'm not the only one who doesn't like you two. He seems to hate you more than me." Fredrick said teasingly. "Mention my father again and I'll slit your throat," said Marishka coldly, she mounted her bay coloured horse and slowly rode off. The others quietly followed her lead. "That's not the way we're going!" Fredrick informed Raven. "It is if you want a Thief," Raven answered as she rode quietly on her coal coloured horse, behind Tholan's muscular black mountain horse. Four days into the ride Fredrick started to whine again. "When will we get there?" "We should be there by the afternoon sometime, so I don't want to hear another word from you until then," Marishka ordered. Tholan began to laugh. "It's about time someone got him into line, he's such a whinger." He turned to Raven who gently smiled and said "She's quite authoritative because she's had to be, none of her brothers have the guts to stand up to their father. " Raven explained quietly as she continued, "She doesn't like people to know about herself, she's always been secretive."

As they rode on through the dense, lush forest birds sang quietly as the sun beamed down from the cloudless sky. Raven noticed mewing and thumping which seemed to be comming from behind the horses as they continued to travel. "It's Gobblenibble, he likes to play with butterflies," Markus said with a gentle smile as he noticed Raven's concern. Raven turned a little in her well worn leather saddle, to find the huge cat bouncing around after butterflies as if he was a tiny kitten. "Does he always play around like that?" Raven curiously asked Markus. "No, only when he feels like it. He is quite a selective cat," Markus said.

After stopping for lunch and resting the horses they continued on their way. Well after the midday sun became more comfortable the sound of waves gently crashing could be heard in the distance. "We are nearing Mermaid's Pass so you can stop winging now Fredrick,"Marishka informed a pouting Fredrick. They rode quietly into a deserted clearing near a gentle aqua blue sea. "Archesh are you here?" Marishka yelled as she dismounted her horse and led it into the clearing. "It's beautiful," Markus gasped. Soft white sand lined the aqua blue, crystal clear water. Waves gently washed against the shore. "Archesh it's Marishka. I have a proposition that might interest you," Marishka said in a language foreign to the men. "What is she saying?" Louis queried Raven. "She is speaking in Aquatic Elf, don't worry, she's just calling her," Raven informed the men. Slowly a ripple formed onthe water as Archesh slowly walked from underneath the surface to the shore. "How are you cousin?" Marishka said as she greeted Archesh.

Raven moved towards the pair to greet the slender tall woman. Archesh smiled as she made her way to Marishka and Raven. Archesh had mouse brown, hip length hair, and mischievous emerald green eyes that sparkled as she greeted her favourite cousin.

As Louis compared the women he realised how dark she was compared to her paled skinned friends. "How does she survive out of the water?" He asked Markus. "She must be half human or elf, because if she was a full aquatic elf she would not survive out of the water for too long," Markus replied.

The three men noticed something gleaming on her body as they walked closer. Archesh was barely covered in crystal jade coloured scales, but it was just enough to make her decent. "I'll be with you in a minute. I just have to get changed" she said as she disappeared into the forest. "Who was that?" Fredrick said, looking a little flustered. "My cousin, now I will warn you all. Keep an eye on anything important, she has a bad habit of taking things without asking," Marishka told them all quietly.

"How can she survive out of the water?" Louis asked Marishka inquisitively. "She's half land elf. But she prefers to live near both land and water," Raven explained to the men. "Now, who are these handsome men?" Archesh asked as she reappeared out of the forest fully dressed in her well worn leathers. Fredrick made his way to her and kissed her delicate hand. "I am Fredrick, perhaps you have heard of me?" "Perhaps not, I live here by myself for most of the time," she said, blushing at the attention. "I am Markus and this is Gobblenibble." They both bowed gracefully as Markus introduced Gobblenibble and himself to the captivating woman. "My dear lady, I am Louis and we are going on a quest to retrieve a staff that was stolen from Markus' mentor after he was killed," Louis explained as he introduced himself, without making a fool of himself as Fredrick had. He smiled gently as he continued. "Perhaps you would like to join us?" "Is there any chance of lots of treasure?" Archesh asked hopefully. "Yes, but not in our packs!" Fredrick said smartly. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" Archesh said and with a whistle she called her sandy coloured horse from the bushes and said "I had a feeling you would be around soon Marishka, shall we go?" But Gobblenibble had already raced ahead.

Bounding along the rainforest track Gobblenibble seemed very excited. His pupils had grown excessively large, and his tail remained straight up in the air as he bounded along. Noticing that the others were taking their time he waited for them patiently. A dark shadow passed overhead and a stabbing cold breeze taunted Gobblenibble. A soft and dangerous voice sounded inside his head. "You don't scare me little cat! I await the time when you will soon be my door mat! I challenge you to try and get the staff back old man! Hiding in the body of that cat won't save you this time!"

Blackened laughter filled Gobblenibble's head as he began to shake violently, trying to rid himself of the voice. "Gobblenibble! What game are you playing now you over excited cat?" Markus said as he stroked Gobblenibble. Eventually he began to purr and they continued on their way. As they began to travel again a black eagle sat silently watching their every movement, a unknown spy with a deadly purpose.

The end.

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