Dies Irae
(Day of Wrath)
(PG13)
Copyright © 2005/10 by [R. Vance]. All rights reserved.
Unable to live together in harmony, humans and dragons began battling. Seventeen years ago, the evil black dragon, Cyril, was sealed in his own creation: an orb with enough power to wipe out the human race. Without their powerful leader to protect them, the remaining dragons went into hiding. Now Cyril has awakened to find his soul still trapped, and is beckoning The One to release him. It's up to Samara Callaghan to stop the cruel black dragon from being brought back into the world. There's just one minor obstacle: her enemy is her lover...and a dragon.
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Bounty Hunter (PG)
Copyright © 2005/10 Sara "R." Vance. All rights reserved.
A fan fiction based on three popular Japanese anime's: Cowboy Bebop ®, Outlaw Star ®, and Trigun ®. This is a wild and fun story about bounty hunters, outlaws, and just plain crazy people that eventually leads to uncanny alliances. This is a fun story I co-authored several years ago. Other authors include members of my family: Dave Vance; Dan Vance; Michelle Vance; Stephanie Vance
Warning! These segments were written for fun. They have not been edited or proofread. This was the first bit of writing some of us did. There WILL be spelling and grammar errors. If you're a nit-picking perfectionist, you may not want to read this one.
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
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Debt Repaid (pg)
Copyright © 2007-10 Sara "R." Vance. All rights reserved.
This is a poem and an unfinished short story based on a dream I had, set in medieval times. A battle rages between tyrannical soldiers and helpless peasants. A stranger fights alongside the weak and makes a dangerous decision. Knowing they are no match for the soldiers, she must choose the lesser of two evils. She seeks his help...
The Poem
I remember that day as plain as the States
The houses were on fire with the roofs made of hay
The horses they came as waves on the hills
Their riders atop had only one will
Though filled with fear, we were in the heart
I knew of a place that was not very far
Ten of us left in temporary retreat
We ran less than a mile on our tired, caked feet
When we reached the lake, it was sparkling at play
We got in the boat and we rowed away
To a circle of rocks in the middle of the depths
We fell right in, not fearing the wet
We sank beneath the surface, about fifteen feet or so
Through our noses, it was not water, but air that flowed
I led them through tunnels of underwater caves
To an aquatic creature with a debt to be repaid
Though it had been three years, he remembered my name
I told him what I wanted and he led the way
Further down into the earth we went
My men, quivering, followed with their arrow strings bent
The creature lay snoring until a spell made it wake
Angered and frothing, it made the floor quake
My men became brave and, together, we fought
The aquatic creature beside me; his debt not forgot
Much blood was spilt, three of my men lay slain
In the end we pierced Leviathan's heart; he writhed in pain
If not for a new debt, dead he would be
My men and I roped him and rode the snake from the sea
The aquatic creature followed, though through debt he was no longer bound
But a lust for blood and fight brought his webbed feet to dry ground
We rode Leviathan on a tidal wave to battle
Drowning soldiers and knocking them from their saddles
The fires were put out of the houses with roofs made of hay
Though some lives were lost, the day was still saved
I thanked both creatures for helping us fight
Debts now repaid, I sent them back to sea as day became night
Short Story
(incomplete)
I had a dream, a story so vivid, I thought I was really there.
Thick black smoke rose from the burning thatched huts of the small village I was seeking shelter in. It was long ago, before the exhaust from cars and power plants polluted our air. I had committed many crimes of men, though I believed I had been just in doing so. I needed a place of refuge and this was the first village I had come across after many days of traveling. I remembered the village from a few years ago when I passed through before my crimes.
Fear was pulsing through every one of us. If everyone halted their breaths and the screams outside were muted, you would be able to hear the rush of beats within our chest. Some of us, the group I was among, waited in one of the barns that was not burning. We had managed to kill the soldiers who started the fires but their backup was on the way. I could see, through a hole in the wall, a wave of brown horses with sword wielding riders. They poured down the hills like a river let loose and they were racing for us. They would slaughter every last one of us, for no real reason at all; they were just heartless to peasants and were angry that we had retaliated.
We had makeshift weapons; pitchforks, shovels, and poorly crafted spears. A few of the lucky ones had swords, though they were old and chipped from previous battles. I was one of the lucky ones. My knuckles were white with how hard I gripped the hilt of my gladius, the large pommel digging into the edge of my smallest finger.
I had to yell over the shrill screams of terror and raging fires outside. “We need help!”
There were probably fifty of us waiting in the barn, hoping to spring a surprise attack on some of the soldiers when they would run by.
“I don’t know of any,” the man closest to me responded. The shudder of his breath gave away his fear.
“I do, follow me,” I said.
I did know of help and I probably should have mentioned it earlier, but I had been debating the lesser of two evils. The help that I knew of would not come easy, but after seeing the army of soldiers, I had made up my mind. Any risk would be worth it, especially if we were to die anyway.
The man seemed surprised, but knew he had no time to question. We crawled out the back of the barn, hidden from the eyes of the soldiers. As we pushed our way through the crowd of people, we motioned for ten of the strongest fighters to follow us. Those who followed did not question for they knew my loyalty. But the others who had not become acquainted with me, and knew not the person I was, yelled obscenities and called us cowards, thinking fear and gotten the better of us and we were retreating. I had no time to tell them they were wrong. Maybe their anger would empower them anyway. Or it would have the opposite effect and they would fight poorly, their morale diminished. I had no time to worry.
The men followed me to a large body of water not even a mile away. We ran as fast as our mud-caked feet would allow us. By the time we reached the boats tied up at the docks, our legs burned as if on fire. We crowded into the wooden boats, not fearing too much weight, and we rowed away. The day was calm so the sea was smooth, decreasing our fears if only a little; at least we would not have to worry about capsizing.
We rowed not far from shore, but where it was deep, to a circle of jagged rocks that protruded far above the surface. It was like Stonehenge, only in the water.
“What are we doing here?” one of the men asked, his eyes wide with fright. “I heard there was a terrible creature in these depths, we never come near here.”
“You are right. There is a terrible creature below us, but do not fear.” Though the words came from my own mouth, I knew I was deceiving him. He did have something to fear below these waters, but I could not allow him to leave. Not now. I needed him as much as I needed the others. I gave him no time to argue. “Follow me and do not fear losing your breath; it is not far.”
I gulped as much air as I could and then rolled off the side of the boat and fell back first into the cool, salty liquid. I swam down, hearing eleven thumps into the water after me. My eyes open, I could see the cloudy view of my destination. The boat was left unattended. It didn’t matter, though. Either way, no matter the outcome, we wouldn’t need it; if my plan failed, we would all be dead, if we succeeded we still wouldn’t need it.
We only had to swim about fifteen feet down. This part of the sea was deep, yes, but not with water. We swam through an arch of rocks and like magic we could breathe again. But we also fell. It was not far, the fall we would not be fatal. We would only be bruised. We found ourselves in a cave that was surrounded by a pocket of air. I could hear water dripping from various places as small bits of it leaked through the air bubble and fell from the cavern walls.
I turned to my comrades, hearing them draw their swords. They were being cautious in this unfamiliar place and their eyes looked around in wonder. I raised a shaking finger to my wet lips and, in a whisper, told them to sheathe their weapons. They did—though they gave me a look as if to say I were crazy—, being as quiet as they could, understanding the look on my face to do so. I was frightened. I didn’t want him to hear me until I was ready for him. The swords had been loudly unsheathed, I feared he had heard them and would appear in front of us, but he didn’t.
After a moment of dread, I decided we were safe again and moved forward. We walked for a short time through a corridor of bulging rock walls and spaced apart torches that flickered gracefully, leading the way.
“Give your name, trespasser.”
My men froze in their steps at the throaty, intimidating voice. Inside I was shaking, not sure if he would remember me and what I had done three years prior, but outside, I forced myself to be calm and show confidence. My men needed a strong leader, which is what I had become—their leader. If I showed fear, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
“You owe me your services,” I replied without stutter, my chin raised in confidence.
I heard him exhale, perhaps annoyed, perhaps surprised, and then I heard the sound of him laying down a quill on his desk. He had been writing and I had disturbed him.
We couldn’t see him since we stood just before his writing room, which was an extension from the corridor we had just come from. The doorway was only a jagged opening in the rocks, barely enough room for an average sized man to slip through. I was afraid to go in, not wanting to further disturb him. Though I was his temporary master, I was still afraid on the inside. He had power I didn’t know or understand. I still didn’t know how I did what I had that day. It had been dumb luck that had saved me, I was sure of it.
After only a moment he appeared around the corner and stepped through the opening. A vicious smirk was pasted onto his pale face, which was the faintest color of blue. His hair looked greasy, but I knew it wasn’t. The blue locks with white streaks were just constantly moist from this environment. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, only a pair of brown, tattered, farmer’s pants that stopped above his bony ankles. His chest was free of a single hair and his nipples were a chilly, darker blue than the rest of his body. Though he was not large in bulk, his muscles were well defined. I remembered how his hands and feet had been that day and snuck a glance to see if they were the same. They were. A thin layer of transparent skin connected his fingers and toes.
His arrogance was obvious but so was his knowledge of being bound. “I thought you had forgotten,” he said.
My men stared in awe. I bowed out of respect for the powerful creature. “Thought?” I bravely asked as I came back up.
“All right, I had hoped.”
Oh, how he loved to frustrate me. But I refused to allow his sarcasm to bother me. I raised my chin again. “Aquarius, Dweller of the Sea, you are obligated to provide your services in battle, once, as I request, due to your defeat.” I recited the words as though reading a formal request.
Aquarius nodded as if bored, already knowing his obligations. “And, your request would be...?”
I stared into his sloshy, water-filled eyes. “I want you to help me wake him and...defeat him.”
“Is that not two requests?” he asked.
My fear subsided. I’m not sure why, but it did. “No. It is one request with two parts.”
He chuckled and rubbed his hands together. “I love it.” And then he said: “Why do you need him?”
“There’s a battle going on above and many are being slaughtered even now as we speak. We’re losing time, and lives, by just standing here.”
“Well then, we better hurry.” He walked by my men to lead the way, not giving their swords even a glance. As he passed by the last in line, he scuffed his feet and jerked his head at him. “Boo.”
The man jumped back in fear and then glared as Aquarius continued on, laughing from his throat.
I followed Aquarius and the men went after me.
Aquarius led us down several moss-covered steps descending even deeper into the earth. He asked me a few times if I was sure I wanted to do this. I said, “Yes.”
To be continued...?