The Darkest Night - my amateur novel

by **Chinquix** September 1st 2009, 4:43 am

Aha, shamelessly plugging my novel ^^'

I'll just post the prologue for now;
The moonlight trickled through the dense fog, it's silver threads catching on a heaving flank. A wolf burst through the dreariness, tongue lolling and eyes wide with terror, as he thundered over the barren mountain slope. As he passed, the bitter-sweet scent of fresh blood flowed sluggishly over the rocks. The wolf ran for several minutes, before halting suddenly, staring at some unseen phantom. A crack sounded through the mists. "Wh...who's there?!" he growled, though his voice shook, betraying his fear. His mouth split into a silent snarl, then relaxed instantly as a figure padded towards him. "Alpha." He whispered, the relief blatant in his voice. But then urgency filled him once more, and he bowed his silver head quickly before delivering his report. "Alpha, there's been a terrible tragedy!" he whimpered. The she-wolf cocked her head, her patient eyes inviting him to continue. Hika, for that was the scout-wolf's name, licked his gums and continued. "It's Sauvan...he's turned traitor. I myself saw it with my own eyes; the beta lying dead at his feet, her blood on his muzzle. Like a scene from the Dark Times, it was." He shivered, his mind full of the stories of his cubhood, of the days before the Enlightenment. Sensing his distress, the alpha waved her tail once. "Calm yourself, Hika," she growled confidently. Her voice was soothing to the scout, who closed his hazel eyes and let it wash over him for a second. "And don't be a fool. You say it was Sauvan? Think, scout, how could a yearling possibly overcome our beta female!?" Her tail was aloft and she spoke with pride, so despite the stinging words, the lowly Hika dared not speak a word of discontent. "I know, Ma'am Siral, but I swear by the pack that it is the truth! It is incomprehensible, yes, but the yearling Sauvan has committed the utmost treachery. We must call the Bleak-Runners, at once!" At the name of the packless exterminators, Siral the alpha snarled a warning. "If what you say is true, then the pack will deal with it, in our own way. We do not need the aid of those loners." Her eyes flashed with anger. Hika nervously whined his apology, and made to expose his belly to her dominace, but the she-wolf stopped him. "No. There is no time for that, Garran-Hika." The scout fliched at the old wulven word for coward. "I must see this for myself" Her voice softened. "Come, please, show me the way." Nodding, Hika rose and sprung into a lope, already shrinking inside at the thought of confronting the bone-chilling sight once more. The two ran silently in the crystaline air, the silver-grey scout and the blue-white alpha, and eventually their pace slowed. "This...this is the place, Burra." Hika addressed Siral as the wulven 'leader', perhaps in an attempt to earn her favour before she witnessed the death for herself. As the proud she-wolf stepped fprward, she took in the scene with one swipe of her powerful gaze. A cave, most likely an old birthing den of the pack. A scree-ridden path. The beta female, dead. Sorrow filled Siral as she stepped towards the body. "Ah...so it is true, Dura - sister. Regrettably true." She sighed, shaking her head. "Your poor mate..." a low growl interrupted her thoughts, and she spun, snarling. Out of the cave stepped a young male wolf, his strange blue eyes glittering. Siral's face beamed with relief "Oh, Sauvan, the scout said that you-" she stopped with a sharp intake of breath. The moon once more had slid from cover, and stroked the other wolf's face. It highlighted something thick, and dark, spread from his snout across his muzzle. Blood. The alpha let forth an unintentional snarl of disbelief. "Sauvan...no." Blinking, Sauvan seemed confused. He turned to see the still female at his feet. "What...how...?" noticing the expression on his leader's face, his own widened in horror. "No, Siral! I swear, it's not true...I didn't!" His eyes were wide, pleading, but it was no use. Siral was filled with an intense rage, wild and untamable. With a cry much akin to a scream, she leapt for his face. "Traitor!" For Sauvan, the world erupted in immense pain, and he found he could not see. Blood poured from his ravaged eye, destroyed by his own Burra. "...mother." He whispered. But Siral turned away. "Go, Kuni, traitor. You are no son of mine." With a howl of misery, the yearling spun and fled.

Woah...long. Yeah, if you like it, please check out the site and first chapter HERE!

Thanks for reading!