Well This is the 1st installment in a story that i think is gonna be pretty cool. I tried to get some good action in here even though there is some background info. Enjoy :)


The Hale Chronicles
Instalment 1
Before Everything

Before Everything… I was just another student at the temple. I had a structured routine, like every other student, and I went about it every day. I was normal, but that was before the attack… then, everything changed.

I lay awake staring at the ornate jade dragon circling the ceiling of my room. Its yellow eyes seem to stare right into my very being. The sun is only just beginning to rise, but I’ve been awake for an hour. Today, my master, Yuen, The strongest, and fastest sword fighter to ever come from Fa Temple, will complete my training, and I will finally be recognized as a full Temple guardian. I’ve been training with her ever since I could hold a sword, to join the Temple guardians. Yuen is the one of the 9 head guardians, and when she offered to train me I was ecstatic. Guardians are a chosen few that are tasked with protecting the temple and its knowledge, stored in the great vault. I was left here by my parents when I was a baby. I was only told that they were from a distant land, and that they felt I’d be safer here. Than back home. I don’t really miss them, but it’s hard to miss someone you never knew.

My thoughts are abruptly interrupted, by the loud tolls of the iron morning bell. I jump out of bed, already dressed. I grab my sword and scabbard, of its hook, and take a quick look in the mirror on the small table on my wall. I wear my normal tan, silk tunic, with white pants that are synched right below the knees, and plain sandals. My traditional straight sword is a simple one, with a nice leather scabbard, and plain handle. My unruly white hair almost covers one eye.
“Everything changes after today” I say with a smile on my face, and step out the door into the cool mountain air. I move quickly through the stone courtyard in the center of the student dorms, and descend the large stairs taking me from the living quarters to the main temple steppe. The tall building, with the sun at its back, cast a shadow down on me.
“Soon it will be my job to protect you.” I think as I turn onto one of the many paths branching out towards the many training grounds. I follow it until I come to a large clearing, and at its center is a stone trigram. Master Yuen stands in the middle of the trigram with the 8 other head guardians around her. I slowly walk up to the trigram, and wate.
“Step forward Ryugia, and kneel” Yuen says
I do as she says, and she continues.
“You have trained hard since day one, and have come far. You told me once that you wanted to repay the temple for taking you in, by protecting it. Well the day has come for you to do that, and become a temple guardian. Is this what you want?”
“Yes” I say without hesitation.
“If you are asked to lay down your life for this temple, will you do so?”
“I will.”
“You are strong, and brave, but you are also kind, and compassionate, will you use these traits to protect the people who reside here?”
“I will.”
“Then with these gifts I make you a full temple guardian. I give you the yellow and green tunic of a guardian so all may know you, and a sword forged from the metal found in this great mountain we reside on so that you may use it to protect it.”
Two monks step forward each carrying one of the two gifts.
“Remove your tunic, and your sword, and hand them to me.” I do, and the two monks quickly put the tunic over my head, tie a green sash around my waste, and attach the new sword and scabbard.
Yuen and the others all bow, and I bow in return.
“Welcome to our ranks Ryugia” Yuen says with a smile.
The other guardians leave to go about their work, but Yuen stays behind.
“Why don’t we take the long way back to the temple?” She says.
“That’s fine” I say, to busy admiring my new sword to argue.
So I walk back beside her on a dirt trail. “So? How do you feel?” she asks.
“Different. I feel stronger, even though I know I’m just as strong as I was yesterday”
“Don’t underestimate yourself. You have exceled faster than any student I have ever seen. Not That I’ve seen a ton, but in my 25 years here, you are one of the strongest students, and I think you will even surpass me.”
“Really?” I say surprised by her words.
“You were more skilled with a sword at 10 than I was at 16. You are naturally fast, and agile, but you are strong, and have great endurance, I believe you are destined to be gr” Her head swivels around.
“What is it?”
“Quite. Do you here that?”
In the distance I can hear the quick tolls of the temples warning bells.
“We are under attack! Quickly we must get back and protect the temple!”

We race back, as fast our legs can take us, and arrive to fire, and death. Masters, and students fighting a hoard of black armored soldiers. It’s a sea of chaos, but behind it the doors to the tower have been forced open, and a group of soldiers lead by what looks like a young boy in similar armor enter. Yuen sees this and beckons for me to follow her. I unsheathe my shinning unstained sword, and follow her into battle.
We duck and weave through the battle, working our way towards the tower. A soldier tries to run me through with a silver tipped spear, but I easily spin my sword and flick the attack away, and with a quick kick to the chest knock him to the ground. I stay close to Yuen until we arrive at the base of the tower. We rush in ready to fight but no one is there.
“They must be on one of the upper levels.” I suggest.
“No not just one of the levels. They are heading to the top. They are heading for the vault, and we have to stop them.”
“Then no need to waste time. Let’s get going.” I say and we begin to ascend the spiraling marble stairs that leads to the top of the tower. “What could they want?” I think to myself. “No it doesn’t matter. They have attacked this temple, and they will pay.”
I watch as the floors pass by, until we finally reach the top floor. There the huge golden dragon door is open, and I can see the group of soldiers inside. Yuen dashes in, and I follow close behind.
“Stop now! Whatever it is you want you will not get it.” Yuen yells angrily

The soldiers all turn around, and behind them is the young boy I saw before. He has jet black hair and a smile on his face that sends shivers down my spine.

“Fire temper, and a straight sword… you must be Yuen.” He says still smiling. “Good. I’ve come to retrieve the book of infinity for my father, and if my sources are correct you have it. I knew you were at the temple, but not where to find you once I got here. So as a guardian I figured you would eventually show up to protect the vault.”
“How do you know so much about this place? You aren’t a student.”
“It doesn’t matter, you’ll be dead soon anyway. You and the boy.”
“Boy! I’m like the same age as you!” I yell
“Maybe be, but you aren’t on the same level as me.” As he says this he draws the sword at his side and lunges toward Yuen. The attack is so fast she barely blocks it. He spins and attacks with a barrage of blows, but Yuen catches the last one, and they lock swords. I move forward to attack, but she stops me.
“No hold of the soldiers! I’ll handle this!”

I reluctantly turn my attention back to the 4 soldiers just in time to duck under a swinging blow from a mace. I roll and slice the soldiers Achilles tendon on both legs. Luckily the soldiers are just wearing leather boots. The other three come at me in unison. I deflect a sword strike, and dodge to the right of speeding arrow only to nearly be impaled by a spear head. I grab the shaft of the spear and slice through the wood. The soldier stumbles back, and I use the opening to stab him in the side. My sword breaks through the chain mail and he falls to the ground bleeding. Another arrow shoots by my head, and I roll left avoiding two more. I roll onto my feet, and start forward towards the soldier. He fires two more arrows one after the other. I spin around one, but the second one is close. I bring up my sword and at the last second block the arrow with the flat of my blade. This surprises the archer enough that I have enough time to reach him and hit him over his unhelmeted head. I turn around triumphantly to help Yuen, and tears begin to well up in my eyes. She lays on the ground in a growing pool of blood, and the boy seems to have run off. I rush over to her, and fall to my knees beside her.
“N..no.. Its…trap” Understanding floods in as I feel a sharp crack over my head, and fall to the ground. The last thing I see is the boy smiling down at me.
“You’re so predictable” He says. Then everything fades to black.

Next instalment soon!