Residual Hate (Prologue)
I drastically need a new title but that'll do for now.
Working Title: Residual Hate
Plot Summary: A young girl's life changes after meeting Hako Hitori, a powerful thread mage. She must learn to master her growing power over the conscious mind before it starts to control her, fed by the population's rebelious hate and her own past.
Prologue
An Evening in Midsummer, 1,000 years after the Fall of the Arconic Empire
As far as cellars went, the Greenapple’s was pretty normal. It was dark and smelled of damp earth as well as preserved fruit and vegetables. However, in the back corner, the furthest from the trapdoor on the ceiling, was an odd collection of items. A few worn blankets piled up in the corner, pebbles of different shapes and sizes strewn across the hard earthen floor, forming patterns only visible in the light of a lantern. A necklace made of seashells hiding behind a barrel of granny smith apples.
A small child’s footprints going from one side of her home to another.
The girl in question was drowsing amidst the blankets, curled up like a cat for warmth, when the barn’s doors creaked open aboveground. Awake but not moving, the chlid listened as light footsteps darted across the wooden floor, going from the doors to the trapdoor that hid her home.
“Who’s there?” The little girl asked, getting to her feet as someone fiddled with the latch. If she concentrated, she could feel warmth from above -not the warmth of sunlight or a fire, but heat nonetheless. “Is that you Josh?” The girl continued.
“How did you know?” A boy’s voice asked, amused.
“I don’t know.” The girl confessed.
“That’s okay. You hungry?”
“A bit. I ate yesterday.” She wasn't allowed to touch the food in the bins around her and it was nearly impossile for her to sneak one without her Uncle's knowing. He counted every edible product before lowering it into the cellar for storage and wrote down the numbers in his ledger. The thrashing she had received the first time had convinced her that repeating her mistake would be a very bad idea.
“I brought you a apple and some of my ma’s cookies.” The latch gave finally gave up its fight and the girl could feel fresh air pour into the room as the trapdoor became unrestrained.
“You shouldn’t have. Uncle will hurt you.” The girl warned fretfully.
“He won’t hurt his own son.” Josh replied confidently, opening the trapdoor. At five years old, he was a strong boy with his father’s bright red hair and his mother’s green eyes. A flame danced on the lantern’s wick, its light creating shadows in the cellar. The girl looked away for a few minutes until the pain no longer made her eyes hurt. “You worry too much, Nanashi.” He added, leaning against the opening to pass a cotton sack to his cousin.
“You’re so warm.” She told him, reaching for the sack. “This place would be so cold without you.”
“You talkin’ ‘bout the heating?” Josh asked, watching the girl as she opened the sack, her dirty hands leaving traces on the undyed cotton.
She giggled, taking a bite of the apple. “Never mind.”
“You're so odd.” Josh told her, leaning further over the edge of the trapdoor. He smiled when the girl’s large grey eyes met his, a thankful smile hovering on her lips.
Than the lantern was falling, and in a frantic lunge to catch it before it fell into a wicker basket of preserved jams, he lost his balance. The few seconds it took for him to fall to the ground seemed like a year to the girl, the slow widening of his eyes, the start of a scream as realization hit just before he landed head-first with a loud crack. The girl screamed, rushing to the boy’s side. She could not believe that he was dead, would not believe her fingers as they felt a broken neck or her eyes as they were drawn helplessly to the sight of bone penetrating flesh. The cellar, her home for the past year, suddenly seemed so much colder, creating a pressure on her body that was nearly unsupportable. “No!” She whispered, breathing deeply as if the surplus of oxygen in her lungs could be transferred to Josh’s. “NO!”
The barn door opened with a crash. Heavy footsteps rang through the barn, a brighter lantern casting fresh shadows as the old one died on the cellar floor. “Josh? Boy?”
The girl uttered a strangled cry, touching the dead boy, unaware of the man's presence.
The man spotted the open trapdoor and heard the girl’s crying. With five great strides, he reached the trapdoor. With the help of his lantern and the fading sunlight coming through the loft, he saw the two children, one alive and one dead. “What have you done, you demon-spawn!” He jumped down, grunting at the flare of pain in his legs his landign created, and grabbed the girl by her shoulders. He lifted her to eye level (an easy feat considering that he was well over six feet of pure muscle, while she was slightly underfed). “Well?”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!” The girl sobbed.
He threw her to the ground, not paying attention to her cry of pain, and knelt down beside his son. He lifted the body, cradling it like a newborn. “He’s dead.” His voice, used to shouting across the orchards at lazy farm help and the girl, seemed to be too soft, disbelief draining it of its former power.
Nanashi flinched away at the man’s anger as it hit her like a ball of flame, burning away her sensitive skin and searing her very being. She bit her lip to keep from screaming as little needles dug into her eyes, trying to reach her mind, vainly hoping that he would go away before his anger consumed her. She could feel something dying inside of him, a sense of joy that always had kept the anger from taking complete control. ‘I didn’t mean to Uncle Kyu!’ She thought through her pain, desperately trying to reduce his anger.
“Shut up, monster.” He snarled, kicking the girl in the side. She gasped, fresh pain blooming like a poisonous flower. “I’ll purify your miserable being later, after I bury my son. A few days without food won’t hurt you enough.” The big man sneered.
The girl was almost glad to be left in the darkness. It didn’t try to tear her apart like people did.
Prologue ^-^-^ Chapter 1 ^-^-^ Chapter 2 ^-^-^ Chapter 3 ^-^-^ Chapter 4 ^-^-^ Chapter 5 ^-^-^ Chapter 6
Working Title: Residual Hate
Plot Summary: A young girl's life changes after meeting Hako Hitori, a powerful thread mage. She must learn to master her growing power over the conscious mind before it starts to control her, fed by the population's rebelious hate and her own past.
Prologue
An Evening in Midsummer, 1,000 years after the Fall of the Arconic Empire
As far as cellars went, the Greenapple’s was pretty normal. It was dark and smelled of damp earth as well as preserved fruit and vegetables. However, in the back corner, the furthest from the trapdoor on the ceiling, was an odd collection of items. A few worn blankets piled up in the corner, pebbles of different shapes and sizes strewn across the hard earthen floor, forming patterns only visible in the light of a lantern. A necklace made of seashells hiding behind a barrel of granny smith apples.
A small child’s footprints going from one side of her home to another.
The girl in question was drowsing amidst the blankets, curled up like a cat for warmth, when the barn’s doors creaked open aboveground. Awake but not moving, the chlid listened as light footsteps darted across the wooden floor, going from the doors to the trapdoor that hid her home.
“Who’s there?” The little girl asked, getting to her feet as someone fiddled with the latch. If she concentrated, she could feel warmth from above -not the warmth of sunlight or a fire, but heat nonetheless. “Is that you Josh?” The girl continued.
“How did you know?” A boy’s voice asked, amused.
“I don’t know.” The girl confessed.
“That’s okay. You hungry?”
“A bit. I ate yesterday.” She wasn't allowed to touch the food in the bins around her and it was nearly impossile for her to sneak one without her Uncle's knowing. He counted every edible product before lowering it into the cellar for storage and wrote down the numbers in his ledger. The thrashing she had received the first time had convinced her that repeating her mistake would be a very bad idea.
“I brought you a apple and some of my ma’s cookies.” The latch gave finally gave up its fight and the girl could feel fresh air pour into the room as the trapdoor became unrestrained.
“You shouldn’t have. Uncle will hurt you.” The girl warned fretfully.
“He won’t hurt his own son.” Josh replied confidently, opening the trapdoor. At five years old, he was a strong boy with his father’s bright red hair and his mother’s green eyes. A flame danced on the lantern’s wick, its light creating shadows in the cellar. The girl looked away for a few minutes until the pain no longer made her eyes hurt. “You worry too much, Nanashi.” He added, leaning against the opening to pass a cotton sack to his cousin.
“You’re so warm.” She told him, reaching for the sack. “This place would be so cold without you.”
“You talkin’ ‘bout the heating?” Josh asked, watching the girl as she opened the sack, her dirty hands leaving traces on the undyed cotton.
She giggled, taking a bite of the apple. “Never mind.”
“You're so odd.” Josh told her, leaning further over the edge of the trapdoor. He smiled when the girl’s large grey eyes met his, a thankful smile hovering on her lips.
Than the lantern was falling, and in a frantic lunge to catch it before it fell into a wicker basket of preserved jams, he lost his balance. The few seconds it took for him to fall to the ground seemed like a year to the girl, the slow widening of his eyes, the start of a scream as realization hit just before he landed head-first with a loud crack. The girl screamed, rushing to the boy’s side. She could not believe that he was dead, would not believe her fingers as they felt a broken neck or her eyes as they were drawn helplessly to the sight of bone penetrating flesh. The cellar, her home for the past year, suddenly seemed so much colder, creating a pressure on her body that was nearly unsupportable. “No!” She whispered, breathing deeply as if the surplus of oxygen in her lungs could be transferred to Josh’s. “NO!”
The barn door opened with a crash. Heavy footsteps rang through the barn, a brighter lantern casting fresh shadows as the old one died on the cellar floor. “Josh? Boy?”
The girl uttered a strangled cry, touching the dead boy, unaware of the man's presence.
The man spotted the open trapdoor and heard the girl’s crying. With five great strides, he reached the trapdoor. With the help of his lantern and the fading sunlight coming through the loft, he saw the two children, one alive and one dead. “What have you done, you demon-spawn!” He jumped down, grunting at the flare of pain in his legs his landign created, and grabbed the girl by her shoulders. He lifted her to eye level (an easy feat considering that he was well over six feet of pure muscle, while she was slightly underfed). “Well?”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!” The girl sobbed.
He threw her to the ground, not paying attention to her cry of pain, and knelt down beside his son. He lifted the body, cradling it like a newborn. “He’s dead.” His voice, used to shouting across the orchards at lazy farm help and the girl, seemed to be too soft, disbelief draining it of its former power.
Nanashi flinched away at the man’s anger as it hit her like a ball of flame, burning away her sensitive skin and searing her very being. She bit her lip to keep from screaming as little needles dug into her eyes, trying to reach her mind, vainly hoping that he would go away before his anger consumed her. She could feel something dying inside of him, a sense of joy that always had kept the anger from taking complete control. ‘I didn’t mean to Uncle Kyu!’ She thought through her pain, desperately trying to reduce his anger.
“Shut up, monster.” He snarled, kicking the girl in the side. She gasped, fresh pain blooming like a poisonous flower. “I’ll purify your miserable being later, after I bury my son. A few days without food won’t hurt you enough.” The big man sneered.
The girl was almost glad to be left in the darkness. It didn’t try to tear her apart like people did.
Prologue ^-^-^ Chapter 1 ^-^-^ Chapter 2 ^-^-^ Chapter 3 ^-^-^ Chapter 4 ^-^-^ Chapter 5 ^-^-^ Chapter 6