For anyone who didn't read so, I've decided to put the Seraph on hold, and create a whole new story coming before it to lead in. The title is just a working title, because I'm too lazy to make one right now. Anyways, here's the prologue, which won't might not make too much sense at the moment, but it ties in with the story.


Excerpt from "The Philosophy of Elemental Travel":

Herein lies the accounts of Dr. Gabriel Rosewood. For many years I have studied the four base elements: Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth. It has been my belief that everything on the planet originates from these four elements, without which there could be no life. After much study, I have discovered that if one were to take a pure form of these elements, they could manipulate them into powerful objects, including, but not limited to, an high speed projectile, a shield-like aura, and a etheral portal. Each object can be summoned under one of the four elements, the only exception being a Wind portal, which I have tried and failed to conjure numerous times. I will state this once, and only once: This book is not a work of fiction. I have worked for many years, and have had many close calls with death. Beware: The elements are more powerful then you could ever imagine. -Dr. Gabriel Rosewood, 1897


Chapter One should be coming soon.

it sounds really good, Loner Child! Good luck with it! :)

Can’t wait to hear it. :D

Not much to say, here's chapter one.

[Edit:] If you read the original post, it was a little shorter then this. I decided that, like my former works, it was too short to be a real chapter, so I went back and added things that would have gone into the second chapter. I've also added a title to the chapter. I might be doing this post-writing to some of the chapters, if I can't think of a great title off hand. Hope you don't mind.

Chapter One: Painful Beginnings

The man who said that preps and nerds were of different creations obviously never met Sarah Jennings. Although she looked as though a general popular child, she had been fascinated by the unknown since a young age. She had always seen these fantasy works as a sense of escape; a portal to avoid the constant yelling and pounding of her parents' rage. All of her friends saw her as a role model: a pretty body, with a mind as sharp as her dark green eyes and long brown hair. It was these green eyes that first spotted that which would change her entire perception of the world.
It was an old book, cracked and dusty, hidden in the back row of an old book shop. The title, written in fading gold, read "The Philosophy of Elemental Travel". In fact, it had been there so long the shop owner didn't know what to charge for it, and eventually let her take it for free. She was so excited that she would have ran home, if not for what awaited her there. As she approached the door, sure enough, she heard a loud scream, a thump, and another scream. The excitement, which had swelled so greatly inside her, sunk to the depths of her stomach, as she slowly opened the door and snuck up the stairs to her room. She'd seen them fight many times before: her father's face red and strained, her mother's face drowned in tears, with furniture and little objects strewn about, and she had no need to see it again.
She didn't bother to close the door behind her, for soon her mother would walk in and tell Sarah of all the horrible things her father did, and how big of a monster he was. Sarah didn't heed these complaints anymore, for she knew her mother would cave in and forgive her father, and in the night she would hear the bedsprings creak and soft moans of pleasure. It had bothered her at first, but now it was like a water heater humming, or a house creaking: just another empty sound in the dark. Sure enough, she did show up, slightly bruised of the face, and spoke her little piece, but then something new happened: her dad came in.

As far back as Sarah could remember, her father had never entered her room after a fight. He usually drove to the bar down the street, drink himself into a stupor, and crawl back in for the late night ritual. This time, however, it seemed he decided to cut out the middle man and get bombed in the comfort of his own kitchen. Before she could even process what happened, her father hit her hard across the face, causing her to fall off the bed. Standing up, eyes wide in shock, another fist contacted her face, knocking her back against her dresser, scattering her make up and other knick knacks about. At this, her father gave a large belch, before leaving Sarah to cry alone in her new hell.

"Your brother hit you? I always said he was a brute, didn't I?" Michelle, Sarah's best friend since the fourth grade, had believed her lie. After all, it wasn't often that Sarah had to lie to Michelle; they were each others greatest supporters and her worst critics. They were similar in many ways, the only difference being Michelle's lack of interest in the world of literiture.
"So, what did your parents do to him? If my brother pulled that on me, he'd be walking bow-legged for a week."
"His allowance has been cut off, and he's not allowed to go out for..." Sarah watched as some guy stared at her bruised face, as though it was a single tree in the middle of a barren field. It had been happening all day long, and the only thing she could do about it was to bow her face and pretend they weren't looking."
Michelle noticed her friend's unease, and turned towards the gawker. "Hey, ass hat, you wanna stop abusing my friend before I give you a spoon enema?" The cafeteria, or at least those that heard her, broke into laughter, causing a cascade of red to flow over the young man's face. Turning back to Sarah, Michelle shook her head. "The nerve of some people. Like they never got the crap beat out of them."
"Yeah..." Sarah muttered under her breath, thinking back to the horrors that had befallen her the night before. "I'm gonna go to the library, see you in Math."
As Sarah walked down the hall, feeling even worse for ditching her friend, she ran into Jake Freidman, crown bastard of the school. Laughing outright, he shouted to her as she passed by. "That's a good look for you; can't see your face!" Fighting back tears, she ran to the library, ignoring the brutes guffaws from behind.
Ever since Sarah had started this school, the library had been a safe haven for her. No brutes to bother her; no painful leers from peers; and best of all, she she was alone. No one ever came to the library anymore; in fact, it was debated whether to turn it into another gym. Sarah wasn't worried, though: this was her last year here, and then it was off to real high school. Wiping the last remnants of tears from her face, she pulled the dusty and worn book from out of her binder. Laying down on one of the large blue couches, she opened it to the first chapter.

I'm sorry that this chapter is rather boring, but these facts must be laid bare, and I would rather the reader read and absorb everything Sarah does. So, here it is, Chapter Two, for your reading pleasure:

Chapter Two: Earth

Excerpt from The Philosophy of Elemental Travel:

"The Earth element is the most common of the four elements. It can be found everywhere, and can be easily manipulated. It's greatest power is of protective fields, though it can be used as a projectile and, most importantly, a portal. The abundance of dirt, rocks, and other such Earth materials, makes it an essential first step in learning the elements.
"The Earth element consists of dirt, rocks, minerals, metals, and precious gems. The better the item manipulated, the better the results are, but also the harder to manipulate. In the case of an Earth portal, it doesn't matter what item the portal is derived from. However, depending on the size of the object, it can be easier or more difficult to summon such portal.
"To summon an earthly projectile, one must first learn the art of the levitation. One's mind must be focused and calm to undertake this art, and one's will must be strong, for much trial and error shall take place before a perfect levitation can be undertaken. Firing a projectile is merely the act of levitating an object and thrusting it with force towards the desired target. At first, the weilder's power and accuracy will be quite horrendous, but with time and effort, one can summon an attack powerful enough to wound or kill a man.
"The defensive field is, in essence, like the projectile. It involves the same act of levitation, but requires a substancial quantity more of matter. The field, once summoned, will be as a brick wall, allowing nothing to pass through it, until it is dispelled or broken. It must be noted, however, that the field works in both directions, blocking both friendly and enemy objects.
"These two manipulations, however, pale in comparison to the power of a portal. It should be noted, however, that if an Earth portal is summoned while on the Earth plane, it is considered a Waypoint, and not a portal, just as if one were to cast a Water portal on the Water plane, and so on and so forth. It is considered the first real step to becoming an elemental mage to summon an Earth portal, as it takes fierce dedication and tremendous skill to merely open one, let alone actually pass through to another destination.
"To summon a portal, one must have a large area of work, with suitable material for manipulation. The weilder's mind must be perfectly clear, as a single misguided thought could spell disaster. First, however, the theory of energy must be set clear. It is believed that all material consists a certain energy, that can be stretched and compacted. In stretching the material, it splits ever so slightly, allowing objects to pass through. If two objects are split at one time, they will fuse together and form one. This is why an abundance of material is useful; it easier to fuse twenty small objects into one big portal then it is to stretch one object big enough to allow a person to pass through.
"Once the portal is open and sustained, the caster's job is only half done. Before passing through the gateway, and while in the gateway, they must keep a steady concentration on the area they wish to transport to. The more detailed their thought is, the better the chance they will arrive there. Once the caster steps through the other side, the portal closes itself, blocking off the entrance and the exit. Should more then one person wish to enter the portal, they must go before the caster, or risk being trapped forever."

(Sorry, I haven’t had time to be here long enough to check this section on regular bases. I will try, now that I see you have a story going)

I like where you’re going with that. I would put the two posts together to make one chapter if I were you. I would work on your flow a bit through.


- Standing up, eyes wide in shock -


She is your viewpoint character. She doesn’t know what her face looks like unless to looks in the mirror. I would use the word ‘shocked’ or something. Or actually let her see her face in a mirror.


This is really good. Keep it coming.

Well, after some forcefullness, i've mustered the will to start my next chapter. Your ideas are great, and if I don't forget, I'll change them after finishing the chapter. Well, here it is, love it or hate it:


Math. Sarah never had much luck paying attention to the bombardment of numbers and theories, and today was no exception. Usually she would draw amusing pictures of the teacher, an older man who'd much rather be doing anything else then teach junior high algebra. Occasionally, she would pass notes to her friends. Today, however, was spent in a wholly different way.

It wasn't easy to concentrate with the constant droning of the teacher, going on about some method of fractions. However, she was doing remarkably well: after about a half an hour of attempts, she was able to make her pencil roll down her desk and into her hand. She thought it was a simple enough action to not be noticed; if someone was to ask her about it, she would simply say she was tipping the desk back. She rolled the pencil towards her, until it fell off the edge, and then repeat. If I keep this progress up, she thought, I should be able to lift large objects in-

"Sarah, what are you doing?" It was Michelle, who sat on Sarah's immediete left. Startled slightly, she grabbed the pencil as it rolled downward. "Oh, nothing. Just lifting the desk backwards so the pencil rolls back." Michelle stared blankly for a moment, before saying, "But, I've been watching you; you haven't been lifting the desk." Busted. She would have to think fast, or risk further alienation from her peers. Fumbling for a second, an idea quickly came to her swift mind. "Well, the desk is slanted downwards. All it takes is a little nudge to get it going. That's why you don't see anything."

Nodding her head, she turned back to the front of the class, and Sarah let out a slight sigh. She had taken a great chance in practicing in public; she would have to be more candid in the future. She rubbed her hand across her eyes, and as she finished, she found the wrinkly face of her teacher at her nose. "Oh, I'm sorry Miss Jennings, has my lesson been boring you? Perhaps you'd like to be somewhere else? Because I can give you a nice trip to the vice principal's office."

Sarah had met with the vice principal once over a clothing violation, and she'd rather not see her again. "Umm, sir, I've been listening to what you said. I was just rubbing something out of my-" "I've heard it all before, young lady," the old teacher stated. "'I have something in my eye,' 'I wasn't feeling well;' well, if you were listening, you wouldn't have any problem telling me the answer to the problem on the board." Smirking slightly, he pointed at a jumble of fractions. Sarah panicked. It would take a miracle for her to figure it out. "Well, Miss Jennings, we don't have all - four-sevenths" Suprised, she stated, "Four-sevenths?" Nodding his head with a slight frown, the old man returned to his lesson.


Ok, all, i'm going to continue this later. So you're gonna have to wait. So deal with it :P