I know I had this posted on the other board, but that was a long time ago, and I figured if I was going to continue, I might as well start over from the beginning. Also, for those who never read it before, this starts on a clean slate for them.

For those who don't know, this is the original novel I've been working on for the better part of seven years in four different drafts. This is the latest version, and the one I've been the most satisfied with. I'd just like to know what everyone else thinks.

This is only a snippit from the first chapter. If you want the whole thing, either e-mail me or message me over MSN and I'll send you the full chapter. ONLY IF, and this is important

1) The document does not leave your computer
2) You do not print or distribute this to anyone else
3) You do not STEAL ANY OF THE CONTENT OR CONCEPT IDEAS AS YOUR OWN

Don't get me wrong, I trust you guys, but...precautions, you know? Brushes with Piracy makes people anal. I just need you guys to agree to these terms. Because keep in mind, this is copywritten material that will be published someday, and therefore I have to right to track down a sue anyone who breeches the last term.

With that said, enjoy the story! I'll post more quickly.

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Vixen: Legend of the Twin Blade

Chapter One: Twin Blade

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The Night Foxes were on the move again. Winter was over, and they had at last emerged from their lair.

Just as it was every year, the Foxes had fallen silent once the first snows had started to fall, staying close to their home base and away from the open roads. This made traveling easier for the merchants, save for the freezing temperatures, or the hungry monsters that were driven out of the forests in search of food. But now the snow was beginning to melt, the earth was warming up, and they had awoken from their long winter slumber.

The first rumors of their work had begun circulating from merchant to merchant almost as soon as the roads began to thaw. It was soon confirmed that the Foxes were indeed moving down the Southern Highway, steadily making their way closer to the Empire’s grand capital, Neo Cathedral City as spring passed into summer. They ambushed all merchant trains as they came upon them, cleaning them out to their last penny. This was more than enough to make any merchant weary of traveling the long stretches of open, unprotected road that frequently passed through groves of thick woods that served for the perfect place for any thief to lay in wait, like a spider at her web.

Some, however, would not be deterred by such fickle rumors, even if they were about the most infamous band of vagabonds the kingdom had ever seen. Phillius DuWalton’s carriage rolled smoothly down the paved stoned road of the Southern Highway, barely noticing the already almost insignificant potholes and catches in the road. He was reviewing the predicted figures of the market for the coming year. He was not worried about the Night Foxes at that moment. He had enough guards escorting his carriage and the precious merchandise following to ward away even the fiercest of vagabonds. A couple of vagrant thieves were not going to keep him from making his first shipment of the year on time. Besides, they were currently traveling through wide open farmlands; the last patch of woods that they has passed through was half an hour behind them, and the next was not even in sight yet. There would be nowhere for them to hide, and if the Foxes did try to attack, the guards would have to be blind to miss them.

There was no need to worry. He would get his shipment to Neo Cathedral City without a hitch.

Besides, the year seemed all too promising, too exciting, for him to really think about anything else. The first prototypes for the Diamond-powered ships had proved to be a success, and the Empress was already funding for a whole fleet of them to be built for easier and faster access across the Berminton Ocean, to further their relationship with the distant Schimshing Empire. Closer relationships meant more promising trade. Like any foreign dealer, Schimshing would want the finest goods that all the Evangia Empire had to offer. One of these goods would undoubtedly be magroot, and as the owner of the largest magroot plantation in the country… The very prospect of what the future had to bring sent an excited shiver down DuWalton’s spine.

He was so enamored in the promise of what was sure to be a very profitable year, he was not aware of the shadow that swept silently over his chariot. He did not notice until several large objects fell heavily to the roof of his carriage, accompanied simultaneously by the screams of the horses and the muffled cries of his men as the carriage came to a screeching halt. DuWalton’s heart thudded hard behind his ribs, wondering what could possibly be happening. The abused muscle nearly stopped dead as a face suddenly appeared in his window, suspended upside down, startling him so much that he actually cried out in alarm.
“Room service!” The face greeted cheerfully, right before three pairs of arms thrust through the open windows, seizing the fat merchant by his robes and yanking him clean out of his carriage.

The mysterious scoundrels handled him far from gently as they dragged him out onto the paved highway, grabbing his shoulders and arms to force him around. They held him upright, making him face his captors full in the face.

His shock and underlying rage melted quickly into pure fear at the sight that lay before him. All six of his guards had been pulled from their horses, bound and gagged, held captive under a heavy rope net, overshadowed by three figures standing triumphantly over them. It did not take a mastermind to know that these could only be thieves; it was written all over them. From the sheer stealth that they needed to sneak up on the carriage and take down six heavily armed men, down to the very attire they wore. Loose, billowy shirts and slacks, bound and held in place with multiple belts and scarves, all in earthen shades of brown and forest green, splashed with patches of brilliant yellow, and armed to the teeth with curved daggers and a variety of styles of claws over their hands. Had he not known better, he would have thought they were probably no more than a wandering band that happened upon his train, until he saw the cuffs that they all wore on their left arms. They were composed of dark green material with a silver fox head patch sewn onto them. Each one of the foxes had a crescent moon for an eye.

The Night Foxes.

The Pirates of the Highroads, the Lords of the Pickpockets, the masters of all theft crimes throughout the Evangia Empire, they could make the most notorious of cat burglars look like a child pillaging sweets from the local general store. The legendary band of thieves that could hide in the most obscure of shadows and disappear like smoke, evading all forms of authority and laughing at them the whole time. No merchant escaped them once they fell into their traps, and DuWalton had been foolish enough to think that an open field would protect him from their clutches. But how did they ambush his train in the middle of an open field, in broad daylight, without being seen?

His question was answered as a sudden strong gush of wind from above tugged at his robes, making him look up just in time to meet another powerful downbeat of wind to his face, coming from a giant pair of man-made wings, attached to a narrow hull and, buoyed in the air by a hot-air dirigible blimp. The shock of what was happening to him made him blink one, twice, before he realized what exactly it was he was looking up at. Hovering not more than fifty feet above his head was an airship; a small-scale but perfectly working cargo airship, powered by magic and manpower, with five or so more Night Foxes grinning down at him from the narrow hull.

As arrogant as he was, DuWalton had the courage that would flatter a chicken, and the paunchy merchant fell to his knees (or rather, he just sort of slumped; the Foxes holding his were not about to release him anytime soon), stammering, “P-p-please, don’t k-kill me! I’ll give you any-anything!” DuWalton kept his eyes squeezed shut, whimpering slightly, waiting for the cold blade of their daggers to slide across his neck. The thieves jerked him upright again, and through the pounding of his own heartbeat, he heard a woman’s voice speaking to him.
“What are you babbling about, you ninny? We’re not here to kill anyone.”

Excellent stuff Omega, and not to worry I'll be sure to make sure nobody get's any wise ideas of piracy, or else very bad things will happen :wolfy: :rant:

That warning being said. Definately looking forward to seeing this stuff published one day and picking up a copy. Very nice and addictive, much like cocaine, but I hope we won't be having to pay you for every hit.