Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope everyone is having a great day and as a special gift from me to you is the very first webisode of Rise of the Raven. This is the start of something completely new for me where I post a new webisode every month (or sooner!). I'm going to write as I go along! Webisodes will preview here on the blog with an ebook to follow. I hope you enjoy and happy reading this holiday season.
Copyright E.I Jennings 2015
Rise of The Raven – The Chronicles.
In the beginning there was nothing…
People take their memories for granted. They use
little memories every single day without even realising it. So what if you
suddenly didn’t have any? What if you could no longer answer to your name
because you had no idea what it was or who you are? Would you go mad? Memories
create a sense of identity and without them you feel completely vulnerable.
Maybe this is why babies are so innocent and rely on their parents until they
can build memories. All I know is that I was curled up on the floor of a cave,
naked and scared. It was as if my whole identity had been plucked from my head
and only the basics were left. I knew I was in a cave but why? Someone had been
here. I could see that torches were lit and they flickered against the rock
walls. It was only when I noticed the scorched walls and the pile of ash on the
floor that I also realised there was an outline of a body. The torches had been
burned to stumps and the sand under my fingers took on an eerie shine from
where I’d crawled. Glass? I felt like a new-born, so many questions with no one
to answer them.
I couldn’t stay in the cave forever. I was hungry and
cold and really needed some answers. I struggled to stand and the hard rock was
still warm under my touch. What could have caused all this damage? I staggered
to the only opening to be greeted with another chasm, illuminated with hundreds
of candles. What was this place? I ran my fingers over a carving in the wall. A
five sided star? A pentagram with strange writing glowed at my touch. It looked
like my first day was just getting weirder. There was something familiar about
it but I couldn’t quite get the information out of my brain. I knew this cave
but couldn’t remember why. I looked around, hoping there was something to tell
me who I was but all I found was an old blanket cast away in the corner and the
remanence of old, decaying food. Someone had been waiting for something. I
wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and headed towards more light.
Thankfully this time I was greeted by sunlight. My eyes burned with the
brightness but I gave a sigh of relief as the sea air brushed across my face. I
was by the sea! As I could slowly see again I finally saw waves crashing
against a cliff. The cave and the small beach area was the only place not
consumed by water and seemed completely isolated. If someone had been waiting
inside the cave, there must have been a way down from the top and a way out.
If it wasn’t for the warmth of the sun glaring down on
me I would have frozen to death trying to find a way off this little beach, and
as I was about give up I finally saw it. Steps so finely carved they
camouflaged themselves into the cliff. This cave had definitely been a secret
for such intricate work. They’d been weathered over the years and were covered
in slime and random seagull nests but I was determined to get out of this
place. By the time I made it to the top I was covered in dirt, feathers, and
shit but I’d made it; naked no less. I’d dropped that damn blanket on the first
seagull attack. I suddenly felt completely out of place. There must have been
acres and acres of fields, stretched as far as I could see but for one house
sitting in the middle of it. I was tired, sore and my fingers bled from the
sharp stones but I had to find help. I took one last look at the sea and smiled
at its beauty and began my trek towards the house.
Nothing in life was easy apparently, especially today.
I went skidding on a cow pat and landed face down in a pool of mud, well I
hoped it was mud. With the mud covering me, technically I was no longer naked.
As the sun began to dim the sea breeze whipped across my body. If I didn’t get
inside soon it was going to be a cold night for me. It felt like I’d walked
miles when my feet finally hit something other than grass. The house I’d seen
was in fact a huge mansion. People were laughing and joking as they moved
towards metal boxes then climbed in. They roared and lights sprung from their
eyes as the metal monster began eating them as they continued to laugh. How
could they be laughing at being eaten alive? Within moments the metal beasts
had consumed their prey and began running away. I said a silent prayer for the
lives lost and ran towards the door. Locked. Writing on the wall informed me
that this mansion was only open between nine am and five pm Monday to Friday.
How strange that a house this size only had occupants for such a small amount
of time. Unfortunately for me the door was solid and the house was in darkness.
My brain wanted to remember. I could feel the pain of
memories between my eyes and then a door flashed in my mind. I knew how to get
in. I didn’t know how, but I knew I could get myself inside. I walked around
the back, keeping to the shadows in case someone was still around. A memory of
playing as a child in the same garden nearly knocked me off my feet. I pulled
away ivy from the side wall and found what I wanted. I didn’t know why I knew
the right combination of stones but as I pressed they moved to make an arch.
For some reason I didn’t even flinch as what could only be called magic. I took a deep breath and walked through. I
found myself standing in a bedroom looking at myself in a full length mirror. I
was filthy and looked like I’d been dragged around a pig sty but the most
disturbing thing was that my reflection was that of a stranger.
There was no wash basin but I found strange metal
things that when turned acted like the water pump in the barn yard. I was soon
clean but was still naked. I walked through the mansion trying to remember
something, anything. I soon found myself in a room that said ‘Staff Only’ on
the door. I laughed wondering why this people put names on doors. Someone had
left bread and cheese on the counter and I ate it all, even the crumbs. It was
a relief to see some clothing even though it appeared to be for a man. I was
grateful I didn’t have to wear the drapes. Trousers and a jacket it had to be.
I wrapped them around me and found a length of rope to keep them tight. I sat
for a moment and pulled a pile of paper towards me. ‘The Welsh Gazette’. The
paper seemed thinner than it should have been but what I couldn’t understand
was how real things were pictured in it. No drawings but real pictures! I was
amazed but the more I read the more my heart fell. ‘War is Over. We Win’. What
war? More metal monsters and metal dragons in the sky. People cheering, waving
a flag a didn’t quite recognise. This was wrong, all wrong and then I noticed
the date; May 1945. Wrong, wrong, wrong!
I couldn’t stay here. What if the metal
monsters came back to eat me? I couldn’t take that chance. I felt wrong in this
world and I had to find out why. I took one last look as I approached the
magical doorway again but this time a painting caught my eye. I walked
cautiously towards it until I came face to face with myself. This couldn’t be
right surely? The more I looked the more I knew. Black hair, green eyes, it was
me but it couldn’t be. There was writing on the wall next to it and I made
myself read. ‘Lord Glamorrghan’s daughter died tragically in a barn fire just
before her twenty first birthday’. I knew for a fact that was a lie because I
was here. ‘This painting was commissioned in remembrance by her father and has
not been moved since its completion’. I felt sick. I stared so hard at the
painting I could see brush strokes and then my eyes fell further. Written in
gold on the frame was a name. Apparently I was Meredith Glamorrghan and I was over two hundred years old. Oh this was going to be fun!
