Rise of the Raven - Webisode 1

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!