The Isle of Lost Souls (short story!)

[Keiichi]

The hollow, deep beat of drums and the steady rattle of bones filled the village as Taka marched proudly through. Mystical looking shamans shaking gourds passed through, skulls of ancient monsters covering their heads. The heavy, thick scent of incense hung in the air, and ash swirled and stirred softly in the wind. Taka, a young native, was a young native who was 17 years old, and he had already known the fire of many other battles. He was tall, muscular, and fierce looking. Many scars ran down his body, arcane ritualistic tattoo's marked his face and shaved head, and fragments of metal were woven into his skin. He wore a heavy tiger pelt, made into a cloak, as well as wooden armor interlocking with the bones of fallen enemies. Four skulls bleached white by the sun hung at his side, he had taken the skulls from fallen outsiders when he had raided Durham. He carried a ceremonial blade, ceyte-pian, or blood letter. The blade was curved obsidian, inlaid with the finest ivory. A blowpipe hung at his side, the color of purest ebony, carved from a branch from the tree of life. He called it Dravosk, or eternity. He was an elite warrior of Raktam, and he was about to embark on a quest to become a warchief.

Taka, along with ten other elite warriors, had left the village on early morning. They drifted out in the ocean, in a small boat, and the captain seemed withdrawn and nervous. they soon approached a small island, cloaked with fog and surrounded by treacherous rocks and coral, and the boat stopped. The captain refused to go further, and Taka just took it as a sign that he didnt want to crash his boat upon the rocks. Taka and the other ten warriors dove into the warm water, and began to swim towards the island.....

Just before they reached the shore, the water began to stir and an old veteran warrior named Bosk began to scream and writhe in the water. He seemed to be struggling, as if being attacked by a shark, and blood began to pool around him. The rest of them had got to shore, and they attempted to pull him back to the shore. The old man groaned, as he was pulled ashore, and they could see that his insides were spilling out beside his feet. He survived for 3 hours as they camped out on the beach, they had him pulled around a fire and a last he gave one shuddering last breath. They dug a shallow grave in the sand and put him into it, laying his machete respectfully in his hands. They piled the sand around his body, and went to rest, wandering what sort of test the next day held for them. As they lay sleeping, a hand shot out from the freshly dug grave.

I am the tiger, I am the warrior Taka thought, as he drifted off to sleep. Little did he know, the dead seldom rested easily on this island.

(to be continued, comments would be greatly appreciated as well as permission to maybe include your character in the mystery that surrounds the island.)

[Neil Tathers]

OOC:

Is Taka a character you have made, or an original for this story?

[Keiichi]

http://www.shartak.com/profile.cgi?id=14334.

I was actually hoping for him to be prince of Raktam, but.....

I need permission for that.

  Do you think he's a neat enough character?

[Neil Tathers]

OOC: Well, there isn't enough yet to make him a cool character.

Is this a backstory?  If so, then I'll include Neil in this story if you wish.

[Keiichi]

It's sort of like a backstory, more to explain what he'd been doing prior to returning to Raktam as a warchief. Plus I wanted to form a basis of legend.

[Keiichi]

If you want to include Neil, what as? A warrior?

[Neil Tathers]

That what he is.  But only if you feel it's necessary to the storyline.

[Keiichi]

I dont really know what he'd do in such a situation, so send me a PM with some details. 

[Keiichi]

Screams and the clatter of blades, Taka stood shakily on his feet as his eyes narrowed in the morning sun, a thin mist was swirling around his feet.

Gather your mind The words of his former mentor, Neil, hung heavy in his mind. Panic on the battlefield serves little more than to lead to your end, young Taka. These words were spoken as Taka circled a great tiger three years ago, it's roars making him flinch as Neil watched disapproving from the side. A calm mind is the greatest shield, young warrior, use it to your advantage. Taka nodded, gathering his wits, and lowered his gaze as the tiger leaped. His machete flashed out in a blinding blur, and the tiger fell at his feet. Taka thought he saw a flicker of approval in Neil's eyes. 

Taka looked through the mist, and saw his fellow warriors battling slow moving beings. Their skin was gray, hanging from their bones, and one warrior looked horror struck. "Our blades and bane have no effect! We are surely doomed!" A horde of the beings had surrounded the small camp, and Taka looked at the creatures, no fear in his eyes, just a look of clear thought. Ceyte-pian, his blade, flashed out and cut off one of the creatures heads. It fell to the ground, it's mouth snapping at his feet. He crushed it with one powerful stomp.

There is a solution to every problem. Neil's words were like a battle prayer in his mind. You just need to figure it out. No panic, no fear, no doubt. He would make his mentor proud.

(Thanks to Neil for allowing me to use his character! If it's not anything like your character, im sorry.  )

[Neil Tathers]

Nope, it works just fine.

[Keiichi]

Yay.