by Christopher Heinz

Created on: October 24, 2008

The Hole: Part 1

The universe roars silently on, a quiet void full of chaos. In it, all things exist: planets, stars, galaxies and black holes. Near one such hole, a small, mysterious planet orbits. The contents of this planet are practically unknown. Only one spot has been explored: a hole, like a giant pit, in the surface of the planet.

The hole has near-vertical walls of earth surrounding it, isolating the inhabitants from the vast unknown expanses that surround them. At the top of this wall, called simply the Wall by those who inhabit the Hole, a massive mountain range towers over the planet's surface. This range is known as the Dragon's Teeth. Within the Hole itself, a vast array of life inhabits the range of environments that exist. One such species, called Elves, lives in a dense forest called Endwood. It is here that the stranger was first seen.

* * *

As the sun rose above the Wall, the yellow-orange light of dawn slowly lit up the Endwoods. The Elves, an ancient and secretive race, were gathered in a small clearing deep within the woods. Hushed whispers were uttered among those gathered. Every so often, a word or two became barely audible outside the circle of Elves as voices rose in anger or passion, and then abruptly lowered for fear of eavesdroppers.

"five dead"

"not a chance"

"Elves!Murdered!"

"supposed to be immortal"

"a stranger"

"attacked at night"

"it was the stranger!"

"killer"

"must be stopped"

Then, suddenly, the gathering fell silent. All at once, they turned and began spreading into the forest as stealthily as a ghostly specter, neither real nor imagined, but somewhere in between.

At the same moment, two dark figures waited unnoticed in the nearby trees. As the last of the Elves vanished, they both emerged from the shadows and stepped into the clearing.

"Elves murdered? Can you believe it, Johnny?" gasped the first figure.

"I don't know. Elves are full of secrets. I wouldn't put it past them to start a false rumor," replied the second figure scornfully.

"But how could they have known we were spying on them? We've never been caught before."

"It does seem unusual still, we better be careful. If they're on to us, we won't be safe until we reach Central."

As Johnny and his companion departed, someone else watched unseen. 'A rumor,' he thought, 'ha! I'll show them! Five Elves are nothing; soon I will destroy the entire Endwoods!' The stranger retreated into the forest, eagerly planning his next move.

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