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Fanfiction ► The Storyteller



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Savior of Dawn

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All fairy tales, folk tales, fables, epics, and bedtime stories are entirely original, unless stated otherwise. If, somehow, one is similar or just the same as another, it is entirely coincidental.

I may have special chapters for actual fairy tales, enwhich I will say if they aren't mine.

Chapters-
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Chapter 1- The Tale of "The Hunter, The Hare, and The Fox."

A chilly breeze crept through a small village, but no one noticed. Most of the village was gathered around a large bonfire, near the very center. They sat in a near-circle around the fire, save for one spot was empty. An man -neither very old, nor young- garbed in ratty robes stood, leaning against his old oak stick. At his heels sat a pure-white fox, sleeping peacefully in front of the fire. The man, who was neither young nor old, was a storyteller. He had made a deal with the village's leader, one public storytelling, for the price of food and shelter for the night. With a fox to feed, as well as his own miniscule stomach, he instantly agreed. He gazed into the fire, and memory tossed him a story. His voice echoed slightly, slightly gruff, and certainly dramatic. He began, and so the story played out...

Not too long ago, yet long enough for people to not remember very well, a hunter went out to fetch supper for his family in the nearby forest. After his long days work, he had just one trap left to check. On his way there, he ran into a red fox. He eyed it warily, knowing it would smell the freshly caught game in his sack.
"Good afternoon!" called the fox, he smiling at the hunter, "Tell me, are you off to check your last trap?" The hunter hesitated, but nodded after a few moments.
"Hoho" chuckled the fox, "I'd guess that you don't know, do you?" The hunter wasted no time and shook his head. The fox laughed again, "There's a hare in this here forest, that cannot be caught. By most hunters, that is. You have to catch him three times in a row, once per day, and he cannot be seen by humans, or he will escape." Distress played across the hunters face,
"How can I tell if it's that hare or not?" The fox smiled,
"Well, I could check your trap for you, for some of your meat." The hunter quickly tossed the fox a freshly caught hare,
"Take your meat, now please, check it for me!"

The fox snapped up the meat and trotted off to the hunters trap. Inside, a small hare cowered, trapped inside a wooden cage. The fox put on a sincere face, "Dear hare, do you wish to be freed?"
"Yes-yes!" chirped the hare, despite his fright.
"Tell you what," sneered the fox, "If you get caught in this trap two more times, in the next two days, I'll make sure you get away from the hunter." The hare agreed, the fox opened the cage for him, and watched him scurry away. Once he was out of sight, the fox snuck back to the hunter and declared "He was there, leave the trap for the next two days, he'll be back." The hunter thanked the fox, and went back to his home.

The next day, the hunter went hunting again, and paced near his last trap. The fox appeared again, and smiled at the sight of the hunter. "Dear hunter! Need someone to check again?"
"Yes!" cried the hunter, relief spreading across his face, "I'll give you meat again, if you wish!"
The fox sighed and looked behind his back, "Well, you see, my dear hunter, I am a starving fox. Due to hunters like you, I haven't fed very well lately! I'll settle for half of your day's catch." The hunter hesitated, but agreed and emptied out half of his sack for the fox. It fed monsterously fast, and then went to check the trap. The hare stood inside the cage once more, this time less frightened. Opening the cage, the fox whispered, "One more day!" and the hare took off. The fox, once again, went back and informed the hunter, who left with happiness and glee dancing across his face.

The third day came, and the hunter eagerly left to hunt. Once finished, he stood near his last trap, waiting for the fox to appear. When he did, the fox sighed once again. "I'm sorry, dear hunter, but I am active and need large amounts of food. I cannot settle for less than your days catch for my services." The hunter sighed impatiently, and emptied out his sack. Once finished eating, the fox went to the trap and spoke to the hare. "Good hare." he said, and after opening the cage, he promptly ate it. "Good hare!" he told himself, rubbing his very filled gut. From there, he left the forest with a full stomach, searching for another gullible hunter. The hunter himself waited until dawn of the next morning, when which he checked his trap and found the hare's bones near the fox's footprints. He stormed out of the forest, refusing to hunt there ever again.

"...and that" said the storyteller, "Is why you should never trust a fox." The group clapped loudly, but then a voice came from the party.
"What about that fox o' yours?" The storyteller laughed, "Trinket, you mean? I managed to trick her into my services. She's my pet fox now." Many wows and words of admiration came from the group, the same voice asked,
"How'd you do that?" The storyteller smiled,
"That, my friend is for some other time." and he left to retire for the night.

End Chapter 1

I hope to establish the storytellers actual name in the next few chapters. The tale of how the storyteller tricked Trinket is for a later chapter. I've been meaning to write something like this for some time now, but I couldn't think of enough tales for the storyteller to tell. I hope this 'Stories within a story' technique works out.

Oh, and please do not re-tell any of these tales without my permission. Or copy this story in any way without my permission.
 
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Riku_123

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I liked it,kept me intrested. Very good in my opinion,you should keep this up.
 

Raz

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Reminds me of some Jim Henson show... called the Story Teller. Heh...
 

Daniel Faraday

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Reminded me of a more light hearted take on the Illustrated Man, actually.

Will the tone stay like this, or will it speed up later on? I like the writing, but the style and pacing aren't really for me, you know?

~Fenris Etheral
 

Savior of Dawn

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.:Raz:. said:
Reminds me of some Jim Henson show... called the Story Teller. Heh...

Gave me the idea of writing fairy tales. xD

As for F_E, yes, it'll speed up a lot more, and the stories will relate to the storyteller and the characters more as well.

Sadly, due to technical problems, I couldn't write the second chapter today. So expect Chapter 2 and 3 pretty soon, hopefully tomorrow.
 
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Raz

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Ha, I knew it. That show was good.

I like you story, too.
 

Savior of Dawn

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Chapter 2- “The beggar who begged death.”

The sun rose with a soft glare, peeping through the open window of the storyteller’s small window. Trinket nudged him roughly on the arm, “Hurry up.” she said, “We only have a week left.” The storyteller groaned and rolled out of bed, already dressed. After slipping on his shoes -and gulping down a meager breakfast- he said his farewells to the small village, and took down a winding path. With Trinket at his heels, a small sack full of stuff, and his head filled to the brim with stories, they came to a bustling open road. Traders, travelers, merchants, beggars, all alike scuffling down the road. A shout came from one spot, the only area that was cleared off on the main road. At that spot stood a screaming beggar, ontop of a small wooden platform.

“Look at all of yeh lot!” The storyteller began to make out as he headed down toward him. “Pushin’ n’shovi’ Hurrying through yer pitiful livesh! Why won’t yeh even shtop to shtudy the poverty ‘o your county!” Once the storyteller reached the beggar, he stopped, and watched him benevolently. He was ragged, and looked rather old, and had only one eye. He looked more like a half-dead veteran than a poor man. The beggar pointed a crusty, accusing finger at the storyteller, “You! I knows you!” He hesitated and bent it slightly, “Whuz yer name” The storyteller winked and shook the old beggar’s hand, “Arcane, the storyteller, at your service.” The beggars one eye widened,
“Shir D at yers.”

Arcane whirled around, and raised his arms wide. “Tell me!” he commanded into the crowded road, “How many of you have heard of the death of a beggar and the begging of death?” A few people stopped and gazed curiously, others simply glared and continued on. “None?” asked Arcane, nobody answered. “Very well, I shall tell you the story. My friend Sir D here will help.” With a swoosh, Arcane opened his sack and pulled out an assortment of clothes, and props. The crowd slowed slightly, leaning to see what was happening, they couldn’t resist a good tale.

Sir Death assumed a beggars position, holding himself up on his knees. “Help!” he screamed, “I beg of you, give me anything! Food, water, money! If not those, then give me death!” Arcane jumped onto the platform, wearing a black cloak. It covered his entire body, face included. “Who dares call me?” He held his old oak stick, looking venomously evil near the cloak.
“Dear reaper!” cried Sir D, “please, I am wounded and poor, kill me!” He kissed the bottom of his robes, and pulled on them desperatley. “Please!” He rasped. Arcane sighed in the cloak, and kicked him to the ground. “Nobody begs for death, do this all over. Beg for life you fool.”
“But sir!” whined Sir D, “I have no point in living, kill me, kill me!”
“Silence!” Arcane cut off the whimpering, “There is nothing worse than death, there is nothing worse than me. I kill all who are to die, who is everybody. Death is the ultimate punishment, I am granted eternal life at the price of eternal murder.”
Sir D shook his head, “You do not understand. There are things worse than death. Living forever as I-” Arcane kicked him again, “Shut your mouth foul beggar! If you are so sure, then I will switch places with you. You be the grim reaper, and I will be a beggar. I will still be immortal, and live as you for a year.” Sir D nodded heavily, “ I will feel no more pain?” Arcane in the cloak shook his head, and slammed the stick into the ground.

Quickly, Arcane and Sir D switched costumes. Arcane laughed as the beggar, “This is nothing! Let us meet back at this spot in a year!” Sir D then disappeared in the black cloak off the platform, and watched with the audience. Arcane paced the platform, pretending to travel and live, miming eating and sleeping. When he pretended to eat, he’d spit out the food as if the taste was foul, when he slept he wriggled and had nightmares. Only while traveling did he ever seem sane. Eventually he sat down, and thought aloud. “..I cannot remember.. Who am I? Why am I here? I have no love... no family...” he mumbled unintelligibly, and fell to the ground. Sir D jumped onto the platform, and looked around, pretending to be searching. “Come, great reaper, what about our deal?” He walked over the corpse and smiled grimly. He covered Arcane in a blanket, “I told you there’s something worse than death.” He took off the cloak, “Life.”

Arcane jumped up and switched back into his normal clothing, “And so the beggar became death, and wandered about the world. He decided he would no longer kill people, he would let them do that on their own. Instead, he would learn, and attempt to save the people that killed him in the first place.” The small crowd that had stopped to watch and listen clapped loudly, and rained the platform in small coins. Sir D had gone, though, leaving Arcane to take the spoils. A small boy came up and pulled the bottom of his robes. “Who was the beggar?” he asked.
“He had a name once... But now he’s known as Sir Death.”

End Chapter 2

Sorry for this being late. And I guarantee it'll speed up more after this, I'll actually be introducing much more plot.
 

Savior of Dawn

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Again, my apologies for lateness. I had a few...technical problems.

Oh, and special thanks to Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman" for inspiring one of the games.

Chapter 3- "Tricking a Trickster"
The fire crackled underneath the lidless gaze of the moon. Laying on his back Arcane stared into the sparkling sky. At the edge of the campsite, he heard something rustle around.
"Who's there?" He asked, to nothing that seemed to exist in particular.
"Nobody." replied the non-existing thing.
"Well, if there's nobody there, then who said that?" he smirked in the dark.
"You did." came the reply.
"I did?" he questioned
"Well, yes, you did say 'Nobody' just a few seconds ago." the jestful voice rang. Arcane chuckled,
"Well, come out nobody, let us play a game." A rustling came from the bushes again, and the voice rang, "How about this: I choose the first game. If you win it, I come out and you choose the next game. If you win that game, then I do whatever you want."
"And what if I lose?" Arcane asked.
"Then I eat you." Arcane shrugged,
"Fair enough."

And so they began. "A game of riddles we shall play, I will go first: Long and metal, short and wooden, picky as I may be, I help you with your den." said the voice.
Arcane thought, but then shouted it to the bushes,
"A key!" An angry grumbling came from the bushes, but nothing in particular. "Me next, I suppose." said Arcane, " I am someone, but I am no one. I am everyone, but I am just one."
Time passed slowly as the rustling seemed to go in a pattern as if something was pacing impatiently. After a few minutes, the voice rang again,
"I give up! It makes no sense. Tell me!" Arcane smiled,
"They are nobody. If they are a someone and no one, then somebody is nobody. If they are everyone, but just one, then everybody is somebody. Therefore, everybody is somebody, who is nobody." A white fox relunctantly revealed itself out of the bushes. "Jolly good!" called Arcane, and he gestured the fox closer. "Now we shall play a game of conquering. Whoever declares themselves better than the other wins. Now, we begin, you go first."
The fox smirked, "I am a wolf, intelligent and merciless."
Arcane made no reaction, "I am a bear, I crush you in my claws."
The fox frowned, "I am a tree, I fall and break your back."
Arcane continued, "I am a blacksmith, and use you for my fire."
The fox smiled devilishly, "I am a king, I use my power to have you killed."
Arcane frowned slightly, "I am the people, I bring you down."
The fox hesitated, and then smiled even wider, "I am death, killing all."
Arcane waited, and looked up into the sky. He thought hard, and then inspiration hit him.
"I am hope." The fox opened it's mouth, and then stopped. It thought long and hard, and then gave in. "I lose. What do you wish?" Arcane pondered upon the subject, and then said, "I want you to travel with me, until I have no more stories to tell, tricks to play, or things to do." The fox nodded, and then said, "I am Trinket, glad to be of your service."

Arcane awoke suddenly, a cold gust of wind running up his blanket. Next to the fire, Trinket lay, sleeping peacefully. He smiled, pulled up the blanket, and went back to sleep.

End Chapter 3
 

Savior of Dawn

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Sorry about the basically month long delay. I just forgot, and whenever I remembered I couldn't/wouldn't do it. But, now I've got it, and I made sure it was extra long to make up for it.


Chapter 4-”The King of Thieves”


As the sun rose, Arcane yawned and stretched his arms wide. Trinket opened one eye and said, "Daybreak already?" Arcane nodded, rolling his blanket and firmly placing it against his oak staff. Strapping the two onto his pack, he gestured for Trinket to move,
"Hurry now, we'll need to get out of this forest before noon." Trinket cocked her head,
"Why?" she asked, Arcane looked into the misty forest, "Because that's when the nobles pass." Trinket shook her head at another of Arcane's vague warnings. She yawned, stretched her pearl white paws out in front of her. She shivered, her fur bristling in a wave down her spine, finishing at her elegant tail.

Arcane hefted his pack, and asked impatiently, "Done yet?" Trinket stuck her nose up in the air and flicked her tail toward his face, clearly implicating her feelings. Arcane simply rolled his eyes and decided a random path through the forest, with Trinket his heels. The forest’s trees were so plentiful and thick, it was practically night under their shade. Despite the lively sounds of the birds and wildlife, it contained an eerie feeling inside it’s depths. A branch snapped behind them, and Arcane turned around. Just at the moment he was knocked out, Trinket disappeared into the darkness. The attacker bound Arcane, and headed off into the forest, Trinket following him silently with her padded paws and keen eyes....


When Arcane awoke, he was in a dimly lit room, full of bags containing gold and various treasures obviously collected from much richer persons. He tried to move, but his hands and feet were bound. A gag covered his mouth, so he didn’t even bother to call out. He heard murmuring in the next room, and then a yell, “Whaddya mean he’s got notin’! Why’d you nabb ‘im?” It was a gruff voice, and an obviously uneducated one. Before Arcane could really analyze the situation, the door was kicked open, light burst into the room. A tall man entered, he had thick muscles underneath darkly tanned skin, and scars all across his exposed body. Arcane noticed one of his eyes was glass. The man pulled out a cruel and worn dagger, and cut off Arcane’s gag, barely missing his skin. The man coughed, and then spat at Arcane, “Who the hell’re you? Since we alradah serched yeh, yeh bettah got some’tin you cen do!” Arcane recoiled from the spit flying toward his face, and attempted to comprehend the man’s question,
“I am a storyteller!” he declared, using his dramatic voice. “And I will make a deal with you! I will tell you a story--” The scarred man interrupted him,
“Whut kinda storeh?” he demanded, teeth flashing and spit spraying barely missing Arcane’s face. Arcane smiled devilishly,
“A story about the King of Thieves.”

The heavy man thought on it, and then yelled
“C’mon in boys! We’re gettin’ a storeh!” After waving his gigantic hand, a group of various men, varying from thin and pale, to nearly the same build as the man. The one that caught Arcane’s eye was a boy, probably no older than 10 years old. He seemed nothing special, messy brown hair, not too tall, fair skin, brown eyes. Nonetheless, something told Arcane he wasn’t human in some way. The tall man interrupted Arcane’s thoughts by growling, “Now, this bettah be gud, or we shlit yer throt, yeh?” and waving his dagger around. Arcane got the message and nodded frantically. He began, “Long ago, when human thieves didn’t exist, and dragons terrorized our lords...”

A great dragon had been especially frightening. One of the greatest kingdoms, which name has been lost for centuries, had been constantly broken apart by this great dragon. Every time he stole from the King’s treasury, he would boom his name across the nearby kingdoms. “Lushire!” would all the lands hear, to realize their King’s defeat. The king, named Telanor, constantly sent warriors to slay the dragon, but none prevailed. After almost all of Telanor’s gold was gone, he eventually sent himself to slay the dragon. Armed with the best armor and weaponry, he banged on Lushire’s door. He opened an eyehole, and said “Dear Telanor! Have you come to surrender?”
“Of course not!” yelled Telanor, the dragon laughed and rolled it’s eyes.
“Then, dear king, let us not be brutes. Come in, and we will play a game.” The king didn’t not lower his sword, even though the gigantic door opened for him.

Entering, he spotted a small table, and Lushire, now the size of a small dog. On the table, was a board, covered with cross patterns, forming many small squares. On one side, was a small kingdom with 10 miniature soldiers and a king at the farthest. On the other were many mountains, and a single dragon, surrounded by 10 small boulder pieces. The dragon watched him as he sat down, “Need I explain? Well, probably,” he murmured an insult, “Simple, the point is for one side to kill the other’s leader. Two soldiers can stop a boulder, three soldiers can kill a dragon. One king can kill a dragon. A dragon can kill one soldier, a boulder can kill one soldier, a dragon and boulder can kill three soldiers. One Dragon can kill one King First to kill the enemy, wins. Now, if you win, I’ll take the rest of your gold and leave these lands forever. If I win, I will take the rest of your gold, leave your lands forever, but curse your bloodline.” Telanor figured it was a win-win situation, and agreed.

In the first few minutes, they clacked pieces, moving across the board, and setting up battle patterns. Soon, the king started to attack the dragon’s pieces. Lushire frowned, and then smirked, countering. The battle ensued for hours, until Telanor had 3 soldiers and the king left. Lushire only had the dragon piece. Telanor smiled, and declared, “ I believe this battle is over.” The smile played across his face, until he saw Lushire’s expression. “What?” he questioned.
“This.” said the smirking dragon. He picked the dragon piece between his claws and put it right next to the king. The piece came to life and melted the king’s piece. The soldier’s disappeared.
“That’s cheating!” cried Telanor.
“No, I never said dragons can’t fly. That was a fun game, but you lose my king.” He became his normal size again, and opened the door. Horror gripped Telanor’s heart. The battle had actually happened, all that went on the board had played across his kingdom. Lushire slashed Telanor in the back, splitting him into three men. The first wore white robes, and disappeared underground. The second, wearing blood red and gold robes, disappeared to a far off kingdom. The third, wearing black robes, stood and stared at the Lushire.

“Hello.” Said the man. The dragon lunged at him, but his arm went inside the dragon’s chest and seized it’s heart. “Let me introduce myself.” said the man, while Lushire wriggled and twisted screaming in pain as he held his heart, stopping the blood from flowing. “I am the king of thieves, and I shall steal your heart.” He pulled it out of Lushire’s chest, and as his body fell, the scales turned to various precious jewels, gold, and powerful weapons. The king of thieves picked up a pack and somehow fit all inside. He saved the strongest sword for himself, cradling it in his belt. After leaving the cave, he cut the capital and the land around it from the continent, and let it float away as an island. At the edge of the newly formed island, he whispered “I am Lusht, king of thieves, cursed son of Telanor.”

After so he took many seeds and planted a forest around the capital. Which is now known as “The Losht Island.” Often mistaken as “The Lost Island”. Though, it’s true name is “The City of thieves.” It is now where the greatest thieves reside, including Lusht himself, who is immortal thanks to Lushire’s curse.



“...That curse also created Slythe, the guardian of Hell. And our very king, the king of all the lands, Fyorn. That is why he is so powerful, and will not age.” Arcane smiled, and looked at the amazed faces of the thieves. The tall man clapped his hands and said, “Well done shtortytellah! I’ll let you go now.” Arcane nodded, and noticed that Trinket was standing in the window. She jumped down, grabbed a bag, winked at him, and jumped back out. Arcane laughed and said, “Well, I must leave dear men. How do I get out of here?” They all laughed and pointed to the door in the next room, “Out thatta way!” they all said. Grabbing his pack, Arcane left, leaving the thieves to chatter and think about the story. Trinket waited outside, and said “A bit simpleminded, aren’t they?” Arcane shrugged, “Not the best of thieves either. They would’ve at least locked the window.”

After trekking through the forest, a small boy appeared in front of them, with no warning. “You!” cried Arcane, it was the small boy he noticed at the thieve’s lair. The bow smacked him, “I’m Slynn! I’m the greatest kid thief ever!” Trinket coughed, with a slightly incoherent,
“Because he’s half cat.” Arcane was slightly shocked, and then noticed two bumps underneath his hair, and how he seemed to act rather cat-like.
“So?” cried slynn, “I’m still a great thief! And you!” he pointed to Arcane, “Know where the city of thieves is! Take me!” Arcane sighed and said politely,
“I can’t, not right now. But, if you stay with me, I will. I have to see our king Fyorn. I was told a while back that he wanted a story from me, so I’m going to the capital to tell him one.” Slynn smiled and said, “Okay! I’ll come!” he bounced around, stopping right next to Arcane. Arcane bent down and said sternly, “Just no stealing.” Slynn looked seriously at him and said, “Yes, no stealing!” Not even Trinket noticed he had his fingers crossed behind his back. Arcane nodded, and began walking again, Trinket flicking her tail at Slynn and following him. He giggled and caught up with him, all of them following the light of the outside.

End Chapter 4


Hope you enjoyed it! : D
 

Agoraphobia

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Wow! this story is wonderful, it's very detailed and, very intresting. I can't wait for the next chapter.
 
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