Before I start, this will be a bit of an experiment to see how much my writing has grown. It's just a pilot I guess? Of a story i'll be writing after the one i'm writing currently. I needed a break so, I decided to post this here. It's gonna be from a sort of narrative perspective of the antagonist. It's worth noting that this takes place on another planet, where all the inhabitants are basically bird people
So, here goes:
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Excerpts from tattered journal found between the rifts. Believed to be of a survivor on the dark side who fancies himself the leader of a rebellion. I've cut out the entries that are the most relevant and pasted them here, 9 in total. You'll no doubt find this to be very enlightening, considering recent events:
Entry 1
"The cracked moon of Halcyon is clear over the horizon, red crusted, and bleeding green into the space around it. On nights like these, you could count every star in the system; At least, if it is night. Hard to tell on the "Dark Side". At least the view is pretty great when you have your own flat in the tallest tower. Or is it the lowest? looking out onto the massive canyon to the south, bleeding in it's neon red light from the inside, it's hard to tell. Living on an inverted planet has that effect.
I was born here on the "Dark Side", raised on tales of the glorious Raven Empire, and their silvery towers that gleamed in the ever-present light of the planet's core. For centuries they've been revered, even here. Stories of their victories over invading forces are told to our children, and we follow their laws verbatim, without even asking questions. Seems pretty illogical considering I've never seen a single star-ship approach this desolate rock.
People say it's because we're feared, but there's no proof either way.
Day after day I stare out over the city-scape and try and envision what the inner world is like; does it really live up to the stories? Or are they lies as well? It honestly wouldn't surprise me...
After i'm done writing in this, i'm going to dump it in the rifts, in hopes that it's found. Maybe time has been kinder to the inner-worlders...Maybe they'll come around."
Entry 2
"Time has not been kind! An envoy was sent in to talk to us today. Like I suspected, they were not kind. That Owl had choice words for our city's installations, and had some nerve demanding taxes from us! How can we even pay them!? There's no currency flow down here. They know we dug in nodes and have been siphoning power from them. Took them long enough to figure it out I suppose, but taxing us for it? That's a slow burn... Do they want us to feel helpless for as long as possible before we lose everything? What sort of cruel form of mercy is this?
I sent that envoy back with a shattered beak and a message for his up-and-ups. "We're people too."
Hopefully...maybe...maybe we'll get through to them."
Entry 3
"The power went out today.
The neon blue veins that lined our streets and towers have been dimming, and the lights have been flickering all day. They never flicker. It's been some time since we've had to rely on our glow to get around. It's always night here, so it's nice to not be totally helpless I suppose. Our only concept of "day" comes from the stories we're told.
Anyways, we're on backup power, and soon that'll run out. I went out into the streets today and was assaulted. A beak for a beak I suppose was the idea. Ignorant or not, I can't blame them for thinking it's my fault. But I just ripped the bandage off quickly, what else could I have done? They didn't want to broker a deal, believe me I asked."
Entry 4
"The lights are finally out. I'm writing by the dim light of my own glow. The fact that it came to this as fast as it did makes me angry to say the least. I helped build this city! Seeing it in this state is heartbreaking. Well maybe I'll use that. It can be motivation; Motivation to take it back to those who dumped our forefathers here, motivation to regain our independence as a people, as a race. Maybe, just maybe, this is what the people needed. Maybe this will change their minds. Change their minds with the right set of words, the right ideals to rally behind."
Entry 5
"It's been a few days but, I feel like the people are behind me now. Out there in the streets, it was like, for the first time, they were willing to listen! They stood by me so easily...it makes me worry. If these people are so easily swayed, then what's to keep them from rallying behind the enemy flag? I'll need to find a way to steel the hearts of my fellow...rebels. A term i'd never thought i'd use."
Entry 6
"We've established a camp outside the city near the entry point to the south. It's a massive canyon in which you can see the core off in the distance if you look down, like a massive hole in the ground. Rocks seemed to stick to the walls on the way down, but we knew not to try navigating that mess. The artificial gravity would shred us in an instant if we dared. A fail-safe in case we tried jumping in. Smart. Doesn't look like there's much we can do. For now.
Entry 7
"We found a way around the gravity field. Every so often they send a ship up and out to the moon. It's cloaked, but only after it passes through the field. We'll hijack it. And once we're in, we'll blend into society and take over from the inside out. It's the ultimate plan, and it can't fail!"
Entry 8
"Well that failed miserably.
Seriously, nothing else to say. These people aren't fighters, what was I thinking? I'm going to have to rethink my entire plan. We have the ship, but it's been so badly damaged that we're using what's left as a makeshift base. At least we brought it down, and stole the supplies. It'll take some doing to get these boxes open though. They need codes and the pilots are- I erased what happened to the pilots. "
Entry 9
"We got the boxes open and it looks like mining tools. They must have been mining ore from the moon. It'll take some time, but i'm sure we can mine our way through the mantle. It'll take a few years i'm sure, but we'll get in there. Mark my words, we'll get in. No matter how long it takes..."
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It appears that the mystery of the strange tunnels dug through the surface has been solved in the very least...Get back to me when you find the time, I implore you.
Signed,
High Guard 433.
So, that's just getting a feel for the story, it's not final at all, hence the "journal format" or whatever you might want to call it
[ Click to attempt signal recovery... ]
