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strugglesofwriting-blog · 9 years

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Outworlder

Hey All!! This is my first work of fiction and first work I’ve uploaded so I really hope all of you reading will enjoy this story! I really put a lot of effort into this so please don’t flame my works please, however, creative criticism is welcome, begged for even hahaha (:

To explain, idolater/s refer to people who basically worship a singular individual out of love/devotion/respect. Therefore the Idolaters in the story refer to the guards who serve the Chonora. Chonora is literally Latin for ‘Crown’ and so they are the group of people who rule the world my character belongs to. Thank you so much for taking time out to read this! I really appreciate it! Also, remember to leave a comment just to let me know how I’m going, thanks! (:

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There was fire everywhere. The shelves and clusters of books were being consumed by a growing rage of orange and yellow. Tables were littered with open books and mugs of tea, as if at any moment the ancient librarian would walk in surrounded by others, clutching his back and grumbling about old age. But the tea was cold and the books had gathered dust, it seemed, the librarian would not be returning. The small figure in the middle of the room worked quickly, feeding the fire more of it more of the yellowed fuel she carried in her hands. One by one she dropped the books into the insatiable mouth of flames, each landing with a heavy booming thud that vibrated through her bones. A piece of history lost here, a piece of free will here, annals of the entire imperial cohort lost here. All gone forever, each a blow as deadly as a sword to the heart of the Chonora. But they were all lies; each book she had spent her childhood reading was a lie. Before she could think for herself, she was already told what to believe and how to act. It was the worst type of control there was. Everyone loved the Chonora; they gave us freedom and protection from the savage outside world that would not hesitate to destroy us. What they did not tell us was that the Outworlder’s were common people who were labelled as traitors and thrown out of Aurae when they questioned why things were the way they were. Questioning the Chonora was prohibited, free thought was frowned upon and explosive success was impossible. You accepted what they did, you thought what they told you to think, and you could not change who you were.

As she pushed another pile of books into fire, a small novel fell from the pile and landed on her foot in a bout of pain. Cursing lightly, she bent to pick the novel off the floor when her eyes found the words 'FOR THE GREATER GOOD" on a burning page. Albus was always Liauq’s favourite fictional character and now, Liauq thought, she could relate to him on a level only experience brings. Because that’s what she was doing now, fighting for the greater good of Aurae.

One by one the lies burnt, and one by one, she watched them burn. It wasn’t as though she hated books; on the contrary, she loved them. Growing up as the daughter of an enthusiastic Imperial Librarian, she had lived her whole life in them. Why by the time she was twelve, she had memorised every book in this never-ending sea of books and could hand-pick the fantasy books from the annals blindfolded. It was easy; the fantasy books had many designs carved into the faded leather cover whereas the annals were smooth, bar the casual lumps and bumps from decades of use. But that all didn’t matter now. Everything she knew had been a lie, everything she believed in had been taken away from her and now, now she needed to act.

“Fire! There’s fire in the Imperial Library! Everybody move!”

Liauq was wrenched out of her thoughts as the deep booming voice of the guard resounded to where she was standing. Now was not the time to be daydreaming. She quickly threw the remaining kerosene on to the last untouched table and forced the lid back on. Wiping her hands on her borrowed pants, she turned and picked up two more empty kerosene tanks and threw them out of a window.

“Who’s there? Come out! There are guards surrounding the Imperial Library, you can’t get out! If you try to fight, we will have no choice but to use force!”

Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Running through the fire she swept her calloused hands across the walls looking, searching, hoping. Where was it? Oh why couldn’t she find it! Her hands began to tremble uncontrollably, it always happened when she was nervous. But she wasn’t nervous, she was sacred, so scared she could not think straight anymore. She could only act. There! Liauq pressed her hands flat against the wall and pressed, hard, until the wall slid to the left with a soft sigh. They were closer now. She could hear them crashing through the great array of burning books. She needed time for if they found her, or rather, found this then all was over. “Forgive me, pity me, help me! Have compassion on my great need and let me lay this head of mine upon a loving heart!” she cried. It worked. Their steps were halted but it was too late. They were too close and she could not get through the small opening without them noticing and she couldn’t allow that. That was the only rule she could not break, the only thing she wanted to protect in this world. She could not allow them to find this passage to the Outworld.

“Halt men!” the captain’s voice barked sharply at the advancing bodies of smoke. “I said halt Idolaters, stay your weapons! It is the late Librarian’s daughter!”

Liauq shifted nervously, “I-I need help, p-please help me.” Liauq started coughing weakly into her hands, “Please, there was a man here. H-he was ripping and throwing the books and h-he started a fire and-”

The Captain of the Idolaters stepped forward hesitantly, unsure how to approach the cowering figure that Liauq presented before him. “Please ma'am, quiet yourself, we will get you out of here, don’t you worry.” He turned and barked rapid instructions to his men. Taking advantage of the situation, Liauq closed the entrance deftly and continued her ruse. “The man, he went that-a-way. Out the w-window he went after leaving me in here. He t-told me to stay here.”

“Over there you say? Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes. I-it seemed as though there was something b-branded into his right hand.”

The silent figures of the guards stirred with unease. Hushed whispers of “Outworlders’” fell through their lips.

“Still your mouths!” roared the Captain walking to his men. “Officer West, escort her out into the hall and leave the Library. It’s too late to save it now. After she is taken care of, report this to the Colonel, we’re going after the man.”

A man separated from the retreating swarm of red and black uniforms. “It’s okay ma'am. Come on now, quickly, before the smoke gets in your lungs. Give me your hand.”

Without realising Liauq raised her right hand for the Idolater to grab and pushed herself off the floor. “Thankyou ma'am. Now if you could just-” he cut-off abruptly and stared at her hand. Confused Liauq followed his gaze until her eyes fell on a black eye burnt into her flesh. Before he could react, Liauq grabbed his sword with both hands and shoved the hilt into his stomach, the blade biting into her hands with a fresh pain. The guard fell backwards and his head hit the table with a thud. She was scared very easily and not the type who possessed a latent physical ability, but she was frightened. More scared than what she had ever been in her life. She knew what happened to Outworlders who were caught inside Aurauian walls and she was not about to become entertainment for the Chonora in the form of a public execution. Adrenalin coursing through her veins, Liauq threw a heavy book out the window and placed ripped shards of her clothing on the floor and window pressing her hands against the trigger in the wall.

Hesitating before the entrance, Liauq glanced at the unconscious figure of the guard sprawled on the floor. Enemy or not, she would not be responsible for the death of a man. Coughing, she heaved the guards’ body through the entrance before turning around and promptly closing it again. Thick smoke that had come in while the door was open filled the passageway as Liauq crawled on the floor at a lengthy pace, dragging the body of the guard with her. She had done the unthinkable, she was bringing an unwilling individual to the Outworld and there was no turning back; he was an Outworlder too now. West, the Captain had called him West. Well West, she thought, I hope you can survive; the Rebels and the Outworld.

#first post #first story #dystopia #dystopia society #outworlder #liauq #please read #writer #new writer #Sylvia Jade

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