《A Flower that Blooms》


 Book 1: The Forgotten Territories: Prologue

    The sands roared through the sky, slamming into everything in their path like little bullets. In the distance, a young girl stumbled through the desert. She wore a black robe with the hood over her head. A few of her blonde curls, stained with dry blood and mixed with sand escaped her hood. Blood stained her abdomen and fresh blood dripped down her fingers on her right arm. She had been stumbling through the desert for days. Even she had lot count of how long.


    ¡°Is this really how its going to end?¡± She hadn¡¯t eaten for days, she drank her last bit of water a day ago and the there was no end of the desert in sight.


    A loud bang sound out and a explosion of sand erupted in the distance.A strange beast appeared from within the burst of sand. It appeared to be a large lizard, about two meters long, its body and limbs were covered in hard, bone like armor, it had two large fangs protruding out of its mouth, and its tail, ended in a scorpion like stinger.


    ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± the girl wondered out loud. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a mystic beasts like that in any of the books of read.¡±


    The beast roared loudly and charged towards the girl. It moved swiftly and its movements seemed uninhibited by the sand. The girl pulled out her long, slender rapier and rushed towards the beast preparing to strike.


    ¡°Razor Petals,¡± Clementine yelled as about twenty flower petals materialized around her. She jabbed her sword toward one of the spaces in-between the bone armor on the lizard. The lizard suddenly moved and the rapier scrapped against the bone armor. The petals continued to orbit the girl and charged towards the lizard, but like the sword, was unable to cut through the thick armor.


    ¡°Shit! I don¡¯t have the energy to keep fighting like this!¡± The girl jumped back. She knew she had to end this fight quickly or the beast would kill her. ¡°I won¡¯t die like this!¡± She screamed and decided to use the rest of her ability to ensure the lizards death.


    ¡°Entangle! Parasite Vines!¡± Suddenly, vines emerged from underneath the sand and wrapped around the lizard¡¯s legs and body, restricting its movements. At the same time, the girl threw out her hand and a small green light shot towards the lizard When the light his the lizard, the green light exploded and a thin red vine grew. It pierced between the bone armor and into the lizard. The lizard howled and attempted to escape from the restricting vines holding it down. The girl took the chance when the lizard was panicking to attack once more. She jumped into the air and with her rapier attempted to pierce the lizard¡¯s throat. Noticing her movements, the lizard regained its composure and its scorpion like tail shot at her. She changed her position and blocked most of the attack but the stinger on the tail pierced through her left arm, leaving a hole in it the size of a small ball. The girl shot down into the sand and slide for about five meters until coming to a stop. She coughed up a mouthful of blood and her face paled. At this moment, after struggling for some time, the lizard broke free from the restrictive vines and charged towards the girl ready to finally enjoy the rewards from the battle. It rushed forward and shot its claw out towards her. At the moment just before reaching her, the lizard quaked. Its eyes became bloodshot and blood dripped out from the corners of its mouth. Suddenly, many thin red vines shot out from its body and bloomed into small, blood-colored flowers began to bloom on them. The lizard stood there, frozen like statue. The red vines continued to grow and began to quiver. Suddenly, the vines shot back into the lizard and the lizard exploded. A rain of blood and chunks of organs and viscera fell from the sky. The only thing remaing of the lizard was it''s heart, suspended in midair with the red vines growing through it.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Dammit, that was harder than it should have been.¡± The girl struggled to stand up after receiving the wound from the now deceased lizard. She finally regained her balance and continued on her journey through the desert. After walking a few more miles, blood continuously dripping from both her arms, the girl began to play and her movement slowed.


    ¡°Looks like this really is the end.¡± She began to resign herself to fate. She continued moving on as best she could. When almost out of energy and hope, the girl finally saw something in the distance, the silhouette of the castle hidden behind the storm of sand that blew past her. The girl¡¯s eyes widened and hope washed over her. ¡°This is my last chance. My future lies there.¡±


    The girl finally arrived outside the desert palace. It was an intricately carved rock palace built in a mountain. She had never heard of any such place in all of her reading and she could feel the dark energy escaping from the palace. She wished to escape but she had no other option than to enter.


    As she walked through the grand entry of the desert palace, she could feel the bone-chilling murderous energy surrounding her. She took in a deep breath and continued on her journey into the depths of the palace when she heard a chilling voice behind her.


    ¡°What a strange little girl. It has been some many years since someone has come here. Clementine, huh? Well, lets see your life and if you are worthy of my inheritance,¡± the sinister sounding voice rung in the girl¡¯s ears. She swiftly turned around to find the source of the voice, but as she turned, all she saw was a bright light fill her eyes and felt her mind going blank.

 Book 1: Chapter 1: Fort Grimstone

    Atop grey and icy crags, reaching into the sky, lies a stone-clad, bleak fort. This fort is the capital of the Grim Mountains, Fort Grimstone. The Grim Mountains is one of the six lands of the Forgotten Territories. Locatedat the most northwest of the territories, to the east lies Spain Lake, the the southeast lies the Poppy Fields, and to the south lies the Thundertorn Cliffs. To the west lies the end of the Forgotten Territories, the land no man ever dares to enter, the Death God¡¯s Desert. The desert spans all the way from the northern most tip of the Spring Lake Territory, to the end of the Thundertorn Cliffs. Legend says that any man that ventures into the desert is doomed to death. Many years ago, a group of warriors ventured in, only for one to return, drenched in blood and eyes glazed over. Many wished to hear the tales of the desert, but no matter what was asked, the man said nothing. He died three days later. Because of the impassable desert, the people of the Forgotten Land have resigned themselves to fate long ago. Six lords rose from the people to rule the land, each vying for more and more power. Over the years, many lords have risen and fallen, cities and forts have been destroyed and rebuilt, but the constant play to be ruler of the territories has remained. Now, the territories have reach a fragile period of peace, allowing the land to reach its most prosperous in a hundred years, but the fear of a change in fortune remains hidden in all the peoples¡¯ hearts.


    In a small courtyard covered with a thin layer of snow, sits a girl, about 15, on a bench underneath a grand willow tree. Wearing a long light blue dress gracefully flowed down her body. Her blonde curls rolled down her head, a few strands covered her big lilac eyes. She sits there, her favorite place in Fort Grimstone, reading a book on herbs and flowers and fiddling with her dark purple gem-stone necklace worn around her neck.


    ¡°Clementine, get your ass in here now!¡± yelled a voice from within the cold, stone house. The stone house was two stories tall, with somewhat intricate carvings of the mystic beast, the ice-horned goat, around the doors. The ice-horned was the symbol of the Grimm Family, the rulers of the Grimm Mountains. This particular house is owned by an advisor to the Lord of the Grimm Mountains, Hendricks Grimsby.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The young girl rises from her seat and gracefully enters the home. Sitting on an ornately carved seat is Hendricks Grimsby. He does not bother to turn his head to look at the girl walking in, he merely remains staring at the fire, during in the fireplace in front of the chair. Hendricks was about 60 years old. Wrinkles covered is face and his eyes sunk back into his skull with light purple bags hanging underneath them.


    ¡°Clementine, tomorrow, the young lord will be returning to the fort. You must get him to fall in love with you. You know what to do. Don¡¯t even dare to fail.¡± While Hendricks is an advisor to the lord, he has limited authority in the land and is not a part of the immediate Grimm family.


    ¡°Yes father,¡± replied Clementine. She already understood her Hendricks¡¯ reasoning. In order to rise in power and live a better life, he needed to marry her off to the next lord of the Grimm Mountains. With that, she left the room and walked upstairs to her room. She flung herself on her bed. After lying on the bed for a shirt period of time, Clementine began to determine what her next move should be.


    ¡°That bastard Hendricks, thinking I¡¯m a pawn in his stupid little game. Eventually, I will kill you.¡± Clementine felt exasperated. In the Grimm Mountains, the lord forbade girls from learning martial arts or cultivation techniques. In these mountains, women were only used as decorations and breeding machines. Luckily, Clementine was a known beauty in all of the fort and was desired by many of the higher-up¡¯s sons. That was the reason Hendricks kept Clementine around. Hendricks was not Clementines actually father, but he made sure that no others in the fort knew this truth. He needed to ensure that Clementine would rise in status and bring him along with her. ¡°All I need to do is see the clan¡¯s cultivation techniques for a second and I¡¯ll be able to rise in power and kill all these bastards!¡±