My Prologue

Finally, the first post about writing. Here is the approximate prologue that you will see in my book when it's finished.

The mysterious figure stepped towards the abandoned, crooked house in the late night. Crickets whistled from far away, and a full moon shined overhead. The man slowly walked past a gnarled, dark tree that was leaning forward menacingly, and entered the empty house. He shimmered as if he wasn’t really there for a few seconds, then quietly stepped further inside. Dust clung to the splintered wooden walls and curtains lay tattered on the floor. The man looked down and noticed a shattered golden chandelier that had obviously fallen from the ceiling. Carefully, the man reached into his long, dark robe and pulled out a small sack. The red markings on his clothes glowed as he opened the bag and poured its contents, powdery brown dust, into his hand. He then put the small pouch back into his robe pocket and enclosed his fist around the dusty substance.

The man turned his fist over and released his grip, dropping the powder onto the floor. As soon as it hit, the dust began to glow a bright green color, then it shimmered and vibrated. The man felt the house shake gently, as if the aftershock of an earthquake just hit, but it emanated from the green powder. Suddenly, the dust exploded, and every single piece shot away from the pile to form a perfect ring. It was as if a bomb went off inside the powder, but all of it hit an invisible wall before it could go further. The man stooped down and examined the ring. The dust was still glowing a bright green.

            “Not enough,” the man said, and then reached into his robe once more. This time he produced a thick book with a gem embedded on the cover. He opened it up, revealing worn-out pages covered with text and notes. The entire book was filled with bookmarks, and the mysterious man turned to the page marked by a thick dark one.

            “I knew it,” the man said in a ghastly but quiet voice. He put the book back and took out a second pouch of the bizarre dust. This time, instead of pouring it into his hand first, he just turned the bag over and let all of the powder drop onto the floor, landing in a neat pile.

            Just like the first, the second pile exploded, sending a slight gust of wind outward from the inside. All of the dust flew back and landed in the ring formed by the first pile. The man bent down and examined the green ring. The cryptic red markings on his robe burned brighter the closer he got. He put his hand on his chin, considering the circle of green dust.

            “Yes,” he said quietly. “This should work.” He stood back up and stepped into the ring of glowing powder. The further in he went, the more intensely the dust shined. Finally, the man reached the center of the circle. The dust began to glow brighter and brighter at an unstoppable rate, then suddenly the entire ring of powder burst into green flames. The man remained calm from within the circle, as he was expecting this sudden alteration. The flames flickered and burned higher, as if the dust they came from was a constant, infinite supply of wood. The blaze did not give off any heat, even though it was slowly turning into a bonfire. The man lifted his arms into the air as four fiery balls appeared on the ring where the points of the compass would be.

            Suddenly, a beam shot out of each huge sphere, connecting above the man’s outstretched arms. The fire from the ring flickered higher, almost reaching the man’s chest. The entire house shook slightly, and then began to quake more and more until it almost felt like a violent earthquake. The point where the beams intersected began to form a fifth shining ball, made almost entirely out of green fire. Black spots appeared on the sphere, and smaller dark purple beams occasionally sparked out. The fire burned even higher, reaching the man’s chin. He remained confident inside the ring and kept his arms high above his head. The red symbols on his cloak blazed brightly.

            Every burning ball began to glow even brighter than before. Green flames flickered around all of them, and from the center of the ring, an inky black spot appeared on the floor. It stretched out, making the entire interior of the ring a dark purple color. Boards began to snap as the abandoned home shook even more vigorously. It felt as if two giants were throwing the house back and forth in an eternal game of catch. From outside the ring, miniature tornadoes formed, spiraling faster and faster as the entire room began to glow. The inky interior of the ring spread out, changing the floor of the entire room to a dark color. The five spheres began to spin violently, throwing bits of fire everywhere. It could hardly be seen, however, because the entire room was enveloped in a bright green glow so intense it appeared to be an emerald cloud.

            From within the ring, the man still stood with his arms above his head. The entire spell had made his head hurt, and he was quivering slightly, but he gritted his teeth and let the dust work its magic. The flames had long since enveloped him completely, and the green power still surged all around him. More windows shattered and dusty furniture fell as the house shook incredibly. The movement came from within the ring, so the quaking was most intensely concentrated there. The man almost stumbled and fell, but he kept his balance.

            Just then, everything stopped. The fire immediately extinguished, the shaking halted, and the burning orbs disappeared. The glowing faded and the miniature tornadoes vanished. Everything was still once again. Suddenly, a solid black line appeared in midair, as if the air itself wanted to be seen. The line began to grow upward, forming a dark square. It now looked like there was a hole in the air, a rip in reality. The square slowly began to increase in size. It grew to the size of a door, then began to seep dark energy. Black lightning about two inches long occasionally zapped out. Looking deep inside the dark hole, the man could see nothing but blackness, as if the void was a portal to somewhere deep in space.

            “This is good,” the man said, then laughed. The red patterns on his cloak lit up again as something emerged from the black rip.

SPOILER!!!The dude in the prologue is the villain of the story.