Light Within

LW EXTRAS - Chapter 1 Rough Draft

As much as it's going to kill me to do this, I hate it when I see someone's final creative products (whether it be story, art, music, etc) and compare them to my unfinished projects. Because, logically, you know that other person didn't start off appearing perfect, you know that they probably have behind the scenes and bad creations and they put in a lot of hard work, but it's too easy to fall into the pit of jealousy and comparison.

So, today I'm going to post Light Within's Chapter 1 rough draft! Some of the scenes will be familiar but none of it is canon anymore. It's also not the oldest draft, but all my oldest drafts (what I call "dog drafts" because they're the rough rough drafts *ba-dum tsh*) are scattered in incomprehensible pieces across a variety of notes and discord messages. They're basically unrecoverable, especially when they've been sitting around for more than four years.

And another thing about Light Within is that it's been my main project as I pursued my English degree. My writing style now is a lot different than it was before I started that. This draft comes from a few months before I began that arduous journey. But I won't keep rambling any longer. Here's the first slice of the rough draft of Chapter 1! And maybe I'll include others down the line, but the original draft is mostly unrecognizable. It's basically its own story. To understand it, I'd have to post all the chapters in sequence, and I don't know if my fragile artist heart could take that. Maybe someday ...

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PROLOGUE

Imagine a world without color. No white, no black ... nothing. You can't, can you? It's unfathomable. Yet this is the way the world was in the beginning.

The story that I am about to tell does not have a happy ending.

It ends only in tragedy.

It is the story of a man, his wife, and his daughter, torn apart by the forces of darkness that do drag men's hearts so willingly into despair and hatred.

But it is a story that must be told. You won't find it in the history books. People will scoff at you if you try to tell it to them.

But you will believe me, won't you?

Regardless, the truth must be shared. Light must be shed on this terrible tragedy or the darkness that comprises it will consume it forever, and we will be destined to repeat our mistakes.

This story doesn't start with a man named Duncan. It doesn't start with his daughter, Emily, and his wife, Silvia, but it does end with all of them. It starts with a being known as Gale, who created the world upon which we now stand. Gale our God, our creator, our ruler and guide. He made everything for us, and then on top of that, gave us a portion of his power to create for ourselves. To some, this was a blessing. To others, a curse.

The first thing that we created for ourselves was color. It was a sacred creation, to be held in the highest respect, utilized by the Light Within. Any who wished to use it must have received permission directly from them. Red denoted sacredness. Blue denoted life. True white denoted purity. True black denoted impurity.

We all had red vibrantly within us, flowing through our very veins. Black was rarely ever used, until the man named Duncan, who does not begin this story, was born. He was a good person, a devout servant of Gale, but after the deaths of his wife and daughter, he used his God-given powers to violate our two most sacred rules: never create life, and never destroy it. Because of this, he was marked by Dark Within, and his creations were destroyed. He remained on this world an outcast, hated by all, and faded into obscurity.

But time wore on, and the hearts of men and women were drawn nearer to corruption. The year of 1006 marks the last year our god Gale was ever heard from again. The heavens exploded, stars were thrown from their places, and when the dust settled, four artifacts remained from the being we once knew. These artifacts were sought by the Light Within to be given to four carefully chosen protectors who would guard and protect them until that great being came back.