Snippets of a Story- March

Because we all know I need an excuse to post...

It's Snippets of a Story! Thanks again to Katie, at Whisperings of the Pen, for the marvelous idea of giving us all an excuse to tease our readers!

But enough of my blithering. You want ze snippets. These are from Feather and Fang, which I was writing last night, and coincidentally, thinking about posting a snippet(s) from!

* * *

Daegless snarled as he watched flames leap ever higher from the burning barn. His sweep of terror and fire had now reached from the Shardberg Cliffs to Havenport on the eastern Thunderfell coast. Homestead after homestead, village after village had felt his black fist. A swathe of darkness had followed in his wake, a trail of burnt homes and wasted farms. The name of the tiger-scourge had reached the furthest corners of the north provinces, and fear followed close behind it.

* * *

The freeborn’s eyes flitted open slowly. He felt pain all over. Especially in his head. He groaned, and heard movement nearby. He looked up into a dappled light, frowning.

“Where am I?” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

“Under the Loneoak,” spoke a clear voice to his left.

The speaker moved into his field of vision, a young woman holding a wooden bowl. She looked quizzically down at him. “How are you doing?”

The freeborn frowned. Something was wrong. How did he get here? His mind seemed empty for some reason. He was… who was he?

A low growl sounded in his throat as he found he could not even remember his own name. He tried harder, gritting his teeth, but there was nothing. His gaze focused on the girl kneeling over him.

“Who am I?” he asked, suddenly suspicious of this strange female.

The girl raised an eyebrow. “I beg pardon?”

The freeborn sat up with a snarl as his arm shot out to grasp her by the throat. The bowl clattered to the ground, spilling its contents on the grass.

“I said… who am I?”

The girl choked on his grip, pulling at his hands. “What… kind of… a question… is that?”

“My name!” growled the freeborn, squeezing a little harder.

“Dae… Daegless!” the girl gasped.

The freeborn let her drop, breathing heavily. Pain shot through his body and he slumped back. A tear formed in one eye. The name meant nothing. He could remember nothing. The girl had scrambled back, holding her throat and grimacing.

“Daegless… what’s going on?”

The freeborn… Daegless… turned on his side, curling up into a tight ball. It was awful. There were no memories in his mind, nothing. He had no recollection of anything! And the pain, it sparked and flared all along his body, but especially in his head. Pain had come to fill the gap left by whatever memories he had had.