Disclaimer- This is all complete fiction. NONE of it is true. It has elements of violence ( explicit at times ), language, relations between a man and a man, and sexual themes. If this is illegal for you to read or not to your tastes, DON'T READ!
I retain all copyrights and it is my property, If you want to host it or post it somewhere, just ask. I will most probably give permission. Copyright is by Charlie Z. aka cezmail, my alias on the net. The idea of Whitewater is the creation of Dhvana and is copywrited by here, but is a shared world and used with her permission. You can find all about the town ofWhitewater at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Welcome_to_Whitewater . Feel free to join and look over the other stories there.
If you like the story, or even if you do not, feel free to write to me. My address is cezbox4@gawab.com , Otherwise, please look on down and if you have an opinion, let me know. I am more then willing to listen and reply.
Title: Zert' Ordeals 01
Featured Characters: Zert Greendragon, Starblaze- Zert's Horse
Other Characters: to be revealed.
Warnings: Dark at times, violence, slow at the start. Sexual stuff at later time, mostly Gay but some mentions of Het..
Note- This story will have some background with elements of fantasy. If this is not your cup of tea, do not read.
The concept of the town of Whitewater is copyright Dhvana, March 2005. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Welcome_to_Whitewater.
The rest is either copywrited by myself or the other wonderful writers from the group.
Chapter 1
The first thing he felt when he woke up was pain. Deep throbbing pain that coursed through his neck to his toes. The blood was beating almost loudly in his ears as he came to consciousness. His first attempt to open his eyes was a complete failure. The low light of the dawn, little as it was, seemed to zap right past his corneas and embedded itself into the depths of his brain.
He quickly shut the lids and tried to take a breath. The pain was still great, but not as excruciating as it had been. He tried to move his body and felt muscles constrict and expand with the effort. His head seemed to be the greatest source of turmoil, but his left side also had sharpness to it. His breathing was shallow and fast. His ribs not wanting to expand with the intake.
The man stayed where he was. Slowly trying to get a grip on his ordeal, he was able to breathe somewhat easier, though not deeply. He tried again to open his eyes and this time the light did not make him nauseous or want to scream. He was lying among some leaves and pine needles, a large pine near his right side. There was a low level of fog that obscured most of the light coming through the boughs, but enough shone through to let him know it must be either dawn or dusk.
Trying again to move, he was successful this time turning his head and body. More trees, mostly pines, but with some maples as well. Seemed to suggest he was in a forest or woods. His head continued to throb, but the level was less. The ache at his side was still as great though, and when he looked to see the source, he saw that not only was he naked, but also had been stabbed. The crusted blood around the wound flowed at a trickle, but the stains in the ground seemed to suggest that he had lost more blood then was healthy.
There was also a blood pool where his head had been, and when he lifted a hand to touch his skull, he was rewarded with more pain. He quickly removed the hand and tried to think. How had he gotten where he was, and who had attacked him?
The next thought that jolted him was that he did not even know who he was! No name came to his mind, no past, details, or inclination at all. He was naked, lost, and hurt. 'Great, just the way to start the day.' He wished he could recall something, anything, but gave up after a failed attempt.
It was then that he heard a snort and a wicker of an animal behind him. He moved his body to get a better look and saw through a break in the trees a horse. It was drinking from a pool that lay in a shady glen, a saddle with tack and bags on the bank. The horse stood about 100 yards away. It was great stallion, almost all black except for some kind of marking on its nose and brow.
The horse seemed to sense the man looking at him and turned its head to gaze back at the person that lay in the dirt. It did not seem to be bothered by the man and after a short time, went back to drinking from the pool. It seemed to be quite large, but the man could not be sure at the distance.
Grunting from the pain in his head and side, he stood up. He gripped the trunk of the pine, using it as a brace as he straightened his body. He slowly shuffled his feet and attempted to get to the pool. He found that as he moved that he was thirsty as well as hungry. The pool beckoned him to slack one of those needs. Maybe he would be lucky with the second if he looked through the saddlebags.
The horse still did not attempt to shy away from him as he grew closer. As the man came close to the pool, he saw a reflection of himself in the clear water. The face that looked back at him was that entirely bald. It had a solid appearance to it, round yet without any fat. His nose was smallish, but flattened, maybe haven been broken sometime in the past.
The right side of the skull was caked with dirt and blood. Blue eyes that seemed to be bruised, with circles under the brows. The face could not be called handsome, but there was a charm to it even under all the blood, grime, and dirt. The sight unfortunately still did not give him any inclinations to his identity or history.
He carefully used his hands to slack his thirst and was off the worst of damage to his head and side. He then inspected his wounds, and saw that while his skull was not too badly damaged, his side was more severe. Whatever had stabbed him seemed to have hit a rib, deflecting the blade from getting anything vital, but in doing so had broken the rib and cracked some others. The blood had stopped, which was a good sign, but the pain when he moved was still quite a bit. He used some more water to flush the wound and then looked about.
The gear that was near the horse consisted of a saddle, two large saddlebags, a backpack, and two odd items. One was a sword sheath with a big blade in it, and the other was a holster with a large gun. The sword seemed to trigger something, and then a name came to him. The sword was Nimlas, and he knew it was his. Nothing else came to him, but with this single name, a feeling of joy entered his heart. Here was something of his own, a connection to his past.
The horse took this moment to let itself be known and stepped closer to the man in front of it. It pushed its nose toward the man and bunted him gently into Zert's hands when he lifted them. It huffed its breath and nickered once more when it saw that the hands were empty. He could almost sense disapproval at this predicament, and wished he did indeed have something from the beast. It then went back to eating some of the grass at the bank.
The man moved away and decided to look through the packs. Going through them, he found some dried fruits and nuts, which he used to quench his hunger and get some energy. He also found several sets of clothes that seemed to be his size, a sleeping bag and toiletries, and at the bottom of the backpack, in a small flap hidden from casual search, a rolled up waterproof sheet.
Opening it revealed a wallet, clips for the pistol and a map. He looked through the wallet first, something urging him on and when he opened it, it showed a drivers license. It showed his own face and under it, a name. Zert Zargon Greendragon. The name seemed to trigger something more and while it was close to the truth, it was not the full truth. He read that he was 7 foot 10 inches, 300 pounds, age 21, and the address on the license was only a P.O. Box from California.
The wallet contained other pieces of plastic, including a bankcard, a piece of paper with the password, an auto club card, prepaid telephone cards, various amounts of currency. It also had a business card for a coffee shop in a town called Whitewater. "Cool Beans" a time, date, and a phone number written on the back. There were also three keys in the wallet. A house key, a safety deposit key, and the last one seemed to be possibly from a locker from a bus station or airport.
The map when unfolded released a watch. The time on the dial said it was 7:38 am and the date was the same as that on the business card. The map itself was that of the town of Whitewater and the surrounding areas. The name of the forest in the mountains to the North of the town was Mazdac Woods, with highway 42 continuing on its way to the city. Somehow, he knew he was in those woods.
How he had ended up here with his belongings at hand he had no idea, but he decided to get dressed. He observed that he seemed not to have any body hair as he put his clothes on and wondered why that was. Just another mystery with no answers. Looking over the saddle, he saw a name burned on the underside. Zert spoke this name aloud, trying to understand what it meant. As soon as he said the name, the horse lifted its head and stepped closer to Zert. Well that seemed to answer that! So he had a mount, some weapons, and gear. Now to see if he could somehow get more.
Zert put the saddle onto Blaze and stowed the gear. He strapped the pistol under his jacket and tucked Nimlas and its sheath onto the saddle. Gripping the sword gave him smile and it almost seemed to thrum as he did so, he chuckled at this thought and moved through the woods. The fog had lifted by now and he went east. Coming to a path soon, he followed it, joining larger paths until an hour later he came upon a road sign. He was only 2 miles away from Whitewater according to the sign and map. The town he hoped had more answers to his past, as well as a meeting at Cool Beans.
He clicked his tongue and Starblaze picked up his gait.