Little Intro

This is an intro written in prose form meant to describe newby level of a video game. I personally see it as a side-scrolling beat-em-up in my head though with the prose form I've made the little combat in this somewhat more three-dimensional. This was inspired by a conversation and some pixel art of a friend of mine on Facebook I hope she'll enjoy it. I also happen to have named the protagonist after her internet persona...kinda.

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The tunnel beneath the castle grounds was filled with the hollow, constant drumming of the rain pelting the courtyard above and the flowing trickle of collected rainfall making it's way into the tunnel's culverts by way of the storm drains. So it had been for days since the storm had rolled in. A constant monotonous counterpoint of burble and roar, but on this day the unrelenting non-silence was broken by the sounds of voices echoing down a metal pipe, followed shortly by sharp pop and the clattering of one of the metal grates as it fell to the stone. After a few moments a cloak-enveloped figure dropped from the pipe and dashed forward a ways before crouching behind a pillar.

"See, I told you we'd make it without being identified," The figure spoke with a young woman's voice.

"Yes, but you were supposed to get here without being seen. Which would have been a miraculous feat indeed," answered a second voice, this one male, in reply to the cloaked figure's comment. It's source was unseen.

"Oh, hush you, we're in the underground now right? I can take this thing off?" The young woman asked again. The reply would again come from the empty air.

"Yes, from here on out your presence is to be kown. You are to eliminate all opposition by any means necessary. Your magic has been unlocked and I have been authorized to assist you."

"Alright!" The figure exclaimed as it stood flung away the large cloak. Beneath was, indeed, a young woman with pink hair bound into a long ponytail in the back with shortish bangs that framed her face. Her eyes were a strange silvery color and she wore an orange headband. She had a button nose and what looked like a perpetual grin on her face. She was garbed in a block dress vest over an orange shoulderless top with black dress pants and shoes beneath. Around her waist was a utility belt and around her wrists were golden loops. Hanging just above the top of the vest's neckline from a long ribbon looped twice around her neck was a large orange bow with two shortert tails of ribbon hanging down over her vest.. Then the strangest thing happened the center of the bow lifted like an eyelid revealing itself to be a largish blue-black eye. The male voice responded again.

"Of all the forms you wished your familiar to take you chose this one," The bow spoke in the male voice from before.

"Put a sock in it would you? For your information I was hoping the ancestral spirit I called would be the matriarch of my family not you. I've never even heard of you," the young woman replied angrily.

"Is now really the time? The beasts could arrive at any second. We need to make a good impression on the guild," replied the bow.

"Fine, but once we get back you and I are going to have a talk about how we're gonna make this work," The girl said.

She made her way down the underground tunnel, being sure to keep a lookout for enemies following the same way she had accessed the tunnels. The hollow thrum of the rain from above faded as the tunnels led her under the keep. It was here that she encountered her first enemy.

She had just rounded a bend in the passageway and was coming to the stairwell that would take her up into the keep when blurred golden shape darted past her. Suddenly a wind rushed in from all directions and began to whirl around it. The object turned out to be a golden sphere sporting a serpent pattern, the symbol of fell magi.

"Looks like a Dervish spirit," the voice of the bow spoke.

"So I have to take out the device at the center and I'm good to go right?" The girl asked.

"You've only got half the facts as usual, Momoiro," The bow replied, "Destroying the device will release the dervish, then you'll need to kill or capture it yourself."

"I know you only call me that cause of my hair. For the last time it's natural, Astragon!" The girl was fuming now at her ribbon companion.

"It happens to be your name, Momoiro, but we can deal with that later. We've got a Dervish to take care of. You know how to use my abilities? It's tricky to direct some one telepathically and prepare spells at the same time."

"I'll manage fine. Here, I'll show you!" Momoiro Leapt to one side as the Dervish, finally primed, launched its first attack. A blade of wind lashed past the point where she'd stood. She stretched out one hand and suddenly one of the bow's dangling ribbons lashed out elongating and wrapped around a collumn pulling her further away but at the last second she called back the ribbon and spun to land against the structure feet-first and then leaped toward the sphere. This time both ribbons began spiralling around her creating a drill-shape. The golden sphere dodged this assault only taking a glancing blown. Momoiro flipped over in the air and landed on the floor then spun around the two ribbon extended creating rigid shapes like swords held straight out. Both caught the sphere once as she spun then she leaped high in the air lifting both arms above her head and slashed downward with the stiffened ribbons cutting the sphere in half. With a sudden whistling discharge of wind a grey, translucent spirit holding a wicked-looking scythe appeared and charged for her. Momoiro held her arms forward crossed at the forarms and the two ribbons crossed in front of them catching the scythe blade. She pushed the blade back and jabbed forward with one hand both her fist and the end of the ribbon impacting the spirit's stomach and pushing the phantom away.

"Blue flickering sear ghostly foes! Aether Flame!" Momoiro called as she leaped back and performed a throwing action a dart of blue fire rushed through the air and struck the still-reeling Dervish in it's stomach. In seconds the apparition was consumed by the fire and there was a flash of light. A card was lying on the floor in the place where the dervish had stood. Momoiro strode forward and picked up the card. She tucked it in a pouch of her utility belt.

"Hmmm, seems you've got your first new spell," Astragon the ribbon said, "Aren't you going to learn it from the card?"

"Perhaps later. Right now we've got a mission to finish. It seems they werer right about Lady Purpura being a Fell Magi," she responded. Her voice was a bit distant. It was easy to tell this was not news she welcomed.

"Right, of course. We'll be heading up then," Astragon said.

"Right, onward to the next level. I hope there are more things to beat up. Fighting with you is actually pretty cathartic. Between directing your attacks and sorting through spells in my head I've got no room for worrying about things."

~*.The End...For now.*~