Chapter one of Taco Stand Love

The large domed room contained the graduates of the finest military academy in the land of Deskota, The Emperor’s Sentinels. 400 graduates stood together rigid and tight as though one mind control them all. In a voice that echoed into the street, they repeated the oath of the Imperial Republic, swearing to uphold it to their dying breath. Within the 400, Balin stood proud and tall, for the feeling of accomplishment and patriotic fever swelling within his soul. Balin wasn’t the head of the class, wasn’t the strongest, fastest, or the luckiest. He was simply the one who was friendly and cared enough to get through with enough credits to join the elite group. Balin was around 24 at the time of graduation, having spent his first 3 years out of secondary school doing basic training and certification necessary to apply to the academy. Roughly six feet tall, Balin was fairly muscly but not to any extreme. He had short slightly ragged light brown hair that often came close to violating the dress code. On his left shoulder and arm were several tattoos, the most prominent one being a yellow chickfly bird. His aqua blue eyes often were the first feature that many people noticed about him. The Emperor Sentinels were in charge of certain battalions of troops and more often than not those battalions could swing the balance of a battle in favor Deskota. They were hardened and taught to lead by example. A member of the sentinels could be spotted on the battlefield from their unique armor and the confidence in the soldiers around them. Sentinels could influence battles; however, they weren’t invincible or able to hold back the Host pressing down upon the empire.
The war had raged on for 11 years when Balin graduated. He remembered as a young boy hearing the new stories of the large barbaric reptilian creatures invading from the south. The recently united empire was surprised by the fearsome and terrifying creatures that bore no resemblance to them. The first news reports came in as sightings and the sudden destruction of towns and villages on the coasts. It was not until New Gildeon was under siege and the Imperial Legions arrived that Balin fully understood as a child the world around him. The videos of the battles were terrifying to watch as the 8 and ½ feet tall creatures tearing limbs and snapping spears with ease. The ill-prepared Imperial Legion at New Gildeon was crushed. Those who survived and managed to make it back to the nearest settlement told stories of the horrors inflicted upon them by the invaders, stories that made an 11-year-old Balin suffer nightmares and sleepless nights.Balin's situation was transformed overnight when he was 12, the town where he lived was on the edge of the frontier. The army evacuated the whole town of 5,000 overnight. Later he heard that the town was destroyed as the horde of the Skepnan passed through. Balin's brother later would be recruited by the army to be a scout and chart the movements and other information of the Host.
The graduates of the Sentinel program stood and marched in a single file line up to the stage. Balin stood in the middle of the 400. His ranking based on his academic prowess and credit. As each name was called, one their uniform and one to go over each graduate's armor, a piece of clothe with the Imperial Republic insignia was strapped on. The insignia consisted of two trees with a ring of stars with tower between the trees. He waited as best as he could. Patience wasn't one of Balin's stronger attributes. The line continued crawling as the Praetor Tamp called out each name in slow succession. He would strap the clothe over their shoulder and hand them another one. All followed by a firm handshake, or a hug. Members in the crowd would whoop and yell as a name was called out and again when the congratulations by the officials was over. Balin's mother and and younger sister were there to support him. Balin's friend and constant partner throughout the trials Vai stood behind him. Every couple names Vai would chuckle at the unfortunate soul the name belong too.Vai and Balin's exploits at the school were less than stellar and generally regarded as annoying. They met the second week of the program when forced together to solve a difficult situation managing a battle simulation.It wasn't their solution that made them friends but the enjoyment of causing difficulties for the other recruits.
The line grew shorter as the the dark blue uniforms disappeared one by one across the stage and reappeared back in the seats. Balin rocked back and forth in his shoes. The wait had dragged on enough for him. Soon the girl standing in front of him stepped onto stage and shook hands with the Praetor. Over the P.A system, Balin heard his name called. Walking calmly from the hard floors to the stage, he could see in the middle his sister and mother waving at him proudly. The school had been tough on all of them. With graduation, his family moved up a caste. They were in the low merchant class. With the graduation comes new honor and power to his family. Balin walked to the Praetor, saluted him and then shook his hand. The Praetor knew Balin well, often having chats with him and Vai after something had gone wrong at the school. None of the pranks ever were his idea, most originated with Vai and his idiotic roommate, whom didn't make it to the graduation. The Praetor strapped the leather across his chest and handed Balin the version for his armor. Balin waved calmly to his family as he walked off stage. One of the instructors, looked at him with a glare that normally would have frozen Balin's blood and a head shake to let him know that it was out of order.
Back at his seat, Balin congratulated the girl next to him quietly. She looked him in the eyes and smile and whisper back a congrats to him. The rest of the graduates proceeded without disruption through the ceremony. The Praetor, after awarding the last of the sashes, congratulated them all as group. Lauding them for being the future leaders and for making sacrifices unknown to others. Concluding his remarks, he reminded all the new members that it is the 11th year of the war, many have died as Sentinels, Legionaries, and as civilians but they will find a way to win the war. The crowd rose to its feet cheering and scream like a roar of a lion. The new Sentinels stood and saluted the Praetor. Following the salute, the 400 screamed to life and jumped up and congratulated one another. Balin found Vai quickly and exchanged a hug with him.
"You did it. I really doubted that you would stay in man!"
"Ha! I could have sworn you would have been the first to get kicked out for the shit you did!"
"Vai, you bastard. You were the ones always getting me into that shit. Either way, we made it through it. Ready to get some revenge?"
"Balin, you know how much I can't wait to kill me some of those tri-jaws. I'm gonna hang one up on my wall."
"I'm gonna get one of their dual swords for my apartment to hang up on my first leave."
Right then another Sentinel, a girl named Nami, grabbed Vai and hugged and kissed him. The two had been in a relationship for about six months. She was a fit girl who worked out constantly and regularly took parts in the sparring tournaments. Once she managed to win the entire tournament. Her medium length blond hair fell into her face as she jumped on his back and mushed to ran away.
Balin chuckled to himself as the two ran away. He pushed his way through the mass of armored sentinels, well-wishers and family of the graduates looking for his family. He smiled as he walked past friends and acquaintances, squeezing past groups of people. Balin saw his younger sister, Rital, standing on a chair looking for him in the sea of humanity. Raising his hand, he caught her attention making her jump up and down waving frantically in his direction. Balin increased his pace and hugged his sister. Looking into her purple eyes, Balin saw the excited she had for her future now and the pride she had from her brother being one of the elite.
"You gonna kill some of the Skepnans now Balin?"
Balin laughed and hugged her again. "We'll see I get my assignment tomorrow. I hope there still some fighting left to be down in Torra. Be nice to push the Host back some."
His mother came and gave him a kiss on the check. "We're proud of you getting through it. You are going to make a difference in the war without a doubt son."
Balin felt a hand fall on his shoulder and pull. Turning around, he faced the Praetor who was wearing his ceremonial armor, a steel plated suit with a gold embroidery and the Imperial Legion's symbol on the chest. Balin saluted quickly.
"At ease Balin. No need for formalities here, it's a time to celebrate your accomplishment. I must say I didn't think you had it in you with how much trouble you got yourself into." He threw in a wink at the end so Balin knew he was kidding.
"Any clue my assignment Praetor? Or at least which Legion I am to be to in?
"Sorry Balin, you'll find out tomorrow. I, myself, don't find out until later tonight." The Praetor gently put his hand on Balin's shoulder as he said this.
A legionnaire appeared next to the Praetor and saluted him and proceeded to hand him an electronic tablet. The Praetor's smile disappeared and was reformed as a frown. Looking at the tablet more, the Praetor nodded towards to the legionnaire, dismissing him.
"Excuse me, there is some urgent news I need to attend to. I'll be back shortly however."
Leaving them, Balin turned toward his family and gave them a hug again. "I'm really glad you two could make it out here. Was it difficult finding someone to cover the shop? Anyone heard about father?" Looking at his mother and sister, Balin's eyes glistened at the thought of his father. It was his father that had inspired him as a young boy to become a Sentinel. His father at a young age was recruited by the Legions to fight in the first offense of the Skepnan Host. His father was eventually promoted and moved into the Fourth Legion defending . As a sergeant, he lead a small platoon to attack a fortified position on the Torran front. Despite the heavy causalities, Balin's father broke through the position allowing the Fourth Legion to break the lines on their offensive. It had been over 3 lunar cycles since they had received a video message from him.
"Still nothing. I was hoping to hear something from him. We've been hearing that there has been a media blackout on any operation in the Torran province. Can you believe people actually believe there are humans assisting the Skepnans?"
"I hope he doing well. The video I've seen of the carnage the Skepnan cause are horrifying to say the least. Vai throw up after seeing one them."
"The media rarely show anything besides the results of battles. They tend to only show the corpses of the Skepnan warriors. They are ugly fuckers." His sister chimed at this point.
Balin knew only the carnage from the videos they watched. They had to watch videos from the commander's post of one battle and predict the battle shifts and movements. In the videos they watched as the commander failed, and the forward lines of the Legions were slaughtered. Body parts flew into the camera at one point from the brutality when one legionnaire is torn apart. Arms, legs, and heads ripped or cut off. After the three years of academy, every sentinel had become accustomed to the carnage, unfazed by any anything the battlefield may throw at them. Many of the past Sentinels spoke to the future group about the effectiveness about this model as it allowed them to block out the battle's horrors and atrocities. Often though, many other legionnaires reported that this created less compassion and sympathy in some Sentinels for the soldiers in their unit. The videos and simulations the Sentinels were put through focused on molding them into effective killers in combat, which they did with some unfortunate side effects for many of the participants.
Balin asked his family if they wanted anything to drink and his mother requested a water. Walking over to the table with the refreshments on it, he overheard some other graduates talking.
"I heard one of the teachers talking about how they plan to move the Last Legion away from the city. It has only been once moved in its entire history!' A short stout bearded one shouted.
"Calm down. There is still the Second Command and the Fourth is made of entirely of the warrior caste of Torra. I've seen some of them fight, complete maniacs but effective." a taller girl with brown hair responded.
Balin finished making his way to the table. It was a standard refreshment table for these sorts of gathering, different types of fruits and vegetables on platters, breads and cheeses combined in some fashion, and the occasional meat slices. Picking up a small cup for his mother, he filled it with some ice in a nearby bowl while keeping his ears on the nearby conversations.
"I'm telling you man. The best girls were in Zoziah! You ever seen some of those refugees? Sexy."
"No way man. Deskota girls are the cutest. We've been to Yah'nom Beach and you've seen it with your own eyes."
Balin chuckled to himself. He had a fair share of girl friends during his training and his years at the academy. A couple of these friends he had grown close to and with one had a relationship with. Balin wasn't one of the types that ran around trying to get physical with every woman he possibly could. He wasn't either the type a guy who was above checking girls out and flirting with them. His luck typically stayed on the side of trying but not successful. He currently had the hots for a girl in her second year at the academy named Nalar'sha. He had met the petite yet ferocious girl during a time at the gym practicing his sparring. She had been watching him from the side and ever so flirting with him; it was a trick as he had been sparring with her friend. With her flirting, it allowed her friend to get the edge on a distracted Balin and win. Balin ever since then tried his best to talk with her but his nerves with girls always fell a little short of his wishes.
Returning back to his family, he handed his mother the water. She thanked him as she took a sip. The air was full of shouting, laughing and talking as the graduates and families rejoiced with each other.
"Attention everyone. I want to share this with you before the media broadcasts it in ten minutes," Praetor Tamp's voice boomed over the P.A. "We just received this video from a field outpost stationed on the far side of Torra, in regards to the Fourth Legions attempts at protecting Tor from the Skepnan Host. What you are about to see for some is a common sight and one that will become more common in the days to come, others, I strongly urge you to not watch the video."
The lights in the room dimmed as the screen lit up, on the screen showed three Sentinels their armor broken and blood stained. A female voice came over, "This is Lieutenant Commander Li'Bet reporting from the gate's of Tor." The camera swung up to show the gates of the city cracked and ripped open as parks flew from wires. Bodies of both the Imperial Legion and Skepnan lay strewed across the ground, the camera continued to pan around before coming back to focus on the Li'Bet with Tor a conflagration in the background. "As you can see sir, the Fourth Legion has been completely destroyed as well as Tor. We haven't received any word on survivors. However, we do believe it was a 100% fatal casualty battle. We don't have any idea when the battle actually took place, estimates range at around one lunar cycle." A yell came for them to move out of the way. The camera swung around to catch a large concrete and stone piece of the wall's defenses crashing down as dust and rubble fly in every direction. Two Skepnan warriors appear in the camera's view, as their mouth hiss and click their weird language. The two humans not with the camera charged the beasts as the transmission faded out.

(Author's note: I am aware of the possiblity of mistakes, should you find any let me know or any feedback would be great too.)

Life. Love. Works in Progress.

"Hello blog"
"Hello Chris."
"Umm. Its been a while."
"Yeah it has. Where have you been? With another blog probably!"
"I promise it wasn't like that at all Blog!"
"Go Fuck yourself Chris! I know you and your blog changing ways!"
"Blog, I promise you are the only blog for me ever. I was busy with things. I promise it won't happen again."
"You better not otherwise there won't be a blog to come back to."

I'm back writing on the blog after a month or so hiatus. A fun month it was. I moved, I worked, Emmy got a job. Busy busy busy. Life life life. I'm very happy about Emmy getting a job. A great one at that. She earned it without a doubt. She's doing graphic work for the AFL-CIO. So feel free to call me a socialist or a liberal. It has been a tough week for her, finding a car and getting all the paper work for the jobs and other related items. I wish I was there to take some of the pressure off her. But with the job, come December I should be able to drive out there and we can start living together.

Summer has been anti-climatic with little happening; I've been forced to play lots of games and do a lot of writing when I haven't been working or other such activities. I have been hoping my teachers will contact me with something to do but nothing so far. Blerg.

In my own writing realm, as much I liked my Zelda/Link story, it wasn't a Chris original. It was original in the sense I wrote it and was part of the creator of the whole idea. However, it still remained someone else's world and ideas that I had to shape my story around. It was a fun exercise and I learned a lot by practicing it. Maybe someday I'll return and finish it, I don't think now is the time for me to work on a story I haven't created.

It is on that note that I announce on my blog my new story currently lacking a name at the moment. So I will refer to it as a code name, Taco Stand Love. In this new, completely original piece I will be sticking to a realm I feel comfortable in, Sci Fi and Fantasy. Though my story is what some "experts" would call Science Fantasy, which I respond with a nice "FUCK YOU!" The theme of the story exploring the relationship between justice vs mercy in context of revenge with the backdrop of a war. For your reading pleasure, I will now provide a short synopsis of my story.

So a lot of my story breaks out a traditional format so it takes a bit more explanation than most stories of it type. It is a set in the continent of the Rokeeter. It is the first civilization to appear on continent and after 500 years the land is united under one government: The Imperial Republic of Deskota. The civilization is advanced with technologies and such that surpass our current levels, in ways. Several technologies were never invented/discovered such as cars and guns, so they continue to use other forms. Travel to other cities is made possible through Mag trains and such since combustion isn't necessary.
As in most fantasy there is a mix of magic, in Taco Stand Love there is no exception. However, I have a strong dislike for magic so this has impacted how magic is used in the story. Magical people are known as mana wielders and since it has only been in the past 50 years in story that magic has appeared (think if somehow magic appeared in our world) most are treated with suspicion and as terrorists.  Mana wielders are between sorcerers and benders from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
In the time before the story starts the Imperial Republic has been at war for years with the Skepnan Host. The war has been going slowly for the humans against the creatures but have managed to prevent them from taking  3 of the provinces.
The story focuses on a special type of Imperial Legionnaire known a Republic Crusader named Balin. It is at the beginning of his graduation and start of his military service that the story begins. His first assignment is to be the commander of a garrison of the city of Thyro which is soon to be assualted by the Skepnan forces. It is here that Balin comes to the crossroads of his destiny.

My story in a nutshell so far. I'm on chapter four and pretty excited. If I could have a dream come true I'd see it as a one book or a two book series. Followed by a video game, an rpg, set 200-300 later and finally a movie.

And to dork everyone out this is the character inspiration I'm using for the armor for Balin.