18. Imagine a character who has a single, over-arching goal in his or her life (it could be the quest for money or love, status or acceptance, for example). Now describe a single event from your character’s life that strongly influenced their adopting this goal. Describe the event from the character’s viewpoint as a memory, in 500 words or less. https://www.nownovel.com/blog/50-creative-writing-prompts/

I’m going to write this Prompt on a character that’s not really in a story, but I know this character really well (I’m not following the word limit). In fact, I have four “core” characters-which are the first four characters I ever created, and this is one of them. Meet Codith Knight-a prince who just wants to explore the world but instead is kept in his castle and almost never can leave. He’s constantly trying to get out, but isn’t allowed to.

The first time Cody could remember wanting to be an adventurer was when he was five years old. His father-King Richard Knight the III-often hired odd sorts of adventures to sail around the land or hike over treacherous mountains to explore Salvator. After their great quests, he’d have them come into the throne room and recount their tales. Cody was never allowed to listen in, but that day he’d snuck down-desperate to hear the stories that the guards and servants raved on and on about.
He stood by the edge of the door, barely daring to peer in. What little he could see was an odd bunch of adventurers of all different races. They were wearing weird clothing and held scabbards where it looked like mighty weapons fit. Cody heard his father say, “So, Edmund, what have you found?”
”It was extraordinary,” one man said. He had a strong face and build, woth rugged brown hair and a sheath made for a bastard sword. “In the mountains. We were walking up the side and out of no where a dragon flew overhead!”
Cody had covered his gasp quickly, and saw his father-surprised as well. “Interesting,” he said. “Tell us more.”

TW Blood
​The trio made their way through the woods-a rather dull hike through dense roots and foliage. Ashera talked to Ryan as they walked, while Fox scouted far ahead-looking out for danger. “So have you lived in Harle all of your life?” she asked. Ryan nodded. “What’s it like there?” “It’s...uneventful,” Ryan said. “To be honest, not much happened at all until this last year when those wolves started attacking.”
“I see.”
“It’s not that bad,” he said. “Everyone I work with are good people. They’re very set on defending the city.”
“And what are the other humans like?” Ashera asked. She could tell by Ryan’s face that it was an unexpected question. “I’m sorry. I’ve never met any of my own kind before and I am curious as to how my relatives behave.”
Ryan thought for a moment. “Well, you can find the good and bad in all of them. Some are greedy snobs who care about nothing but the hide on their own back. Others will go out of their way to help everyone.”
“What are they mostly? Good or bad?”
Ryan sighed. “I’d like to assume that most are good. Many do everything in their power to prove me wrong.” Ashera nodded as he paused. “What is it like for you? Living with elves?”
Ashera thought on that. “They’re great. It’s as close as I’ve ever had to a family.”
“Why do you say this with sadness?” Ryan asked.
Ashera frowned. “I do not.”
“You don’t have to lie to me, Ashera. We are allies now.”
“Allies,” Ashera repeated. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. “I don’t know. I-“
“I found a good spot to set up camp,” Fox said, appearing next to Ryan and Ashera silently, startling both of them. “It’s a bit dense but I think we can make it work.”
“Can’t we keep going?” Ashera said. “It’s not dark yet.”
“But it will be.”
“The longer we stay the longer it takes to find Saria!”
“And if we are attacked then no one will be left to find her,” Fox said strictly. “We will stay here.”
She glared at Ryan-daring him to say otherwise. He put his hands up in the air. “I’m not saying anything.”
“Good,” she said. “Now-“

I wear a mask of quiet and kind
And sometimes mean but that's all fine
People love me or hate me, and that's kinda it
But I can't stand hit after hit
They don't see my soul-what's inside me
They don't see the world like I see
They don't see how they damage me this way
They don't see the part they play
It's hard to put your real self out there
We all hide ourselves so it's fair?
We wear our masks so it isn't clear
the damage they do-the words we hear.
And if you take your mask off you're still despised
People like you better in all of your lies
Maybe if we all took our masks off the world would be better
Maybe I'm helping spread the cause with every letter
But hear these words that I have drawn
Make sure you don't put your mask back on
Even if it's hard to see the real you
You have to keep going, do like you do
And through all of the hate in me you can confide
Cause I'll be right there by your side
So while our masks are off I have something to say
Spread the word with this play-by-play
Tell everyone they don't need their masks
And tell them-if anyone asks
To love themselves without their masks

The two women headed for the city of Harle early the next morning, making sure to leave no trace of their shelter behind. They made light conversation as they walked and had arrived by the time the sun was cresting over their heads.
The first thing that Ashera noticed was that this town was a dump. Doors hung off their hinges, smoke billowed through the air, stones on the streets were cracked and uneven-covered in dried mud. She glanced at Fox anxiously and they continued towards the city.
They got many weird looks as they walked through, but Ashera couldn't be more interested in the people. She waved at everyone-even the people that were glaring at her. All of them looked like her! Sure, they didn't have the hides, cloaks, furs, or tribal tattoos, but she hardly noticed. Their builds were broad, their ears were short and rounded, and they were strong-not agile. But even now, Ashera felt out of place. The way that these people looked at her...they didn't see her as one of their own. They saw her as an abomination-a weird intrusion on their city. Her shoulders sagged.
"Keep your head down," Fox muttered. "I don't think there are many friendly faces around here."

TW Death

CHAPTER 4
Ashera arrived back from scouting duty late at night. Much had changed since Bear's leaving a year ago. The Elder no longer sent out search parties after Saria or the missing members. He didn't say it, but he thought they were dead. Ashera didn't agree-she knew, somehow, that Saria was alive-but she didn't speak up. She was 20 now-still without a title. In the past year, the joking, bubbly girl had almost disappeared. Her face had sunken in with sorrow and her eyes were perpetually circled in black. 
The rest of the tribe suffered, as well. After sending out so many of their members and having none come back...they weren't doing well. Ray of Sun had passed just after Bear had left, so injuries and sickness had to be dealt with by less experienced healers. The once-thriving elf tribe was now hobbling through life-and there was nothing Ashera could think to do to help them.

Ashera bolted up in bed, remembering what Bear had said to her that passing day. He'd said that everything he did was for her. What did that mean? Then it had just seemed like a proclamation of love, but there was some underlying message that Ashera couldn't decipher. She'd had thought of these words almost everyday and she still couldn't figure out what they meant.
But then she thought of something else Bear had said to her on the day of him leaving-something she hadn't thought about since he left. She heard his voice in her head as if he was right beside her, saying it into her ear. "Keep living. If too much time passes then come find us. You'll figure it out." 
Ashera nodded. Too much time had passed. Almost no one else in the tribe thought that Saria, Bear, or any other elves they'd sent out were alive. Ashera was the only one left-and she knew what she had to do.

Hey guys! I hope you all are having a wonderful day. So, this is about Writing Prompt Wednesdays. First of all, I love them and I'm so glad that I had this idea (thank you to all of the websites and authors that I'm using their prompts, they've all been awesome). Anyways, if you haven't noticed, poems and stories of the fantasy genre are very much my forte. I'd like to think that I'm pretty good at writing them and practice makes perfect, but that wasn't the point of Writing Prompt Wednesdays. The point of them was to expand my-and hopefully your-writing ability and I don't think I've been doing a very good job of that. Someone very wise (my mom; love you mom) once told me that natural talents only get you so far and that I'll need the things that I'm not so good at, so I should practice them when I don't need them. I think she's amazing, and I'm trying to stick to that advice, so I'd love it if you guys could give me some prompts! Action, mystery, comedy, tragedy, etc. are the best (I don't practice those a lot) but any will do (except nonfiction, this is a fiction-based website). If you want to leave a prompt, leave it in the comments of any Writing Prompt Wednesday post (or this notice). Just make sure that you leave a link to the website you got it from (if you made it up yourself, tell me that as well). That's pretty much it. See you guys next post!

-Writerial

TW Death, blood, kidnapping
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​CHAPTER 3
Ashera ran back towards the clearing, yelling, “Saria! Saria!” There was only one person in this group that was capable of screaming like that.
Two whistles sounded behind her and just as Ashera was beginning to get out of breath, Kaleedki and Aloria charged towards the group. Ashera jumped onto Kaleedki, stumbling a bit as she did so, and she struggled to pull herself up onto the animal's back. She felt a hand on her lower back push her up onto the Drupriki as Bear mounted behind her. Kaleedki sprinted forward back towards the clearing.
The group arrived in time to see two wolves-black as a clouded-over night sky. One was standing over Wind-its teeth in his throat. The other was backing Darion into a corner. Saria was nowhere to be seen-nor was Niksti.
Ashera didn’t think, she charged into the fray, tackling the wolf that was on Wind. The wolf turned on her-that’s when Ashera noticed its eyes-scarlet as the blood dripping from its snout.
It took a snap at Ashera and she braced herself for the impact, but it never came. She saw the wolf reel back as he was blasted with some terrible pain. It glanced at Ashera and then ran off into the woods. The other wolf turned from Darion and followed.
“Wind!” Ashera heard Fox’s voice, thick with pain as she slid towards Wind. Ashera backed away, looking at Bear. His face was contorted in horror. “Wind!” Fox said. “Wind! It’s okay, it’s going to be okay!”
Wind gagged out something that Ashera couldn’t understand, but Fox said, “No, don’t say that! I love you! You can’t leave me!” Wind gripped Fox’s hand and went limp. Fox looked stunned for a moment, then she promptly broke down in tears.
Darion was walking forward, his whole body shaking. “They-They were so fast. They just-just came and took her…”
Ashera didn’t want to ask, but she said, “Took who?”
Darion murmured, “Saria.”

Hey guys so this is just a quick notice to let all of you guys know something. So, one of my favorite parts of this blog is my series called Ashera. I had the idea about a year ago, set it aside, and then realized it’d be the perfect story to start out this blog with. However, things haven’t gone to plan. When I originally had the idea I envisioned two stories-Ashera the human raised in the Great Tree Tribe-and Kat, the human in a small town trying to make a life for herself and her younger brother. I have since decided that the dual story lines are too much to keep up, so I will be taking Kat’s story out of the overarching plot. Maybe I could do another story on her, but I can’t keep up with it right now. This will not only make it less confusing, but also make the chapters much shorter. I will update chapter 1 and 2 as soon as I can, and from chapter 3 on Kat, Jamie, and Grandmother will not be mentioned. I’m sorry for the inconvenience and I hope that you’ll support me on this decisions. Have a great rest of your day, everyone!
-Writerial

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