The Lands Of Valorinya #wattys2016

Chapter 1

A/N : I apologize for any errors that concern grammar , spelling , and auto corrects . As you can see in my profile , I am only 12 years old and I am still not fully developed in my vocabulary and I am not perfect . So I humbly apologize for any errors that you may see in this chapter and other following chapters .

Thank you !

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A little girl came running into the forest merrily , excited to see her grandfather . Her black cloak swooshed in the wind as she ran and her little pale blue dress swished with her legs . Her blonde ringlets bounced at every step she took , and her abnormally gray-almost-white eyes were filled with happiness .

Snow covered everything she saw , and the cold air nipped at her cheeks and nose , tinting her flesh red . She passed by  rocks and trees and she jumped over roots and waved her small chubby hands in the air to feel the snow . At the distance , she saw smoke coming out of a chimney not far away , and she boosted herself to go faster .

As she bursted out of the lines of trees and emerged into a clearing . She saw a cozy log cabin that belonged to her grandfather and she smiled and ran up the porch and knocked on the door , too short to reach the doorknob . The doorknob twisted open and a burly old man poked his head out . He had grey hair and wrinkled skin . His eyes were steely blue , slowly clouding over as he aged . He was a man of tall stature and form and his wrinkly skin was marred with battle scars , each one showing a story of battle and war.

" Hello , grandpa ! I have the book you told me about . We have to read it ! " the little girl exclaimed as her grandfather peered down on her with a soft smile . Her grandfather coughed a bit before ushering her inside from the cold snow .

" Yes , my dear and that we will do . Go and sit down by the couch near the fire while I go fetch us some tea , " he said , his voice gruff and hoarse from coughing . The little girl nodded and scurried off to the couch as her grandfather did as he said .

She stared at the fire as she waited for her grandfather . She was fascinated by its flame . It is something so hot , and it radiated heat from one body to another . It can also hurt a person through its flames and can also benefit a person through its warmth . But , the fire can be simply put out by one simple thing , water . And it's amazing how something that can hurt us by simply touching it can be extinguished in mere seconds by a few glasses of water.

The little girl shook her head out of her deep stupor and she glanced behind the couch to see her grandfather , holding two cups of tea with weak yet steady hands . The little girl made space for her grandfather to sit next to her and he sat down next her with sigh . He handed her a cup of tea and the little girl accepted it with gratitude .

" Now , I wanna see that book . I want to read it to you , " said her grandfather as he set down his cup of tea on the coffee table . The little girl nodded enthusiastically with excitement in her eyes and she produced a brown book from her cloak . The book was made out of leather lined with metal at the ends . It was dusty and a bit raggedy, and the pages of the book were yellow , slowly turning brown . It had the old smell of paper and wood , and it was easy to tell that it was old .

" I wanna know about Valorinya , grandfather . There are many things that I yet have to know , " commented the little girl as she sipped on her steaming hot tea . The grandfather nodded with a weak smile and he opened the book to the first page ; The Empires .

" The Empires . There were five Empires in the Lands of Valorinya . The first was Feirûn Empire . It was led by Emperor Danaeius . He was a nice man who loved his empire like his family , and he respected other empires as well . He worshipped many gods and helped people with respect in his empire . The second empire was the Dawn Empire . The Dawn Empire was unique for their first ruler was a female , Empress Saphirr . She was the first woman who ever took hold and controlled an empire for good and kindness . She helped each and every one of the empires progress with her extensive knowledge . "