writer's unblocked; chapter 1

The country of Marvain was a vast landscape of such differences as could make one wonder that they belonged together. Sheer cliff faces, deep valleys, dense forests, deserts and lakes backed each other in so near random arrangements that if it hadn’t been a magic land, any one finding them self in it might think they had gone crazy. To the people who lived there however, it was normal. It might have helped that the land, though vastly varied, was likewise terrible large. Large enough to give each region more than enough room to not even see the border to the next. The only reason some knew there were regions was because the guardians had established a main city in the most hospitable region to oversee the others.

The guardians were not all humans, that could hardly be expected, buy they were often paired with a human. This was mostly to make the humans that lived in most of the regions happy. But not all the humans were satisfied.
Darveinan, a wizard by his own declaration, had taken the idea into his head that the regions should be united into a kingdom under one persons control, to be precise, his. As no one would take him seriously for some time, this didn’t prove much of a problem. That was at least until he amassed an army and began invading different regions.
Though this was the way things stood, most of the inhabitants of all the regions remained oblivious to the impending danger and actually had the freedom to feel bored.

“Kayana, hey, are you busy?”

Kayana looked up at the window from where she was sweeping the path, “I don’t know, does the fact that I’m working mean anything in that line?”

Jorden smiled down at her. She had come to work at their farm a few years ago and Jorden had quickly adopted her as a sister. His parents preferred that as opposed to him wanting her as a wife. They were only two years apart and though everyone thought of it as a very advantageous for her, but his parents saw it as beneath him. This would be an accurate conclusion. Kayana was the natural child of no one really knew who and, though accomplished in nearly everything she had been taught, had never really been claimed by anyone. There was at one time a rumor that she was really the child of an influential family in the country and she had been educated accordingly. The rumor however proved to be just that and nearly all her acquaintances dropped her. That was when she was hired at Jorden’s family home.

Jorden waved a piece of parchment out the window at her, “I got invited to the Center, and you’re coming with me on the visit.”

Kayana stopped sweeping and leaned on the broom. “I have to work, Mr. Freetime.”

Jorden held up a finger in front of his face, “You are forgetting that I am your employer.”

“Your parents are my employers,” Kayana resumed sweeping.

Jorden leaned out the window, “Yes and I’m their son, therefore I am your employer.”

“You’re impossible.”

“Oh course, I am. I wouldn’t be able to get you to do anything if I wasn’t.”

Kayana gave him a disbelieving glance before turning back to her work.

Jorden watched her a moment before exiting the house to personally oversee her work. “You missed a spot.”
Kayana pocked his boot with her broom and proceeded to shoo him down the path. Jorden laughed and took up running in front of her. Kayana chased him down the lane. Despite wearing a skirt she was easily able to keep pace with him. This was of course due to the many short races the two had had in their rather long acquaintance.
“Jorden!” The two looked further down the path to see Kye, a good friend of Jorden’s, coming toward them, a piece of paper clutched in his own hand.

Jorden smiled and waved to him.

Kye bent over to catch his breath while holding the letter near them, “I’m going to the Center.”

“For the tour?”

Kye looked up, “Yeah, did you get invited too?”

Jorden held up his own letter.

Kye sighed and laughed, “Good then I won’t be going alone.”

“What aren’t you going to bring a friend?”

Kye regarded Jorden then looked at the letter again, “Oh, I suppose they did give us that option, didn’t they? Who are you going to bring?”

Jorden smiled at Kayana, “Who else but my sister?”

“Right,” Kye looked at the letter again, “I don’t think I’ll bring anyone, you’ll be there anyway.”
Jorden smiled, “I’ll see you later, Kayana, I have to make arrangements for the trip.”
“Jorden, I have to work.”
“No, you don’t.”
“You two argue like an old married couple,” Kye turned and started walking away, so he didn’t see the confused expressions on their faces.
“Jorden, I really can’t go. I’m not like you; I can’t just drop everything at the first sign of pleasure and go play.”
“I realize that, which is why I asked my parents to let you off for a while so you can go on the trip with me.”
Kayana sighed and put her hand to her head, “Jorden, I’m not your equal, you should be going with someone more in your social standing.”
Jorden stepped toward her.
“Jorden, please go without me, I don’t want to go.”
Jorden held his hand a few inches from her cheek, “Then why are there tears in your eyes?”
Kayana turned away.
“Kay, I want to go with you. I’m almost twenty-one, they’ll want me to take my year in the army soon. Please,” he took her hand, “go on this trip with me. You’re my most steady friend and soon I won’t be able to see you very often.”
“Alright, just this once, but after that I have to come straight back, the harvest is coming and I have to be here to-“
Jorden’s laughing stopped her, “We have other workers, my parents can do fine without you for a few days.”
“When is the trip?”