1As a traveler, you stay at many odd inns and taverns and, of course, occasionally out on the road. Tonight, thankfully, you found a small inn on the side of the road, the creaking, dirty sign reading "Inn of Dark Hollow" in almost illegible letters, since the wood had started to rot from the elements.
Simply unable to sleep that night, you stare out of the small window in the room while waiting for the weariness you know is somewhere in your body to catch up with you so you can sleep peacefully. As you're studying the stars and the almost half moon in the sky, you notice things start to become hazy. Surprised, you turn your gaze back to the landscape and, sure enough, a blanket of fog is starting to cover everything. It's more of an eerie fog—thick, so you can't see more than a few feet in front of you, but it glows because of the light from the waxing moon. The fog swirls around oddly, allowing moonbeams to penetrate occasionally.
Quite suddenly, you hear trumpets, cutting clear through the fog, alerting everyone of noble presence. But even though you can hear them, you cannot see them, and they sound muted and far away. The next second, you can't be sure if you heard them at all. Softer, but closer, comes a slightly different answering call, but they have a more delicate sound than the trumpets and manage to find out eerily, sending shivers up and down your spine. A soft repetitive sound like falling horse hooves crescendo until they sound right next to your window. All the while that they came closer, your fear mounts. What's out there in the fog?
Abruptly, the for clears and there is a man atop a mighty pure black stallion, staring straight at you. A wind gently blows a red velvet cloak around him, but doesn't soften his blank stare with his cold, colorless eyes and dark hair, resting at his shoulders when the wind stopped. At first, there was a mad terror within you, but faded as curiosity grew around this majestic person, sitting on an equally motionless mount.
As your curiosity continues to build, the man turns his horse and they slowly walk away as it starts to rain, gentle patters on the hard packed ground. You stare blankly for a moment at the retreating figure, then run out after the, You don't know why, but you feel you must follow to understand this strange person.
However, he seemed to have vanished into thin air. Filled with a desperate and empty feeling, you being searching, Again, you hear the sound of a horse in the background and rush to find it. You finally find the main, still on his horse. Not daring to make a sound, you follow him silently. You fear, however, that as he breaks from the road to follow andunseen trail in the forest lining the mian road, that your footsteps will be heard.
As the horse picks up it's pace, so do you, determined to stay on the trail of who you assume enow, bu the way he rides his well trained stallion, is a lord of some sort. The horse breaks into a fast canter, and you fun full speed to keep up.
Suddenly, they slow quickly until they are walking again, and the lord slides from the saddle and looks around anxiously, looking for something as he enters a small natural clearing from the trees.
A delicate looking woman emerges, seeming to be glowing in the moonlight and her soft white flowing dress. The lord, seeming relieved, sweeps her into a hug, whispering softly in her ear. She murmurs back words, but you can't make out the words, just their soft, musical voices.
As he reluctantly draws back, the woman looks in your direction, then stars straight at you. Her eyes, just as blank as the lord's, make you shiver again. Her lips move, and the lord spins around, staring at you as well before swinging himself into the saddle and galloping off.
Confused, you turn around to see yet another man on a horse, racing after the lord. You turn back to ask the woman what on earth is going on, since she's already spotted you, but she's already gone. For reasons you can't explain, you chase after the two men, scared for the lord.
The second man's horse keeps lurching forward, nipping at the lord's stallion's tail while the man swings a sword, but each time they just barely miss. The lord steals a glance behind him at his pursuer, and in doing so almost knocks himself out of the saddle. His faithful horse rights him and the chase continues. Suddenly, the creature stumbles, swaying into the forest on the side of the road. The man giving chase stops, standing in the stirrups to get a better view, and you both wait anxiously to see what happens, holding your breath. You think you hear something, and the man nudges his horse forward…
And then the lord and his horse break through the trees a few yards down the road, his lady seating behind him. The lord waves cheekily at you both before the horse turns and they gallop down the road vanishing into the fog at the end.
I KNOOOW! I disappeared for a very long while. I'm terribly sorry about that..I don't have any other excuse than I haven't written anything. I finally did, though!
The story behind this is The Phantom of Dark Hollow is a song that we played in band for our competitions. I was always sort of thinking that there was some story buried in the music somewhere, but it wasn't until a trombonist accidentally referred to some eighth notes as raindrops before I finally could form what I kept thinking of into words. Currently, I'm undergoing some MAJOR computer issues, but as soon as I get these cleared up, I was going to try to post the video of the song on the infamous YouTube...So I'll get around to that eventually, and perhaps you can see things better when accompanied by a soundtrack. :)
Anyway, I hope all of you are enjoying the closing to the school year...(Yes! I'm FINALLY going to be in high school! XD) Toodles for now!
-Kaggr