• Prologue

    “Are they alright?”

    “Who are you?”

    “I will protect them”

    “Why?”

    “Where am I?”


    He felt like he was falling for hours. It wasn’t a fast fall. It was like falling through a deep, dark pool of water. The only differences were that he couldn’t move forward, and he could still breathe.

    Suddenly, he felt something solid beneath me. he looked down, but there was still only darkness. There was nothing around him.

    Before he could react, a bright burst of light shone beneath him. A wave of white birds swept around him, and what appeared to be a stained glass piece was below him.

    “The search for truth begins with a single step, now take it.”

    He couldn’t find the source of the voice, but couldn’t find the will to speak himself. After a deep breath, the boy lifted his left leg, and took a confident first step.

    “Well done… but anyone can take a first step. Only those with strong hearts will thrive…”

    A spiraling staircase appeared near the edge of the platform, and the boy ran up it without hesitation. At the top was a second stained glass piece. At that moment, he realized that he forgot to examine what was on the first platform. Before he could examine what was below him, the ominous voice started speaking again.

    “Your weapon defines you. It is an embodiment of your spirit.”

    At that moment, 3 stone pedestals appeared around the boy. The first held a sword on top of it, a shield on the second, and a staff on the third.

    Instinctively, he went for the shield first.

    "The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this what you choose?”

    He grabbed the shield, and started to examine it. It was a fairly light shield, but solid enough to hold its own in battle. On the back were two leather straps to wrap around his arm. He quickly attached the protection over his left arm, before a tremor caused the pedestals to crack, and another set of stairs to appear. There appeared to be a beam of light at the top of the stairs.

    As he approached the top, he could see a silhouette in the beam of light. Even though he couldn’t make out any details, he would recognize her anywhere. Why was she here?

    Even as he got closer to her, she just stood there with her head down, eyes closed, and her hands behind her back.

    As soon as his feet left the stairs, they vanished into thin air, leaving just him and the girl. He started to reach out to her, but quickly reclined, when a dark hand reached back. It wasn’t her silhouette in the beam of light. It was some kind of shadow. It lifted its head and lifted its eyelids to reveal deep red eyes. In a slow graceful motion, it pulled a blade from behind its back and took a vertical slice at his head. Out of instinct, the boy managed to deflect the blow with the shield and take a defensive stance. The battle continued throughout the entire platform with the shadow dealing blow after blow and the boy shielding himself from them, but his stamina couldn’t hold out, and it eventually struck a successful slash across his chest. He winced and tried to raise his shield, but his body started to feel limp, and he fell to the ground. The shadow raised her hand over him, and a dark portal appeared beneath him. He tried to struggle, but he still felt weak. The last thing he heard was the voice again.

    “Be wary of those you trust.”

    “Believe nothing.”

    “Expect Everything.”