A Hero's Story Ch. 01-03

Beginning

In a land created by nature and forged by man, a terrible darkness was spreading across it. This darkness was destroying the creations of nature and forgery done by the people, it was obliterating the terrain. There is one town it hadn't gotten to yet, for that town was too close to the source, Prime Village. There lives a young man, and destiny will soon take a hold of his name, and he will become the savior.

Chapter 1: Training

"Ken! Ken wake up!" A voice called to the young man.

"I'm up mom, give me a sec!" He replied. He got up, dragging himself to the closet looking for some clean clothes to wear.

"Hmm. Should I wear the red shirt? No. I know this one, and these." He picked out a black shirt and light brown pants.

"Ken, hurry up! Breakfast is ready!" his mother called to him again, irritated with his sluggish behavior.

"I'm comin' Mom!" Ken ran down the stairs, almost falling as he glided down into the kitchen. He sat himself down at the table, noticing the eggs and bacon greeting him. His mother joined him and sat down to eat her breakfast as well.

"You know mom, today is the last day of school," Ken told her as he began to eat his food.

"I've noticed, and I'm glad that it's nearly over, seeing as how you've been sword-fighting with that crazy old man for three years now, it's about time you graduated.

"Well I'll take that as a compliment I guess, but I gotta go or I'll be late, I'll be home in about an hour ok mom?" He got up and took his dishes to the sink, "Bye mom." he shouted as he made his way to the door.

"Bye honey," she replied, "have a nice day!" His mother waved goodbye to him as he ran to his teacher's house.

Ken ran as fast as he could to his master's training ground, hoping that he wouldn't be late for his arrival. He ran through the town park as birds scattered to get out of his path, the fresh aroma of sweets and pastries filled his nostrils as Ken sped by the bakery, he tore through the crowd of people in the bazaar, trying to push them out of his way. Finally, he got to the corner where the training school was. Ken took his mark, got set, and flew to his master's house with all his speed!

As Ken entered the place, he took one last glance at everything he was about to leave, and in the center of the fighting ring, he saw his master, Master. Jean.

"Ah Ken, you were almost late, I dare not bore you with a scolding, so let us get down to business, shall we?" Jean drew a wooden sword and tossed one to his pupil. Ken caught it and they stared each other down; both of them knew this could end with failure or success, neither of them wanted it to end in failure.

Suddenly, Ken dashed towards his master with great speed, and attacks were traded between the two of them. Neither Ken nor Jean gave up as each of them was taking their strikes like flies on their skins. The battle lasted for what seemed like an eternity to both, as they were becoming exhausted from the fight. As one last attempt Jean aimed to jab Ken in the stomach. From his training, Ken learned to dodge this and countered his attack with several blows to the chest, knocking the swordsman down in an instant.

"Very good, Ken," Jean said as he arose, "I'm glad that you finally graduated from this school. I'll look forward to doing battle with you again in the future, but until that time we cannot make small talk. You must get going to the house of the elder!"

"Wait, what?" Ken was confused; he wondered what was going on. "Master, Now?" Ken didn't wait for Jean to reply; instead he raced out of the door anxiously.

He ran as fast as fast as his legs could take, even more than that, he knew if the elder wanted a private conversation with him it was going to be important. He nearly flew as he turned the corner into the bazaar, but he saw that this was the busy hour, and it would take forever for Ken to get past all of those people. He thought of an idea, he saw that the heights of the buildings were quite small and a stray rope was hanging from one of the shop stalls. Ken knew this might not work but it would be a lot quicker than trying to rip through that crowd. He climbed up the rope quickly, hoping the less time he was on it, the less chance there was for it to fall. He jumped onto the stall and on top of the nearest roof, and, from then on, he darted across the rooftops and hurdled above the small alleyways.

As Ken walked up to the mansion that housed the elder, he saw the beautiful flowers every color of the rainbow. He went to knock on the door, and, all of a sudden, a terrible headache ran through his mind. He shut his eyes and clutched his head from the pain; it was unbearable, like tens of thousands of electric shocks were running through his brain every split second.

The stinging stopped. As Ken opened his eyes, all he saw was destruction. He looked to the bazaar and saw that there wasnobody. But how? Just a moment ago there was a horde of people that he couldn't even get through. All the shops were torn down, the street was in pieces, and the buildings weren't even full buildings anymore! The flowers were replaced with clumps of infertile soil. He looked back to the elder's house and it was just fragments of the mansion, no walls, no furniture, not even a ground, it was a giant hole!

Chapter 2: A new hero

"Horrible, isn't it?" Ken turned to find an old man standing behind him, it was the elder, and he appeared out of nowhere! "This could all happen someday you know. All of that."

Ken turned and saw everything was back to what it was. People were at the marketplace, the flowers were in bloom, and the buildings and streets were as good as new.

"What just happened here? I swear all of this was just annihilated. There were no houses or anything." Ken was getting nervous and though he was telling the truth, he himself knew none of that just happened, but whatdidhappen?

"That was only an illusion, young one. None of that happened." The elder humbly smiled and entered his house, leaving the door open for Ken to follow.

As he walked into the elder's house, he found a scene full of beautiful vases, rugs, and artifacts from other lands that Ken couldn't even imagine. He didn't dare touch any of it for he felt if he did, they would shatter in his clumsy hands, so he merely gazed at all of the gorgeous surroundings.

"Please, have a seat my child," the elder pointed to a couch as Ken took a seat in it. "Would you like some tea? Or do you wish to talk now?"

"Umm I would rather talk about this now; I want to know what's going on," Ken said, nervous about the fact that not many people spoke to the elder alone. If they did it was a serious matter.

"I see. Well, I will tell you right now. You are the one chosen to save this world." His face turned quite serious after revealing that information.

"Excuse me?" Ken was a bit surprised at that last comment. "How am I supposed to save the world? I'm only fifteen! I'm not even old enough to save the world; that's for older guys, it's like a rule!"

"If you do not help now, earth will be wiped out. I've watched you, you've made it clear you've wanted to be an importance to this town, now be an importance to everyone alive, Ken!"

Ken calmed himself down. It was true; he did want to be an important person, and saving the world may be a good way to earn that title. But, was he ready? Could he actually be a hero?

"OK, tell me how am I mixed up in this? What happened for me to be the only one who can be the big brave man?" Ken was curious by the fact that after twenty years of this whole age of shadows, Ken was the only one who would go to destroy the source of the problem.

"You aren't the only one who's tried to help. Exactly one year before you were born, a man by the name of Damien went to the temple behind the town which was where the foundation of the unholy power comes from. He took with him a sword that was forged only to destroy whatever was raising havoc. He set off that day and we all saw him enter the temple, yet he never came out. We all heard roars from what could only be a monstrous beast. On the day you were born, a massive black castle appeared from the land, and it emitted even more unholy energy, turning most of the world into a wasteland. Now that you have undergone the same training as Damien, and even defeated Jean, that was the last bit of proof we needed that you were destined to become the savior." The elder was hoping that Ken would do this, for he was the last hope.

"I'm sorry, elder, but, honestly, I don't believe in destiny. I make my own path." Ken stood up and faced the elder, he had a choice to make, and he knew which one it was going to be. "I can't, I just can't see how I could. How could I just sit back and let anything demolish my home? I'll take care of whatever's causing this and I'll slice its head off!" He then put his fists on his hips and looked over his shoulder with a confident look. He was ready to do whatever it took to save his home.

"There are great difficulties," The old man exclaimed. "You must now be prepared to travel across the land, the great Force Of Winds guards the fortress to the evil."

"I've read books; I just get the Orb of Winds to repel the force." Ken said proudly.

"Ah, but the Tower Of Winds is guarded by the forces of Lightning, Fire, Forest, and Water." The elder said with despair.

"So how do I get to the tower that's guarded by the four other elements?" His face was shaped into that of concern and confusion.

"You Ken, must travel across the land to the Four Towers of Elements to hold the orbs that will protect you against their forces." The old man said, giving Ken a map of the land titled: Noble

"So how do I obtain the orb of the element?" He asked, taking the map.

"At the top of each tower lays an orb of that element, use those as proof to repel the force."

"Well elder, let's go. There's no way I'm letting anything destroy my town!"

"That's great!" the elder stood up and clapped his hands, "Let's go get your weapon of choice!" The elder then waved his hand and then, instantly, both of them were in a giant bubble! It headed out and over the mansion towards the temple behind the town. As they got closer, Ken realized how big this temple was, it was gigantic!

The two set down in front of the ancient structure and the bubble popped right under their feet. Ken stared in awe at the great building; great pillars raised from the ground twice the size of the biggest trees. There were plenty of steps to walk up, and they were huge! Even for a dragon to walk up!

"Ken," the elder called, "I'm sorry but this is as far as I can guide you, only you may step into the palace and beyond. Farewell." And with that, the old man vanished out of sight.

Ken traveled up the giant steps and ventured into the shrine. It was bare. The shrine was a mess; large pieces of the walls fell out, and the floor was full of holes, but one thing remained untouched, a closed wooden door. It seemed to have a faint glow to it.

Ken walked to the door, keeping his eyes focused on it. As he put his hand on the door, a surge of energy ran through him. He pushed the door open. As Ken peeked inside, the whole room was dark. There was but one spot with light, and there he saw the sword; it was stuck in the ground, waiting to be pulled from its stone prison. He stepped through the door and slowly walked towards the sacred blade.

Ken grabbed the hilt and another surge of energy ran through his body, only this time it was more powerful. It was at that instant that the young man seized the sword, and in one swift heave, he pulled the sword from the ground and wielded it in his own hands. He studied it as it lay in his palm; the crimson hilt had jewels embedded in it, four rubies and, in the center, a magnificent pearl that changed faintly from color to color.

He snapped away from his trance and saw that there was another door that lead into the forest. Ken found the casing to the sword and hung it from his back. He sheathed his sword and took to the new journey ahead.

Chapter 3: Demons

With his newfound sword and knowledge of where he must go, Ken stepped into the Santo Woods, a forest filled with demons and fiends of indescribable nature.

As the hero paced through the woods, roars and howls haunted him. He kept walking, ignoring the creatures that taunted him, until he heard a growl that sounded threateningly close. He peered behind himself and saw a pair of red, devil-like eyes following him. He turned around and decided to take the beast head-on. When Ken saw the creature emerge from the shadows, he saw that he was fighting something considerably larger than what he expected. The monster was a gargantuan. It was a demonic wolf with a body the size of a dragon's, and teeth that could chomp through a tree with ease.

The creature went for Ken with one quick bite. He jumped out of the way just in time. Ken saw, as the wolf pulled up, the crater it left in the ground. He knew this monster was primitive, and he knew how to kill it. Ken ran from the beast and it followed, destroying everything in its path. He stopped and quickly turned around, running behind the giant fiend. It came to realize Ken was behind it, but it was too big to turn around quick enough. Ken took advantage of this and ran up the demon's back and onto its head. He took hold of his sword, but instead of slaying the monster, he grabbed hold of its fur and held the blade at the side of its head.

"Demon! I know you can understand my words! Take me to the Tower Of Forest, or you'll be missing half your skull!" he yelled with an overpowering authority.

"I answer to no human!" the wolf replied, still at the mercy of its new master.

Ken nudged his sword into the skin little by little, making the wolf bleed.

As Ken rode the wolf out of the woods, he saw an outstanding city, with bronze structures. He turned to his map and saw where he was; the city Elth: The Magician City.

"Stop at that city wolf!" He shouted, looking for a response.

"I am not your friend human! Nor your servant!" The demon howled back, "I am taking you to the tower, and that is it!"

As the wolf said that he suddenly fell, launching Ken forward into the ground.

"What happened?" Ken asked himself, looking to the wolf's position. What he saw was odd yet terrible; the wolf was being attacked by a small dragon.

"Oh hell, that's a Fira!" Ken got up quickly, concerned for the wolf. The creature was standing upright slashing at him with bloody claws.

"Get away from him!" Ken shouted, drawing his sword, the beast was not as large as the wolf, giving Ken a better shot at its enormous head.

The dragon-like monster gave an annoying laugh, and with psychotic eyes it slashed at him, tearing his shirt. Ken rolled between the Fira's legs, and made a quick attempt to gash its right leg, making the fiend kneel down. With that he ran up to face it and saw its devilish glare. He thrust his sword into its eye, heaving his blade upward, killing the beast as it hit the ground.

Ken looked to the wolf and saw it struggling to stand; the wounds were heavy, yet bearable.

"I thank you human, for saving my life." The wolf said, now standing at its fullest

"It's the least I could do; besides, I lead you to this place." He replied, mounting the enormous beast.

"My name Oden, leader of the Santo Woods." The wolf said proudly.

"I am Ken, the one destined to save the world." He replied.

The two just left it at that and went to the city of Elth, what awaited them, was something surprising.