Alex Crane

Chapter 1

"Wake up. We need to get out of here". I opened my eyes and found myself in low lit and black marble room. A redhead girl with pitch-black eyes, perhaps of my age was helping me to stand on my feet. She wore thick armor which had a bird rising from golden flames etched on it and a naked sword in her hand. She was badly wounded, looked tired and breathless. Before I could say anything, she caught me by the right hand and started striding to the end of the room.

We came out of that gloomy room to enter into a cavernous hall. A legion would comfortably fit into this large hall. It was cold, dimly lit, decorated with the same black marbles and huge pillars on the edges. A large and strange throne was built at the end of the hall. I tried to speak with my companion but she shushed me and pointed to the door beside the throne. We moved through the hall without making any noise, the deathly silence of the place sent chills through my spine. But the silence was suddenly broken by heavy footsteps and followed by a cold laugh.

Seven strange soldiers, wearing black hooded cloaks which covered their body and face entirely, emerged from the darkness with an upright sword and armor which shone faintly in the light would induce fear even in the heart of the bravest. A sneering voice echoed through the hall, "You can outrun my guards, you can outrun me but how can you outrun your fate". A tall, fair, and muscular man with dark brown eyes stepped into the light. With an evil smile on his face, he unsheathed his blade and said, "No matter how far you run, at the end of the day you must face it". And he swung his blade.

I woke up to the sound of the hunter's whistle in the background. I was soaked in sweat and panting heavily. Quite a weird nightmare to start the day, the cold laugh of that man, the image of those stygian soldiers, and the fearful expression on the girl's face were still clear as a crystal in my mind. But all these thoughts were interrupted by the sound of my mother's footsteps ascending to my room.

Pardon me, I might have confused you with my dream, above all, let me introduce myself. I'm Alex Crane. A sixteen-year-old, living with his mother in a small town named White Willow located in the western farthings of Anmar. Though a remote town mainly covered with thick forest and willows making up the large section of woods doesn't sound fun or interesting, the town gets a special outlook when the clouds hailing from the land of forever ice showers and crown the willow with its tender snow. The scenic can take any spectator aback and hence King Azeron, one of the spectators named this town. But the cycle of nature keeps spinning and brings the mighty sun again through its horizon to force the snow into the waters of Zeth and Eon. Though my routine is much simpler than nature, I accompany my mother to her weaving school, spend some time there, have a chat with the travelers from eastern lands, watch military training through the bushes let us keep it as our secret, practice some moves with my wooden sword in the outskirts of the forest and return home before the sun hides behind the mountains.

"Alex! You up son?" my mother pushed the door to watch me sweating profusely, "Are you alright dear?"

"Yes, mother." confirmed I wiping sweat beads off my forehead, "Just a bad dream."

"Well then to improve your mood someone is waiting for you downstairs."

"Who is it?" I asked curiously.

"Come see yourself." And she left the room and me clueless about our mysterious guest.

Even though I had a bad start in the morning, things were turning quickly to my side and evidence for this turn of events was the arrival of my aunt Cathy. Aunt Cathy is my father's elder sister, who works as a medic in the capital city of Avon. She is a tall and fair woman, around mid-fifty with long braided blonde hair and glittering black eyes. Despite her age, Aunt Cathy in her cream-color gown and a brown cloak seemed to cast radiance wherever she went. She was the one who sparked the interest in sword fighting in me and trained me in the initial stages secretly.