Four Journies

The Four Journies

Written By: Awesome People

Prologue

The man’s voice was a hushed whisper as he consulted his advisor, his hazel eyes flashing with something more than a greed for the oppression of a nation. It was pure evil. “The gift has skipped our generation. Curse the old ways, with the powers we could’ve been granted, this world would be mine to control.” A sick grin spread across his face and he turned to his associate. “Striker, we must recruit those with abilities beyond our own. This is not like old times, where the Royal Family is content with ruling half a nation. I order you to take them- or kill them for resisting. I will win this planet out of fear and fear alone. Do you understand me?” He hissed. The cloaked associate nodded, his coal-black eyes filled with malice. Striker would obey. Destruction was his favorite hobby.

“I must go. My daughter will throw a tantrum if I am not there for her knife-throwing lesson. Little Andrea is a prodigy.” The man’s face lit up with pride for his little clone, and he swept out of the room, feeling confident in his plots. Striker left at his heels, he had more work to do as well.

As the doors would’ve swung shut behind the two men, but the boy clutched the handle, taking a few steps into the endless room with observant eyes.

The room was, unlike most of the castle, wide and bright. The eastward wall was covered in stained glass, depicting shimmering blue lakes, lush forests and a giant navy raven, perched thoughtfully on a branch, backed by a sandy beach, sapphire sea and a navy sky. As well as the one color that stood out most in the entire wall- a silver crescent moon. This image was the most recent, in honor of the deceased queen.

The boy’s eyes stayed fixed on the magnificent picture before him. He liked it better then what was painted on the ground below him- a dingy green circle surrounding a brutal battle ship- he despised the royal seal, his father’s choice, of course. The world seemed to be good at massive acts of senseless violence- not that the boy was unfamiliar to it. No. But he tossed the thought away.

Instead of lingering, he made his way to the second most valuable and elaborate object in the room- a map with no glass to protect it, simply a pure gold frame decorated with intricate patterns and inlaid with various jewels of great value. There was also a grand carving of the family’s name. West.

The map covered most of the far wall, a detailed painting of the whole world. Holding his gaze on it, the boy’s heart skipped a beat. The vast expanse of wonderful planet was his to pursue.

The first thing he noticed was the enormity of it. Gematonia was a large place, bigger than most planets discovered by its scientists. But the second thing he noticed were the pins. Individually carved like miniature swords, each with a sharp end and a little hilt. He wondered how long it would take to make one- much less five hundred of these- in each color. Blood-red and robin’s-egg blue. They were stuck like markers in various places. It may have just been his imagination, but to him, the red seemed to be shoving the blue back. Choking it.

He wondered what it meant- he’d never seen the map with these pins before- only the clean earth. Taking one of the blue pins in his hand, he vowed to figure it out- or to ask Andrea about it later to see what she knew(then to debate if he should trust anything Andrea said).

His pondering was interrupted by the swinging of heavy doors and the earsplitting echo of approaching footsteps. “BOY! What in my name are you doing over there?” The boy whipped around to see the man who’d been yelling at him.

He wore flowing robes of silk and velvet, layered like some sort of bizarre, ridiculous fashion trend. His wrists jingled with bracelets and watches incrusted with jewels of many sorts. His air was cocky and arrogant, and he walked stiffly. He was tall and broad, though the boy knew he secretly snuck pairs of platform shoes under his robes to seem more intimidating(he often complained of achy feet). On his chest he bore the royal seal.