Its Secret

Part I- The Warrior

Dusk surrounded me, literally. The "men with long arms" were everywhere. They worked for Skilyn, the evil fox. Her men engulfed me in their circle of pain and agony, purposefully stabbing me. YOU HAVE NO PURPOSE I thought bitterly. All of a sudden, an explosion of light, silencing the entire forest.

I heard a voice "I will find you"

That was five years ago. Now I am fourteen and live in the small village of Karina. I have a long, red scar running down my arm. Nobody has seen the dusk, or Skilyn for that matter, since that day in the woods. On my tenth birthday I found an animal. A fire wolf I named Blitzle.

The only reason I haven't told you my name yet is because, in Karina, to know someone's name is to have great power over them. That is why I am one of the greatest warriors of my village.

This year I have been chosen to set fire to the sky above the village with my light sword. Only those who have killed a dusk may do this great honour. I've killed seven. And that was after what transpired in the forest.

I ride Blitzle over to my friend Neil's house. He's not there, but why? I ask his mother. She says he went on an "amazing adventure". Oh my god...I know where he went. A few weeks ago, Neil came to me, acting like he had to get his last words in before he died.

"Last night I had a dream. I was standing in a room and there was a laugh. Not a child's laugh, but the kind of laugh you find when you go underground. That empty, evil, menacing laugh. There were bars, lots of them. Jail cell bars. And a girl, about our age, she was crying. I asked her what was wrong and all she did was let out the most wretched, horrifying, bloodcurdling scream. Then I saw a flash of light and I was back lying in my bed, drenched in a cold sweat.

I knew where he was talking about. It's the abandoned castle across the lake. I had been there, but only once. Even I got freaked out. I grab my gear, hop on Blitzle, and start riding off to the castle.