Age of Darkness

Chapter 4: My Mind Gets Blown

We kept on walking right until the moon was high in the night sky. We made it through bushes, branches, and trees. Luckily, none of these gave us any trouble. It was extremely tiring and seemed to last forever. We all talked very little. Finally we stopped in clear are sheltered by the tops of the trees. We set up a small fire and made beds out of pine needles, which actually works. It's fairly comfy. We ate some of the dried meat we were able to salvage from our burned up house. And it really was dry, trust me! After that, my grandfather stood up.

''Well, I'm going to go for a walk. I've got some things to check out. I'll let you two get to know each other.'' He got up, without another word, and began walking down a path near our camp. After he was gone, Elizabeth spoke.

''So, why are you here? What are you doing?''

So I explained. I told her about myself and what happened.

''Well, I'm fifteen. My full name's Nicholas Wesley Drake.  I was found on the doorstep of my grandfather's house. So he's not actually my grandfather, but he's the only family I've got. From when I was just a little kid, he taught how to fight with a sword. Then when I was about seven I accidentally knocked down a jar. I panicked. My grandfather saw this. Then suddenly, the jar just floated above the ground. It didn't crash down. It was then we discovered that I had magical powers. He's helped me increase my skills in magic, sword fighting, and hand-to-hand combat since then. After that I lived a fairly normal life. Then, a day ago, two men, James and Cole, came to my house demanding to have me, and saying that ''he'' is back! Now here I am stuck in this freaky forest, trying to hide or make it to some place or something!''

'''The forest isn't too bad, once you get to know it. Hopefully, your grandfather will explain everything soon.''

''Yes. He says he will.''

''Then I better tell you about myself as well, if we're in this together. I'm Elizabeth Faith Storm. I'm fifteen! I once lived with my parents in a village up in the north. When I was about eight, a Shadow destroyed my village and my home.'' For those of you who don't know, a shadow is a purely evil demon that can only be destroyed with light magic. They live to spread terror and destruction. Until then, I had not heard of one being active in my lifetime. They were monsters of old legend.

''That must be terrible...'' I said sincerely.

''It was,'' I could tell she it was not one of her favourite topics. ''It killed my parents. It killed everyone. I was the only one who lived. I would have died there as well, had a woman not saved me. She destroyed the Shadow, banished it to the depths of the earth, she said. She took care of me for months, taught me everything I need to know. Fighting, survival, hunting, basic magic, even just common things. I thought of her as a second mother. Those were some of the best times of my life. Then, when I turned ten, she disappeared. I had nobody again. I was left to fend for myself. I used the skills she taught me, and mastered them. I can fight and survive. She gave me these knives.'' She pulled out the two blades I'd seen earlier.

''So we're quite similar. We both have weird pasts and we're both, well, different.''

''If different is what you want to call it, then yes. I'm still no good at magic. I can just start a fire, at the best of times. I first wandered around, aimlessly. I went as far as the city of Tangea, to the Blue Mountains, to The Village west of here.''

''I come from there.''

''Oh. Interesting. It's a nice place. Quiet.''

''Yes. I miss it already.''

''Then, about a year ago, I settled here. I've wandered the forest since. It's not a bad place once you get to know it. It's grown on me.'' I laughed.

''What?'' She asked.

''Oh. It's a pun. A forest grew on you.''

''Oh.'' She smiled. We sat and talked like that for hours. We talked and laughed and got to know each other. It was great. It was late in the night when my grandfather returned.

''It is as I feared. They are already reviving him. Things are going too fast.''

''What, grandfather? We don't know anything you're talking about!''

'' Oh, Nicholas. I should have told you a long time ago. I should have told you everything.''

''Then speak.''

''About thirty-five years ago a boy was found on my step, like you.''

''Strange.''

''Yes. And I took him in. I called him Michael. I raised him and taught him everything I knew. He became a powerful fighter in magic, with a sword, and hand-to-hand. I was proud of him. But I pushed him too hard. He joined the Altarian army. He rose through the ranks, became a Captain. He had a thirst for power, though. In a battle against the Dark Lord of the time, Damus, he faced him. Damus convinced Michael to join him as his general. Michael accepted. I did not know of this. He changed. He became resentful of me, and angry. One day, he snapped. I don't know why to this day. He killed Damus and declared himself Emperor Zirkon, Dark Lord of Altaria. He started a war. It was then I realized I had to end what I had started. It was my fault. I turned him into it. I killed his body and banished his soul to the Dark Realm. This hurt me greatly. It was slightly before this that I found you on my doorstep. I took care of you like my son. I was determined not to make the same mistake twice...''

''It wasn't your fault.'

'''You don't know. It was. I turned him into it. I raised him.''

''And who are James and Cole? Why did James call me The One?''

''James was general of Michael, or should I say, Zirkon's army. When Zirkon was defeated, he repented. He swore he only served him out of fear. He became a friend of mine, in a way. But it seems he has gone back to his old master.''

''And the thing about the One?'' My grandfather sighed.

''It is said that there will be a hero, the One, who will banish evil from the world. I believed Michael to be the One. It's why I pushed him. When he turned evil, I knew I was mistaken. Then you came. I knew you were the One. No one achieves the skills that you have so young. James knows this. He is well versed in the legends of old. I fear that if he knows, so will Zirkon.''

''So our mission is to stop Zirkon?''

''Our mission is to stop James and his apprentice from reviving Zirkon before it's too late. That is why I left. I went east, towards the Tower of Ages, an old home of the kings and queens of old. This is where James is attempting to bring back his old master. I discovered that he is achieving this faster than I originally believed. It is why he wanted you. A sacrifice to bring back Zirkon. He will have to find a new sacrifice, and that is our only hope of getting there on time!''

''How far is it?'' I asked.

''A days journey.''

''Ok.'' My mind was boggled. I had to figure this all out.

''We must leave tomorrow, at the break of dawn. Elizabeth, will you still go on with us?'' She had listened intently at all we had said.

''I will.''

''Good. Then we leave early tomorrow. Now rush off to bed. Get some sleep. You'll need it.'' I had no problem with that. I said good night to my grandfather and Elizabeth and lied in my pine needle bed. I didn't expect to get much sleep that night. I had many things to figure out. I was in shock. I had much to dream about, anyways, even if I did manage to sleep.

So, did it blow your mind?!!! It blew mine when it came to it. So there's a small backstory to this interesting adventure and it's interesting characters. You want more of a backstory? Maybe I'll write a prequel when I'm done the original trilogy!