The Quest of the Living Water - Castle of Shining Light

Chapter 1: Awakening

It was a morning of perfection as Nick lay on the bench outside Barker’s drugstore. Trees swaying in the mid-morning breeze were accompanied by the sun shining down on his handsome form. Many a girl had their eyes drawn to the young man lounging in the heart of town, dark curls gently being caressed by the breeze, startling blue eyes turned towards the sky.

20 years ago, however, the day hadn’t been this pleasant at all.

Storms had attacked the city, uprooting trees and flipping carriages and caravans off the road. That was where Nick’s parents had been at the time, in a carriage on their way home from Praeston, a town to the North. The carriage had been flung from the path into a tree, killing his father and the carriage driver instantly. His mother, however, had managed to haul herself and her 4 year old out of the doomed vehicle just in time. She had succumbed to her bruises 48 hours later in the city medical facility.

When the storm had finished ravaging the city, many children had been left homeless and had been gathered and cared for by a trust that was formed for that purpose. And here he was, 24 years old, mourning over his parents with the entire city. All shops were closed for the day, so he dragged his feet back to his house on Dome Street.

The house his parents had left him was enormous, 3 rooms on each of the 2 storeys, since their staff had quarters on the ground floor itself. In fact, this was one of the houses that was used to provide shelter to the homeless children after the storm and it had been renamed to Salvan which meant “Saviour” in the local language. His job as the co-owner of Barker’s paid enough to live comfortably but Nick had never been able to shake the loneliness that the house brought. No girlfriend had ever been able to chase it away and gradually, he had stopped trying, accepting the fact that he was probably meant to be alone for the rest of his life.

Fate laughed as she shifted her eyes to another.

Oblivious to the attention, 2 towns to the west, Regina slammed the door.

“Regina, sweetheart!”

“No”

“We just want to talk”

“Well, I don’t”

Her father sighed wearily and pinched the bridge of his nose outside the door. How was anyone supposed to convince his headstrong daughter that her career choices would definitely be frowned upon in the town. Not that that would deter her in the least. She was nothing if not stubborn and determined, and those were good attributes for a warrior he supposed. That’s what she wanted to do anyway.

He looked at his wife of 23 years, smiling sympathetically. “Maybe you should let her”, she said.

“I just..”, he sighed again, “I don’t want her to be ridiculed for her choice. I respect her, I really do, but the Governor’s men do not”

“Don’t care”, came the voice from the other side of the door. Her mother smiled as the door swung open to reveal the obstinate 21 year old. Her dark hair was secured in a tight, almost military bun and her dark eyes exuded determination as she looked unflinchingly into her father’s eyes.

“Respect is to be earned and I cannot expect it from those I barely know. I will try again next month and they might be impressed by my perseverance. Isn’t that what you taught me?”

“Yes, sweetheart, but the Governor’s men are pigs. They do not look at women as warriors and might never agree. Do you want to while away your life on a career that might never be realised?”Her father pleaded.

“That is my choice to make”, the girl raised her chin defiantly and ended the discussion by going back into her room and closing the door.

She made her way to her dressing table and caught a glimpse of herself in the full length mirror. Military tights and a tunic made up her simple attire, her face devoid of any makeup. Sighing, she was just about to take off her garments when the whole world seemed to tilt to the right and she stumbled, grabbing on to her dresser to steady herself. Once the sensation had passed, she rushed out to see if her parents were alright and stepped foot on sand. Sand?

She looked around,confused and made to reach for her catapult, only to remember that she had left it at home, however far that was. She wondered if she was dreaming, if someone had drugged her into compliance and quickly voted it out since she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything outside of her own home. She was saved by further thoughts by a shadow falling over her on her left. And suddenly, everything went blank.