Hero of Ranora

Chapter One

Chapter 1

Seventeen years later...

Black clouds covered the dark sky, blocking any light that might have been streaming down. The plants were all dead, and the livestock was ill. Down in the town of Nayree, however, they had worse problems than dying crops.

Their people were being slaughtered, day after day, by imperial officials. The people were not told what they had done to deserve this fate. In many of their eyes, having to see their neighbors and friends brutally killed was worse than dying.

However, the day before the current one, the imperials had said that they would be back with an alternative end to the torture. This news had all of the villagers fired up and excited. Their people had been oppressed far too long.

The townspeople all flocked to the village square, hoping that they could escape the horrible fate of those who had fallen just days before. Imperial soldiers rode upon black horses, trampling over anyone in their way. The Imperial commander led his army toward the town square, not caring that innocent villagers were being killed in all the chaos.

The commander began to speak above all the noise. "Villagers of Nayree, my Emperor has sent me here once again, due to suspicion that your kind are hiding an unauthorized fledgling mage. If any of you have seen suspicious activity, it is mandatory that you report to either me, or my men." This statement led to curious murmurs from the crowd. "If nobody comes forth and gives us the location of this 'mage' within one day- cycle, I will have no other option but to graze this community to the ground." This led to cries of outrage from all of the villagers.

“Wait a minute!” One man shouted. “You say that you are giving us a choice of whether or not we live or die. However, contrary to what you may suspect, we are not harboring a fugitive mage. Therefore, you are giving us no choice but to die.” The man said bravely.

“Just who do you think you are?” The imperial man seethed. The brave man looked the commander straight in the eye, unblinking.

“I am the village leader,” The brave man replied. “and you have no authority over me. I say kill me if you want, but just remember, it was I who made the choice to die. There is no honor in killing, but there is honor in sacrifice.” Everyone was quiet, apparently moved by their leader’s speech.

The commander chuckled. “Of all the idiotic things to say,” He began. “you choose to say that I do not have any power over you. I’ll bet you’re real proud of yourself, aren’t you?” The commander challenged. The brave man did not reply. “Oh, I get it,” The commander said mockingly. “You think that you are an individual! Well, here’s a thought, peasant! I own you! All of you! You are beneath even the animals!”

The commander drew his sword and thrusted it forward, impaling the village leader. The commander got down from his horse and began to stride through the streets of Nayree. The townspeople trembled in fear, many of them knowing what would happen next.

The commander signaled to his troops, and then gave a mighty shout. “This town shall be destroyed without further notice! Had you not been so foolish, you might have stood a chance to live. But no longer!" With those words, the commander lifted his sword above his head and screamed. Several dark-mages from the imperial army began chanting an incantation.

"IKA-SCHLOM-SHAKARRRA-IRREDERA-SHLORMNANOR!" As the chanting came to a halt, bright flames began rising out of the ground, consuming everything but the imperials and the dark mages. The townspeople shrieked and cried, knowing that these were their last few moments on Ranora. The commander cackled with delight through the whole event.

"IKA-SCHLOM-SHAKARRRA-IRREDERA-SHLORMANOR-IKA-SCHLOM-SHAKARRRA-IRREDERA-SCHLORMANOR-IKA-SCHLOM-SHAKARRA-IRREDA-SCHLORMANOR!" The mages continued chanting until the town was completely destroyed, with no people or building is sight. Small flames flickered from the piles of ash that had been a thriving community just minutes before.

         The commander looked down upon the ruins and sighed. "Well, men, our work is done for today. Tomorrow, however, we must find that mage. If we go back empty-handed, the emperor will have our heads." The men all muttered to each other under their breath. "Silence!" The commander cried. "You must follow orders, or we're all dead!" At this, they all grew silent.

                .....................................................................

The commander was wrong in assuming that there were no survivors. If he had stayed just moments longer, he would have noticed a sudden movement in the ground. The ground shook lightly for a moment, and then, with no warning, it busted open, spraying bits of rock and granite everywhere. Amidst all of the rubble was a boy. More accurately, a young man.

His short, brown hair was littered with rubble and charred bits of wood. His face was filfthy, as if he hadn't bathed in days. He was dressed in nothing but rags, giving him the appearance of a beggar-boy. He felt victorious for a moment. He had survived the explosion!

But then he felt ridden with guilt. His entire village had gone down because of him. It wasn't his idea, of course, but his friends and neighbors had offered their lives for his. At first, the boy refused to just hide until he was safe, but the village leader insisted that the boy had to live, no matter what the cost was.

The boy looked down at the ashes and dirt; the only remnants of what used to be his home and his friends. Everyone and everything was gone, lost because of his abilities.

The boy took a deep breath, and began to expand his energy. In just mere moments, before his very eyes, stood the town, looking exactly as it had before, minus the people. They want me? Fine! They shall know that the one they are after is none other than the lost son of their insane emperor!

The boy, Derrik, had never felt hatred toward another human being... until now. He knew that he could never again rest easy until he showed the empire who was stronger, and he intended to do just that.