Rise in the Arena (Part 1)

Prologue

 This book might contain mistakes, but what is a life if not governed by mistakes; Mistakes which give feelings of embarrassment, remorse and sadness. But there are also good mistakes which turn us into heroes.

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Rise in the Arena

Andrei Gavrila

Prologue

            It was a hot morning. The weather hasn’t been this hot since the old Crusades. The sun was in its highest point now, the dirt was hot and there was no fresh air. The people of Volkas village were hit hard by the summer. Everybody was looking for a place of shade, all the dogs were panting and most of the cats were napping.

            The village was in the middle of Kronos Field, a field where one of the greatest Crusades had taken place. The village had its own hero too, his name was Sir Triso Fairlad. They built a wooden statue of him in the middle of the village after he took a last stand against the forces of the Furvus Kingdom. But the statue burnt away and they never built a new one.

            Usually the fields around Volkas were full of farmers harvesting their crops, but now they were all at the local inn, drinking a cup of cold and refreshing ale, or some might have been inside the village church, its stone structure was the perfect place during hot summers. The old ladies of the village took their sons and grandsons at Old Granny’s house. Old Granny was an old woman known to the children by her delicious pumpkin pies, but to the elders, she was known as Old Granny the Wise. She gave the best advice, but still no one knew how old she was. Inside her house, the elders talked about adventures, while the children played inside or ran outside in the hay fields.

            On her back porch, a fair headed, tall, young man, in his late twenties, was leaning on the wooden railing watching the Kronos Castle, on the hill in the distance. The Castle was famous for its giant clock which told the exact time, date, and year. The wonderful thing about it was that it didn’t have a gear that worked it; instead some speculated that it worked with magic, since no one entered inside the clock due to the fact that there was no door.

            Behind the young man on the porch a young woman came. Her hair was as golden as the sun and her face was shining in the morning sun, with her light blue eyes. She went closer to the man, and then she touched him on the back and looked upon him.          

“What is troubling you dear.” she asked in a calm tone

            The man turned around making the woman take her hand off him. He looked to the ground with a darkened face.

            “I don’t know sis. It seems like my whole life passed so fast, I’m getting older, and I can’t stop it.” said the man.

            “You should come inside, Old Granny might have some advice for you.” suggested the woman, still in a calm tone.

            “Yes, she will tell me that I have a fiery tree inside my head and the only way to stop it is to travel to Kronos Mountain and pray to the…” the man took a deep breath “I’m sorry sis, she can’t help me.” said the man knowing Old Granny’s advices and children stories. Then he suddenly gave a laugh remembering an old story he heard from her when he was a child.

            “Where is father? Maybe he can help you.” the woman suggested.

            “He went to the Castle to discuss two things with the king, one of them about the drought. He already knows of my problem.”