Southern-Realm Saga - Origins of the Prodigy

Chapter 1 - Life In Paradise

You know what I find to be the funniest thing about being young? When you are young you have dreams, dreams of having fame and fortune. You have dreams of boldly wandering into a world of mystery while searching out paths to acquire the things you hold most dear. When you are young you can be anything you want to be without anybody standing in your way to stop you. When others try to tell you your dreams are foolish and unrealistic, you would simply turn a blind eye and say, "I don't care what you think." What was your childhood dream? What did you desire most in the world? My childhood dream was simple, I wanted to become the best farmer in the Southern Realms - just like my father.

Sadly, as we grow older the pains and sorrows of life slowly entangle us like thorns entangle a flower. The thorn in my side was Asamati, a magical wizard-type creature from the Northern Realms. When I was but a child, Asamati united the long-divided tribes of the north and formed a dreaded army called the Northern Mongrels. He proceeded to conquer 5 major neighboring city-states. The Southern Realms thought the tyrant's thirst for bloodshed had been appeased, but we were sorely mistaken. He has recently conducted raids on small towns along our border, which is his way of telling us that he is ready for a fight. In response, the Southern Realms appointed Sir Jackson, one of the most well-known warriors in the land, to be their marshal. As marshal, Sir Jackson immediately drafted troops from every corner of the Southern Realm to fight against Asamati – including young people from my hometown of Konijo.

While the Southern Realm is drafting its young adults to sacrifice themselves fighting against the bloody scoundrel, I am not yet prepared to die. Quietly packing my things, I snuck out of my parent's house, mounted my horse, and rushed into the night not knowing where I was headed. All I knew was I was not going to fight and die in this war. I consider myself a pacifist. Killing people never solved anything, and I did not want to die at the end of a blade. After considering my limited options, I decided to venture south by boarding a ship to the Island of Desires where I could waste my life away living provocatively and not worrying about the misfortunes of life. Upon reaching the port town of Tikeli, I looked frantically for a ship headed to the Island of Minyoti, which in the native language of the Southern Realms means Island of Desire. Unfortunately, all the passenger ships were currently being utilized in the war against the wretched Asamati. Alternatively, I decided to board a smuggler ship which commonly traveled between the Island of Desires and the port of Tikeli to sell specialty illegal "drugs" on the black market. Boarding the ship, I spent several weeks on the vessel as it sailed off to my new home – a place where I could truly live out my youthful passions. Nobody was going to tell me what to do or how to live out my life, I was going to be whoever I wanted to be.

My voyage was fairly calm; I spent my days swabbing the deck of the ship and helping out with other menial tasks while testing out the drugs with the rest of the crew at night. Smoking them was very soothing for the soul; though they were very addictive. One night as I smoked the specialty drug and had a beer, a weird pain gripped my stomach and I had a hard time breathing. I quickly excused myself, rushed up to the deck to get some fresh air, and fainted on the spot. I was out cold the whole night, which was a common experience when smoking the drug that I had smoked, but what was extremely unusual was the vivid dream I had that night.

In the dream I was in a tropical Island paradise with no signs of civilization. The sun was so bright I could barely make out anything immediately in front of me. Suddenly from out of nowhere I heard hundreds of ships hitting the rocky shores of the island. The sunlit paradise turned dark and the sun turned into a pale red moon while the stars began falling from the sky. Peering at the rocky shores, I was able to make out thousands of shadows emerging from the boats and moving their way toward me. I started running from them toward the tropical forest, I couldn't move. Having no idea what to do, I became extremely nervous and sweated profusely as I cried for help. Feeling a strange hand grip my shoulder, I was even more overwhelmed with fear. A dark figure put his hand over my mouth and whispered, "Be quiet and follow me, we have to get out of here fast."