The Darksield Chronicles

Prologue

Wraith POV

Wraith never expected anything to happen that night. Sure, school had been boring, and returning to the orphanage was supposed to be what he was doing, but he was actually doing the exact opposite. He was running away.

He had already packed all of his belongings (which consisted only of an extra pair of clothes, a water bottle, and a coil of rope that he had bought *cough* stole *cough* from the nearest outdoor store. He wasn't proud of it, but sometimes you had to do what you needed to do to survive). He had gone to the rundown school just like everyone else, but instead of taking the usual route, he had slipped off into the woods. Now he was starting to wish that he had snagged a compass from the outdoor store for one simple reason. He was lost.

He looked around at his surroundings. It was nighttime, and he could start hearing animals moving in the woods. He sighed in relief. No more needing to steal food to survive. Unlike most of the other orphans, he followed a code. Never take from the poor, the helpless, or those who are in need, and to only steal if he had no other choice. He looked down at himself. His clothes (or what could barely pass for clothes) were ripped. His jeans were torn in several places, and the gray sack that the orphanage called a 'shirt' was tattered with holes. He also had no shoes. He sighed. First things first, he thought. Find somewhere to camp. And so, he set off looking for shelter.

He walked for about three hours before he came across a cave. The cave reminded him of the kind dragons would live in. He smiled to himself. He loved dragons. All he could remember before the orphanage was playing games that involved dragons, one game in particular. Legend of Spyro. Wraith had always loved that game, but he never got to finish the third part. His grin faded as he remembered why. He shook his head, refusing to continue the memory of that night when everything came burning to the ground. He shook his head again to clear it and surveyed the cave.

Other than some kind of a hole filled with water near the back, the cave looked like any other cave. He crossed over to the hole and looked down. The water level was just an inch below the ground and was strangely still. He could see his own reflection in it: his blond windblown hair and his eyes still as blue as the sea.

He grinned. But then he noticed something a bit 'off' about the pool of water. It seemed like it was starting to glow. Wraith reached down, bidden by curiosity, and touched the water. Immediately, there was a flash of light, and everything went black.