Champions of Light: Gaëtano's Sword [Book One]

Part One, Chapter One

An Odd Start

In the beginning, there was only Light, and with that Light, the planet of Keodis was illuminated. Upon Keodis, mountains sharply pierced the sky, and low valleys covered with soft grass and flowers. The wintery North was covered in snow, while the heated South was arid and dry. The cool seas separated the three major continents, the Uncharted South, Eseros, and Uestron. But it was upon Uestron that life began to appear.

In the sky, the Father of Dragons, Azhai, flew slowly above. His great serpentine body and wide wingspan created nighttime over the world as he orbited, watching his planet grow. Light blessed his heart and moved with him and through him. He protected the new life springing up from the ground and surveyed the land.

Azhai fathered the lesser dragons, who would populate the early world. At first, these dragons stayed in the Light, and dared not challenge Azhai. That is, until the Demon.

A serpent as black as night and as treacherous as an assassin, he slithered up to Azhai's gargantuan body and tore a piece of his scales off, using it as fuel for his diabolical plan.

He used the divine power within Azhai's scale along with his own crude power, and created a Taint so deep and corrupt, it scarred the earth and begun to spread to the creatures. The Darkness had come.
The other dragons then became obsessed with power and fought among themselves, causing destruction on the land.

Seeing what had been done, Azhai took pity on his children. Knowing this pestilence would surely kill them, he called to the Light, asking for protection against the Demon. A creature was soon created, mingled with Light, to drive the Demon into darkness in the form of Syrrith.

Now, Syrrith was the smallest dragon of her litter, and being the only one not impressed by the wrathful tendencies of her brothers, she was ridiculed and was thrown into a stream which sucked her into the depths of the mountains. Here, she stayed for thirty years, surviving off mushrooms and clear water. During that time, she discovered her divine-like powers, and was creating somewhat of a life for herself, but in doing so, she broke off one of her scales.

Immediately after the scale touched the rock, the rock sprung into life, and from there, the first Being was born. It was from the Light which dwelled within her, that the Golems came to be, and with their help, a lake of healing waters was created upon the cavern floor. But the Golems didn't last long, rock was never meant for life, and soon, they had all but gone to sleep. However, with a stroke of luck, as Syrrith was attempting to save the last Golems with her fire, a pygmy scurried too close and was changed immediately. From that pygmy, came the first Dwarf, a mix of flesh and rock.

The Dwarves used their mastery of rock and fire to create a magnificent city built into the stalagmites and stalactites of the caverns and thrived. As the new generations came and went, some ventured out of the caves and above ground, where they eventually became men and elves. But before humans could populate the earth and take down all the lesser dragons, the Demon sent his ilk down into the darkness of the caverns and mingle with the dark elves to become the Draekiins. The Draekiins soon took control of the Dwarvern city and all but decimated the Dwarves' ancestors, leaving the city doused in darkness.

It was during this time that, while mankind was creating its first cities, and the Draekiins were thriving, that two distinct objects fell from the sky and plummeted to the ground. They both carried equally opposite families and grounded at entirely opposite areas. The capsule with a woman, a man, a child, and a strange creature landed near the ocean, where a fishing city was growing. While the other capsule with an older man and a babe, was stranded on the craigs of the mountain, piercing into the domain of the Draekiins.

It wasn't long until the older man and his son had brought the power of the Draekiins to face the woman and her husband for revenge against some past wrongdoing. There was a great war, and as the tale goes, it was called the Untold War, named thus, because no human spoke of it for fear of jinxing their luck. A human soldier by the name of Gaëtano, had somehow forced the Draekiins back into their hole underneath the Mountains, wielding a sword of Light. There was some celebration, but the woman and the man, for whom the war had been fought, were forced to bury their child.

It wasn't until twenty-three human years later, that anyone thought about the Draekiins who dwelt underground.

Here, therefore, upon the western continent of Uestron, in a remote countryside within the Raesifiin Empire, and just outside the city of Cyripo, the journey begins when a young man is finishing up his daily duties on his family's farm.

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Straw hung in the air as the young man patted his hands clean off his dirty overall pants. He had just finished rinsing down their family horses after a long day of plowing and had given them their nightly meals as he gently closed the barn door. He was a tall young man, with messy, dark hair, tanned skin, and impossibly stormy eyes. He hummed a tune as he meandered towards the farmhouse.

It was a quaint place, with light yellow boarding, small patio, and a smoking brick chimney. He smiled, seeing the warm lights from the inside welcoming him home. His brother should be home by then, he mulled, coming back from his education.

It was usual that the eldest of the family take over the family business, but it had happened quite naturally that the eldest had requested education, while the youngest thrived in the country. His brother's mutt announced his slow approach, and suddenly, his brother was outside, calling his name more urgently than as a simple hello. Something was wrong.

He broke into a sprint and barged through the storm door and into the aromatic kitchen. His father was on the ground, gripping his chest and struggling for air. The brothers carried him to the couch while their mother prepared a quick remedy.

"What happened?" The youngest asked.

The elder's brown eyes shone with emotion, "I was telling them what I learned today...I showed him this, and he collapsed."

The youngest took the parchment which depicted a strange creature with a call to a quest and a time and place for a meeting with the client written below.

"Christopher, Sean," their father said weakly, and they rushed to his side. "Don't worry about me, I was only shocked. I thought I would never see this monster ever again. If this pamphlet tells of information about him, or calls for a quest to kill him, you must answer it. You must go!"

"Father, calm yourself, it is only a paper," Chris, the eldest said as his mother brought over the tea.

"No, if that monster is still breathing, all of us are doomed. Listen to me, Chris. There is a sword in the basement, get it now." Chris sped downstairs and took only a moment to retrieve the sword. They looked upon it with awe, its shine and sharpness had not dulled over the years of misuse.

"Take it and go." Their father bade.

"Father..." Sean begun.

"No," he interrupted, "both of you must go. Both of you must promise to do this. If you don't, if you fail, all will be for naught." Their mother nodded in agreement. So, they kissed their parents, packed what provisions they might need, and begun their journey into town.