Tales of the Forgotten: Prelude

To look forward to the future, one must not let the past hold them down.

July 29th, 2014 10:18 A.M.

Jacksonville, North Carolina

“Hey little man, how have you been?” he asked awaiting a response, the only response given was the gentle breeze that danced through his hair. “I just wanted to come by and wish you a happy birthday, everybody else wanted to as well but had other things to do. It’s only been six months but it feels like ages have passed since we last saw each other.” the sadness in his voice only deepened as he continued to speak.

“Life has been rough without you but I’ll make it through, besides I have to stay strong for the others. I mean it’s the least I can do, right?” he was interrupted as his phone went off. He pulled out the phone and looked at the large white letters spelling “Honey” with no feeling. He pressed the answer button, “Hey Hun...yeah I’m still here...I know I should be at work...but...alright I guess...bye.” the conversation was short.

He looked back down at the grave again, the plaque placed on the front of it had was engraved with the name of his younger brother who had died. “Sorry bubby, but I’ve got to go. I’ll be sure to come by again some day soon, love you.” he said solemnly before retreating back to his car.

The graveyard was now void of life, all except the large oak trees that stood guard over the deceased. The rustling of the leaves and the gentle breeze along the blades of grass was peaceful, and the world around seemed to be at peace. A singular leaf blew free of its hold on the oak tree above the grave this person had just visited and slowly twirled downwards, landing on the gravestone.

The plaque read, “Here lies Robert Kenneth Rucker, Leader, Brother, Great Friend. Born July 29th, 1996 - Died January 24th, 2014” there was a quote underneath the engraving. “Let not the soul weep in death, for it is only the beginning of a new adventure.”

June 14th, 2017 10:18 A.M.

High Fields, Sayona

“COME ON YOU GIANT BEAST! I KNOW YOU’RE FASTER THAN THAT!” I screamed as another giant claw slowly descended over top of me, I rolled to the left and continued to run. I held my staff in my left hand and sword in right. My hood still covered my face as I continued to circle around the large beast. My job was to rid the countryside of it by any means necessary, even if it meant killing myself in the process.

The large creature was a Drakon that was drawn to the lands in search of a home. It decided to take residence near the Griffin village of Sharptalon. The inhabitants of Sharptalon originally decided to leave the great beast alone but a month after settling in the creature started attacking the village and farms in the surrounding area. While their Dragon brethren were intelligent, the Drakons of the east were not. They were no more than your common wild animal in nature.

He used his tail to swipe at me as I slid under it before popping back up and running underneath it, using my sword to swipe at its soft underbelly. It roared in pain as the sword cut into its stomach, the wound wasn’t deep enough to permanently harm it but enough to temporarily limit its movements. It was all that I needed to get the job done as the beast became enraged. “THAT’S RIGHT YA STUPID BEAST! SHOW ME THAT FIGHTING SPIRIT YOU SEEMED TO HAVE SO MUCH OF EARLIER!” I taunted as it charged at me.

I started to run in the other direction, towards the river. Drakons aren’t made for swimming so if I get it into the water, I’ll be able to climb onto its back and kill it that way. I yelled into my mind.

That’s right! You’ll only have one shot at this Robert! If you get thrown off you won’t get another chance! Zeke yelled back at me as the river appeared a few meters in front of me.

As I started getting closer and closer I counted down in my head. 3… 2… 1… MOVE! I screamed, running to the left as it tried to stop but ended up toppling over into the water of the river. It roared and thrashed around as it flipped over and tried to go to the opposite shore. I promptly used this time to swim out and grab onto the tail as it flailed around. It flung me exactly where I wanted it to, right above its back.

I put my sword above my head and struck with the point downwards as I came down screaming, “THIS IS IT YOU GIANT LIZARD! NOW DIE!” I landed with a loud thud against its hard scales pushing my sword through as hard as I could in the place where its heart was. The Drakon let out a pained roar as it flailed harder for a minute before finally starting to calm down and stop altogether. It took a moment for me to pull the sword out but once I did I walked up its back and started cutting away the scales and muscle so that its skulls was visible.

“Just to make sure.” I proceeded to repeatedly stomp on the skull as hard as I could. It took a few minutes before my foot finally fell through the skull and crushed the brain. The blood gushed out of the skull and out into the water. I stood there panting over my prey, the adrenaline finally starting to fade from me as I felt the pain in my feet and the various gashes and bruises on my body.

“Well, that was certainly a trip. Wouldn’t ya say Zeke?” I asked as he appeared next to me, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts with his hands on his hips. His hair was hung in the same style as mine, a ponytail tied at the base with a piece of string. At least that is the normal hairstyle I have as the string came out earlier on during the battle. His eyes the same gray-blue as well.

He looked at me with a smile before bursting out into laughter. “What? What did I say?!” I exclaimed.

“You should look at yourself! All bloodied up and bruised! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in such bad condition!” he exclaimed joyfully as I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

“Oi, will you ever change Zeke?” I asked rhetorically. “I suppose we better get back to Sharptalon and tell them that we dealt with the Drakon.” I suggested, Zeke nodded his head and dissipated again.

It has been four and a half years since I came here to Equus and yet it still feels like its been so much longer since that day. In those four and a half years I have done things I never could have ever done back on Earth. I’ve seen dragons flying across the sky, I’ve flown in the sky free of a aerodynamic death machine in the grasp of a mythological griffin, I’ve trained alongside a master in the longsword and staff, I’ve spoken to creatures who command the sun and moon, and so much more.

The world around me is abound with things from old Greek mythology of my world and much more. It’s abundant in pure magical energy that creatures of this world can manipulate to care for the world around them. It’s just astonishing to think of where I am now compared to just 5 years ago.

I laughed at the thoughts running through my mind as I used my staff to hold me steady as I walked down the path towards Sharptalon. I was so exhausted that I could fall asleep and not even a volcanic eruption would be able to wake me up. But, I knew that I needed to get back to town for medical treatment or I would be in some serious trouble. My ankle of the foot I used to stomp in the beast’s skull was screaming out in pain at every step, indicating that something was wrong.

It took about an hour before the town came into view. I saw a couple of guards right outside of the village who seemed to have seen me, I struggled to keep balance as I thrusted my staff into the air in a sign of victory. One of the guards turned to the other and said something, the guard quickly took off into the village. I continued walking towards the village as a few inhabitants came out to welcome me back including the mayor.

As I got closer and closer I could see their worry as they saw the condition I was in. My cloak was tattered to shreds with blood soaking parts of it, there were gashes in my sides that were starting to scab over already, my armor had cut in various places some reaching down and through the skin some just light cuts scraping the armor. My hair was hanging limp with some strands falling over my blood, sweat, and dirt stained face, my scabbard for my sword had a few scratches with grass marks all over it and my staff wasn’t in any better condition.

As I reached the front of the group that had gathered, their mayor approached me. “I-is it done?” she asked hesitantly. I gave her a weak smile.

“The Drakon is dead, your village won’t be plagued by it any longer ma’am. Although I do have a request of you besides my payment if you would hear it?” I asked politely as a smile spread across all of their faces and a few cheered.

“Certainly! What is it you request?” she asked.

“I think I may have sprained my ankle during the fight, could you find someone that would be willing to take a look at it? I’m more than willing to pay.” I informed her, she nodded quickly as one of the doctors stepped forward from the crowd.

“I can’t promise anything seeing as we know nothing about your species Klyte.” he warned. I nodded my head to him, “Please follow me then, we’ll get you taken care of.” he smiled.

I followed without another sound as I focused on not fainting from the pain as it plagued my body in full now. I felt an arm steady me, It’s okay Robert, I got ya. Just focus on staying awake until you get there alright? Zeke said in a caring tone.

No one else could see nor feel his presence, but he was the only thing keeping me alive in this impossible world. Zeke has been with me since the start of this whole ordeal. He is the manifestation of my subconscious mind that no one else may see, hear, feel, taste, or smell. The only other creature that has seen him was Twilight when she used a spell to see through my eyes.

Thanks Zeke. I said to him in my mind as I continued to hobble along with him at my side.