Beginning of the End A Strange Discovery

<p> It was a day like any other, or so Eric thought. Who knew that the world he lived in would soon be coming to an end; who knew that he would be brought to the brink of the earth's last battle for the forces of good and evil. He would very soon find out. </p>
It was a Friday afternoon. Eric and his friends Matt, Jason, and Amy were in their last period class together staring at the clock and anxiously awaiting the weekend.
<p> Eric is 17 years old, 5' 7'', has brown eyes and, dark hair. His personality is semi laid back and sometimes apathetic. He's usually along for the ride, more of a follower than a leader. </p>
<p>Matt is only 16, 5' 3'', has green eyes, and black hair. Being the youngest in his family, he has taken a backseat his whole life and desires a chance to lead something. However, this side of him rarely comes out and he maintains a friendly and submissive personality. </p>
<p> Jason is 18 years old, 6' 3'', has blue eyes, and blonde hair. He is the oldest of four children in his family; having lost his father at a very young age, he was forced to become the head of the household. This has made him very strong both physically and mentally, yet he struggles with balancing his school life and his life at home, and still struggles with the tragedy of losing his father.</p>
<p> Amy is 17, 5' 6'', has blue eyes, and reddish-brown hair. Growing up with three brothers and no sisters, Amy prefers hanging out with guys and doesn't fit in with most girls. She is very close friends with Eric and has had a crush on him for almost a year. </p>
<p> Finally the bell rang and everyone flew out of the school as fast as possible. Eric, Matt, Jason, and Amy met each other outside the back of the school.</p>
"You guys wanna go to my house?" Eric asked
<br>"I can't. I have to watch my brothers and sisters tonight." Jason replied
<br>"Maybe we can help you." Amy suggested.
<br>"I don't need any help!"
<br>The other three were very shocked at this reaction.
<br>"Jason, is something wrong?" Matt asked.
"Shut up Matt!"
<p> His tone was so hostile it made Matt step backwards. His eyes burned with such a flame as though he would deprive Matt of his life if he said another word, which he was more than capable of doing.</P>
This set off a red flag to everyone that something was wrong.
<br>"I'm sorry I snapped at you Matt."
<br>"It's okay." He was still afraid to speak.
<br>"it's really hard for me. Between taking care of my family and trying to keep up in school. I never have any time to myself."
<br>"I didn't mean to offend you." Amy said, feeling guilty.
<br>"I know you didn't"
<br>"I just thought maybe we could help around the house, maybe you could work on your homework, and who knows we could have a good time."
<br>"After my father died, my mom told me I had to be the man of the house, and be strong. Everyone would come to me for help, I never felt like I could ask for help. I felt like that was weakness and I never wanted my family to think I was weak."
<br>"Having friends over doesn't make you weak."
<br>"You're right, why don't you guys come over."
<p>After this slightly awkward and unusual moment, the four friends walked over to the parking lot and got into Jason's car.</p>
"Matt, I'm really sorry for snapping at you."
<br>"I'm okay, it just took me by surprise."
<br>"Sometimes I just can't control myself. You don't know what it's like."
<p>After that, there was a long period of silence as they eventually pulled into Jason's driveway. When they got inside the house, they encountered Jason's mother rushing around as if in a hurry to get out the door. </p>
"Jason, Thank God you're here! I'm gonna have to work late tonight, so you'll need to take care of your brothers and sisters. Dinner's in the oven, make sure you clean up, and don't forget to take out the garbage." She hurriedly blurted.
<br>"Okay mom."
<br>"Hi kids." She said after noticing the others.
<br>"I have to go, I'll see you tonight. Bye Jason."
<br>"Bye mom."
<p>With that she left leaving Jason and his friends to take care of the kids; that was the way she usually left him. Because they had no father, his mother worked long hours and Jason was charged with taking care of his brothers and sisters. Jason was never able to live the life of a normal kid his age.</p>
<p> He started to make dinner for his brothers and sisters. He had two brothers and a sister. Michael was the second oldest he was twelve, Next was Sarah who was eleven, then Brian was the youngest of nine years. All of them were close to Jason; but because their father died when most of them were too young to remember, they never fully understood the trauma it was for Jason. </p>
<p> It was something he never talked about; he believed that the way to deal with it was to hold it in. He felt that talking about it would only show weakness; since his mother told him to be strong, he never wanted to speak up if he had a problem. </p>
"Jason, are you okay?" Amy asked
<br>"What? Yeah, i'm fine."
<br>"Mabye you should work on your homework, we can take care of the kids."
<p> Jason went off to work on a project that was due that Monday, while the others took care of Jason's brother's and sister's.</p>
<p>The night grew late and the others began to walk home. As Eric made his way home, he noticed a desolate field he had never seen before.</p>
<p>He unwisely decided to explore the field for a brief moment. He noticed a strange object sticking out of the ground. He walked closer; and with a great effort, removed a sword from the ground.</p>
<p>He examined the blade more closely; the blade had a dark polish and an inscription that he could not make out. The handle was a brilliant silver, he noticed the name "Shagoté" inscribed on the handle.</p>
<p>Eric had never seen a real sword before, only movies. He was very intrigued by the blade; against better judgement, he decided to keep it with him. He carefully hid the blade under his clothing so that no one would see.</p>
<p> Eric further explored this unusual place. He noticed an old looking sheet of paper a little father in. He picked up the paper and read it:</p>
<p> "A great battle was fought here; may no one ever forget. A time will come when the battle will continue; be weary of your decision."</p>
<p> Eric pulled out the sword and looked at it again. Both the blade and the earth beneath him seemed to glow in the moonlight, the inscription on the blade seemed to glow as well.</p>
<p>Frightened by all that happened, Eric dropped the sword and ran away. All the while, he continued to wonder "What was that place?"</p>