The Boy, the Wizard, and the Emperor

"You are the Chosen One, my child! You have been chosen to rule over everything!" cried the Wizard from inside of the hailstorm. The Dark Knights had surrounded him. "You must find your inner worth!"

Thomas, an ordinary farm-boy who had one day woken up with no memory of his past, looked deep inside of himself. Yes, he thought, yes, he could see the power that was inside of him. It had been inside of him all along and now it was reaching its apex within him, at the crucial moment that mattered most. He looked at the wizard--his friend and mentor--through the hailstorm and over the shoulders of the Dark Knights, who could not reach the wizard because of his magic shield, and because the hailstorm was so powerful. He looked at him through the tears in his eyes. "How?! How can I do that?! Tell me!"

"It cannot be told!" roared the wise wizard over the hailstorm. The hailstorm was loud. "You must find within yourself the true meaning of worth!"

Suddenly it all began to fall into place for Thomas. Yes, yes! He would be made King over the Giants, the Elves, the Gnomes, Salamanders, and the Humans. He was the key to bringing peace to all of the land! He knew then that he had found his worth. His title would be "Thomas Peace-Lord, Ruler of the Third Sovereign; King, Lord, and Friend" and he would defeat the mighty enemy. He picked up his sword and looked angrily at the Dark Knights through the hailstorm. Lightning ripped through the hailstorm and the winds howled furiously into the grey sky, which was grey and bleak, as was the land below it because of the mighty and powerful, depressing rule of the current Emperor in which Thomas knew he would have to travel to in order to defeat, and the hailstorm thundered around him as time seemed to come to a halt, all manner of time suddenly ceasing to exist, and the large shards of the hailstorm seemingly freezing in midair as Thomas Peace-Lord, Ruler of the Third Sovereign; King, Lord, and Friend looked angrily at the Dark Knights. Their time had come.

He charged through the hailstorm, ignoring the shards of hailstorm hitting his body and shoulders, and swung mightily at the Dark Knights, who had turned to confront him. He cleaved them in half, swiftly and decisively.

He stood over their dead corpses and could feel his body glowing with warmth. He had overcome not just his enemies, but himself.

The wise, old wizard looked at his apprentice, who he had had many doubts about in the past but never truly doubted, and smiled with many years of wisdom. "You have defeated yourself, my child. Now you are truly ready to defeat the evil Emperor Taicho."

Thomas nodded. "I am ready."

Thomas Peace-Lord, Ruler of the Third Sovereign; King, Lord, and Friend, along with the wise wizard, began their journey to defeat the Emperor. Mentor and mentored. Master and apprentice. Old and young. Friend and friend. Man and boy.

Now their journey had truly begun.

* TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK TWO *