Chapter I: The Gate Is Opened

THIMPIN DISCOVERS A SECRET

Four stones of old holding stories untold marked and guarded the first gate of myth and time. Surrounded by rugged hills and ridges and hollows the makers were masters of elemental design.

OPENING THE GATE

When Thimpin Thoade
was eight years old
he wasn't that different from you and me.
He lived with his mom and dad and dog
in a house with a porch by a willow tree.

His friends were many
and some said he was skinny
and that his hair was too long on his head.
He loved to eat beans and taters and corn
and thick slabs of butter on bread.

He often would stand in the yard
and stare long and hard
at four large rocks stacked about on top of the hill.
He always wanted to go and climb and play
among those old stones that sat so still.

While working for his dad one day
before he was allowed to play
Thimpin was clearing rocks from the garden.
All morning long he picked and lifted and carried
but the last rock was a hard one.

It was buried deep down
far into the ground
and was the most stubborn one of the day.
For an hour he tugged and pushed and shoved
yet the rock would not give way.

Deciding to not give in
he lifted a hammer to try again
and slammed it hard on top of the stone.
Suddenly the ground split and shifted and slipped
as the stone began to turn with a groan.

Thimpin's eyes went wide
and his hair stood out to the side
as the earth beneath his feet began to sink.
He wanted to scream and shout and holler,
but he was so scared he couldn't think.

Read the next chapter here: "Chapter II: Guardian Of The Gate"