Chapter 1
Tragedy on the Horizon
On the continent of Therias within the land of Ranik there exists a small quaint village called Arcor. It is a peaceful place where everyone knows one another, and is untouched by sword and magic. In this village lives a family of four. A father who is a local farmer, a mother who is a loving and faithful housewife, and two sons ages eleven and thirteen. As the two sons play in the woods just outside their village they hear screams that echo through the air. The older brother Traglamine looks at is younger brother Rokaar in a state of panic and confusion and asks “Do you hear that?” Rokaar responds “Are those screams coming from our village?” Both immediately think of their mom and dad and run home. As they reach their families farm fields they see their entire village in flames, and the screams now echo through the air even louder. They enter their house and see their mother lying dead on the floor and their father trying to fight off a bandit, but their father is no warrior and he ends up impaled on the bandits sword. As he falls dead by his wife's side the bandit takes one look at the boys and yells “Hey I found them. They're in here!”
Rokaar might be the youngest, but he has always been the rough and wild one. So when he sees his parents lying dead in front of him he quickly looks around and sees a kitchen knife by his mother's side and picks it up. In a fit of blind rage he runs toward the bandit, and as the bandit swings his sword Rokaar successfully dodges out of pure instinct and jumps up then on his way down makes a deep slash across the right side of the bandits face destroying the bandits right eye in the process. The bandit drops his sword and grabs his face in agony. Traglamine has always been the smart and responsible one. His father always told him that as the older brother that was his job. Traglamine knows that more bandits are on the way and grabs Rokaar by the arm and yells to him “Come on Rokaar we need to get out of here now!” Rokaar still filled with rage pulls his arm away and turns to his brother and says in a cold and dark voice “I'm not leaving until I kill him.” As Traglamine looks at his brother he sees that unlike himself he has not shed a single tear. Instead when he looks in his brother's eyes he sees that they are filled with a cold, dark, emotionless void that sends a chill through to his very soul. Traglamine quickly composes himself and says to his brother “This bandit has called for his friends and when they get here we are as good as dead. Now get yourself together and lets get out of here.”
Traglamine and Rokaar wanting something to remember their parents by quickly grab their parents necklaces from around their corpses. These necklaces held special meaning for their parents, because when the two necklaces where brought together they formed an ancient symbol which meant love. They always wore them to remind one another that the two of them were two halves of the same whole that when brought together meant a unity of love. Now that all they had was each other they saw the necklaces as perfect mementos. As they start to run out the way they came another bandit shows up and blocks the way. Rokaar throws the kitchen knife at him which embeds itself in the bandits neck. After a few seconds the bandit drops dead and they proceed to run through their families farm fields, but as they try to make their escape they see that a big group of bandits is following them. They run through their families farm fields and into the woods. The bandits still close behind they continue to run through the woods for what seems to be an eternity.
Then they spot a cave they never saw before and proceed to run inside. As they try to navigate there way through the cave they hear a cracking and crumbling sound. Traglamine and Rokaar stop and look at one another, and as they do the ground gives way under Rokaar. Traglamine reacting quickly grabs Rokaar's arm. Traglamine tries to pull his brother up, but lacks the strength to do so. Rokaar tries to get some footing on the wall, but can't find any places to get proper footing. Rokaar looks up at his brother and says “If you keep holding on we will both die, and I'm not going to drag you down with me.” As tears stream down Traglamine's face he says “Don't say that I'll have you up in no time!” The bandits finally catch up to the boys, and as they do one of them fires an arrow which hits Traglamine's right shoulder forcing him to let go of Rokaar. Seeing his brother fall to his death pushes Traglamine over the edge and he decides to just lie on the ground and accept death. The bandits laugh at him and cheer for his death, and some of the bandits then fire a multitude of arrows at him.
As Traglamine lies on the ground looking at the arrows ready to die the world around him seems to slow down. The bandits all seem to move really slow, and even the arrows in flight move at a sluggish speed. At that moment Traglamine hears a voice that says to him “Traglamine you can't die here. If you do your family, friends and all your fellow villagers would have died in vain. If you want to avenge them get up and follow my voice.” Traglamine hearing the truth in his words stands up and starts to run away, and as he does the world around him returns to normal speed. The arrows impact the ground just inches behind him as he makes his way around the corner. Due to the big whole on the floor and no way around it one of the bandits says to the others “We have to get out of here and find an exit to this cave. If Shikar finds out that we failed to kill both brothers he will kill us and enslave our souls.” Traglamine overhears the conversation, because as he rounded the corner he pressed his back against the wall to listen. After the conversation Traglamine realizes that it must have been this Shikar person who led the attack on his village. Traglamine clinches both of his hands into fists as more tears stream down his face. At that moment his sadness and grief turn to thoughts of anger and revenge. The voice once again speaks and says “Hurry this way.”
As Traglamine follows the directions that the voice gives to him he eventually makes it to an exit. As Traglamine looks ahead he can see the exit and a person standing there with the sun bathing him in light. Thinking it was a bandit Traglamine starts to head back in the cave, but as he turns to run back in the cave the voice says to him “Don't worry the person you are seeing is me. Now lets get out of here.” Traglamine cautiously approaches the figure, and as he gets close he can see that he wasn't a bandit. This person wore all white flowing robes that seemed to glisten as the sunlight hit them giving him an almost heavenly appearance. “Who are you” asks Traglamine in a worried yet awestruck voice? The old man in the white flowing robes politely responds “My name is Saareth, and I am the leader of The Order of the White Dawn, and we have been expecting you for many centuries now.” Traglamine obviously confused asks Saareth “What do you mean you've been expecting me? I never met you before now.” Saareth responses “There is much you will learn in the coming years Traglamine. Now if you want your revenge against those that have taken everyone and everything away from you come with me.” Traglamine desperately wanting revenge and knowing he had nowhere else to go decides to go with Saareth.
After traveling for three days Saareth and Traglamine finally get close to there destination. “Traglamine we are almost there” says Saareth. Traglamine asks “Where is this place? All I see are more trees.” Then Saareth and Traglamine emerge from the forest and into a huge valley. This is it Traglamine the home of The Order of the White Dawn.” Traglamine stares in awe and disbelief. He sees mountains in the distance with a huge waterfall that winds through the entire valley, and in the middle of the valley stood a big village with its most noticeable feature being a huge cathedral towering over the rest of the village. This village is called Itus, and this will be your new home. Come Traglamine they are expecting you” says Saareth. “Who is expecting me” asks Traglamine? Saareth looks at Traglamine then smiles and says “Everyone.”
As they enter the village Traglamine can see that all eyes are upon him as they welcome Saareth back. Everyone welcomes Traglamine to the village as they greet him with warm smiles and gentle pats on the shoulder. They finally make there way through the village and to the cathedral. Waiting for Saareth and Traglamine at the front steps to the cathedral were more people dressed in flowing white robes. Then out of the crowd comes running a girl around the same age as Traglamine. She quickly gives Saareth a big hug and says “Welcome back grandfather.” Saareth hugging her back responds “Hello Niandra. How are you today?” Niandra Responds with a huge smile on her face saying “I'm good. How about you?” “As good as an old man like me can be” responds Saareth. “Niandra there is someone I would like you to meet. This is Traglamine, and he is the newest recruit for our order. Could you show him around” asks Saareth? “Sure thing grandfather” responds Niandra in a joyful tone of voice. Niandra looks at Traglamine and says “Hello my name is Niandra. Let me show you around.” Niandra grabs him by the hand and takes him inside. After Niandra and Traglamine are gone one of the members of the order steps forward and asks Saareth “Is this kid Traglamine really one of the two prophesied.” Saareth responds “ Yes he is the one of the two. He'll need some time to recover after what has happened to him. So we will give him time to settle in for today. His training will start tomorrow.”
After seven years go by Traglamine's ceremony to make him a full fledged member of The Order of the White Dawn comes up. All the other members gather for the ceremony in the cathedrals giant grand hall. As Traglamine starts to enter the grand hall he can see Niandra standing there with her long curly black hair and big green eyes. Traglamine smiles at the sight of Niandra not believing how radiant she looked. Niandra looks back at Traglamine and sees his long straight flowing blonde hair and his sparkling brown eyes, and an instant gentle smile crosses her face as she slightly blushes. Saareth knows that Traglamine and his granddaughter Niandra are in love with one another, but do well to hide it even from one another. He also knows that the reason they hide it is because, they each are afraid that the other doesn't feel the same way. The thought of this makes Saareth smile a bit, but he quickly composes himself because he knows this ceremony is a serious matter. Niandra looks at Traglamine now having made it to the ceremonial alter and says “I can't believe this day has finally come. We will finally become full fledged members.” Traglamine responds “I know I can't believe it either. I'm glad your here with me Niandra. This moment would mean nothing without you. I would have no other friend by my side right now except you.” Upon hearing such words coming from the man she secretly loves fills her with an overwhelming sense of joy, but also sadness because she yurns for so much more from Traglamine.
Saareth then proceeds to speak and as he does his voice echoes throughout the grand hall for everyone to hear. “The two of you have progressed far in your training. The light within the two of you is bright, and the magic within you is very powerful. Niandra I have watched you go from a little girl to a beautiful nineteen year old woman who can hold her own in anything she does, and even though you lost your parents at an early age you have never lost your sense of love and compassion. Traglamine I have watched you go from being a boy filled with sadness, rage and constant thoughts of revenge to becoming a fine young twenty year old man filled with a need to help and protect the innocent. Seeing your need for revenge transform into a drive for justice has been an incredible thing to watch, and not an easy transformation for anyone to do either. Although I sense some revenge left in you the need for justice is far greater than revenge. The two of you are among the most gifted and talented of anyone that has ever been a member of this order since its creation long ago.”
After Saareth finishes his speech he motions to a fellow member of the order to come forward who then proceeds to walk up with a beautifully crafted box. After setting it down he takes a slight bow toward Saareth after which he walks back to his place among the crowd. “Within these boxes is a gift that all members of the order have. The two of you now have your very own Belt of Divine Retribution. You know how it works. You transform your inner light into a translucent nearly indestructible armor and weapon. The armor and weapon is as hard as diamond and as light as air. So long as your inner light is strong so is your armor and weapon.” Saareth opens the box and proceeds to give Niandra and Traglamine there belts which are beautifully decorated and golden. After they put the belts on a surge of magic flows through them. “Niandra since you are best at wielding a one handed sword and shield that is what you can summon from your belt along with your armor. Traglamine since you are best at wielding a two handed sword that is what you can summon from your belt along with your armor. Now that you have completed your training, wear the official robes and have your belts I hereby name the two of you Niandra Utani and Traglamine Dalmir full members of The Order of the White Dawn.”
With the ceremony now ended cheers and whistles can be heard from everyone in the grand hall. After the cheers and whistles die down everyone leaves to go about there normal routine. As Traglamine and Niandra begin to leave Saareth says “Traglamine I have some information for you.” Traglamine and Niandra stop to listen after which Traglamine asks “What is it Saareth?” “Traglamine you know that you are part of an ancient prophecy, but you are only one part of the prophecy. The ancient Su-Vulan prophecy speaks of not one but two people. I am confident that you will meet the second one very soon.” Traglamine curiously asks “How do you know that?” “No person no matter how great or noble they may be can know their destiny Traglamine just trust me” says Saareth. Traglamine asks “Well how will I know this person?” Saareth pauses for a moment as he closes his eyes. As he opens his eyes he says “Be on the lookout for someone who is your opposite. Where you wield light he shall wield darkness. Where you know some peace and are filled with a sense of justice he shall be filled with torment and filled with blood lust. You must befriend him if you and him are to fulfill the prophecy.” Traglamine and Niandra both look at each other in confusion after which Traglamine asks “It sounds like he's evil, and you want me to befriend him?” Saareth responds “I know it sounds like he's evil, but he isn't. His blood lust seems to be directed toward evil. In other words he does evil unto evil. You must leave here and find him at once. You can find him within the Land of the Nine Giants. When you believe you have found him bring him to me so that I may examine him. If it turns out that he is indeed the one then we will proceed from there, but for now you need to find him first.”
Traglamine pauses to think for a moment after which he says “So if he is in the Land of the Nine Giants which is about a months journey from here it would be best if we went through Viridian Valley to the Kingdom of Olagia. There I could restock on some supplies before heading out again.” “What's this I stuff? I'm going with you you idiot” exclaims Niandra as she punches Traglamine in the shoulder. As Traglamine rubs his shoulder he says “There is no way your going with me Niandra. It's to dangerous in the Land of the Nine Giants, and I won't risk your life over this prophecy.” Saareth looks at Traglamine and says “Traglamine the Land of the Nine Giants is indeed a dangerous place, but Niandra is just as powerful as you are. So you should learn to take help in such a coming situation when it is offered. Not to mention the fact that her healing magic is far greater than yours.” “I know healing magic as well” says Traglamine. “I know you do, but Niandra's healing magic is far better than yours, and you never know when that or an extra sword by your side may come in handy” responds Saareth. Niandra puts her hand on Traglamine's shoulder and says “Besides I'm not about to let you go to such a dangerous place all by yourself. We studied and trained together for all these years so who better to have by your side than me.”
After pausing for a moment Traglamine says “Alright you can come. If anything else we can keep each other company during the nights” says Traglamine after which he throws a wink and a smile in Niandra's direction. Niandra blushes for a moment before once again punching Traglamine in the shoulder after which she exclaims “As if that would ever happen you sick pervert!” Traglamine rubs his shoulder and in a playful voice says “I was just kidding Niandra geez can you take a joke?” Niandra turns her head and snuffs as she crosses her arms. With her face now out of view of Traglamine and Saareth a big smile crosses her face. Saareth laughs and says “Traglamine take it from me the underworld has no fury like a scorned women.” Traglamine walks over to Niandra and says “I really was just kidding I didn't mean to insult you or imply anything?” Niandra turns to Traglamine and with a smile on her face says “I know you were just kidding. That's why I decided to pull a fast one on you. To repay the favor.” Traglamine says “How dare you make me think you were mad at me.” Then he starts to tickle Niandra on her sides. Niandra runs away laughing and giggling all the while Traglamine is chasing her. Eventually Traglamine catches Niandra and holding her from behind continues to tickle her. Niandra bent over from the laughter continues to laugh from all the tickling. As she is laughing she tries to say stop it, but her words are always broken up by laughter.
As this is going on Saareth just laughs at the site of them laughing and playing like he often did while they were growing up. Saareth realizes that the trials they will soon face will be very serious and all to deadly, so he decides to let them have this moment of peace. Traglamine finally stops tickling Niandra and says to her “We should get going we have a long journey ahead of us.” Niandra takes a little time to regain her composer then says “Yeah we should get our horses packed. Maybe we should stop by The Sword and Casque shop to see if those scrolls we ordered a few weeks ago are in yet.” “Good idea” says Traglamine. “Given the journey we are about to go on they would definitely be helpful” says Niandra. “Alright were going now Saareth. We will see you when we get back, and if all else goes well we will have this other prophesied person with us.” Niandra runs over to give her grandfather Saareth a hug and says her goodbyes after which Traglamine and Niandra head for the stables.
After Traglamine and Niandra get there horses packed they head to The Sword and Casque shop, but right before they enter the shop a little seven year old peasant girl that they both knew named Anya came running toward them. “Nani, Tragi, Nani, Tragi” exclaimed Anya. Nani and Tragi are Anya's nicknames for Niandra and Traglamine since it's hard for her to say their full names. “Where are you two going” asks Anya. “We are going on a long journey to find someone very special” responds Traglamine. Anya hearing that it will be a long journey asks “How long will you two be gone?” Niandra kneels down and puts one hand on Anya's shoulder and says “We will be gone for at least a few months.” Anya pauses for a moment and says “Wait here I wanna give you two something. I'll be right back.” As Anya runs home Traglamine and Niandra go into The Sword and Casque shop.
