Prologue
As the oceans shift and the skies grow old
The three of legend have been foretold
Fighting darkness and temptation on adventures bold
Will they succeed…?
Or will they fold?
Chapter 1: Cinders
Ah, the city of Ironport. A lovely little port town, always bustling with merchants and traders. The waves crashing against the docks provided a calming undertone to the hustle and bustle of the actual place itself. In this town, there seemed to be something going down…
A somewhat militaristic looking man was standing in front of a job board, a bandana tied tightly around his face and a dark, crimson canvas cap nestled on his head snugly. His straight, almost rigid stance had him completely still as his eyes gazed unimpressed at the board. That was all…? There had to be some better money. The man looked sighed, a hand fumbling around in the pocket of his pants. There… was nothing there. No Lamina at all. Looks like it would be another boring day of catching purse snatchers and finding lost pets. Letting out a sigh, there was only one thought that crossed his mind.
How had a member of the Salore family found himself flat broke? If only he’d become a merchant like his parents had said.
Just as he was about to grab a particularly exciting job that involved catching not one but two stray cats, he heard his name called from behind.
“Jerome Salore?” Someone was standing there, holding a piece of paper which likely had his face on it.
Silently, the man known as Jerome turned towards the voice. He felt like he recognized the voice. Oh.
“…Hello, Carla.” An incredibly monotonous voice came from under the bandana mask, although it seemed a bit hesitant. The mayor’s assistant was here. That… usually wasn’t good for him.
“Oh, so it is you! Matches pretty good with the photo- hey, do you ever make a different expression?” The assistant flashed the paper at Jerome. Sure enough, it was a picture of him. He looked almost the exact same, down to the last hair.
“Anywayyyys! Super special message for ya’! The mayor wants to deliver it in person, so c’mon!”
“My job-” Jerome began to protest, but was promptly waved off.
“Ah, job, whatever! That can wait!” She didn’t exactly seem to be in a patient mood. The woman had already began to strut off to the mayor’s office. Jerome had no choice but to follow along, although his pace was much slower.
A few minutes later
“Ma’am? He’s heeeereeee!” Carla spoke in a singsongy voice, ushering the poor wizard into the large office. Well- large may be an overstatement. It wasn’t super big compared to most things, but it was pretty spacious for an Ironport place.
“Good. You, Jerome, come here.” The mayor spoke in a stern tone. Slowly, the man obliged, making his way over to the mayor. A tall woman who was likely in her mid 40s. He didn’t know. When he’d asked before, he’d been hit with a blast of sand magic and told to come back later. He didn’t do it again after that.
Tilting his head slightly upwards to look at the mayor - Jerome was of just about average height - he waited, his eyes keeping the same dull look, although there was a bit of an expectant undertone. He was a bit curious, even if he didn’t really show it.
“Still not much of a talker, ay? Good. From what I’ve heard, one of the others is a bit of a nuisance.”
Others…? Jerome thought silently, but still was yet to speak a word. There wasn’t time to dwell on it, though, as the mayor went on.
“No matter. Jerome, have you ever heard of Mercury’s Novel?”
“No, Ma’am.” The man replied almost instantly. He hadn’t, so… why make some longwinded explanation?
“That figures. You younger lot…” The mayor trailed off, and then spoke once more. “Call it a series of prophecies. Well… that’s part of it. Prophecies and some ancient magic. Just like many other books. What makes this one so special is that… well, it has a tendency to be… scarily accurate. People have even noted prophecies changing or expanding in the past. And… that is what has happened today. An ancient prophecy, detailing three heroes…” The mayor cleared her throat, and began to read.
“As the oceans shift and the skies grow old
The three of legend have been foretold
Fighting darkness and temptation on adventures bold
Will they succeed…? Or will they fold?”
She finished, looking up towards Jerome. "Recently… a few new passages have been added. The one that has caused a bit of… curiosity, if you will, reads…
The ashes of civilizations once old and great
Reside now in a port city to meet their fate
Take these embers and cultivate them well
For if you shall fail, your lives become hell.
…And that’s what I’m worried about." The Mayor finished off, looking up towards the magician in her office.
“I know you don’t like these long conversations, so I will make it quick. I believe it means you. You’re quite renowned in some places for a mastery of ash magic, yes?” The Mayor tapped her nails on her wood desk, tilting her head slightly down to see the wizard.
“The homes of the other two should be having similar meetings. You are to go to this exact location on the map. Arrive no later than sundown. The other two selected should be there. Are we clear?”
Jerome… had barely processed that all, but he had received orders. If there was one thing he was good at, it was that.
“Yes, Ma’am. May I go?” As cordial and… boring… as ever, Jerome looked for permission before making his exit.
“You may. Take time to gather anything you may need to take with you.”
And with that, he was gone.
Chapter 2: Blizzard
Crash!
“And stay out! Y’here me?? You ain’t… welcome in this house no more, y’little bastard! Git!” A small body dressed in white was tossed out of a door into the street. It wore a white coat with a fur hood, along with white pants and a white scarf that covered most of the face. The hair as well was middle length and seemingly white in color.
“Please…” It appeared to be a boy, by the voice. Although it was a bit high pitched for a male, there was no confusing it with the voice of a woman.
“You’ve…” hic… “Caused me too much trouble, y’rodent! You ain’t livin’ in my house no more! I see all the looks I get from people! You ain’t know child’a mine! Nobody around these parts uses that kind’a magic!” The voice yelling at him came from a middle aged, slightly overweight male who appeared to have a bottle of something in his hand.
“F-Father…” The boy on the floor whispered, reaching a hand out to the figure. The only response he got was a grunt and a door slammed into his face.
Surprisingly, there were no tears. That little display hadn’t been anything new. In fact, he counted himself lucky that it hadn’t been any worse. He’d never been kicked out before, though… Could his father really mean that…?
The boy didn’t think he could survive on the Summerhold streets. He wasn’t a member of a royal house. He was just some no-name from the east block. Dakota Shield.
Fortunately, he didn’t have to. It seemed someone had noticed this scene, and had made their way over to Dakota, who was now shakily standing himself up and brushing off his clothes.
“…Are you alright?” A surprisingly gruff voice spoke from the side of the small teen. When he looked up to see who it was…
“Wh-WAAAA!” The boy let out a scream of surprise, leaping back. Of all the people he’d expected to run into in the east block, the last had been
“…My boy…? Did I do something wrong…?” The deep voiced man tilted his head. He had short, trim silver hair, the sure sign of a member of the silver family. That orange robe, too. And… the large crown atop the man’s head.
“King… S-Silver…? W-Wha… why are you here…?” Dakota stuttered, barely even able to complete his sentence. He seemed to be incredibly nervous. His interactions with many of the Silver house had been negative, and here he was with the most powerful of all, both magically and hierarchically.
“Ah… worry not. I was out for a walk, that’s all. I received word of something very large happening in the world, actually, and it led me to believe it would stem from the east block.” Under his breath, the king seemed to mutter something.
“Clad in snow… poorest ends where they shall grow…” It… seemed like some hastily slapped together lines of poetry.
“So, my boy. Before I ask anything else of you… are you alright…?” The King glanced down at the dirt-stained outfit of the boy in front of him, and the towards the door they were standing in front of.
“I-I’m fine. It… could have been worse.” Dakota had been reduced to a hoarse whisper as he tugged on his scarf, pulling it up over his face a little more.
Just then, the door opened.
“Ah! King Silver! I hope this little one isn’t botherin’ you at all?” The harsh, slurred voice of Dakota’s father spoke again.
“Just let me know if he is. Little brat doesn’t know what’s good for him sometimes.” This… was a very obvious attempt to suck up. As King, David Silver was… quite accustomed to those.
“As a matter of fact… he works for me now. And as of this moment, he is on official Summerhold business. The kind of which citizens are not to hear of. Please return to your home.” The King’s voice seemed to be strained as he looked upon this disgrace of a man.
“Working…?” Dakota began, but was hushed quickly by the King.
His father, on the other hand, looked bewildered. He had kicked this kid out specifically because he disliked him. How had he now ended up with the King?
“But- What-” He sputtered, unable to comprehend what was going on. “That’s… my kid! You… burp… Can’t take 'im like that!”
Dakota’s eyes widened in fear. He shot a pleading look up to the king if he were to step back in there, he was in for it for sure.
“I’m afraid I can do whatever I like. Besides… if you really wanted him in your house, would you have tossed him to the streets? We royals tend to be pretty smart, you know. Reading the room isn’t something gone to us. Now. Return to your home, or I will have you thrown in a cell.”
Begrudgingly, the father shut the door, locking it. Even a good for nothing drunk knew better than to make King Silver angry.
“Now… I know I may have jumped the gun a bit, but… that was my next question.” The King began.
“I believe you would be qualified to work for me. On a very special mission, in fact.” King Silver nodded, thinking for a minute. “Would you be opposed to that…?”
“I… I wouldn’t, but… I’m afraid I’m not… very useful.” The boy mustered a small, self deprecating chuckle, looking down to the cobbled floor.
"Ah, nonsense, you’re just who I was looking for! I can’t say… everything, but I can tell you that you are the only person I can select for this mission. Call it… an old prophecy of this land.
“Prophecy…?” Dakota was confused, but his interest was piqued. “You… you have to be wrong. I’m… I’m sorry, King Silver, but… I’m not anyone special.”
“My boy! Believe in yourself a bit… uh… may I get your name…?” King David wasn’t all that prone to thinking ahead. Maybe asking for the name of this so called ‘chosen one’ would have been good to do before asking him to go on a mission for you.
“…Dakota.” After a pause, he gave the King his name.
“Don’t here that name around here much…” King David mused. “Well, Dakota, I can guarantee you that you are special. If I’m correct… you’re actually the only one here who can do this.”
“I…” Dakota stammered, gulping. He didn’t know. But… his mind began to flood with thoughts. His mother, soft and caring, with the same white hair he had. His father… drunk and abusive. He could prove him wrong. Prove he wasn’t some worthless baggage to be mistreated and tossed around.
“…I’ll try… King… Silver.” Dakota gave a small nod. He seemed to have a bit of resolve in him, for the time being.
“Marvelous.” The King nodded, pulling out a map. It… seemed like he hadn’t been prepared to take ‘no’ for an answer anyhow. He had the map, of course, which probably meant he expected to do this right now.
“Dakota. Make sure you arrive at this exact location by sundown. No later. Make Summerhold proud.” King David hadn’t really filled him in on the prophecy, except for mentioning that it existed.
“I’ll… go right now!” Dakota looked at the map. Suddenly, he was eager to do this. He had magic. With the confidence of the king himself riding with him, how could he not be ready? Despite still trembling, Dakota began to jog off, slowly, so that he wouldn’t lose too much of his stamina and exhaust himself. And then, he was gone, leaving the king with a small smile on his face. He felt pretty confident he’d made the right choice.
Chapter 3: Steel.
One more…
This one could prove to be a bit more troublesome, though.
…Not all prophecies revolve around heroes, do they?
On the outskirts of Bell Village, a group of bandits sat around a fire. They were led by an up and coming criminal in the area; Kirk Cutlass. A young iron wizard with a nasty cruel streak and just a touch of insanity. He seemed to care a good deal for those who were with him, though. If you didn’t know who he was, he’d blend right in with a crowd of young adults. He wore simple clothes, with his greyish hair styled upwards and black rimmed glasses resting gently atop his nose.
“Alright, ya’ jackoffs. We got a big mission today, you hear?” Kirk began, rubbing his hands together. “That damned Bell Village doesn’t know how to treat its people. We’re Alaleans, right? Why do we gotta deal with all the bullshit here while the rest of 'em get to be dressed in gold all the way down to their asses?” As would become quite apparent, Kirk had quite the foul mouth.
“I say we… show 'em we don’t like how inferior we feel. Get us a little money along the way, too. You with me?” Kirk could be quite charismatic when he needed to be. Like has been stated- if he wasn’t some twisted villain, he would probably be an incredibly popular young man.
A chorus of raucous cheers rang out from the group of bandits, and Kirk smirked to himself. These people… were so simple. Give them some strong leadership and some bullshit cause, and it was so easy to control them.
“Well… I say why wait? Not like that dump is defended very well. Doubt the whole 2 soldiers stationed there could do much. All the real wizards are off in the big shot cities.” For being a native of Bell Village, Kirk certainly spoke of it pretty badly. Was this all part of his little show as well?
The group gave another cheer, and Kirk let an easygoing grin slip onto his face. “In that case… whoever comes back with the most’ll get something special. But if I win…” Kirk’s grin grew into something a bit more sinister.
“I get it all. You wanna take that bet?” Kirk held very high confidence in himself. This was just a ragtag bunch of bandits. Half of them couldn’t even use their magic. He was ready to stake a lot on this, because he believed with all his heart he would win effortlessly.
“We’ll start… from here. Three… two… one… go!” Without any further warning, Kirk sprinted off, shooting a pillar of Iron into the ground to act as a boost. He soared into the air, landing a good deal ahead of the rest of the bandit group, and continued running.
At Bell Village
“Thank you, wandering knight! I was afraid that request we put in would get ignored…” The owner of a small, dingy tavern spoke to a colossal man in a bulky suit of silver armor.
“It is no issue. I fight for justice. There is a lack of that here. I will make it right.” The knight replied simply, giving the slightest of nods to the owner.
Suddenly, his head turned towards the window. The sound of a large crash, accompanied by a strong sense of magic energy. It looked like it would be time to make do on that promise to keep justice.
As he stepped outside, the knight saw countless common bandits. But none of these petty thieves could have been the source of that energy…
Eventually, his eyes rested on one man standing off to the side, who seemed to be standing back with a self assured look on his face. The knight hadn’t noticed him in town before. That magic energy, too… he wasn’t attempting to suppress it at all. It had been the same one he’d felt moments earlier.
As Kirk surveyed his little raid, he noticed something- or rather someone- staring his way. He looked to the side, and his eyes widened slightly. That armor. The sword and shield at the knight’s side. There was no doubt. It was that wandering knight who had been wiping out criminals left and right.
Kirk had been planning on simply leaving the bandits here, but now his plan for escape had to be pushed up a little bit. He wasn’t in the mood for an all out brawl, especially with someone of this reputation. He darted into an alley, the clanking of armor sounding behind him as the knight gave chase.
Kirk leapt over the wall, and began to make a break towards the woods. He could lose him in there, right?
Suddenly, Kirk stopped in his tracks and looked down. He stood there, the flat of a blade to his stomach. He looked up, eyes still wide in fear and anger as an armored helmet stared back without emotion. A fist rose, and Kirk was knocked out cold.
Later; Silent Tower.
The sun was halfway across the sky when Kirk finally awoke, now sat in front of someone who gave off an incredibly strong aura. The captain who was stationed at Silent Tower.
“Captain. Are you sure about this? It would be better to just execute him now. He has caused trouble in the past, and is on the rise in the community. If we make an example of what becomes of little upstarts like this-”
"Silence. You wander on your own. I do not expect you to know what goes on in the world, but just recently, there has been something important that has sent shockwaves throughout the continent. I just need one question from this young man to confirm. If he does not give the correct answer, I will execute him on the spot. Is this a deal?
“…Fine.” The knight stepped back, looking towards the two wizards now.
“Criminal. Where are you from?” The captain asked, glaring down at the prisoner before him.
“You and all your magic council lapdogs can kiss my ass.” Kirk sneered. He still had his arrogant pride, even when he was tied up and powerless.
The captain… began to laugh. It went on and on, until…
Wham!
Kirk was sent flying into the wall, leaving a sizeable dent. He fell down onto his stomach, coughing up a bit of blood. Wind magic, no doubt.
“You dirty criminals are all the same. You’ll meet the blade if you don’t speak.”
Kirk stayed silent for a good few minutes. It seemed like nothing would come from this.
“A shame. You’ll die, then.”
Just then, Kirk spoke. His voice was strained, likely after an internal conflict.
“Bell Village.”
“…” The captain turned back to look him over. “You’ve come to your senses. That was the answer I was looking for, too. Now. I have another… request. You’ll do a job for me. A pretty important one. I can’t be bothered to explain it to the likes of you. The others there will fill you in.”
“A job for you?! You’re batshit insane! Seriously, you got wind flying around through your head, too?!” Kirk protested, struggling up to his feet.
“Ah. You think you have the choice. You do it, or you die. Need I remind you of the position you’re in?” The captain turned his back on the young wizard, shaking his head. “The youth of today really is dumb.”
Kirk was furious, but there was nothing he could do. He grumbled an answer, the only audible word being ‘fine.’
"Good. You’ll get a map. Should I hear you desert this mission…
I’ll hunt you down myself." The captain snapped his fingers, cutting the restraints from Kirk with a potent burst of wind, and then sending a gentler breeze to float the map over to him. “Be there by sundown. No later.”
“Now get out of my sight. You have 5 seconds.” The captain held up 5 fingers, and began to drop one every second. Kirk hurried out. He was arrogant sometimes, but not completely stupid. With those displays of magic, he knew what would happen to him if he tried to fight that wizard.
“Damn good for nothing knight… why am I doing quests like some sort of goody two shoes wizard puppet?” Kirk mumbled under his breath, looking at the map. That was where he was to go, then…? He had some time to kill. He’d go poke around some places where he wasn’t quite known yet to pass the time.
The young wizard stepped out of Silent Tower, and made his way to… well, whatever little scheme he’d thought up.
Fin.
