Breaking the Silence
By Songwind

A note or two from the author-
Heyla, everyone! I want to thank you for taking the time to look at my newest story. This is a fantasy series that I plan to work with for a while, so I hope that you will read and enjoy it for all it's worth. To let you know, I'm not going to be putting any author's notes into the chapters- excepting this one, of course, and maybe one at the end.

This is only a small part of the entire series I plan to do. Thus, not too much information about the world I create will be incorporated into the plot. It will mostly revolve around the characters. I only expect this to last for twenty chapters at the absolute maximum. Then, should anyone truly enjoy this, I will work on the next part of the series, explaining more of what there is in this world.

Oh, something interesting I'd like to mention. At the beginning of every chapter (except this one) there will be a random quote. Most of them will be from Lrykkan, though I don't label who says them. I figure they're fun enough in themselves. They're more to let you in on some legends and some cultures and the like.

I think my prologue will explain anything more you'll need to know. If you do read this, please, please do me a big favor and let me know what you thought in a review. I won't know whether it's good or not unless you do, after all.
Again, thank you for taking a look, and please enjoy!

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Prologue

Legends. Myths. Stories of old. They're everywhere one goes. No, I mean really. They are everywhere, hidden, waiting to happen. Or they have already come and gone, only it's been so long that no one remembers that they ever happened. They lie in the back of humanity's minds, never quite thought about after they happen.

Which is sort of annoying. One puts all this work into making these humans happy by making their stupid prophecies come true, and they go and forget about it! Come on, folks, show at least a little gratitude.

Please?

You see, I'm upset about the whole thing because I'm the one running around making these predictions come true. It's a bit of a hobby of mine, you understand. When you are immortal, you want to have at least one thing to do or living forever gets old really, really fast. Trust me, I know.

Oh, you're wondering about that immortal bit? Thanks for the thought, but no, I am not a god or goddess. I never was, and I never want to be. Those folks have to deal with so much that I'm surprised they're not all insane. First off, there are all those followers they have to listen to around the clock. Then there is the actual business of making sure the universe is in balance, and, let's just say they never have any fun...

But I'm getting off track already. Let's just say I'm the shapeshifter. I'll explain that to you later.

Back to the legends. It doesn't matter where I go, no matter which distant land I travel to; they are always there. And who ends up having to put their heart and soul into making sure those legends came true, just to keep the little people happy? Yours truly.

Who am I, you ask? Well, actually, that's an awfully hard question to answer. Unlike you humans (lucky bastards), I can't say in just one or two words. To be absolutely honest with you, my friends, I'm not certain myself. I am the only shapeshifter in existence. At least, I'm pretty sure I am. I've never met another of my kind. Anyway, because of that, it's not really easy for me to find another shapeshifter and just ask them, you know what I mean?

As for names, well, I've had so many names that I've lost track of some of them. You may recognize a few of them. Shion, Clef, Merlin... Ah, yes, that old wizard. I tell you, that is the last time I ever decide to be a doddering old fool. You have no idea how hard it is to juggle tricky potions in one hand, an annoying little boy named Arthur in the other hand, and somehow manage to keep an eye on my staff so someone won't steal it from me. I really liked that staff...

Sorry. Yet again I manage to get off of the topic. Say, why don't I just give you my most recent name? I'm rather fond of it; a young man I've grown to be close friends with gave it to me when he was barely old enough to hold a sword.

That was the first time anyone caught me changing into different forms. The lad took it quite well. That is, if you call fainting taking it well. I was expecting worse, so it was a pleasant surprise when he came to, got up, told me my name, and wandered off to practice fighting like nothing happened.

The name's Lrykkan. In one of the old languages, it means 'changes' or 'to change'.

Speaking of that young lad, I finally get to what I wanted to tell you about. That same young man who named me ended up playing a big role in one of my favorite legends. I actually came up with the prophecies and everything myself that time. It turned out quite nicely. Almost everything fell into place like a puzzle. Almost.

What was the legend, you ask? And what do I mean by almost everything?

Well, that's why I'm writing this, isn't it? So you can go and take a look for yourself, then let me know what you thought. Personally, I know I'm a genius already, but everyone's open to his or her own opinions. So what are you waiting for? The page won't turn by itself, you know...

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