The Darkness

--

"Whoa, girl!" shouted Becken to his horse as she almost unseated

him. "We're almost at the city of Siftar, we can rest there!"

Becken

was a 15 year-old boy with deep green eyes and flame red hair which

stood up in spikes on top of his head. Five years ago he had set out

from his hometown, the city of Mashrin, to pursue the career of a

famous traveler. On his travels he had bought his horse, Feria, as

well as a bow, a full quiver of arrows, a tent, and a woodcutter's

axe.

This was actually pretty pathetic because he had been traveling

for five whole years.

He was going to the city of Siftar to

participate in an archery competition and try to win some money.

Suddenly, three men sprang onto the road. "Stop!" shouted one of

them. "We're inspectors from Siftar!" he said, pointing to a fake

badge on his dirty shirt. Becken almost laughed. Suddenly, he saw

that there were only two of them. Before he realized what had

happened, someone had shoved a sack over his head.

--

Becken felt himself being bumped and jostled as the wagon he had

been loaded onto hit a stone. Finally, someone undid the knot at the

top of the bag, and Becken fell head-first into a pile of straw. As

he looked around, he saw that he was in a badly built prison with

rusty bars, straw for a floor, and loads of rats. Becken shooed away

a particularly curious one that was sniffing his pants.

After a

while, a man came into the room and looked at him through the bars.

The man was short and fat, bald, and had rotten teeth. "Well, what is

this?" he said in a deep voice, "a little warrior! What shall we do?"

he said mockingly.

All of the sudden, his head slouched forward, and

he let out a snore like thunder. Becken looked closer and saw a small

tranquilizer dart in the balding man's thigh. Another man, this time

wearing a hood to disguise himself, came into the room, strode over to

the sleeping bandit and took his keys. He opened Becken's door and

silently whispered, "Follow me."

As soon as they were outside, Becken

saw that the other bandits were sleeping peacefully. Becken and the

hooded stranger went around back and they saw two horses. One was a

black warhorse and the other was ... "Feria!" exclaimed Becken as

his horse looked up from her hay and whinnied at him. Becken and the

hooded man got on their horses and rode across the vast flat green

land.

Eventually they came to a valley with a small pond in it.

While Becken was filling up a water bottle, he noticed out of the

corner of his eye that the hooded man seemed to be sneaking up on him.

Becken quickly turned around. Instantly, the hooded man grabbed him

by the shirt. "Don't be afraid, I am only doing this so that you

won't remember this place later and so that my secret hideout remains

"secret". He drew back his fist. "This may hurt a little."

--

Becken opened one eye, and then the other, and looked around.

Everything was a grayish blob. "Ah, you're finally awake" said the

hooded man's voice. As Becken's vision swam back into focus, he saw

the hooded man standing before him. "My apologies, we were not

properly introduced before. My name is Marcus, what's yours?"

"Becken" said Becken weakly. "Why did you save me from those bandits?"

"Because I need your help. Becken, have you ever heard of the

legend of the Sage of Light?" Becken shook his head, but regretted it

as pain shot through his neck. "Long ago, the sacred island of Crelos

came under attack by what appeared to be a giant shadow. Everything

it passed over would either burn or be destroyed, leaving only

darkness. It was so bad that the island's weaker cities, fearing for

their safety, called upon the most powerful city on the island, the

city of Bask, to save them. Bask was a mystical city where many

famous wizards lived. They sent out one who was known as Lafto, the

Sage of Light, and she drove away the darkness. But, Becken, I fear

that the darkness may have returned to take vengeance on Crelos!"

Becken started to laugh loudly. "You think this is funny!?" shouted

Marcus angrily. He took out a telescope and shoved Becken towards the

window of the hideout.

Becken picked up the telescope, looked out,

and saw a black cloud, an enormous black cloud, and it was headed

straight for Crelos.

--

Marcus and Becken were now in the city of Bask, looking for

someone who was a descendant of Lafto, the Sage of Light, to help them

in the fight against darkness. They had agreed to split up so that

they could cover more ground. Becken was assigned to one side of the

city, Marcus to the other.

Looking into the city, Becken saw that Bask was a crowded city, which

was famous for having a vast trade

network. Becken walked into a narrow alley, and sighed, another dead

end.

As Becken turned to leave, he saw three people going into the

alley; oh no, it was the bandits again! "We got ya now, ya little

weasel!" spat the leader at Becken, just before he charged at him. He

was holding a melon-sized wooden mace. Becken hopped to one side and

stuck out his leg. The bandit flew through the air and connected with

a brick wall. The other bandits were stunned for a moment, but

quickly recovered and swung at Becken from the left and right. Their

aim was poor, and one clouted the other out cold. The remaining

bandit quickly ran away, just as Marcus turned the corner. Becken

picked up the leader's mace, and threw it at the bandit with all his

strength. It hit the bandit squarely on the head, and the man

collapsed onto the ground.

"Wow!" exclaimed Marcus breathlessly as he saw the scene. "Nice

job! Now let's hope there are no more nasty interruptions like that

to distract us from our quest to save the island of Crelos and all its

cities from impending darkness and doom." The last part he said

half-jokingly, but Becken knew the bitter truth in his words.

--

Marcus and Becken stopped at an inn to eat and rest before

continuing on their quest. As it turned out, their choice of inn was

to be a very fortunate one indeed. Inside the inn stood a tall girl

with a long cape, blonde hair, and two daggers in her leather belt.

Judging from her expression and confident stance, she looked like she

could take on two hundred bandits without breaking a sweat. There was

a strange feeling of great power surrounding her, the kind of power

that only comes from one thing, being a Sage.

"That's her, that's the Sage we have been seeking all this time.

But how will we get her to come with us?" asked Marcus quietly.

Becken, acting quickly, took out one of Marcus' darts and fired it

into the girl's leg before she even had a chance to notice them.

As the girl collapsed onto the floor, Becken shouted "I'm a doctor! Make

way!" The crowd parted to allow Becken and Marcus to move in, pick

her up, and, carry her out the door. Once they were at their horses,

Marcus loaded the girl onto the back of his horse, and the three of

them rode out of the city. By the time they reached Marcus' hideout,

the girl was waking up. Marcus gently put the girl on the floor, and

told her the same legend that he had told Becken about the sacred

island of Crelos and how Crelos and its cities needed their help to

save its cities from the increasing threat of inevitable darkness. He

also told her that she was a Sage and because of that she was the only

one that could help them on their quest to save Crelos, for they were

not powerful enough to do so on their own.

"And why am I supposed to believe this baloney?" asked the girl, as she slowly moved her hand

toward one of the daggers in her belt. Marcus quickly handed her the

telescope so that she could take a look outside and see the

approaching darkness for her herself. The girl paled. "How can I

be...a Sage?" whispered the girl. Marcus opened a secret door, and

ushered them both through it.

Inside the room stood a large chair with the most intricately carved seat the girl had ever seen. It was

also beautifully decorated with rubies and emeralds which sparkled so

much that the chair seemed to almost glow. It was the most beautiful

thing they had ever seen. Marcus had heard tell of a legend about a

special chair and hoped with all his might that this legend would hold

true now. The legend told of a special throne, a throne which when

sat upon by a true Sage, awakes the Sage's power for all to see. The

girl, unaware of this part of the legend, walked almost hypnotically

towards the chair and sat down in it.

Suddenly, a blinding white light filled the room. Becken quickly grabbed the telescope, and

looked outside the window. He gasped, as he saw that the black cloud

was slowly but surely disappearing! The legend was true! Becken

looked back to check on the girl to make sure she was alright since he

had lost sight of her earlier in the brightly lit room. There she

was. She was still sitting there, on the throne, but something else

had changed. She was now wearing flowing, snow-white robes and

holding a brilliant golden staff at her side. "I am Letfa, the Sage

of Light" she said calmly. "I have found my destiny."

Becken thought, he may have just found his own destiny too; Becken, Defender

of Crelos. It was moments later that Becken realized that Marcus was

no where to be found. Apparently, Marcus had left as fast as he had

entered Becken's life. Who was that hooded man, really? thought

Becken to himself. And, would they ever meet again?