Chapter One

This is a rough draft.  It's nowhere near finished.  Please remember that while reading it :P

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            In the year of 876 on the island of Arazov, a young boy lay awake in bed, eagerly awaiting the next day.  In a matter of hours, he would be sixteen years old and would be celebrating his ‘coming of age’ with the rest of his family.  The land he resided on considered a boy at the age of sixteen to be a man, and treated him like one as well.  These terms varied depending on what island one lived on, he remembered.  In some places, the respected age was as young as thirteen.  He thought he would enjoy it if it were so where he lived, but then the day wouldn’t be as exhilarating as it was when one waited.  It seemed as though he had been fifteen for far too long; but then again, his name, Elrain, did mean ‘Eternity’.

He didn’t know why he had been named that; actually, he didn’t know much about his past at all.  His father, Faldertren, had been forced to leave thirteen years ago to travel to the dark lands of Wragátha.  Suldscar waited for him there, and placed him in his army to rob Auriate, the being that resided in the lake and held the islands together, of her ascendency.

Suldscar was a wicked character who could take the form of a human or a large creature that represented a crossbreed between a scorpion and a dragon.  He had been craving power for as long as anyone could remember.  Always taking every opportunity he could to rise higher in both ability and recognition, he was relentless.  Most people thought he wanted it to make his own life easier, but they were wrong.

To understand his motives, one would first need to grasp the story behind the land that many people would someday learn to call home.  It all started long before time was measured…

…in the middle of the Ovkean Sea, there was a vast island called Kedestan.  There were two beings, essences of the island itself; they resided under the names of Suldscar and Auriate.  Auriate was wise and noble at heart, and most life on the island seemed to enjoy her presence.  They made her queen of the earth where they planted their feet and roots, and vowed to respect and obey her for the rest of their lives.  Suldscar seemed to be the same, but he often let his rage get control of himself.  Because of this, Auriate cast him away to the north side of the island.  He was taken aback by this notion, and looked for support amongst the followers of his instigator, but few aided him.  Forced to go, he allowed his hateful emotions to churn inside him, formulating a plot to reclaim the island as his own.

As the years went by, Suldscar managed to pull together more followers.  He would lure them into mental traps, giving them the desire to join his side.  Some of the life on the south side began to wonder what to believe, as Auriate wasn’t able to support every need of the growing population.  Time was slipping away, and so were believers.

Finally, not long before the first year – as people would come to know it – came into existence, Suldscar brought forth his army and clashed against the righteous.  The battle lasted seven days, and for each day it continued, one island was torn away from the main land.  When the battle ended, both sides had suffered greatly, but Auriate had won, and though the land and populations were divided, their loyalties remained the same.

It was after this that Suldscar was determined to destroy Auriate and win the islands to prove that he could be just as good to the inhabitants, hoping to earn their respect.

It was because of this desire that Elrain’s father was recruited.  However, Falder would not let his faith slip away easily, so he escaped.  The last anyone ever heard was that he was somewhere in Mt. Vyxen, Suldscar’s volcano.

Elrain didn’t have very many memories of his father, which seemed depressing, though he tried not to think about it too much.  He figured that he was probably dead, else someone would have found him after such a long time. 

But not wanting to darken what was already the longest night of his life, he replaced these theories with thoughts of the coming day instead.  They filled him with excitement and joy; readiness and anxiety.  They filled him with something great; something real.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

            The small hut was filled with so many people Elrain thought it might collapse at any given moment.  They were all talking and enjoying themselves, stopping to congratulate Elrain occasionally.  His brother was there, so were his aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents – the only person missing was his mother. 

She had seemed like a good person to most, not to mention a good mother when she was there.  She would sometimes just disappear, though, and no one would know where she was.  When she came back she wouldn’t answer any questions, either.

But this is different! Elrain thought.  It was a celebration, a big day, and she wasn’t there to see it all.  It didn’t make any sense; but then again, it never did.

“Why the solemn face, Elrain?” His brother, Dalin, was always asking him questions nearly to the point of insanity.  What made it worse is that they were always personal questions.

Hesitating briefly, Elrain decided he would tell him anyway.  “Our mother’s gone – again.”

“And that bothers you?” Dalin seemed somewhat surprised.  “She’s gone all the time.  Why is this any different?”

“But I’m turning sixteen today!  You’d think she’d be here for that!”

“I guess you’re right.  But it must be important whatever she’s doing, because she’s been leaving us like this ever since you were three.”

“Either that or she just doesn’t care about us.” Elrain hoped that wasn’t true, but it wouldn’t come as a shock if that were the case.

“I’m sure she does.  She probably just –,”

“If we mattered to her she would tell us where she was going!  Why is it such a secret?  I don’t know about you, but it makes me suspicious.”

“Well, she’s been absent like this for the past thirteen years, and that’s how long our father’s been missing.  Do you think…?”

“How could she be visiting him and not telling us?!” Elrain was getting more and more frustrated.  “We’re his sons, so we should be able to see him too!”

“She couldn’t be doing that anyway,” Dalin concluded.  “It would take her weeks, maybe even months, to get to Wragátha on foot.”

“You’re right.” Elrain heaved a great sigh and sat down in an empty chair.  “It just doesn’t make any sense.  Why would she leave, and where would she go?”

“Maybe we should keep a close eye on her and follow her next time she leaves?”

“That sounds interesting; and dangerous.” Shara, their fifteen year-old cousin, had been standing behind them for the past several minutes listening to their thoughts.

“Go away,” Dalin moaned.  “This is none of your business.”

“If you’re talking about Falder, it’s completely my business.  He’s my uncle, and I’m his niece.  If you have a right to talk about him, so do I.”

“Fine.  But what can we do about it?” Elrain was beginning to see where their conversation was going.

“Maybe we could look for him?” Shara suggested.

“That’s even more dangerous,” Dalin said.  “I like my first idea better.”

“You never know,” Elrain was seriously thinking about Shara’s words.  Of course, he had thought about looking for his father before, but now he believed he was much more capable of going on such a long and perilous journey.

“You can’t be serious, Elrain,” Dalin was staring at him, seeming to read his mind.  “You’ve just turned sixteen.  So you’re a man by everyone’s standards.  That doesn’t mean you can do everything.”

Elrain was on the verge of arguing against this, but he stopped and realized Dalin was right.  He couldn’t do everything yet, and it would be better if he came to grips with that before he went on a life-threatening quest to find his father.  The more he thought about it, the sillier it sounded.

            “So did I finally get through to you?” Dalin was staring down at him with a slight smug smile on his face.

            “Yeah; I guess you did.” Elrain responded, defeated.

            “Well, you might as well make the best of this day while it lasts,” Shara said.  “It only comes once in a lifetime.”

            The two brothers agreed, and they got up and joined the rest of the people in celebration.