PART ONE

Every thing was great in my life.. Until that day.
It wasn’t much of a strange day, a little rainy, but that’s not uncommon.
What made it strange was the traveler who wandered through our town.
When he left, I left with him.
It was the worst mistake I have ever made, maybe I'll make worse mistakes someday, but I doubt that.

One Week Before

"Hey Greg, how’s the armory coming along?"

"Not too badly, but the problem is that no one has bought anything yet. My family is getting worried that our money will run out before we can start selling our weapons and armor."

"Well, I can help with that...Ill have.. One mythril shield, one mythril sharpener, and a small steel dagger.."

"Thank you Rave...that will be five hundred and seventy-six golden coins."

So, I pulled out my deer hide satchel and pulled out all the coins in it. It added up to six hundred gold coins, but because Greg was my family's oldest friend I let him have all of it. After all, my job as a mercenary pays very well. In about two jobs I would have more money than I just gave him.. As long as the right people hired me. He handed over the items I had bought, and I left.

After that, I went home because it was starting to get dark, and with a weary sigh I laid back in my bed, pulled off a couple of the down feathers that had come out of the seven inch crack near my head (I never cared too much about anything but my Sword and Armor), closed my eyes and stared at the back of my eyelids for awhile until finally I fell asleep.

The next day I got a summons to the fort on the hill near the town. A man who was currently using the name Tire (he often changed his name, most of the time he called himself by the first thing he saw in the morning) wanted to hire me to guard his wife Shirley, who was going to go through the heart of the tangled forest on the other side of the hill, to go to the town of Krikkit to buy some more meat from the people of the town. I offered just to go back to my town and get some, or even to go hunting for him for less of a price, but he refused, saying

"No, your town has no good deer meat, and if you went hunting for me, I would be obliged to pay you more for effort spent. So just guard my wife."

"Okay," I said, "If that is what you wish, my price will be two thousand gold coins."

"I will double that if you will help her carry her satchel on the way back, and get her water if she needs more."

"That would be great! When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow," Shirley said, "After midday tea we will leave. Please, stay the night here. We will have breakfast in which you can join with us if that is what you desire."

"Thank you. Where is the room?"

"Follow me and I will show you where our guest room is.'

She led me down a great long hall, the floor was covered with a brilliantly bright blue carpet, which seemed to shine in comparison to the dark blue walls. These people had something about the color blue. After she showed me how to get to the room, and the side door near it to get in and out, I went outside and hunted the bandits I had heard about in the forest.

I hate bandits, and most likely would not collect the reward for the head of the leader.. My reward would come in two parts. The first part would the satisfying sound of cold mythril sliding through flesh and bone, and the second would be a new helmet, as my leather one was at odds with my steel chain-link armor, and the bronze leggings.

I really needed a complete new set of armor, but that would happen only after this job, as the town we were traveling to had some of the best armor there was. This bandit raid would also allow me to test out my new shield, and possibly the dagger.. But that would make it so I had to let them get close. I didn't want to smell their stench.

As I walked to the forest, I heard a whistle. One note high and long, the second note louder but lower and shorter. I grinned, knowing that there was a new arrival, and the fact that I now knew where they were. I started to jog in that direction, being careful of the sticks laying everywhere on the ground, and before long I saw the ruddy red glow of a fire. Slowly, and quietly, I slid my sword out of its sheath, and pulled my shield off its holster on my back. I waited for the new arrival to sit, and suddenly exploded out of the trees with a loud cry because I didn’t want to completely take them by surprise. That would ruin all the fun, and wouldn’t be a challenge.

As they all jumped up, I heard a noise from behind me, and suddenly two of the bandits had arrows through their chests, piercing their hearts with a cold perfection. I yelled at the person to stay out of this, heard a low, dark chuckle and ignored him for the rest of the fight. Three guys came at me from all sides, one with a huge two-handed battleaxe, one with dual daggers, and the other with a long sword. I just chuckled as I broke the head off the battleaxe, then stabbed the guy through his stomach and left him there in agony.

Did I mention how much I hate bandits?

The guy with the daggers and the long sword were standing back a bit, because they thought their comrade could beat me. Now the guy with the daggers circled around behind me, and leaped. I could tell that the bandits weren’t at the height of their game, because his daggers glanced harmlessly out to the right of my armor. I quickly pulled out my new steel dagger and threw it behind me without looking. I heard rather than saw the blade cleanly going through the tip of his nose, sliding up and piercing the brain for an instant kill.

I gave the last guy a look that said your time has come, grinned an insane grin of pure malice, and then cut off his head with one clean slice. Then I just rampaged around the camp, stabbing whoever popped up in from of me. At the end I had killed fifteen bandits, while the archer had killed twelve. I rounded on this archer now.

"What was that? Why did you attack them?" I exploded.

"Because I wanted some fun." Said the archer calmly.

"Well, at least tell me your name."

"My name is not very important. The important thing here is you Rave."

"How do you know my name?" I asked, glaring at this person who knew me, while I did not know them.

"I know your name..because I am your teacher."

"My teacher of what?"

"Your teacher of the arcane arts. Fire, Water, Earth, Air. These are the natural elements of nature. These you will be able to control once I have finished teaching you."

"Tell me where I can find you, after I finish the job I just accepted before coming here."

"I will find you." He backed into the bushes, I heard a slight rustling, but when I got over there to stop him, he was gone, vanished in the mist that was settling in the forest.

PART TWO

After he disappeared, I went back into the house, went to my room and went to the guest bedroom (I couldn't call the room mine, because my room was nowhere..it was whatever inn or soft moss I could find on the side of the road). I laid on the bed, relaxed my muscles that were still tense from the fight, and laid staring at the pure blue ceiling. When I finally did go to sleep, I dreamed. I often had nightmares, but I never remember them in the morning.

I remembered this dream. This dream was about me learning how to enchant my equipment with elements. My armor would be enchanted with earth power, as rocks are steadfast in their defense, as well as with a small amount of water energy. My helmet would be enchanted with air, to allow me to see clearly across large distances. My shield would be enchanted with the healing attributes of water on the inside, and earth on the outside. My sword would, of course, be enchanted with flaming power.

When I woke up in the morning, my arms were tired, as if I had actually enchanted everything with the motions that I did in my dream. I went to the dining room and ate a hearty breakfast of eggs and fresh bacon. I picked up Shirley's moneybag, and we started off on the winding dark path of the forest.

As we were walking, we heard loud low notes. I figured they were just our footfalls echoing back to our ears, but then I realized that they were drumbeats, and a cold fear settled into my stomach. I remembered the stories about drumbeats in the forest. The stories all agreed on one thing: when you hear the beats, RUN!

A hour later, we found the drums. I quickly pulled out my sword, and took off my shield, ready for battle with the highest ranking of bandits there are in this forest. As I unsheathed my sword, the sun glinted off it, making it seem wreathed in fire, I found that suddenly I could see things perfectly after I put on my helm, and my armor and shield had that scent of mud that the ground has.

Suddenly out of the trees came five men. If you saw them, you could tell that they were very good fighters. Their muscles bulged like oversized footballs, but they were thin and looked agile. I grinned in anticipation of the battle to come, lifted Shirley into a tree to keep her safe, and allowed them to charge at me. The first thing every warrior needs to know is don’t make the first move. I lifted up my shield and it got slammed into, making my arm ache. Two seconds later, my arm stopped aching and felt stronger.

I lifted up my sword and accidentally touched a branch on the tree next to me, and the branch burst into flame. It was then that I recalled my dream, and realized that it was not actually a dream, but a reality. Then I started laughing, a laugh that never seemed to end, a laugh that said I accept the reality that should be impossible and that it will make me even stronger. I almost felt bad for these bandits who thought we were easy prey. Almost.

Still chuckling, I attacked the bandits, cleanly slicing through the first mans armor, cutting out his heart, and smelling the flesh that the flaming sword burned through. Then I bashed my shield into the head of the next bandit. I pulled out my dagger and threw it at the third, and the other two converged upon me. I blocked one man's blade, cleaving it in two, and cut off the other man's hands.

PART THREE

From behind me I heard a rustle, so as I quickly spun around I felt a searing pain in the small of my back, and passed out almost immediately. When I awoke, it was dark out, and I was lying on my back surrounded by nothing but shadows. I called out for Shirley, and hearing no answer, feared the worst. I jumped up and started hobbling in the direction of the rustle, but had to stop to rest several times as I still felt weak. It was then I remembered what had happened. I reached behind me and pulled a small silver dagger from my back, and pressed the point into a deer that was running by. The deer went down immediately, asleep. After the dagger came out, the wound started to bleed fiercely, but stopped quickly because of my armor's power of small healing.

I started off again, after taking a drink of water. I could tell the poison was out of my bloodstream because I felt strong again, and really wanted to get back at those bandits who had cowardly attacked from behind, with a poison dagger. Before long, I came upon their village, and stopped to stare. This village was incredible! There were some nice houses, some stores, and there were men and women everywhere. Not the sort of thing you would expect from rogues and bandits, then I remembered one of the stories. No one had ever lived long enough to find them, so they could build a small village here in the forest, undisturbed.

PART FOUR

I waiting until one of the male bandits walked out of the village, then tackled him, and slammed his head against a large rock nearby. Several times. Really hard.

Did I mention how much I hate bandits?

I took his cloak off him, put it on myself, and walked into the village. As I was walking, I smelled something burning in the air. I started to sprint for the fire, found a house on fire, threw off my cloak so it wouldn’t burn, and sprinted back and forth from the stream nearby until I got so tired I just wished for the stream to carry itself and put out the fire. All of a sudden, water gushed out and put out the fire. I thought that I had done it for a minute, until the strangely hooded man came out of the forest, watching me, and giving a jump of surprise when he saw the aura around my armor. I looked down and realized that my sword, shield, and dagger were gone! I heard a low, threatening chuckle behind me. I looked around and saw a man start licking the blade of my sword. Then the man swore and moaned in agony because he just burned his tongue when my blade burst into flame on him. I picked up the man and threw him into the stream, not killing him because I wanted him to see this: I picked up my blade, cleaned it off on the ground, and licked the very edge, not cutting my tongue because the sword would never hurt me after I enchanted it in my sleep. The man's eyes widened in surprise, and stayed that way after I cut off his head for stealing my stuff.

I continued looking, until I heard a scream that sounded like Shirley. I ran in that direction and found them tying her to a stack with wood around it. I ran over, unsheathed my sword and was hit from behind again. But this time I was ready for their sneaky tactics, and slammed my dagger into the guy’s gut. I turned around and saw the guy had no hands, and knew he was the last man I fought before the dart. So I ended his misery with a brief stab through the heart with my sword. Then I cried aloud in pain as my arm was stabbed near the shoulder. My sword dropped out of my numb hand, and I picked it up with my other hand, rounded on the man who stabbed me, and told him to run if he valued his life. In reply, he took out twin daggers, and came at me again. I caught both daggers with my sword, and grunted at the effort. This man was no small challenge. The daggers, however, were not up to the challenge and shattered, spraying my arm and his hands with shrapnel. My second arm was then useless, so I head butted him in the stomach, and slammed him into a spiked pole that was for torturing information out of people.

Next was the last three. They all came at me at once, then one was picked off with an arrow. I grinned, knowing that my future teacher was helping me out. The other two came at me at a dead sprint, and one of them kneed my groin. I doubled over in pain, then fell backwards after a fist slammed into my nose. I saw a large rock come at me, and everything went black.

When I awoke, I found the two men lying there on the ground, one was burned by fire, and the other was encased in rock, still alive. I kicked him in the head, asked him how long I had been out, and he replied that there had been a single day that I was out, and could I please get him some water as he was dieing of thirst. I told him that that means I don't have to kill him myself, and walked away, after covering the area with some leaves and gagging the man's mouth so he couldn't yell for help. I walked over to the stake, untied Shirley, and we went off back into the forest.

Half a day later, we walked out into the town. I rented us a room at an Inn, and lay there on the bed waiting for Shirley to come back with medicine for my many wounds on my arm, and an antidote for the poison that was still in my bloodstream, and was fatal if left there. I fell asleep, and when I awoke again, my armor was off, my wounds were bandaged, and my blood was clear of poison. I looked to my left and saw Shirley huddled into a ball next to me. I noticed the chair she was sitting in and knew she had waited all night
to make sure I recovered from the poison. I gently pulled her head from my chest, put it down on the pillow, moved her body into a position fit for sleep on the bed, and went downstairs to buy us a drink.

When she woke up, we went through the town, and bought everything she needed there, and reentered the forest. This time, when I heard drumbeats, I heard them fade after they got close. I guess they didn’t want me to kill any more of them. We got back to Shirley and Tire (who was now calling himself Cat)'s house, and I got paid the not-so-small amount of four thousand golden coins. I decided to collect the four hundred golden coins for killing the bandits, and went on my way back to my old Inn.

After a couple of days of pure relaxation and recuperation, I was getting antsy. I hadn't had a job since, and it didn't look like anyone needed a mercenary. Then in walked the elemental master, and he led me away into the more tamed forest in the center of the town, where there was lots of room, lots of water, wood, and good clean air, and had me sit down.

PART FIVE

I looked at this future teacher and growled,

"Okay, you brought me out here. Now I want to know your name before I decide to disembowel you. Or decapitate you. Or shove a dagger into your stomach and watch you squirm. Or even all of the above.."

"My name is not important as I have previously stated." He chuckled.

"Tell me NOW or I walk away. Leaving you in the dirt. Groveling for someone to help you."

"Very well, my name is Drak Cyric Hellspawn. I have trained many years in the temple of monks, and have learned how to control the basic elements of nature, namely: air, fire, water, and earth. If you are strong enough, and powerful enough, to survive my training, then you too will have mastered these basic elements, and I shall join you wherever you may go. Of course, you would have to come with me before that, and I shall teach you on the way to a quest I will embark you upon, for me and you."

"Well, Drak Cyric Hellspawn, if you are to be my teacher, face me in hand-to-hand battle, and I shall decide whether it is I who should be teaching you, or the other way around."

"Very well. Choose your weapon. I choose my giant two-handed sword enchanted with every element."

"And I choose my mythril sword, which I enchanted...in my sleep...somehow."

"And so it begins. En Garde!"

We circled around each other, both of us eyeing the other person's sword. I decided to start this one, as it seemed that Hellspawn was not even strong enough to lift that sword, let alone swing it. Big mistake. He moved that sword with blinding speed and slammed my blade into the ground, let go of the sword, maneuvered around me, and grappled me from behind. I grinned, because I have had much experience with that sort of thing, but when I tried to move him off me, I couldn't. It seemed that he weighed about two tons.

I quickly resigned from the fight, as I did not want to tire myself too much. I told him that I would gladly take him as a teacher, but I am taking his giant sword. When I picked it up, I could feel how light it was. I remembered his words then that he enchanted it with every element. Air would make the sword lighter, fire for destructive power, water so it wouldn't be able to rust, and earth to join with the soil should he slam the sword into it. The water also made it condense into an easily carried broadsword.

And off we went. As I said before, that was the biggest mistake I have ever, or will ever, make in my lifetime.

The first thing that he taught me was how to feel nature. He taught me to commune with the insects, the birds, and the fish, to respect Nature in all its glory, and all its pain as well. He showed me how we humans (and those with demons inside them) have hurt and killed much of nature. Just doing something as simple as throwing a rock into the ocean can have immense side effects, such as killing on animal, which then something eats, and then something else eats the second something, and so on. So that one animal that the rock killed became part of food for many animals. Throw many rocks in, and entire ecosystems could be destroyed.

I didn't care, and told him so. I told him that the only thing I cared about right now was Fire. He told me to shut up because in order to be able to use fire, I had to learn about all the other elements first. Ground was first, then air, polar opposites, then water and then fire, also polar opposites.

That’s this part that ended. Look at post #4 for my comment thread link

PART SIX

And so, we are back to the beginning of my story.

After spending a few days listening to the sounds of the forest, treating a few sick creatures, and learning how to move even more stealthily through the woods, we went on.

The first element I learned was earth, or ground. In order to learn this, we had to travel back to the bandit’s camp, so that we could learn how to use it to attack as well as defend. This would be fun!

We walked in the front door, then Drak moved back out, allowing me to have the floor. I thanked him as I started defending against the bandit's small dual daggers. Drak then shouted at me saying,

"You need to use the earth element, or we will leave!"

"But you haven’t taught me anything yet!"

"You have known how to use it. Simply feel the earth and tell it what you want it to do."

So I concentrated on the earth, and told it to wrap itself solidly, unbreakably, around the ankles of all the bandits in this camp. Lo and behold! The bandits couldn’t move an inch. So I broke their weapons and left them there, putting water and food just out of their reach, and told the earth to not let anyone get close to them for a week. My master said that I had an unusually powerful hold over the earth, and I told him that it was probably because I have spent my entire life going through this forest. Next up was the power of air, of lightness, of great sight, and of soothing coolness.

For this we went up on a cliff. Drak was NOT messing around with this teaching. He told me to concentrate on the wind, and to shape it to my will. I had great difficulty in getting the wind to do as I say. Finally I was able to make the wind partially bend to my will and blow upon Drak and myself, but it was only the strength of a breath you would take. My master told me that the reason I had difficulty with the wind is because I was used to the unchanging, stubborn rock. Wind was flighty, and would go where it pleases, and so it was hard for me to move with the wind. He also said that this was normal for one so unusually gifted in the element of earth. Next was the power of water, the power of healing, the power of the fastest movement, the power of unchangeable power.

For this we went to the ocean. For this, there was no concentration involved. I sighed with relief, as my head was smarting from concentrating too much, I was a man of action, not thought! To bless with the power of water, you must simply believe that you can. Sounds a lot like faith to me. Simply believe, and water will do what you ask from it. Drak said that this was because water was fickle, vain in its own way, and very independent. So I believed in the power of water's healing, stuck my lacerated arms in the water, the bandits had given me a few scratches, and my arms felt cooled, and soothed. When I pulled my arms out, the cuts had disappeared. Lastly was the awesome destructive power of fire.

There was nowhere to go for this one. I had to make it from scratch.

"That is the secret of fire," Drak said, "Its ability to live everywhere makes it hard to find, but makes it easy to create."

He told me to think of heat, of a blindingly bright light, backed by intense waves of heat. Now I had to envision that heat and light coming together on my hand, not burning me, and not blinding me, but being there. When I opened my eyes, there was a tongue of flame on my hand that didn’t burn me, but when I threw it at Drak as a joke, he was seriously burned. He scolded me, and soothed the burns with water. When I asked him why he didn’t just heal them completely, he responded that sometimes the elements would not respond to you, and if you use them too much in a short amount of time, they may completely desert you. That is why you enchant armors and weapons with the elements, so that you get a partially benefit at all times.

"Never use them in a battle except as a last resort."

"Why not? They bring awesome power to defeat your enemies!"

"I will show you why by having you fight my friends."

Out of the forest behind him jumped Lloyd Lionheart and Cerebus. They both looked to be about twenty-five years of age, Lloyd was carrying a sword that seemed to be made from some huge animal's bones, and some sort of greenish-tinged fire. Cerebus was carrying a long sword, bluish along the blade, and very, very, sharp at the end. Lloyd was wearing a pitch-black one-piece armor, with a blood-red cape, that seemed to be stained with actual blood. Cerebus went without a cape, and his two-piece armor was black with a dark blue trimming along where the two pieces met together.

"Now you will fight them, using only your elemental control. Have fun!"



PART SEVEN

Lloyd came a me first. He leaped forward with a mighty battle cry, and swung at me with his sword. I grinned, and shot up a huge boulder out of the ground to block his attack, making it soft where the sword was going to hit. His sword hit, and sank in about halfway. I hardened all of the rock, encasing his sword in solid rock, and thus taking Lloyds sword from him. I looked around, expecting an attack from Cerebus next, then got slammed in the back, by Cerebus. I concentrated on the air, willing it to blow Cerebus away from me, and then create a whirlwind around me.

The air obeyed, and I was safely encased in a whirling cyclone, effectively cutting them off from me. I waited long enough for me to catch my breath, and then allowed the cyclone to die down. I crouched while waiting, with my sword in my hand, ready to attack. Then I remembered Drak's comment about attacking only with elements.

So I put my sword back in its sheath, and concentrated on creating a large tongue of flame. I got hit in the back of the head, and slammed into the ground, dazed.

"Okay. I think he’s learned why now guys. You can stop."

Suddenly Lloyd was hit with a small piece of metal, after a crack of thunder. He spun around, and lay there on the ground, holding his arm where he had been hit.

"Who was that?" I cried, and sent a streak of flame on the same course the piece of metal came from. A guy came running back out of the forest, shouting at me.

"Why did you do that? I just saved your life!" Said the stranger.

"No you didn't. That was a training session."

"Oh.. oops.. I guess I was too hasty.. Sorry about that!"

"Augh, its okay stranger.. but tell us your name" Groaned Lloyd from the ground.

"Halo Nerd. What are yours?"

"Mine is Rave, the guy on the ground is Lloyd, the guy with the very, very pointy sword is Cerebus and the guy standing calmly over there watching us with a smirk on his face is my so-called master, Drak Hellspawn. Nice to meet ya Halo Nerd."

"Uh, just to let you know, I am King of Seridio." Lloyd said, after standing up. He went over to the forest, grabbed some herbs, ground them up and put some of the green paste on his wound. "Mighty strong spell, that was."

"I combined Electricity and Earth to make it. Strong isn't it?"

"Oooh yeah.." Lloyd winced as the paste went on his wound.

"We are practicing my control over all the elements. That was a lesson Rave had to learn, the reason he cannot use the elements in a battle, it’s too hard to concentrate for long enough to actually use the elements." Drak walked over, nodded to Halo Nerd. "Thanks you two for teaching him.. We must go onward now however. On to the next place we have to go. The center of everything that has been happening."



PART EIGHT

"...To Cerevo."

The following morning, we packed up and walked on. About an hour later, we saw a herd of horses, and commandeered a couple of horses. After that, our travel became much faster. We ran the warrior way, every two hours getting off the horse and running next to it for an hour, to give it a break. We traveled past three towns, and were about halfway to the next. When nightfall came, we dismounted, and pulled out the blankets we had bought, and went to sleep. I created a huge whirlwind to stop anyone from coming to attack us, and we slept long and well.

In the morning we packed up, and went once again. Just before the town, we heard a strange noise. It was a lute player, sitting on a stump. The melody she played was haunting, sad, yet with a beat that gave it energy. When we walked up, she looked at us, and then away. Her eyes had the look of someone who was thinking deep thoughts. We spent half the day, listening to that music. After she stopped, we asked her name. She gave us a dumbfounded look, and motioned to her ears. She couldn't hear us, and could only speak through her music. She sat back down to play, and she played a different melody, this one lively and upbeat. It was the best music we had ever heard.

I guess that we had stayed there too long. That night, a group of armored robbers came over to the campsite. They grabbed the girl, and threw her to the ground, then came after us. Halo Nerd used his concoction again, and it sliced through the robber's armor, into his heart. Lloyd and Cerebus help off the other robbers, giving me and Drak enough time to concentrate. The robbers died, boiled in thier armor. We ran to the girl, but it was too late. Her head had hit the stump, and the temple was cracked open. Her eyes glazed, and the last breath she had left her lips in a soft whisper. The most beautiful music in the world, played by a person who couldn't hear, was lost forever to the world. That really torked me off, and I was in a very bad mood when the bandit's screams finally faded. So when we went, I went into the next town I came across, and wreaked havoc upon the fanciest home I could find. I knew that the other fancy homes would hear about it that same night, and set up mercenary guards. I was in the mood for a good fight... maybe I wouldn't kill them... maybe. I sent everyone else ahead, and seeing the mood that I was in, they obeyed without question. I set up a small, temporary camp near the town, with a fire going. I kept the fire smokey so that it would attract people. Then I sat, and waited.

In the middle of the night, there was a clap of thunder, and a man appeared next to me. He spoke with a heavy accent, a dialect that had not been heard actually spoken in many years.

"Thou wishes to hold a tiny tourny to test thy strength? Or ist thou maddened at some full fool? Either way, later this nite there wilst be a tourny wyth many people. Test thy strength, and I shalt bear wytness to thine power."

**Translation for those who do not understand.

"You wish to hold a contest of your strength? Or are you mad at some fool? Either way, later on this night there will be a contest with many people. Test your strength, and I will bear witness to your power."

End Translation**

True to his word, later that night a group of people snuck up to my campsite. The only warning I had was a brief muffled clink as the group drew thier weapons. The first blade was blocked with a wall of earth and rocks. The second attempt at my life was retaliated with a blast of flame. After the third attempt, the sword melted, I got angry. The broadsword came out with a steely rasp, and the axe was broken. I took the wind, and grafted it into my skin. The result is that my physical speed was increased two..maybe even three fold. Like a whirlwind, I whirled back and forth, slicing open weapons, armor, skulls. Nobody who came within the range of my sword survived the fight. Eventually, the people retreated from the fight.

The strange man walked up to me after words, and nodded once.

"Thou art powerful, and wily. Wilst thou train furthur wyth mine person? For I canst teache thy mind, and have it sprint along thy path to greatness. Teleportation, portals into other dimensions, if thou canst name it, I canst teach it to thou."

**Translation

"You are powerful, and wily. Will you train more with me? For I can teach you, and further you along your path to greatness. Teleportation, portals into other dimensions, if you can name it, I can teach it to you."

End Translation**

I agreed, and he opened a portal. When I stepped through it, I was before a dark, damp cave.

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As I said in the description, I know it is poorly worded and constucted, but here it is. The one that started me writing.

Your stories are VERY interesting.

halo nerd, LOL

so this is the story that really got you started on writing? not bad

There is an explanation behind Halo Nerd. I was browsing the forums and he had written a story and was asking for usernames to put into it. I -allowed- him to use mine, and since he put it in, I felt as if I owed him something, because I enjoyed his story. So when I was writing my story, I decided to pay him homage because I was helping him out and he said I should try to write something. Thanks for both comments

the beginning of a great author. Awesome story.