Hello everyone. I am writing this story here because I think, that the people who are reading here are a magnificent audience, and the writers here are the people with the greatest minds. The story is an original work although, I like everyone else had something to inspire me, so you may see some fragments of other literature, nevertheless I think you will love it. This is a story which I greatly cherish because it has made me into the person I am today and much of its content describe my way of thinking. It contains a wonderful world that everyone can get lost into and a lot of different characters that anyone can relate to. A world filled with magic and adventure even comedy and if you stick with the story, there will be even some spicy moments.
I will be waiting for your responses so read on an ENJOY!
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Intro
Most people think time is like a river, that flows swift and sure in one direction but I have seen the face of time and I can tell you, they are wrong. Time is like an ocean in a storm. In this magnificent world that we live in, that consists of the world of the real and unreal even the smallest mistake can change the course of time. To avoid such a change in the time continuum, these two worlds are divided by a magical barrier, which by itself doesn't allow creatures from the first world to communicate with creatures from the other world. But sometimes this barrier grows weaker thanks to a disturbance in the magical powers that keep it up, thus forming a bridge between the two worlds, disturbing the time continuum and thanks to that a change to the whole world can form at any given point. Usually that doesn't happen, but if it does this clash of worlds can be felt by each and everyone, giving way to chaos. There for, there is always someone who is tasked with fixing this hole between the dimensions of those both worlds, restoring the normal flow of time.
I
Clash of worlds
Each hero starts his journey from scrap, forming his self and becoming that which the world needs and in some occasions even more, managing to change the world with his skills and character but he didn't even expect that the road which he had to walk was already foretold by destiny itself, that destiny that guides each and everyone of us by the hand towards the unknown and the untold. He still did not know but the fate of the world and the people living in it was in his hands and everything was depended on him, something which he was going to find out very soon, trough a very hard way.
His name was Gomez. In short he was born in a far away village near the famous trading city called Kurast. Born in a poor family of a blacksmith, who himself by a turn of fate died two years after the birth of his son. Gomez was much like his father, with his long white and barely curly hair just at the end, which he tied in a ponytail for the sole purpose of working because his hair was getting in the way adding to that were his deep dark eyes which made everyone who stared into them to shake. Although that wasn't his intention yet he was very happy to have them because that was the only thing that was left by his father. And so Gomez like a lonely child had to help his mother with whatever he could. Without many friends and dreams of adventure at that point, for which he longed for so much seeing each and every day adventurers which were passing from the direction of the town, Kurast was not only a trading point it was also a place where and adventurer who looked for a new supply or just a place to rest gathered, but putting aside his dream Gomez knew that his family is and was always going to be a top priority, he was a good kid and helped everyone who needed by putting his whole heart in everything he did. Each and everyone be he blind, deaf or crippled felt the aura emanating from this child.
With the passing of the years Gomez grew, gaining manly characteristics which could make every young girl to quiver just by the looks of him, his chiseled face covered in a slightly rugged beard much darker than his hair, which was still diamond white. The sharpness of his eyes still so deep, even his muscle mass formed and gained thanks to the years of hard work, gave a finishing touch to his physique. But not only he grew, his good heart also grew with him as in the same time he was still giving help to everyone who was in need. But as always happens bad things happen without a notice even to the good people. For a bad twist of fate his mother fell ill and Gomez had to find himself a stable job, so that he can look after his mother, because that which he was gaining from the business his father left him, wasn't enough, it's just that the blacksmithing was earning him enough funds which in past were more than he could spend, nowadays after a more modern blacksmith did open in Kurast no one came to the village even for repairs, it did not matter that the quality of the weapons and armor which was made in Kurast was worse than what he could the question remained where could he start from. He had no idea what was truly the world outside his village, filled with darkness and magic it was a terrifying place. But as always happens, things happen in such a way which destiny has foretold.
During one day, normal as usual, while Gomez was filling water for his mother from the nearby creek in the distance he could make out a figure of a man who was apparently approaching the village. But much to his disbelieve, Gomez saw that, that same figure dropped down on the ground. Seeing this at first he was caught off guard thinking the worst. But as soon as Gomez came to his senses he put aside these negative thoughts from his mind, took the jugs filled with water and went to the fallen persons' aid. When he did eventually reach him, he noticed that in fact that person was a weary old man. Gomez kneeled by his side and quickly handed some water to him.
-Drink slowly – said Gomez while holding the old man's head, who himself started drinking from the water with big sips.
When the man stopped drinking, he thanked the young man for aiding him and afterwards asked for his name.
-Gomez- He replied.
-Gomez eh? Well Gomez until now I haven't seen a person with such a good soul as yours. The others would have just left me here to die, but you…. Thank you!
-You are welcome- replied Gomez with a smile on his face and continued – Can do something else for you? – Asked Gomez.
-You already did more than you can imagine.- replied the old man.
With a slightly confused look on his face Gomez replied:
-Well then I will be going. I have to go back, I can't leave my mother alone for a long period of time without someone to watch over her, because she is sick. –But as soon as Gomez turned his back towards the old man, he stopped him by grabbing his hand rather firmly, much to Gomezes astonishment and then asked:
-Gomez you helped me in a moment when I was in need I would like to repay you. It may not show but I am actually looking for a worker for a very special job, of course they payment is very good. What do you say? Do you agree?
-A worker? For what?
-That I can't tell, not now that is. Think of it as a classified information.
-How can I trust you. – asked Gomez
-Oh, I have the feeling that you will! – replied the old man.
-But why exactly me?- Asked Gomez in defense.
But the old man without saying why, asked again with a firm voice:
-Do you accept?!
Gomez had to agree because, the money he was earning for now, wasn't enough for his mothers' medicine. No matter what he was getting himself into, his goal, his mother, that was the main priority.
-Yes of course I accept- he replied decisively.
-Excellent! – Said the old man with a grin on his face.
Before they part ways for now, the man drew a map of the road which Gomez had to take, to his destination.
-Well we will see each other soon- said the old man.
-I didn't ask for your name? – Gomez turned towards him.
-I am Cronos.- replied the man continuing down his road without turning towards Gomez, while replying.
The rest of Gomezes day went completely normal, like any other day, that is until the night came, something was different, so much that every time he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, the only thing he could see was mystical creatures as well as the suffering of thousand souls who were walking aimlessly trough the void. Despite those nightmares Gomez knew that he will have to get some rest because there was a long journey which awaited him on the next day. In the end exhaustion took his toll and he managed to fall asleep in the early hours of the new day. On the morning, after the harsh sleepless night, Gomez was visually tired but the day for him was just beginning.
After breakfast, before he actually departed, he took his time saying goodbye to his mother.
-Its time! – exhaled Gomez; - I am going. Please take care of yourself! I will be back in a couple of months, I have talked with the villagers to take care of you while I am gone. They will bring you food, water and whatever else you need and when I come back I will settle things with them and I will continue to take care of you, with the earnings I will make we shouldn't be worried for anything. – said Gomez smiling.
-Oh darling you don't need to overexert or do anything for me, it's enough for me that you are by my side.
-Mom I would give everything so that you can feel better, that should go without saying but remember I don't want you to worry for me while I am gone, everything will be ok I promise you that, don't burden yourself with negative thoughts that will only backfire towards you.
-Oh I knew that this day will come!
-This day?!- asked Gomez rather confused.
His mom only smiled without answering. With a kiss on his forehead she said:
-Take care my son! Remember that whatever happens, you and only you decide your fate.
Again a little confuse by his mothers words, he said:
-I love you mom, I will be back as soon as I can. With those words said, Gomez took his things and a last goodbye with his mother and afterwards he headed on his was, wanting to outrun the sunrise. But yet he could not explain his visions that came to him during the night, were they just dreams, a future endeavour or just a fruit of his imagination.
He knew, that thoughts like that will only be of a distraction on his little journey, that's why he decided to put them aside and continue on his road, which by itself wasn't that short, Gomez noticed that part of the road which was shown on the map given to him by Cronos, was cutting trough the slightly know to him, One-thousand-year-old forest. A forest known to him only trough the legends spoken by the old folks of his village and the adventurers who were passing by it. According to the adventurers the forest was a home to a lot of different creatures and plant life of every sort, and everyone who has entered its depths, came out visually changed like everything they knew as a reality was deformed. Of course Gomez did not believe those stories for him those people were just beings who were not successful in their adventures and have lost everything they have invested in and thus going mental, lost souls without a goal, that's what they were to him. The elders from his village even said that the forest itself was witness to many wars which happened many years ago, when people still waged war for territory and resources, in times when the land had a lot to offer and thus this forest was a key point for waging wars thanks to its strategic position. A place where many people had lost their lives, it was also called "the crossway between life and death", a definition which the people who have passed through it used very often, the reason for it was, that according to them in the forest existed a magical barrier raised by magicians, after seeing how people had become greedy and lustful for power and after those same people started to practice forbidden magic to summon demons to fight by their side with the sole purpose of a fast win, thus they had to be banished with an invisible barrier into another dimension. Not long after that he entered the forest. Gomez did not know the region and everything that sarounded him was very interesting to him, as if everything even the trees were... ? Shivered Gomez after he saw something moving near one of the trees, that were surrounding him.
-Probably a wild animal. - He tried to calm himself.
At that moment a set of words popped in his head, words that made him quiver, Carru the oldest of the elders from his village once told him:
-Hah demons? Mages? No! God no, that which scares the people and makes them hallucinate are simply spirits, ghosts, (after a short pause he continued) yes ghosts, of the people who have died in the fights for teritorry, their bodies and souls are imbedded in the forest within the trees, haha… kids, so naive! Stated Carry with a maniacal laughter rising slowly from his armchair.
But for Gomez those were only stories, spoken for the sole purpose of scaring the children, right? Gomez asked himself. Trying to calm himself he continued down the road that was marked on his map, walking with a feel of great uncertainty and amazement from the scenery that was all around him.
The whole day Gomez was walking without stopping, unless for the small breaks he took for a short meal, made specially by his dear mother, which nowadays she barely cooked anything, that's why this was very special for him, the thought of her making something for him and to help him in some way in his little journey, that alone gave him strength and courage. Not long after the night was upon Gomez, that's why he decided to make himself a shelter for the night, which by itself was rainy and on top of that outside his tent that he managed to put up without much effort for a very short period of time, made out of branches and leaves stacked together upon one another a skill he gained from a young age while gathering herbs, he could hear strange noises, which made the efforts of Gomez to get some sleep even more harder. Despite the whims of the nature, he eventually managed to fall asleep but the nightmares came back to him more real than ever, as if his attempts to fall asleep weren't hard enough the dream itself turned out to be hell, filled with horrors, death and heroism. This time around another one of the natures whims saved Gomez from this nightmare, after the silence outside was interrupted by the screeching roar of a thunder, waking up Gomez. Shocked he got up and headed for the exit of the tent with the sole purpose to see what was the commotion about and to check if the rain had stopped, but his effort was foiled by a hard hit in the back of his head, making him lose conscious. After he managed to regain his bearings he noticed that he was hanging helplessly on the shoulder of some kind of creature, without knowing why. Moment after that he lost consciousness again caused be the hit he received earlier. A long time passed until Gomez finally managed to come back to his senses again, this time the scene was different, he was tied to a tree and the thing in front of him, which already had even managed to light a fire and was visually eating some kind of critter, noticed that his guest had "awakened" again and started talking to Gomez in a language foreign to his, after which the thing pointed towards another critter that was still sitting on the fire, but Gomez apparently didn't like that that idea and refused the ordeal, the refusal itself seemed strange to the creature that was standing in front of him. Thanks to the fact that Gomez was now conscious and was able to walk, their journey took a faster pace at continued for two more days, Gomez had no other option but to fallow this thing, which had taken him hostage.
The road they were going trough was laced with bushes, rivers and everything you could expect from a forest to offer, especially such an old one, but something was different and Gomez couldn't quite understand what, there was just this lingering feeling until he finally noticed, that they weren't anymore in the one-thousand-year-old forest, but in fact they were in another quite similar to the previous one.
-I have never heard of a second such similar forest, where am i? Gomez asked himself. When the forest did clear, they were standing on a hill before them was a great plain, upon it a demonic castle with the shape of a skull was towering over everything.
Gomez with a fear struck face, remember that he saw this place in one of his dream that have been fallowing him lately. Without saying a word or to show in some way his intentions the creature flipped Gomez over his shoulder without much effort.
-Hey wait what do you think you are doing!? Said Gomez.
But he didn't get any answer, after which the thing started running down the hill with great speed, much to Gomezes horror. The closer the came to the castle the more were the clouds becoming thick and darkness descended upon them as if they were entering in an abyss. The feelings Gomez had were mixed, between amazement and the unexplainable desire to enter the mysterious castle to sheer fear. Despite the panic that was taking over him he had no other choice but to enter the castle, because the creature was headed towards the massive gates of the castle, step by step, ever so much closing towards it, until finally they were inside. Despite the visual appearance of the castle the interior was quite different, there was this compelling magical aura that Gomez felt as soon as he stepped inside the castle, which itself consisted of four floors, which Gomez scouted thoroughly while the creature was taking him upwards floor by floor. Each floor was unique from the rest. The first was carved entirely out of granite and by the looks of it, was used as a storage compartment for the immeasurable treasures of the owner of the castle, with chandeliers made out of ivory, the looks of the floor showed greatness, but that wasn't as amazing as the other floors, each more exceptional from the other. Reaching the second one, which you could reach by going to a staircase made out of marble white bones, as if they were polished, thought to himself Gomez. After going trought the flight of stairs, Gomez immediately saw that the second floor was intirely made of pure marble with countles rooms on it.
-Guest rooms? Gomez asked himself.
The third floor was made out of stone, but not any kind of stone, but precious jewels with scarabs imbedded into the walls, floor and ceiling, an amazing architecture could be seen through the whole castle even on the last floor, where everything was made out of pure gold.
-How? Gomez asked himself again and after that continued – This can't be manmade.
If we take the amazing scenery aside, Gomez was feeling troubled and the higher he went with the creature by his side the more that feeling was increasing. Before entering the main room on the fourth floor, the creature let go of Gomez and stepped back a few steps after which it yelled something, which Gomez thought that it was some kind of spell, moment after that the massive beech gate opened itself and in the middle of the room he could see a throne, carved out of wood, polished and made to perfection. Gomezes amazement was interrupted when the thing pushed him forwards inside the room. Slow but sure he entered inside, the moment they both stepped inside the room the wooden gates shut tight behind them with a loud thud. Again step by step Gomez headed towards the throne that was turned with its back towards him. After Gomez got closer he stopped no more than two meters from the throne and asked slightly:
-Where am i?
But his question was left without an answer, which perplexed Gomez and he asked the same question again with a hint of impatience in his voice:
-Where am i?
Dead silence fallowed.
Enraged by this and from whole kidnapping thing that he had to go through, Gomez charged towards the throne, determined to get the answer he seeked out, But the sound of some ones heavy voice made him freeze in his tracks.
-STOP! The mysterious voice yelled.
Gomez felt like some kind of barrier was formed around him and did not let him continue forward.
-I will remove the spell that is holding you, only if you calm yourself down!
-Spell? Asked Gomez in amazement.
In that moment the throne span towards Gomez and the man sitting in it removed his good with a slow and steady pace. The face was very familiar to Gomez.
-Cronos? He asked again in amazement.
-That's right, it's me, the feeble old man that you helped.
-At least you looked feeble but now….. don't tell me that all of this is yours? Asked doubtfully Gomez.
-It is and yeah feeble but only on your world.
-How come my world? What do you want to say by that? What is happening here?
-I will explain, but first I see that you calmed yourself a little, let me make you a favor and remove the spell that holds you.
After saying those words Cronos snapped his finger, releasing Gomez who immediately fell down on his knees, something was not right his feet couldn't hold his own weight.
-Don't worry it will pass: Said Cronos giving Gomez a devils grin.
-I don't understand, what did you do to me?
-Let me explain. In simple word, you are in my castle, welcome, i made it so that my home is hidden from the eyes of the mortals, it happens from time to time for them to enter these territories, but you are an exception and only you can see it.
-Sorry? Only me, then how did that thing dragged me here?
-Look at it, does it look mortal?
Cronos was right, but the question remained unsolved.
-But how? Why? Gomez asked desperately.
-You ask why? It's simple, because you are the chosen one! Stated Cronos.
That answer caught Gomez off guard.
-Chosen? For what? Gomez asked.
- What do you mean with that for what? To save the world of course.
-Aham, right, well that's swell and all but I will leaving now.
- Haha you are funny, but sadly you can't leave: said Cronos with a smile on his face.
- Oh yes I can, let me show you how it is done, you put one foot in front of the other and you repeat, until you finally I reach my home! Exclaimed Gomez.
- And you will go where, without a map and zero directions, hell you don't even know how you got here and where here exactly is.
- Well yeah but that is because trough most of the time I was unconscious thanks to that thing here! Replied Gomez while pointing towards the creature, which was visually unmoved and didn't even notice that they were speaking for him, after which Gomez continued.
- Don't worry about me I will manage somehow I still have the map that you gave me.
Gomez headed towards the door while saying these words, but he stopped when he again heard the voice of Cronos.
- Yes you have a map, but for your world.
- Again with that thing about my world. What do you mean by that? Asked again Gomez this time with desperation in his voice.
- Oh, could it be that now you want to know? Asked sarcastically Cronos.
- Forget it I am leaving!
- I can make you stop if I want to, you know that, but I didn't want to force you on our second meeting: Laughed Cronos.
- Is that supposed to be a joke? Asked Gomez, while getting annoyed.
- Listen, I know that you have questions but the answers to them are not important at the moment.
- What are you talking about, I think that after you kidnapped me and dragged me here that you at least owe me that.
-Oh no! I wasn't the one who kidnapped you, Gorn was the one : Again Cronos smiled while pointing towards the creature.
- Very funny! Said Gomez.
- Right?
After Cronos said those words he saw that Gomez was visually ticked but nonetheless he continued.
- Take it easy you will get your answers, but not now: Replied Cronos.
- But….. ? Gomez tried to argue.
- No more questions, the answers will come to you by themselves, in time. Now it is time to eat, you must be tired from you journey and from what you went trough. I wanted to bring you here and Gorn was supposed to guide you, I am sorry if he was mean towards you I never did manage to teach him some proper manners. Said Cronos looking towards the thing, which was still staying in front of the closed gates of the room.
- But why…. ? Asked Gomez again.
- Patience: sighted Cronos and continued – Everything will fall in place, trust me.
-Trust? Towards you, as if! Replied Gomez.
- I like it how you keep your sense of humor. But now please fallow me towards the dining room... , oh and Gomez..., welcome to the realm of magic.
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Finally done I wanted to put the intro in too, because it's a valuable asset to the story itself. Like I said the story means a lot to me and I don't want to see it tarnished, so as a fellow writer and reader, I would ask of you to refrain from going as far as copying or abusing it at anyway. Thank you in advance. If you guys like what I have written I will publish every month one more chapter. And below you will find a small hint of what will be awaiting you.
II
Upcoming challenge