Chapter 1: Enter the Heroes
"Arin! Arielle!" a tall man shouted as two children followed close behind. He led them across a narrow walkway high in the air. "It's too late for me, but you both still have a chance." The man took a small, green crystal and placed it in the hands of the older child, a boy. "Arin, my son, take this and find the others destined to-" A terrifying roar drowned out the man's instruction as a large, multi-headed dragon touched down on the edge of the walkway, blocking the trio's route. "No!" The dragon reared its heads back, then spewed foul wind. "Arin!"
"Huh!" Arin opened his eyes in shock. Many, many years had passed, but the nightmare continued to haunt him. "Again..." He stared at the crystal he was given many years ago and sighed.
"Are you okay?" a woman's voice asked from the other side of a closed door.
"Yes, I am fine," he answered. "Just a bad dream, is all."
There was no response for a moment, then the woman spoke up once more. "I've nearly finished preparing breakfast. Why don't you get dressed and eat with me and my little brother?" The sound of her footsteps softened as she returned to her kitchen.
"Okay," Arin said with a grunt as he threw off his bedsheets and stood to his feet. He glanced down at the magic robe on his body and laughed dryly. "Ready." He crept out of his room and into the main room of the inn, careful not to disturb the other guests. The innkeeper's brother was seated at a table, motioning for Arin to sit beside him. The innkeeper herself soon had biscuits and jam set at the table. "Thank you for your hospitality. I know I am causing you extra work."
"Don't worry," the boy teased. "My sister thinks you're cute, so she doesn't mind."
"I-I don't know what he's talking about!" the innkeeper blurted.
"Just yesterday, I heard Kathy talking about you to the dancer, talking about how there's a white mage staying here and, oh, what was it she said? Oh right, that you were 'a total hunk' or something." The boy looked over at his sister and smiled mischievously.
"James!" the innkeeper hissed, her face red from embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, sir. My brother tends to speak without thinking."
"Do not worry about it," Arin laughed. "It is good to see people living happy lives during these troubled times. I already feel a little bit better."
"Is that so?" the innkeeper sighed. "Um, Arin, is it?"
"Yes?" the white mage replied, putting down a jam-covered biscuit.
"How long are you planning on staying here in Cornelia?" The innkeeper fetched a kettle of tea and poured some out for the three of them. "I mean, where do you plan on going?" James didn't even feel the need to say anything, so he just nudged Arin and snickered. "No! I didn't mean it like that! I am running a business here, and if you plan on staying for an extended time, I'll need a bit of an advance payment."
"I don't imagine that I will stay long," Arin answered. "I am looking for a few specific people. If I do not find them here, I will try searching in Pravoka, and then from there, I will try to find a way to hire a ship to take me to Melmond or Elfheim."
"Pravoka?" James gasped. "Haven't you heard the rumors? I've heard it's turned into a pirate's den. And besides, the bridge connecting Cornelia and Pravoka is broken."
"It is?" Arin asked. "That complicates matters. I will have to go to the castle and find out when or if the bridge will be repaired."
"Until then, though, please just enjoy this meal," Kathy insisted. The three continued to dine and discuss trivial matters as the sunlight began to reach the sleepy city of Cornelia.
"So, back again, boy?" a grizzled man laughed, his speech impeded by countless bottles of rum. "It's almost predictable, how ye keep showing up Lads! Look who it is!" He motioned at the men around him, who all joined him in laughter.
"Pirate Captain Bikke," the persistent intruder announced. "I, Pierre of Cornelia, order you to leave Pravoka at once!" The young man was covered in red leather armor, with a saber strapped to his waist.
"Oy, this again. All right boys! It's time to put this whelp in 'is place." Bikke turned to Pierre and grinned. "Ye remember the rules, boy?"
"Grr..." Pierre grumbled as he removed his sword and raised his fists. "No blades."
"Right-o! These swords are dangerous. We wouldn't want some innocent lad or lass cut up in the middle of our little squabble now, would we?" Bikke said with a sneer.
"You cowards, the lot of you!" Pierre shouted. "You're afraid to face me at my best, so you threaten the townspeople! But it doesn't matter; I'll see to it that you all atone for your crimes."
"Get 'im." Nine of Bikke's men charged at the handicapped fighter, overpowering him by their sheer numbers. Before long, they had him pinned to the ground, mercilessly kicking him and stomping on him until they grew bored. "That's it, boy? I expected ye to put up more of a fight than that!
"You-You won't get away with this..." Pierre groaned. The pirates, content with their victory, left the badly battered fighter on the street to prove their superiority to the town. Despite his beating, Pierre held on to what strength he had left to remain conscious. In the distance, he heard a young man arguing with someone
"What do you mean the port is still closed?" he shouted.
"Well, no ship dares enter Pravoka while the pirates run about unchecked. And you no doubt saw the bridge to Cornelia; the only help we have from them is that man lying there on the street. There's nothing we can do but stay quiet and pray for a miracle." the other man told him.
"Is that so?" The first man stopped speaking and approached Pierre. "Hey, you. Are you still awake in there?" The man reached into his bag and grabbed a healing potion. "Here, drink this."
Pierre took the bottle from the stranger and drank it quickly. At once, he felt his strength returning. "Thank you for that, sir."
"No need to thank me. I just did what any decent human being would do," the man responded, holding out his hand. "The name's Agura. I'm what you might call a monk."
"I see, I am Pierre, a warrior from the kingdom of Cornelia." As Pierre shook the monk's hand, a red and blue glow shone from the two men's bags. "That glow... do you happen to have a crystal of some sort?"
"Yes!" Agura said, startled by the question. He took a small, blue crystal from his bag and held it up. "How did you guess?"
"I have a similar crystal." Pierre revealed a small, red crystal and frowned. "It glowed once before, and that means- oh, no, why him, of all people?"
Agura looked at the knight-in-training with suspicion. "Um, care to explain a bit, buddy?"
"Agura, was it? Have you ever heard of the sage Lukahn?"
"Good morning, Princess Sarah!" an elderly man said as he bowed in respect to King Cornelia's eldest daughter. "I take it you've come to see him?" The man pointed to a youth dressed in loose, green clothes, sleepily picking at a locked door. "Gordon! For the love of the Crystals, stop messing with that door!"
"Don't get your beard in a twist, old man," Gordon moaned. "Almost got it...Hah!" The thief's pick snapped in half, leaving the lock perfectly unscathed. "Not again! That's the third- What did you need, geezer?"
"Not me, you dullard. Her." The old man turned to Sarah. "I'm sorry you had to see this. Should I get the knights to toss this criminal in the dungeon?"
"There's no need for that," Sarah said in Gordon's defense. "Gordy didn't do anything wrong."
"G-Gordy?" Gordon squeaked. "Uh oh."
"Nothing wrong?" the old man fussed. "He spent all night attempting to break into the royal treasury. That's nothing?"
"Sheesh. You make it sound like I'm some sort of greedy monster." Gordon gathered his broken tools and stashed them away. "I'll have you know, the reason I tried to open that thing was for the Light Warriors. I mean, all this stuff is going to go to them, right? Wouldn't it be better if we could just give it all to them when they arrive? It beats showing them a locked door whose key lies in another country."
"A likely story. Guards!" A knight in dark armor answered the old man's call. "S-Sir Garland!"
"What's the problem?" The knight looked over at Gordon and sighed. "I'll handle it." Garland grabbed the youth by the collar and carried him away from the storehouse. "Good morning, Princess."
"Good morning, Sir Garland," Sarah replied. "Please don't be too harsh towards him; I wish to speak with him later." Her somber tone made Gordon even more nervous.
"Very well." The knight lugged the thief away to a remote corner of the castle and set him down. "You don't know how to stay out of trouble, do you?"
"I was trying to help! I meant what I said earlier about the Warriors of Light. I have to do my part now if I-"
"If what? Do you actually think that you are one of the Light Warriors? I thought it was me for a time, as did our father. I gave up on such a silly dream once I realized the futility of it all. If he had done the same, he would still be alive today."
"You don't know that, Garland," Gordon said angrily. He took a yellow crystal out of his pocket and gripped it tightly. "Maybe I'm not really the one chosen by the crystal. Maybe it won't be someone from our family, but as long as I have it, I have a duty to do what I can to save the world."
"I'm wasting my breath on you," Garland grunted. "The crystals don't mean anything anymore. Lukahn is wrong about the Warrior of Light. It's merely a fairytale meant to give false hope." The knight stormed off, passing right by Princess Sarah.
"Gordon..." Sarah whispered sadly.
"What do you want?" Gordon barked, still bitter from his brother's cynical claim. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that." The young man slid down with his back against the wall.
"He's not completely wrong, you know." Sarah said as she sat down next to Gordon. "You do manage to get in trouble far too often. Strangely, it's one of the best things about you." Gordon remained silent as the princess spoke her mind. "You always put others first, never thinking about any consequences you would suffer. If more people looked past your troubled behavior, they would see the same kindness that Garland and I see in you."
"Is that what you wanted to tell me?" Gordon asked. "You never call me Gordy unless there's something very wrong."
"I knew you would have caught on." Sarah said, fighting to keep herself from weeping. "Remember what I told you a few years ago? It's truly happening."
"To whom?" Gordon asked, knowing whatever the answer was, he would not like it.
"The prince of the Elven Kingdom. Once he is awakened from his accursed sleep, my father plans for us to be wed."
"Who knows of this now?"
"Outside of the royal family, only you and Sir Garland." Sarah stood back up and looked down at Gordon. "It would be for the best, for your sake, that we no longer speak like this."
"I understand." Gordon did not try to look up at the princess, for he knew neither could bear to see the sadness on each other's faces. "Go on ahead. I need to be alone with my thoughts." Sarah honored his request and walked away. Gordon waited until she was gone, then slammed his fist into the floor a couple times in anguish. His self-pity, however, was cut short by a woman's scream. "Sarah!" Gordon launched out of the corner to find the old man on the floor. "Geezer! What happened?"
"Princess Sarah! She was abducted! We never saw it coming!"
"Who did this? Tell me!" Gordon demanded.
"It was...It was your brother, Garland!"