Chapter 1

My name is Lord Maldeor of Swordhaven. I was born an ordinary boy but became a hero. This is my story.

I was born in a small cottage on the outskirts of Swordhaven. My mother and father both served in King Alteon's army and were loyal servants of Good. Life was kind of boring at first, but I got used to it.

When I was fourteen something happened that would change my life forever. I had been wandering aimlessly around Swordhaven, looking for something to do when I heard footsteps behind me. I spun around, ready to defend myself. I came face to face with a boy about my age, with dark brown hair that kept getting in his eyes. He grinned and introduced himself as Artix. I learned that he was training to be a Paladin in the king's army, and that his father was a top-ranking Paladin. Artix wanted to follow in his footsteps. Artix told me about getting to live in the royal palace, and getting training from his father. We talked for a while, until he said he had to go. As I was walking back to my house, I thought about what Artix had said.

That night I couldn't sleep. I was still thinking about Artix. Being cooped up in a cottage for fourteen years made me want adventure. Not that I blamed my parents, though. They were great. After a while of laying in bed, I decided what I would do. I quickly scrawled out a note saying where I had gone put it next to my parents' bed. They would definitely see it there. I grabbed one of my father's extra swords and slipped out the door. As soon as I got outside, I ran in the direction of the palace as quickly as I could. When I couldn't run anymore, I walked. I reached the palace a few hours before the sun came up. I knew I would look suspicious if I tried to enter right now, so I decided to wait a few hours until I made my entrance. I positioned myself under a bush and tried to think about what I would say to the guards. I never got the chance to, because the only thing I saw was the blade of a huge double-bladed ax.

"Artix?" I muttered.

Then I blacked out.

When I woke up I was tied up in a cramped room with two soldiers standing guard. Their voices were muffled, but I caught little snippets of what they were saying.

"...is he the one?..."

"No, of course not..."

"...but maybe..."

"Be quiet."

"But what about..."

"Shut up."

"But-"

"I said, SHUT UP!"

Just then one of the guards, the bigger one, turned around and saw me awake. He snarled and stalked over to me.

"C'mon. Alteon said to take him once he was awake." he said. The guards hoisted me up on their shoulders and carried me out the door into the hallway. My face was pressed into one of the guards' elbow, so I couldn't see where we were going.

After about five minutes, we reached a door decorated with intricate gold designs. The guards set me down and opened the door, revealing an enormous room with high glass windows and a huge cathedral ceiling. There were two people sitting on thrones in the middle of the room, King Alteon and Princess Brittany. After bowing, the guards immediately hurried out to do whatever guards do when they're not carrying useless peasants to the throne room. I bowed too, though only after they had shut the door behind us.

"Your Highness," I said.

"Rise."

I stood, trying to impress Princess Brittany and not fidget. She really was beautiful. With her luscious brown hair and sparkling chestnut-colored eyes, she could probably charm every guy in the kingdom.

"Tell me your name." said the king.

"Maldeor." I replied.

"Maldeor, have you ever dreamed about a place called Battleon?"

"No, Sire."

"What about a villain, the lord of Chaos?"

I thought for a moment before replying. I was pretty sure I had. I remembered a day when I was five, and I couldn't sleep. The only thing I could think about was some guy named Drakath, who was the lord of Chaos. I hadn't known how I had known that, and I didn't tell anybody. Over the years, I almost forgot about it, but now the memory resurfaced.

"Yes, my lord."

Princess Brittany gasped.

"So he is the one," she said, her eyes wide. "The prophecy was correct. We're saved."

The king held his hand up. "Not so fast, Brittany. We still don't know for sure. We need to test him."

"Uh... what kind of test?" I asked.

"You'll see. Come."

I followed them thorough the palace until we came to a courtyard that looked like it also served as a training area. To the left, there was a sort of mini armory with different kinds of swords and daggers. To the right, armor was hung from hooks and a fenced off area was covered with sand. It was probably where the knights did practice battles.

King Alteon pointed toward the mini armory. "Choose, quickly. Your test is going to start."

I tried a bunch of different swords, none of which seemed to fit me. There was one sword that was so big I could hardly lift it up, another one whose tip was completely snapped off, and a third one that fit in my hand but had a way too short blade. Finally I found a lightweight sword. The hilt fit beautifully into my hand. I swung it a few times. It was perfectly balanced, and immediately I knew that it was mine. "Ready," I called to the king.

I stepped nervously toward the training area. "What am I supposed to do?" I asked.

"Just do what I tell you to," was his only reply.

"Stand on the X."

I stood on the X.

"Attack me."

I swung my sword, and when he dodged I brought the flat side of my sword down and struck the king on the back of the head. When he was knocked down, I immediately apologized. But he smiled and said "You've passed."

I didn't know what he was talking about. All I had done was swung my sword, and now I had passed some kind of test. Alteon took a conch horn out of his belt and blew it. Suddenly, everyone in the court was looking at us.

"Is he it?" someone called.

"Yes." Everyone burst into cheer, startling me. A couple people hoisted me up in the air and carried me through the crowd.