Legends of the First-Born

Chapter 1: Bold Beginnings

Jacob groaned as sunlight filtered through his eyelids he stretched as they flickered open revealing dark chocolate tinted eyes. He ruffled his dark black hair and looked around. He snapped instantly awake as he realized his mom was already preparing breakfast! He fervently hoped he wasn't late. He jumped to his feet putting on his robes and flung open the heavy velvet curtains over his window and gazed over the castle courtyard, it belonged to a powerful nobleman of the realm. In your opinion and just about every other person's, he treated his subjects very badly. Your family was one of the much richer ones living in the castle for sanctity from the wild beasts that ruled the dark forest just outside the flat walls of stone that kept the castle safe. The peasants that were the unluckiest, the criminals, those who dared speak against the lord Arex, those who went against his decisions or attempted to resist his rule and simply those he didn't like were sentenced to the lumber gangs, the group of chained prisoners that are handed axes and told to head into the forest unguarded to attempt to fell trees and gather wood. Not many of them return safely. The reason all of this was flashing through Jacob's mind as he headed downstairs to the kitchen was that his father, who agreed with Jacob's view of Arex, had recently somehow managed to make an enemy of the ironhanded lord. Jacob's family had now been nearly tearing their hair out in panic, expecting castle guards to appear at their door.

His mother, Lisa, greeted him with a tired smile, her lack of sleep evident in the bags under her eyelids.

''Good morning Jacob, eat your breakfast please''

Jacob sat down and quietly ate. He paused while eating to greet his father, Mark, who'd just come down the stairs. Then they all froze, their eyes widening in fear asan ominous noise came from the door…

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

They all gulped nervously as Mark slowly rose from his seat and grabbed the sword lying in the corner. He unsheathed the gleaming well-kept blade as the knocking happened again, more insistently.

KnockKnockKnock

''Castle Guards! Open the door!''

That cleared up any doubt or hope about who it could be and his father nodded, hiding his sword as he gestured at Jacob to open the door. Jacob stepped nervously to the door, as he made to open it, he called out ''I'm coming'' to forestall any further attempts by the guards. He opened the door and glanced at the four men wearing the lord's colours and the insignia of his castle guard.

''Yes? Why must I put up with your presence at this hour?'' Jacob asked indifferently, trying to mask his fear.

''The Glorious Lord Arex has demanded your presence. You are to come with us at once!''

''What if we don't want to accompany you?''

''Then" said the guard gesturing at the other soldiers to draw their swords as he drew his own ''I guess we'll have to follow all the Lord's orders, you're coming with us! Wrists out or you'll feel my blade.''

At this moment Mark leaped at the guard bringing his sword down in an overhead swing. The guard rushed his sword up and barely managed to block it. The guard grunted but managed to hold due to his being in the prime of his life and Jacob's father being well past that. The guard pushed Mark back and advanced through the doorway allowing the other guards to flood into the house.

''Lisa!'' yelled Mark as he saw his wife try to run away but get grabbed by one of the guards who quickly tackled her to the ground, bound her wrists in steel chains and lead her outside, trusting his fellow guardsmen to be able to take care of the old man and his son. Mark grunted as he felt the weight of a guard land on his back, and his weakened legs gave as he collapsed to the ground, he did catch a glance at Jacob look helplessly at his already bound mother and his now bound father, he caught a nod from his father ans slipped quietly out of the house and started running.

''Wait, where's the boy!?'' yelled a guard as he finally realized Jacob's absence.

''Leave him, if the bears don't get him, the wolves will.'' Replied the leader of the small group

Jacob smiled grimly as he heard the guard's exclamation but frowned upon hearing the reply, the wild animals really were going to be a problem, right before he managed to get out of earshot, he heard one of the guards sneer at his chained parents ''it's life – or death'' he smiled darkly ''for you in the lumber gangs'' he finished. Tears started sliding down Jacob's cheeks as the buildup of emotion from the events of today, the possible fate of his parents and the task before him managed to break through his mental barrier. He finally arrived at the edge of forest and looked at it before taking a deep breath, wiping the tears off his face and stepped into the forest, a determined look on his face. He didn't know how he would free his parents or even how he was even going to survive, but he had to, for his parents, for himself and all the friends he had amongst the castle dwellers.

He panted as he ran through the alternating dark and bright green verdant shades of the forest and screeched to a stop as he saw a large male – probably an Alpha, a pack leader, by Jacob's reckoning – wolf glaring right at him. A flash of gold catches his eye as he turns nearly ignoring the imminent threat to see what possessed this unusual colour within the colour scheme of the forest. Jacob sees a small golden orb levitating slightly off the ground some ten meters from him. He hears the growl from the wolf which snaps his attention back to the imminent threat but before he can react the air around Jacob's body superheats to a barely bearable temperature and his vision goes black.

A/N: Heya guys! First story here so lotsa reviews are indeed appreciated. I will attempt to upload a chapter every week or so especially if people seem to be reading my story. The Protoss will start soon enough so don't worry 'bout that. I play Protoss in fact (i like Dark Templar tho') ''We are the blades of Shakuras'' :D. Hopefully my writing was good enough that you guys were able to figure out that the ''golden orb'' is indeed a probe. Enough rambling from me though, enjoy the story ;D.

Disclaimer: I don't own Starcraft II or any entities licensed by Blizzard inc. and associated with it.