Tomorrow, Seth would be sent to battle ogres. The laws of the kingdom stated that any man of sixteen years or more could be conscripted into the army. What a lousy birthday present.
The day before, he sat against his favorite apple tree, trying to think of a way to escape his conscription. Since the beginning of the Ogre War, the king declared that no one could leave his country for more than two days, unless you had special permission. Even when you left the kingdom, you need to be accompanied at all times. If you tried to run, bounty hunters would track you down and bring you back for a very public execution.
Seth had heard of ships that could smuggle you out of the kingdom but he lived a two day's walk from the nearest harbor. By the time he was halfway there, someone would notice he was gone and come looking for him. Still, if he took the right path, he might just make past the knight's patrol. Tonight, he would try to escape his fate. That evening Seth told his plan to his father and adopted sister, Matilda.
"This is a terrible idea!" Matilda said. "You'll be caught without a doubt. When you are, the knights will execute you."
"If I stay, I'll be taken to the battlefield and get crushed by an ogre." Seth replied.
"He is right, Matilda." Seth's father, Nico, said. "Ogres are not men. They're monsters, and I will not send my own son to face the horrors of war."
Matilda wanted to try to convince them it would not be so terrible, but she knew that that was pointless. Nico had fought in the war during the first year, and he knew how horrendous it was. Even though he only fought one battle. He was lucky to have lost the use of his leg in that battle, and told them so everyday. However, his wife had not agreed. She left him and Seth a week after Nico returned. At the time, Seth had been four years old. His only memories of her were when she argued with his father. Seth knew that they did not get married because they wanted to. Their families arranged their marriage for profit. Seth supposed that was just how things were. True love was just a fantasy. Still, he would not be alive if they had not wed. His father once told him that he was the one good thing that came out their marriage.
"I love both of you," Matilda said. "But this is a mistake. We will be caught for sure."
"You could be right." Nico replied. "And that is why you are staying here."
"What?!" Matilda gasped.
"Just a few seconds ago you were doing your best to convince us not to go," Seth said. "Now you want to come with?"
"No!" She said with a glare. "I just thought if both of you were going, you would not leave me behind."
"Believe me, I would like nothing more than for you to be able to come with us," Nico replied. "But I will not lose both of my children at once. Also, if someone comes to the house, you can make-up a story about where we are. Since you are a woman, you won't be conscripted in a year."
Matilda opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Even though Matilda did not share blood with them, she was still family. When her mother died and her father was conscripted, Nico took her in and raised her as his own. She always looked out for and took care of them. That, night, once Seth and his father were ready to go, the three of them shared a hug. Then, the two men vanished into the night while Matilda cried silently.
Seth was impressed that his father was able to keep pace with him, despite his need for a cane. They moved quickly and quietly. Whenever they heard someone coming, they hid in a bush or behind a tree. The night was long and difficult, but they made it to the road. One that had once been used by smugglers decades ago and lead to the harbor. All that remained between them and freedom was a large dirt hill.
"Come on, Papa!" Seth said with a wide smile. "We're nearly there!"
His father smiled, but clearly he was exhausted due to their journey. Seth could not wait and ran up to the top of the hill. Just as he reached the top, someone stepped in front and punched him in the face. He fell back and tumbled down the hill. At the bottom, when he got up, he saw knights standing around him. To his right, he saw they had restrained his father.
"Would you look at this," One knight said. "What we have here are two cowards who don't want to defend this kingdom."
The man that spoke walked over to Seth. This man wore a brown fur coat, black leather, and had a sword. He had a big nose, brown eyes, smelled of wine, and had a golden tooth. Seth instantly hated him; he called them cowards for not fighting in the war when he clearly had not been to the front himself. His smug smile made Seth wanted to punch him.
"I beg you, leave my son alone." Nico said while he was being restrained by a knight.
"How about we make a deal?" The leader replied. "If you cut off one of your hands, I'll let both of you continue on to the harbor and leave this country."
With a determined look in his eyes, Nico answered, "Deal!"
Seth tried to protest, but one of knights shoved a cloth into his mouth. He struggled desperately against the knights that were pinning him to the ground. His father told him to stop and that everything would be alright. The leader handed Nico a sharp, one-sided dagger. What happened next would haunt Seth for the rest of his life. Using all his willpower, Nico thrust the dagger down into his wrist, then repeated this action again and again. Seth could feel tears falling from his eyes like rain in a storm. However, his father did not shed a single tear, in spite of the immense pain, because he believed what he was doing would save his son and for the first time since he left the battlefield he felt like a hero. When Nico finished severing his hand, the leader snapped his fingers. Suddenly, Nico's face expressed that he was in pain. Seconds later, he fell forward onto the ground, and Seth saw there was an arrow in his father's back. The vile knight had never planned to let them go. He had toyed with them for personal amusement.
"Sir Damon, what should we do with the boy?" One of the knights asked their leader.
"Take him to the training camp in the Dark Woods." Damon replied with a sadistic smile. "If these events have not broken his will to resist, the camp shall."
"Understood, my lord!" The knights replied with a salute.
Then they pulled Seth to his feet. Damon looked at the Seth's face, expecting to see hopelessness, but instead, what he saw scared him for a moment. He saw intense hatred in his eyes. Perhaps he had made a mistake, but he quickly buried that thought. This child was no threat to him, for he would soon die at the hands of the ogres.
The knight dragged Seth to a wooden wagon and chained him. One knight sat across from him, while the other steered the wagon. Seth remained still, knowing that he would have to wait for the right moment to escape. Once he got away, he would begin his quest for revenge. The knight - no, all the knights - would pay for the crimes they had committed. How many families had been torn apart by them? How many children had been made orphans? How many innocent parents that simply wanted to protect their children had been executed for trying to save the young from the war? The ogres were not the most horrible monsters in this world.
After an hour of traveling, they entered the Dark Woods. As the name suggests, these woods were covered in darkness. Even though the branches had not a single leaf, sunlight could not seem to reach the ground very well. The trees themselves were dark gray and they seemed to bend in their direction. What made these woods especially creepy was the fact that there were no animals in sight and it was unnaturally quiet. Seth had heard stories of these woods. Every story told of a danger or monster within them. Rumors in his village spoke of people going in and never coming out. The king felt that the woods would be a perfect place to train his army because the dangers would test their will and intelligence; while all the weak would die.
"We should be there soon, boy." The knight across from him sneered.
Seth remained silent. He was carefully analyzing his surroundings, looking for a means of escape. Unfortunately, he could not see any options or opportunities. With every passing second, they got closer to the training camp and Seth chances of escaping decreased. However, then they heard a sound: Gaarrrhhhh!"
It was the battle cry of an ogre. It seemed quite a distance away, but it still gave Seth an idea.
"Look, a body!" Seth shouted, faking a terrified tone.
The wagon came to a halt.
"Where?!" The knight across from him asked.
"Over there!" Seth said and pointed. "In the bushes!"
The knight stood up and began to exit the wagon when Seth grabbed him.
"Please, don't go!" He forced himself to beg. "The ogres a sure to be close by!"
The knight simply shoved him away. However, he did not realize that Seth had grabbed his keys. Carefully, Seth unlocked his restraints as quietly as he could. He finished just as the knight began walking back to the wagon with an angry expression.
"There's no body!" He shouted.
As soon as the wagon started moving again, Seth jumped off. The did not hit the ground very hard. The wagon came to a stop, but before the knights could chase him, an ogre ran in front of the carriage. Seems it had not been so far away after all. Seth heard the screams of the knights as he ran into the woods, not once looking back. He ran and ran and ran, until he fell down a small hill. Seth tumbled down it, and at the base of the hill, he saw a wooden door.
There was nothing behind it, yet, for some reason, Seth felt compelled to open it. Slowly, he walked over to it. Feelings of excitement and fear flooded his mind. Part of him told him to just keep walking and avoid the door. However, it was as if there was a voice deep inside him that told him he needed to open it. When he grabbed the silver knob, all he did was stand there for a few minutes. The voice within him was basically screaming at him to open it, while the other part of him still kept him from opening it. At least, until he heard the battle cry of an ogre that was getting closer. Then he turned the knob without thinking and was pulled into darkness.
He was suddenly surrounded by nothing but darkness; he could see nothing, feel nothing. It was like he was floating in air. However, he did not remain in that void. Suddenly, the darkness disappeared and now he was lying on a smooth wooden floor. Seth slowly stood up, then looked around. Now, he was in a large room with torches along the walls. The ceiling was about fifteen feet high, the room was twenty feet wide, and there was a chandelier with light candles hanging ten feet over his head. This room was not empty; there were several items on display like trophies. One was a polished sword with a golden hilt, another was a gauntlet made of a white metal with a ruby attached to it, and the last item was a dagger.
Seth was drawn to the dagger by an invisible force; in a matter of seconds, he was standing in front of it. He grabbed it, then studied it. The hilt was a dark gold color and carved in black on the blade was a name.
"'Zoso'?" Seth read out loud.
"Who summons me?!" A voice shouted from behind him.
Instantly, he spun around and saw a figure standing four feet from him. This figure wore a dark black robe and had a hood over his face.
"Stay back!" Seth ordered still holding the dagger.
The figure did not move. For what seemed like a decade, there was complete silence. Seth did not moved at all. When the silence became unbearable to him, Seth asked the figure, "Who are you?!"
"I am Zoso, the Dark One." He replied.
Upon hearing this figure refer to himself as the Dark One, Seth nearly wet his pants. Everyone knew of the Dark One; he was a sorcerer who could bring an entire kingdom to its knees in a single night. However, his father had told him that a secret about the Dark One. Once, a founder of the kingdom they lived in got hold of a magic dagger that allowed him to control the Dark One and build his country. Perhaps the dagger Seth now held in his hand was the very same one. There was one way to be sure.
"Dark One, I command you to dance like a chicken." Seth ordered.
As soon as he finished his sentence, Zoso did exactly what he had told him to do. The sight of it was unbelievably funny. Seth burst into laughter. After a few minutes, he told him to stop.
"That was fun." Seth said, still chuckling. "You could be useful."
"For your revenge?" Zoso asked. "You do still want revenge for your father?"
The laughter stopped instantly. Seth tightened his grip on the dagger.
"How do you know about that?!" Seth demanded. "Tell me!"
"I know the dark desires of anyone who holds the dagger." Zoso replied. "So, I know you wish to avenge your foolish father. He was a weakling that hobbled off the battlefield after a single fight with the ogres. Then he died pointlessly for his son. What an idiot. Why bother avenging such a pathetic man?"
That is when Seth lost his senses for a moment. He did not care who stood in front of him, no one could talk about his father like that. In his anger, he stabbed the Dark One in the chest with the dagger. What happened next spooked him.
The Dark One laughed. "Thank you!"
"Why are you thanking me?!" Seth asked, suddenly trembling.
"Because, whoever stabs the Dark One with that dagger will become the Dark One." He laughed. "Now, you will carry this curse!"
Then, his body and robes melted into a black slug. Seth wanted to run away, by his feet would not move. A hand formed from the slug, which thrust itself into his chest. When it pulled away, it was holding something; when Seth saw it, he thought he would puke. It was his heart. Without a doubt, it was his heart; red and still beating. The black slug was absorbed by it; as the slug was absorbed, Seth's heart became blacker and blacker. When all the slug was gone, there were only a few spots of red on it. In the blink of an eye, his heart shot back into his chest.
Seth screamed in pain, which slowly became joy.