Jazzerman here, I do not own any of these characters, they are owned by their respected companies, as many as there are. You've heard this crap before. I only own my OCs.

New generation.

Part 1

Keyon lay trapped under the rubble of a statue. The damp floor, the light smell of mildew and mushrooms filtered into his nose making him feel sick. He hated the smell, if not for the dizziness in his head and the warm feeling of the blood trickling down his face he would have pushed the statue off his body. But he felt so tired... It was like his whole body refused to answer his commands to get up. He laid his head down on the ground and resigned himself to whatever the fates dealt him.

As he drifted into unconsciousness, he recalled his youth as the only son of Rose, Mistress of the Dark Tower and of the Overlord, master of all the land of Spree and Heaven's peak. He remembered his childhood and the days he spent playing with the Minions, Goblin-gremlin like creatures with wide mouths, elongated ears, unwavering loyalty, and surprising strength for their size. These creatures, normally used by his father the Overlord to pillage and destroy threats to his domain were his childhood playmates since these creatures are almost childlike intellectually.

Of all the places in the Tower Keyon was never allowed in the dungeon or the forge in the lower sections of the Tower for fear of harm coming to him. Jester was the only Minion that Keyon truly disliked, he was far more annoying than any other Minion, had those repulsive jingle bells and that jester stick he did tricks with. Gnarl was okay, he was far more intelligent and wise in the ways of evil than anyone even Keyon's father had ever seen... Save perhaps the Overlord before him.

Keyon remembered the stern lessons his mother had taught him, practical lessons that would serve him when he took the mantle of Overlord someday. He remembered how she would discipline him with a switch when he stopped paying attention. He remembered she would get extremely cross whenever he would start to ogle the servant women that his father kept to clean the Tower for him. But most importantly he remembered the people who raided the tower and killed them both in an epic battle while he hid from them. The blood was now stinging his eyes and left him sightless but Keyon could hear someone approaching where he lay. He doubted whoever it stood larger than a human child or a Halfling and prayed for a quick death.

"Over here!" A cry from a familiar warty throat as Keyon felt the weight of the statue being lifted off of him and the sound of it being tossed over behind him.

"Well done Giblet." A wizened voice said, coming up from behind the first, accompanied by the sound of a wooden staff hitting the floor. "It looks like the old adage is right, Empires rise and fall but evil always finds a way."

---

The sun rose just as it always done on the land, but in recent years it could see a familiar sight, the image of the Dark Tower, home of the Overlord and center of several evil empires smoking and in ruins. In one of the higher rooms lay the form of the new Overlord.

"Ugh," Keyon groaned as he sat up. As his eyes focused he could see that the room he was in was once his mother's room, nearly everything was exactly as he remembered it. Granted many of the furnishings; vases, chairs, curtains for example had been knocked to the floor by the ferocity of the attack on the tower. The fact that everything was here was almost astounding, Keyon knew from his father that normally when people raid they normally take everything that isn't nailed down.

"Glad to see you're awake sire." An old minion rasped as he stepped into the room, Keyon easily recognized Gnarl the Minion master. "As you can see this is the only room the Minions managed to save from those invaders."

"Sire?" Keyon was confused, granted he was the son of the Overlord but even so Gnarl had never referred to him as 'sire'. Suddenly the realization that his father had been slain and was not able to be healed, if that was so then...

Gnarl smirked, able to discern by the look on the young man he had figured it out. "Yes my boy, you are the new Overlord. A shame that your father and mistress Rose fell before they could complete your training in use of the tower's spells. Still your father was a quick learner. I'm sure you are as well, you'll have to be if you plan on taking back what these new heroes stole from you young master."

Keyon cracked his neck and his knuckles, he was willing to get started with practicing his newly acquired position out on his enemies. "Tell me all that you know about these heroes who invaded the tower."

"I know only what they called themselves... a cleric named Fern Dawnborn, Clara Ironfist the monk, a Bard called Paul Stringmaze, Evan Tangle the Druid, and a nameless Sorcerer."

"I suggest we start then Gnarl." Keyon said, turning to look out the window towards Spree, the nearest settlement. "We have much to do."

To be continued.