Prologue

A gentle zephyr drifted through Turtlerock, causing the wind chimes dispersed throughout the tiny village to sway and make a quiet noise, almost like a teasing laugh which never stopped. It certainly felt like the wind chimes were laughing to Drew. He thought that they could be laughing at him in triumph; even such simple objects had so much more than him. They could sway wherever they wanted in compliance with the wind. They could almost speak their own words in a secret melodic language.

In short, they had freedom.

He didn't.

It was the only thing about which he could think during these occasional five minutes of having control over himself. How much he lacked.

Drew sighed and looked down at the sea. His legs hung over the side of the floating village. I hate this, he thought. How come I'm the only one being controlled like I am?

He glared at the sky, as if it would benefit him in some way. Damn Creator… All of the raposa think that he's kind and wants to help. None of them know that when they speak to me, they're speaking to him instead. I'm not the brave creation hero that they know… Drew raised a clenched fist at the sky. I'm a normal person! I should be able to have control over myself! No one else is forced to fight like I am…

Drew glanced behind him again. No one was watching, but he saw a few raposa dancing and laughing happily in the centre of the village. This angered him further. Look at them… They're so happy… yet so oblivious.

He couldn't speak aloud due to the fear of being caught, so he had to keep rebellious thoughts inside his head. However, he allowed one thought to be spoken: "I hate living like this…"

"Like what?"

Drew let out a gasp when he heard the voice. Never do that again… he thought. Fortunately, the voice had been fairly quiet and had come from the left of him, behind the trunk of the only tree in the village, making it not the Creator's voice. "Who's there?" Drew replied.

The raposa revealed himself to be Sock. He had joined the village at Watersong, a village that revolved around music and water. The ship had only pulled away from Watersong's dock the previous day, so Drew was not accustom to Sock's voice at that time. "Oh, hey, Sock."

"You said something about how you hated living 'like this'?" Sock questioned.

Drew sighed. "It's complicated, Sock. You wouldn't understand."

"No." Sock crept up to sit next to Drew. "Now I'm curious. What could you possibly not like about living as you are? You're a hero, literally."

Drew chuckled. "Actually, no, I'm not."

Sock tilted his head in confusion, almost losing his enormous hat in the process. "What do you mean, Drew?"

Drew glanced around, checking to see if there was anyone eavesdropping nearby, to find no one present. "Can you promise to keep a secret?" He didn't have anything against Sock, and he had never spoken to anyone about the matter, which was getting quite unbearable for him.

"Of course," said Sock, nodding.

The creation hero sighed again, and then he paused for a minute, before finally saying it. "This is the first time that you've actually spoken to me. I'm not… I'm not in control of myself." When Sock gave him an extremely puzzled look, Drew decided to explain further. "Except for these occasional five minutes that I get when nothing important is happening, the Creator is in control of every word that I say and every action that I perform. The only thing which I can control is what I think. I'm not free like you."

Sock detected high levels of both sorrow and jealousy in Drew's last sentence. "Drew, I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Drew glanced at him. "You have nothing for which to be sorry. It's that damn Creator's fault," he said.

"What are you really like, Drew?" Sock asked.

Drew hesitated, before saying, "I don't know that myself, to be honest. This is the only thing that's ever on my mind and I need a break from it."

"Do you feel pain from all of your fights when you're not in control?" Sock continued to question him, curious on the matter.

The creation hero laughed. "Of course I do. The Creator doesn't care about that."

"Haven't you tried asking him to let you be in control of yourself?"

The smile left Drew's face. "No. That'd be useless. I wouldn't fight for the cause if I was in control, and he knows it."

Sock's eyes widened, showing that he was surprised. "You wouldn't fight for the raposa even if you were treated well? Why is that?"

"I don't care for the cause in any way. I guess it's because I can't exactly erase my hatred for the Creator."

The two sat in silence for a minute, watching the seemingly endless carpet of cobalt blue flow away from them, before being replaced with more water.

"Drew."

Drew turned to face the ginger-furred raposa, not bothering to open his mouth as he uttered a short, questioning hum in reply.

"I can help you to be free."

The creation hero chuckled. "That's impossible."

"No. I can…" said Sock. "Drew, now can you keep my secret?"

Drew pulled a muddled face. "You have a secret? Well, sure; what is it?"

"Sock doesn't exist."

"…What?" Drew exclaimed in shock. "What the baki do you mean?"

The creature smiled slightly and removed his hat, throwing it into the sea. The air around him swirled and seemed to cry out as a dark presence began to form around Sock. His eyes suddenly changed into a glowing white and his smile became an evil grin. He was the centre of all things ominous and somehow, deep shadows revolved around him, even though it was midday. Now stood up, he let out an evil laugh as he looked at the baffled creation hero.

"You were Wilfre all along…" was all that Drew could say. He did not seem angry or in any way negative; he was merely surprised.

"Join me, Drew. I can free you and you can live pleasantly as long as you fight on my side – against the Creator and the raposa. I understand how cruel it is for you to be controlled like this. We can show those fools not to mess with you. I promise that you won't regret it." Wilfre offered his hand.

Drew considered the deal for a moment. It does seem like the perfect thing to do, he thought. I won't be controlled anymore and I can get my revenge on the Creator! I can finally live like a normal pers-

Drew frowned. Oh no. He was beginning to feel it again: losing control once more. He felt as if he was being dragged down to the ground and his head throbbed for a moment as all sound around him seemed to stop. It happened in a matter of seconds, which was far too fast for him to warn Wilfre.

Wilfre calmly waited for Drew to accept with his arm extended, but was mildly shocked when Drew stood up and retrieved his sword. However, it didn't take him long to notice the change in Drew's eyes. Previously, they had been solid and serious black eyes which didn't ever seem distracted. When controlled by the Creator, his eyes became uncertain and multi-coloured; crimson red, cyan blue, emerald green, maize yellow and every other colour of which one could possibly think. Wilfre withdrew his arm and nodded with his eyes closed. "Very well, then - until next time, Drew." To show Drew that he understood what had happened, he quickly winked before he held his ruby red staff to the air and stepped into the vicious grey portal which had quickly formed.