Ch. 1: The Puzzle
Fifteen thousand years ago, it happened for the very first time and the world did not know what to do. Ten thousand years ago, it happened again and one locked it down for what was supposed to be eternity. And five thousand years ago, it happened for, what the world thought, and hoped, the last time for they thought they knew what they were doing. They were wrong.
"There's a storm brewing Yandrow," Yandrow's father, Solerond, stated as he gazed out the window while puffing on a curved black and white pipe.
Yandrow raised his violet eyes momentarily to the dark, threatening sky to see what his father was talking about, and seeing it was true he looked back down at what he had been working on. And he continued to work his hardest, trying to finish it, though he was but a little closer to the end. His father lowered his own eyes to look at Yandrow in mild disgust. He couldn't believe that someone would spend that much time on something like that. It was ridiculous and stupid. If he had done that when he was young, he would've been clobbered for certain.
"You still working on that stupid puzzle?" Solerond gruffly asked as Yandrow slid another piece into place with a chink.
Yandrow didn't respond. He didn't think it would be wise. His father was touchy about things like this. His father wanted him to be a tough boy, which was not something he was. He was a thinker, a gamer, a puzzler, someone who would rather use words than violence.
Clink! Another piece fell into its proper place.
There was something about this puzzle. Something special, or magical. Something had been shattered along with the pieces, he could feel it. He didn't know what it was, but he did know that he shouldn't fear it. It was a peaceful feeling. Working on the Puzzle gave him a peace of mind, something that was very hard to come by these days. It was almost as though a spirit was waiting for the puzzle to be completed. A kind and patient spirit was waiting.
Click! Another piece in place. With every piece, the broken spirit that Yandrow felt from the Puzzle seemed to be more complete. He guessed that would make sense though. But every piece made him feel better.
"Well, I'm going to bed Yandrow," his father stated as he rose to his feet, not wanting to see Yandrow working on the puzzle. "Night."
Yandrow nodded and continued to work on the puzzle. Solerond watched Yandrow for a second more, then snorted and left the room.
Yandrow heard the rain start to pitter on the window, and then knock, and then pound on the window relentlessly. Yandrow sighed. This place was known for its horrible storms. Lightning had been known to collapse buildings and set trees on fire. It was crazy. But the Puzzle kept his mind off of that.
Yandrow wondered if there was a solution. It seemed like there wasn't. He had started working on it when he was eight. He was now fourteen, and he only had half of it completed. It seemed like he would never solve this Puzzle. Something, though, kept driving him. It was the feeling of the spirit that he so desperately wanted to meet. The feeling of the spirit had been there back then too, and it had never left. It must be patient, or unaware of anything. Either way, Yandrow was determined to meet this person, whoever he was.
Click! Yet another piece slid into its place. It was easier tonight, it seemed. He didn't understand why though. What made tonight any different from any other? Why was it so easy to solve tonight? And with every new piece in its correct place, Yandrow wondered why he hadn't thought of that before.
Click, clink, click, chink, cink!
He was nearly done. He couldn't believe it. In one night he had done nearly one half of the Puzzle.
Click! Three more to go. Cink! Two more to go. Chink! One more to go.
A tremendous, foundation-shaking bolt of lightning struck the small house as Yandrow pushed the final piece, the one in the center, into its spot. The bolt hit with such force that it collapsed the roof of the house. Just as the center of the roof began to fall on Yandrow, a flash of light blinded him. The Millennium Symbol flashed on his forehead and the presence within the Puzzle took over. A magic barrier that the spirit conjured with unparalleled quickness protected him and Yandrow, though unaware of anything, from the debris and the fire that the electricity had cause, which was beginning to spread wildly. He looked around and then walked out of the house. When he reached the cliff nearby, he looked up into the dark rainy sky.
"So," he murmured as the rain hit his face, "it begins yet again."