Untitled
By Brett McCutcheon
Prologue: The Beginning and the End
A sword, a bow and set of arrow, a staff and a gun are lying in a pile in a city now in ruins, while near by four friends lounged around a fire. They are one male, two females and a beast. The male stood to his feet and started to walk off.
"Zen wait," said one of the females as though apologising for something.
The male called Zen paused for a moment, looking over his shoulder, and continued walking. Eventually just over a hill he stoped to lean against a pillar.
I am Zen, and this is my story, thought Zen. Listen well. You may not get another chance.
Chapter 1: The Enemy
A brown haired boy aged seventeen was running through a forest hunting a deer. He and his companion had split up to search for the deer after they lost track of it through thick shrub. They had been separated for a couple of hours now and not a sign of the deer.
The boy heard a sound like someone running towards him at great speed. The boy drew his sword and prepared for battle. The sound was getting closer then all of a sudden his companion came rushing through the bushes. She grabbed him and dragged him behind a bush and covered his mouth. A moment later a group of men ran past their hiding place. Once they were sure that the men had gone the boys companion released him.
"Sheha what's going on who were they and why were they chasing you?" asked the boy standing up while his companion, Sheha, fought to pull him back down.
"Be quiet Zen they might hear you," whispered Sheha to the boy, Zen.
Zen had a confused expression on his face. "What are you talking about Sheha who were those men?" asked Zen not heeding her warning.
"Zen those men were chasing me because I followed the deer into a clearing and they shot at it and missed and nearly hit me so I fired my crossbow at them and killed one so they came after me," Sheha replied quickly.
"Great so that's another country we're wanted in. Why is it that you, my black haired companion, are always getting us kicked out of places?" asked Zen sarcastically with a smile on his face.
"Oh haha Zen. Let's just get out of here," She exclaimed getting angry.
Zen and Sheha ran off into the shrubs trying not to make a sound but failing miserably thanks to Sheha who was good at fighting but not so good at hiding.
Zen and Sheha got to their camp site to find it was invaded by those men who were waiting for them to return. Zen and Sheha drew their weapons and prepared for a fight. Sheha fired her crossbow and killed four out of ten men before they knew what was going on. Zen hid behind bush and waited, and just as he had expected they ran straight past him and with his great stealth ability he picked off the men one at a time from the back of the group, chasing after Sheha. Eventually all the men had been killed and Zen and Sheha went back to their camp.
"Let's pack up with haste and get out of here before more come," exclaimed Zen packing up his gear.
Sheha had not come into the tent yet so Zen went outside to find Sheha collapsing onto the ground and in the distance he saw a horseman on a black horse vanish into a cloud of smoke. Zen ran over to where Sheha now lay in a pool of blood. When he got to her he saw she had been slashed across the chest.
She was still alive but only just. Sheha opened her eyes and spoke blindedly saying. "It was him, him the one of all nightmares the shape shifter Angrusous. He come leaves his mark and goes none live after the strike of his death bla…" Sheha's eyes closed and tears came into Zens' eyes.
I thought I will avenge her and so I did I created a potion to have me not age until I had killed this Angrusous.
Chapter 2: The Quest
Zen had been search for over one thousand years and not aged a single year. He had met many people and they had come to know him as The Ghost Hunter. He had been trying to find a way to get Angrusous to come to him as Angrusous lived in another realm all together. So far he had found out from many people that this Angrusous came when a person had betraid their feelings to many times and taught them a lesson. But he had decided that this could not be true as Sheha had always followed her feelings. Zen had just arrived in a new town called Mitala and did not want to be seen here as this was his old home before he met Sheha and started on their travels. So many people will have heard of him and he did not want to face them. Not now after what had happened to Sheha. Zen had decided to travel across the roof tops to keep out of site but unfortunately he wasn't the only one who had decided to use the roof tops that day.
Hinamay, the princess of Mitala, and Micnami her body guard were running across the rooftops of Mitala. They were running away from the Palace Guard that Hinamay's father had sent after them. They were heading over a rooftop, with the princess in the lead, when she bumped into a stranger heading in the opposite direction.
"Your not with the Palace Guard are you?" asked Hinamay after she had gotten back up.
"No I am not with the Palace Guard," was the strangers angered reply. "I bid you farewell. Princess," he added taking a look at the person he had run into. The stranger began to walk away when he saw Hinamay's body guard coming over the rooftop.
Micnami spotted the stranger and brought him back to where the princess was standing.
"What are a princess and a body guard doing out here when they should be at the palace?" asked the stranger when they got back to where the princess was standing.
"The princess wants to go on journeys and fight villains," exclaimed Micnami to The stranger, with a smirk on her face.
"The roads and seas have grown dangerous over the years," was the strangers reply as though asking a question.
"Yes they have and the pirates especially dangerous" was Micnami's answering reply.
"Micnami, you remembered the password," the stranger complimented.
"Zen I thought it was you but was not sure," Micnami yelled running to hug Zen. "Where is Sheha and why are you still alive?"
"All answer all your questions later," was his reply.
"What is going on," asked the princess who had been watching the entire conversation but understanding none of it.
"If you're running away from the Palace Guard you'd want to get out of site. Follow me. I'm going home," said Zen more to himself than the others.
I couldn't wait until I got home. I hadn't been there for one thousand and ten years.
Chapter 3: Intruder
Zen, Micnami and princess Hinamay arrived at Zens old home to find that someone had inhabited it during Zens absence.
"Wait out here I'll find out what's going on inside," whispered Zen to the others before heading inside the roof where he used lived.
There was the sound of someone in the kitchen area of the roof. Zen went to take a look at who was in there.
"How I love my stew, my roast deer stew, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm," sung a deep rattly voice coming from the kitchen.
Zen stepped on a floor board and it creaked loudly.
"What who's there?" asked the voice.
Foot steps started heading towards Zen and the foot steps slowly came around the corner.
Zen quickly dashed out of site into the shadows just as a beast of some kind came around the corner. This beast had brown fur, a long tail and spikes down its back and was over seven foot tall. He wore an apron with a deer bounding on the front.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my home?" Zen asked from the shadows making sure not to be seen.
"Zen my friend it's me, Krinima, people do change over, one thousand and fifteen years isn't it?" replied the beast called Krinima pulling Zen out of the shadows and giving him a big bear hug.
"One thousand and ten you big oaf," laughed Zen once he had been put back down. "I didn't think you'd still live here after so long."
"I've been on a one thousand year vacation back home on Mt. Gramunt," replied Krinima moving Zen into the lounge.
"Micnami and princess Hinaminamay, or something, are waiting out on the rafters," Zen told Krinima sitting down in the seat.
"Ah, I see you still prefer to travel by the roof tops. And where is Sheha?" Krinima asked going to get the others.
When he got no reply from Zen he stopped and looked back to see Zen slumped in the chair with his head bowed.
I didn't want to tell anyone about what happened to Sheha and that I'd been searching for Angrusous for a thousand years.
Zen sat in the chair as Krinima went to get Micnami and the princess from the rafters outside on the roof. When they returned they all sat down and Krinima brought in four bowls of his roast deer stew. There was silence for about an hour before anyone broke it. It just so happened to be princess Hinamay who did so.
"So who is this Sheha who you three keep talking about? And seeing as Zen is the one who everybody is asking questions about Sheha how about you tell me about them," inputted Hinamay moving in her seat as she saw Zen look up.
"Well, Sheha was an old friend of ours who lived in the palace over one thousand ten years ago in fact she was the princess," started Zen as Hinamay interrupted.
"Wait is this the princess Sheha who ran away from the royal life. My great, great, great aunt Sheha, daughter to king Aroth was committed suicide when she ran away?" asked Hinamay cutting in on Zen's story.
"Yes, it was, and Micnami was also her personal guard. Now as I was saying, Sheha was a good friend of ours. She, like yourself wanted to go exploring through out the world and as Micnami still had to look after Sheha's brother she could not go. Krinima was going back to Mt Gramunt to visit his family. I had nothing else to do, as my family had been dead for seven years after they died in a fire at the palace, went with her we had been travelling for ten years when it happened," Zen stopped for a while as Krinima went to get some more stew for them as every one except for Zen, who had not touched his, had finished eating. "He attacked," Zen added lowering his head again.
"Who?" asked everyone else accepting the stew and beginning to eat again.
"It was him, him the one of all nightmares the shape shifter Angrusous. He came left his mark and vanished as I came out of the tent. She told me a little about him like…" Zen was cut of by a gasp from the other three in the room.
"We know who Angrusous is we have all learnt about him," cut in Hinamay again.
"Well after that I made a potion to not age until I have killed Angrusous and searched for him ever since," finished Zen getting up and going into his old room. Zen closed the door behind him, curled up on his bed and went to sleep.
Out side in the lounge room Micnami went to get up but Krinima pushed her back down.
"Leave him be for a while to calm down you know how emotional he can be Micnami."
So the three went about her business, Micnami cleaning her gun, Krinima cooking more deer stew and Hinamay taking a look around the house making sure to be quiet so as not to disturb Zen.
Chapter 4: The Journey Begins
Zen and the others stayed at the house for three days before Zen cracked under the pressure of the begging of princess Hinamay wanting to go on a journey around the world.
"Please, Please, Pleeeeeeeeease," Hinamay whined following Zen around the house.
"FINE, we'll all go. Hinamay do you have a weapon or one you use well?" Zen asked going over to the weapons cupboard to get his metre long sword.
"I like to use a staff because it has no shape edges but can hurt when your hit by it." was her reply following Zen into the living room.
"OK the in the cupboard in the spare room is three different types of staffs, pick one."
Hinamay went to choose a staff as Zen went to tell the others what was going on.
"Hay guys I have desided that all of us will go on the journey this time just in case somthing happens," explained Zen once he found the other two in the kitchen.
"So what are we going to do about Hinamay and a weapon?" asked Micnami getting up from the kitchen table just as Hinamay came in with a blue staff with black markings on it.
Both Krinima and Micnami gasped as they saw the staff in Hinimay's hands. Hinimay stared from them to Zen, to the staff and back again before she asked what was wrong.
"That staff, Zen you said you got rid of it. Why didn't you?" asked Micnami walking over and taking the staff from Hinimay.
"I was but I ran into Mrs Niralfa on my way to the furnace. She told me to keep it because the next one to find and be able to hold the staff would be its greatest weilder," was Zen's reply taking the staff and giving it to Hinimay again.
Krinima was just standing there lokking back and forth across the room as the staff went from one pair of hands to another.
I knew what was coming as soon as I saw the staff enter the room. I was going to have to tell the story of how it was found.
Chapter 5: The Story of the Staff
"Wait just one minute," said Krinima finaly saying something about this topic.
"Why not let Hinamay choose if she wants to use the staff after she hears the whole story about it."
"Ok then I'll tell her," replied Zen sitting down in a chair. "It started when Micnami and I first met. We were twelve and eleven, I was twelve and Micnami was eleven when we met in the Central Plaza when we were twelve years old. She, you wont believe it, was a street rat who was given scraps from the food stalls. I had to deliver a message from the castle to madam Krings, the owner of the food market, about how much food we needed. Yes I was a messenger boy back then," replied Zen to the strange look Hinamay was giving him. "Micnami was crawling on the ground searching for money when I came running around the corner and went ass up over her. I got to my feet and kept on running to get to where I had to go as soon as I could, because if I completed this message in under five minutes I would get promoted to world runner which basicly means I get to take messages all over the world. I delivered the message and was on my way back when Micnami came running past me being chased by some city guards and, I didn't know what I was thinking but, I followed them into an ally to see them have her cornered against the back wall so, once again I didn't know what I was thinking, I ran around to the other side of the wall and to my surprise there was a stack of crates. I climed the crates and lowered a rope down making sure not to be seen by the guards. When she did not clime I whistled and felt her climbing the rope. When she was over I pulled the rope up so the guards could not climb over.
I took Micnami back to the palace where I took her to Sheha and Sheha being Sheha decided to give her a job at the palace, as a lady in waiting, where she lived and work four days a week for the next three years. One day during her second year at the palace she went for a walk as she was not working that day and came to visit Sheha. Just before she came through the door she heard Sheha and I talking.
"Please just one day that's all I need my mother just died and I need to burry her," I was pleading.
"OK but no one can know you only getting this because my father knew your mother," was Sheha's annoyed reply.
At that moment was when Micnami came in through the door and our conversation was cut short.
So I went home and came back to the palace the next day and I brought my mother's staff with me. Sheha told me to get rod of it so I went to take it to the furnace in the outlands but just after I left town I ran into Mrs Niralfa the fortune teller and she stated a proficy which stated.
The staff of thee who once was owned and now before me stands,
Shall once again find great power in many years to come.
The greatest weilder will come in time from the family of Alpands,
When this time finally is here the world will begin to hum.
The song of the staff known to all but only now one,
The staff's great power will destroy the evil one.
But only with help from three good friends.
So I took the staff back home put it in the back of my cupboard and never spoke of it again," finnished Zen who was now getting a pack ready. "Until now."
Zen who was the last to be ready grabbed his pack and walked out the hole in the rafters.
Chapter 6: