This story does not begin in a castle, nor does it begin in a dungeon, this story does not tell a tale of a valiant soldier, or a man of noble birth. This story began in a small village, isolated from the rest of the world, where the once paved roads slowly vanished as time passed on. This village was a human village; no dwarfs, elf, amazons, nor prums lived there.
In a small village, there was a young girl. She was walking down the grass fields, enjoying the last warm winds of that year. It was one of the many gifts that summer and early fall gave to the people of her village. In her arms she carried a wooden bucket, its size being larger than most of its kind.
Stopping by the stream, a group of energetic youngsters passed her by and leading them was her younger brother. She smiled at the site, she wondered when was the last time she saw her brother smiled after their father death and as always when he saw her, he waved at her, his amused grin still plastered over his face.
"Hey sis, want to come and play"
"Sorry Gorge, I can´t but don´t bother the others to much"
She loved her brother but she would be a fool if she did not concede to the notion that her brother was a pest sometimes, mind you not to her but to the other villagers. He was young, still a child and children often enough seek trouble and more often than not, trouble finds them.
She was once like him, she would spend most of the days playing in the forest or on the golden field above the village, acting as if she was a damsel in distress and sometimes she would pretend to be an adventurer but those days have passed.
She had lived eighteen summers and this next one would be her nineteen, most girls that age would get married but she had not even met a man. There were men in the village but most of them have already settled down just like her parents have before her.
She gazed down the river, her reflection looking back at her, her eyes were almost the same color as the sky above, the sky that would never by clouded. She was a real beauty but never has she thought that. Most of her days in the pass were spend in her own little world and now she needed to provide for her brother.
She lifted the wooden bucket above her head now filled with water; she balanced it with both of her arms. When she was younger she hated doing this every day but as each day passed she forgot her earlier complaints.
She eventually returned to her small house near the edge of the village, the next closest house from theirs was about fifty meters away from hers, one thing she loved about her village was the privacy that it provided and the people in it as well. Most of the people she knew were genuine and kind.
She twisted the doorknob; gracefully she walked in to her house still balancing the wooden bucket over her head. As she made her way through the house she heard footsteps above her. She quickly placed the bucket at the nearest counter and rushed upstairs. Opening the door which led to their spare bedroom she saw a white haired man, gripping the blanket sheet, his eyes were dazed and his arms were limb by his side.
This man is the hero of this short story, a story which one would hope it has a good ending but we cannot be certain in it unless we reach the final page. The man in question was there that day because of a request; a request from a god, but the villagers did not realize that the man who made such a request was a god.
For they were the only mortals that could not recognize divinity.
The women watched as the man tried to move forward only for him to fall ungracefully on his back. He looked older then her, maybe a few years older but she could not be certain. After all when she first saw the man, he was unconscious, he seemed as if he would die at any moment.
"You should not be out of the bed." She practically shouted at him. His red eyes glanced at her direction. Never has she seen such eyes, eyes like rubies that some of the wealthier villagers had. She walked towards him, slowly as if he was a deer or some other fearful animal that would flee if she approached him quickly. She helped him stand up, his right arm over her petite shoulder, only then did she realize how much taller he was then her. She walked him toward the empty bed. His legs almost gave in a couple of times, as they almost fell over. After he sat down, she asked:
"How are you?"
She waited for a few second, until he finally answered.
"My head hurts…..and my left arm is numb"; His voice was deep
She watched him as his eyes slowly moved around, taking in the surroundings.
"Are you hungry, you have been asleep for a whole week."
He looked at her, his eyes still unfocused a tiny layer of liquid covered his eyes and cheeks as if he cried moments ago.
"Where am I?" He asked, his eyes becoming more focused. She placed her hand on his shoulder and gave them a gentle squeeze, he locked his eyes with hers and she saw fire burning within them, she blinked once and the fire was gone.
"You are in my house and we are currently in Asteroi." She answered then continued
"Excuse me, good sir, what is your name?"
"My name…..Bell."
"Oh, Bell, my name is Isabel, nice to meet you."
This is the beginning of a story which did not start in a castle nor did it start in a dungeon. It all began in a house, owned by a girl named Isabel.