Chapter 1 – The Hall of Heroes
"Thanks again, umm…"
"Amanda."
"Amanda, for taking him in so early, I have business to attend to in Knothole Glade and I really have to go."
"It's quite alright Mrs. Greenwood, classes begin in another week, I'm sure we'll find something to keep him busy." She smiled and looked at the boy before her, his black hair a mess. If she could see his eyes she was sure he'd be on the verge of tears.
Mrs. Greenwood bent down and wiped the hair from her son's face. "Don't worry dear; I'll be back in a few weeks to see you again."
"I don't want you to leave Mom!"
"Now Charlie, I told you, you'll be perfectly safe here at the guild. Amanda will be looking after you until you get settled in and the rest of your class will be here next week. I'm sure you'll make lots of friends here!" She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"But Mom," Charlie said, wiping the cheek where his mother kissed him, "this place scares me."
Amanda laughed and knelt down in front of Charlie. "Charlie, would you like to see where our king defeated Jack of Blades?"
Charlie's face lightened up and the fear disappeared. The stories of the battle between Ranger and Jack that he had heard so much of - from books, friends, bards and the many drunken mouths at his mother's tavern – seemed so glorious, so majestic, magical, mysterious, and bloody amazing. He needed to see this room, or rather, this hall. The Hall of Heroes! He would finally set foot where Ranger saved Albion.
"YES!" He yelled, louder than his mother approved of. She was just about to protest when Charlie swung his arms around her in a swift hug, coupled with a quick "Bye, Mom" and ran off in the direction in which he thought the hall might be.
Amanda let out a chuckle and turned to the boy's mother. "Mrs. Greenwood, We'll take great care of Charlie, please feel free to drop in whenever you can."
"I know, and I will be back in a few weeks to check up, but after that I'll only be able to check in once, hopefully twice every couple of months. Business is slow as of late, and it's hard to find anyone else to work. I already told Charlie, but, should he forget, his Hero Doll is in his pack."
"Their popularity never seems to waver."
"No. Well, I'm off, goodbye Amanda, and good luck with Charlie and the other kids." Mrs. Greenwood said in a hurry, rushing through the door.
"It'll be a pleasure!" Amanda yelled after her, turning to find Charlie. She found him in the library, nose deep in a book about the Great Battle. He was looking in the middle of the book, no doubt at the illustrations of how the artists perceived Ranger's tale. Looking over his shoulder she saw what he was studying so intently, his eyes were transfixed on a drawing of Jack's mask.
"Is it here?" He whispered.
"Is what here Charlie, the mask of Jack?
"Yes, is it here?"
"It's hung in the Hall of Heroes, come on I'll bring you down there, the paintings there are even better than those in that book." She took his hand and led him to a great wooden door, even bigger than the one placed at the entrance of the Guild. She paused for a brief moment, letting go of the young boy's hand, and pushed the giant slabs of wood forward, their hinges creaking as the weight shifted. A small bridge lay behind the door, on the other side was another, the same size, but with two great stained glass windows on either side, the left depicted Ranger, and on the right was Jack.
As they drew closer to the other side of the bridge, Charlie noticed the door was open slightly; a faint blue light was being emitted from it. Amanda seemed to notice it as well for she stepped in front of him, walking faster on the tips of her toes.
She burst through the door, and there surrounded by a blue mist, was a man clad entirely in black, huge plate shoulder pads with two large spikes on either side of his black hood, with a glowing red sword strapped on his shoulder.
Amanda stopped in her tracks as Charlie walked up slowly and stopped behind her, afraid of the man standing in the center of the room.
"Why are you here?" Amanda asked quite suddenly.
"For you, of course."