Prologue

"Come along children. I have a very special story to tell you!" Elder Verdin said as he sat in a wooden chair. 

The children cheered as they rushed into Elder Verdin's room in the castle after being escorted by their parents and having to wait inside the hallway. The fireplace crackled as the children took a seat on the soft velvet red carpet on the floor, facing the elder. 

Dusk had fallen. The crickets were chirping as the fireflies danced around in the air. Silent winds sung as they blew in between spaces of the castle bricks. The lights from other villagers' houses emanated through Verdin's window curtains.

"What story are you going tell us today Elder?" One child said as they all took a seat on the floor. 

"Listen closely. This story will be essential to all of your futures." 

The children's eyes grew wide in amazement as they murmured amongst themselves.  

"Many years ago, this village wasn't always this peaceful." Verdin started. 

The children gasped. They all began to ask questions at a quick pace all at once. 

"What happened Elder?" 

"Was 'He' not around?" 

"What's peaceful?"  

"Indeed! Koroko Village was always the victim of a legion of monsters known as The Crypt." 

"The Crypt?" the children exclaimed simultaneously. 

Verdin cleared his throat. 

"Yes... Every week the good people of the village were forced to give an offering of some sort to them, whether it was food, clothes, metal or anything else they might have wanted. If they didn't get what they wanted, they would attack the village at night and terrorize our people." 

The children gasped.

"What a bunch of meanies!" a child yelled. 

"Ah, but one night, a stranger had entered the village. Someone who I am very sure wasn't very familiar with the area. He wore white garments with a bright sparkly blue trim that glistened from any light that touched the beautiful material. He had very solid skin, almost as if it was impenetrable. His long dark dreadlocks sprouted from his white hat all the way down his back. The black rapier on his side jingled as he took every step. He came up to me and looked at me with his sharp blue eyes and asked, 'Do you need some help with these monsters guy?' Can you guess who this mysterious man was?" 

"The Onyx Chevalier!" all the children exclaimed. 

Verdin chuckled as he adjusted himself in his old raggedy chair. 

"The Onyx Chevalier was the biggest blessing that the goddess Respaltia could ever give the village. The swordsman possessed an extraordinary ability to manipulate space and time!" The children were at awe. 

"Mom never told me this!" one child yelled. 

"Yeah, my daddy never said anything about the hero to me either!" another child added. 

"Well you see, not very many people in the village actually sees what he does when he goes out to protect the village because he only does it at night." 

"How did he use his powers Elder?" 

"His powers were incredible! Just one shout would control time itself! He also had the ability to move between dimensions. He used these abilities along with his expert swordsmanship to take down the monsters." 

Verdin took off his glasses, wiped them with his brown vest and put them back on. 

"I was amazed. At the same time I was inspired. So him and I created a soldier program. You all were hand picked for the program; hand picked by Chevalier himself."  

The children expressed shocked looks towards the elder. 

"Why Elder?" 

"He said that he sees very special potential from each of you...Dawnni, Arestasia, Lupin, Cecilia, Meryln, and Blissalra. He sees very specific talents in all of you." 

Verdin looked at Arestasia and Meryln. 

"You girls will be very strong warriors in your own way. Not one monster will stand against your blade." 

Verdin looked at Dawnni and Blissalra. 

"You two were seen as powerful users of the magic arts. We've had many magic users in the village but they never thought of using their ability for war. Maybe this will give us a new lead."

Verdin looked at Lupin and Cecilia. 

"Chevalier told me that you two were going to be wonderful soldiers in the art of surprise. Yes, two fine assassins indeed."
        "That sounds so cool!" Arestasia yelled in excitement.  

"But, I don't want to be the same as someone else! I want to be different!" Dawnni complained. 

Verdin smiled as he leaned forward. 

"But you all are indeed very different! Chevalier shared his visions with me." Verdin explained. 

"His visions?" Dawnni replied. 

"Yes, he is able to see far into the future." 

He looked at Dawnni and Blissalra again. 

"Even though you both have magical capabilities, Blissalra, you possess the ability to control the elements whereas Dawnni, you use light magic from the sun and the moon to cast spells of creation, healing, and protecting." 

Dawnni smiled softly. 

Verdin looked at Arestasia and Meryln. 

"Meryln, you will have brute strength and wield a rather large sword that no man could possible carry. As for Arestasia, you wield a special rapier that detaches to form a bladed whip."

Arestasia's face lit up. 

Verdin turned his head towards Lupin and Cecilia. 

"Lupin, you are a master at small blades, and Cecilia, you have a professional eye along with the excellent skill of an archer." 

All of the children murmured in excitement. 

"As you can see children, our hero had seen the future and had seen great troubles ahead far from now. You must work hard to reach your goals and to face these challenges alongside him." 

"But, he controls time and space! Why would he need our help?" Lupin asked. 

"The great power you all will be facing will have immense power beyond imagination...He hasn't told me anything about this power but be ready for when the time comes." 

"Yes, Elder Verdin!" the children exclaimed simultaneously.

"Alright, run along home; it's way past all of your bedtimes." 

The children quickly stood up and walked out of Verdin's room and out of the castle to their homes. Verdin slowly got out of his seat and let out a deep sigh as he slowly closed his eyes in uncertainty. 

"I'm worried about them Chevalier..." He said softly.

Chevalier walked through the brick wall to stand next to Verdin and placed a cold hand on his shoulder. 

"I'm sure they'll do fine. I wouldn't have picked them otherwise!" the swordsman said with a smile. 

"I guess you're right..."

Reviews

[BP Barwick]

You have a good voice that encouraged me to continue reading and the story sounds intriguing. But I wonder if this is a prologue. It sounds more like a first chapter. If these children are going to be older beginning at chapter one, I would think that all of this information could be given within the story itself. However, if they are not going to be older, and this is the story of them growing up and becoming the talented people they were foretold to be, this could very well be a first chapter.

I could be wrong though, its hard to tell when I don't know the story except for the prologue.

Anyway, keep writing and thanks for sharing your work.