Prologue
It was a beautiful day in the land of Elderin. The sun was shining bright and hot above the world and only a few clouds were in sight. There was something in the air that made you just want to be outside. Many people were in fact already working on their various daily chores at the early hours of the morning.
The village of Perecin was specifically bright and cheery. Almost everyone had woken up and gone about their business. The several houses and few shops in the small village were somewhat randomly laid about the town. The very center of the town was the Town Center where the mayor Bobo lived and managed the town. A river ran through the town also. A single house seemed somewhat quiet though, but that would quickly change…
Hayden’s eyes opened slowly and he scanned the wooden roof above himself. He was so comfortable he didn’t want to move. He gave a sigh of delight and turned his head to the right to look out the window. It was a beautiful day to behold, birds chirped cheerfully and a squirrel ran across the grass outside his window. It was as if the god’s had smiled upon him on his twelfth birthday. He watched as a group of birds took to the skies, seeming like nothing more than m’s as they flew farther away.
Hayden pushed himself up into a sitting position and took a look around his room. It was quite plain actually, besides his bed of a rough blanket and straw, there was but a simple table in one corner and a small chest in front of his bed. He stood up and went to the chest. His body was lean and his face somewhat long but extremely cheerful. He pulled on a tan wool shirt with long sleeves, baggy wool pants, and leather boots.
After dressing Hayden rushed through his door and headed downstairs. He found his mother, Evelyn, already cooking soup on the stove. Hayden rushed over and kissed his mother on the cheek, she smiled back at him and said, “Happy birthday honey, a messenger came earlier today with a gift from your father, it’s on the table. He said your father would be home within a few months!”
“Really?! Only a few months?!” replied Hayden. He was excited. His father had joined the Elderin Guard before Hayden had been born and had only been able to visit at certain times. Hayden always looked forward to these visits because his father always brought him presents and spent a lot of time with him. This time though, he was coming back for good.
Hayden immediately scanned the table; his eyes were instantly drawn to the slingshot on it. He gasped and rushed over, picking up the dangerous toy. He immediately rushed outside to test the slingshot, only hearing Evelyn yell, “Be careful with that thing!” behind him. Hayden immediately found a pebble and shot it off into the distance. He was fascinated by the gift and immediately fell in love with it…
A little more than three months had passed since his birthday. He carried the slingshot with him everywhere. He spent his spare time firing off pebbles at far away targets, attempting to hit something extremely distant. The summer days still burned strongly. Hayden’s father was expected to come home any day.
Hayden was standing on a rock near the river and shooting small rocks at the side of his house with his slingshot. The pebbles smacked against the wall dead on target. Hayden reached down to pick up a pebble and found it was larger and sharper than the pebbles he generally used.
He loaded his slingshot with it and took aim at his house. That’s when he saw Evelyn, coming out the back of the house; she turned and smiled at Hayden. Before he knew what had happened the pebble was flying through the air. He knew what was going to happen. He began to yell but wasn’t fast enough.
Evelyn collapsed and a look of horror crossed Hayden’s face. He rushed to Evelyn. He dropped to his knees and stared at his mother. He began to cry as he said, “Mom…” He touched her shoulder and pull her over so she was face up. Her eyes stared blankly back at nothing. A smile still plastered to her face. A single hole sat in her forehead, where her temple was. Blood slowly rolled down her face, like a red tear.
Hayden pulled her into a hug and slowly cried. He didn’t know how long it was that he sat there crying, but it felt like forever. He didn’t want to move. He felt a hand on his shoulder and noticed he was surrounded by people staring sympathetically at him. All of a sudden Hayden was pulled into an unknown darkness from behind…
