“You enjoy stories of adventures right?” her Alduva, her chosen, said to his friend.

“Yes,” she responded.

“Well, I will tell you mine. I guess I will begin with my family, that is where all stories should start. My mother was a kind woman, she taught me that I should always be respectful, that’s why I try, though I am not too good at it. My father was a man of honor, he started teaching me when I was eight. He was of the line of Kelmu, the ones who serve the Creator. He taught me the oaths and how to uphold them, he showed me how to embrace the Truth of the One. That is, how to enter the will of God and embrace his power, that is what we call the Truth. My father told me I was a natural, I was different back then, I guess I trusted the Creator more.” Her Alduva hung his head, these memories were hard for him but she could feel that his heart was healing from its long brokenness.

Sighing he continued, “The last day I saw my family gets fuzzy. I remember the sky was yellow with orange streaks thorough-out. We lived at the base of a mountain near the sea. Cromlin’s peak, it was called. I wasn’t the first to notice but we all saw the dragon rise from the sea. Some men went off to fight it, delay it really, they knew they wouldn’t be able to kill it. Everyone else rushed around grabbing food and things. You see at the top of the mountain there was a door that led to a fortress of some kind, I never did see the inside. My parents and I started climbing with everyone else, we got separated, so I started helping others climb. I was only ten but it was what my father taught me, to help those in need. What I didn’t take into account, I guess, was the superstition of people. As I was helping people carry things I was in the Truth you see, it allowed me to lift things I wouldn’t otherwise be able to. I didn’t see it at the time, but the people feared me. I kept going back to help carry things that other people couldn’t lift. When everyone else was inside they tried to get me to go back down the mountain. I don’t know where my father was at the time but the mayor came over and closed the door on me, refusing to let me in.” He paused, she had never heard him tell his story before and her heart went out for him, she knew what came next. His friend remained quietly attentive.

“The dragon came after that. It didn’t say anything, but I think it laughed at me. It picked me up, I could see the whole land stretch out before me, it was terrifying. I still have nightmares of this, it didn’t drop me but threw me, the ground rushed to me so fast, faster than going up, well I guess I went down not the other way.”

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“What happened?” his friend asked prodding him to continue. After he was silent for a while

“I died, I think?” he paused again. “I don’t remember hitting the ground, just nothing. The first thing I remember is seeing a map, I remember thinking it was a poor representation after having seen the land for real. A general in an army or something was giving orders around the table. I saw his army, there weren’t many of them, I knew they were the last army of the Sons of Kelmu. I then saw what they were fighting. At the time I didn’t know what they were but now I do. It was an army of Kral, Kral are a lot like humans you could say, though they are…. Wrong is the only way to say it. Their skin is gray, they have fangs that protrude from their mouths and their noses are all scrunched up and twice as big. They have big pointy ears and they smell horrible, oh and they might be smaller than the average man, they are stronger by far, and they don’t tire easily. I found the site of the battle later, there was nothing left but broken rusting weapons, I think they lost, the humans that is.”

He paused again, she knew this part, it is where she met him after all. “Next I remember seeing a wreath. It was made with pink flowers and in the center there was some sort of box. It had four sections; they were all carved with intricate runes and were set so that each corner was like a point on a compass. I don’t know what it meant but I can still see it to this day, I knew it was a seal. In each section, there were key holes three of them were filled with their keys each inserted. But the one on the right was missing. I then heard a voice, ‘Please we are the innocents.’ It said, ‘Please set us free. Find the last key and open the way’ I could feel my body after that though I couldn’t move. The voice repeated itself once more and I promised that I would. I don’t know why I promised but I felt I didn’t want those souls hurting anymore and knew if I didn’t do something they would be trapped there forever waiting.” He sighed, “I woke up after that. I was in a field surrounded by pine trees. Funny how I knew what kind of trees they were but now couldn’t tell one tree from another. I got up and walked around, eventually, I found my old village. It was destroyed, along with Cromlin’s peak. That was gone too. There was a city built on the ruins but no one knew me or remembered the dragon. My best guess is I was dead for several decades. Now I am the last of the Sons of Kelmu, it is up to me to fulfill his oaths and my own.” Her heart swelled, this was her Champion, her Alduva she had chosen. He was well on his road to being the hero he had been, a little more time, and his heart would be whole once more.