Legends

The Prophecy of Heroes

In the land of Legends, there are many myths set forth which foretell the coming of days. This is the telling of the Prophecy of Heroes.

Darkness will befall two worlds, and a Princess will be taken. This is the same darkness captured by a necklace from previous times. This necklace is named the necklace of Herana because it holds the soul of pure evil. If that evil is resurrected, the darkness might become too powerful to be stopped by the Heroes of Legends.

To save these worlds, the Leader of Heroes will arrive from Earth and band together with a group of lively and magical creatures to form the resistance who will defend against the oncoming evil. This group, the saviors of worlds, will be known as the Heroes of Legends. The leader from Earth will contain within him the ability to summon his power without a gemstone. As many inhabitants of Legends know, this ability is unheard of and will enable him to perform other astonishing feats that no one else has ever seen. The Leader of Heroes can be identified by his Earthen roots, his ironic sense of humor, and a mark on his left butt cheek.

The mystical creatures, Evos, created Mystics to defend against such evil by giving them immense power. The magic replenishing skills the Evos have will be essential to re-energize heroes’ during the coming war in order to not only save the Princess but save them all. If the heroes run out of energy, all will be lost. A combination of these magical forces and spirited creatures will forge the Heroes of Legends. Their powers will only strengthen once they find, earn, and bond with their weapons.

Countless mythical animals will help or hinder the heroes, including the sister of two sinister Nywolf brothers. Xena will become a friend and play an essential role during the heroes’ journey.

...THE WORLD OF LEGENDS...

Legends is the name of this world in which Aiden found himself. It is a world enriched by beauty, nature, and vibrant colors that include remarkable gemstones full of magical energy. Lush lands, abundant clear water, and clean air are many of Legends attributes, not to mention the numerous types of Earth-like animals and other creature species. These creature species are called Roaks, Hairies, Grandars, Evos, Mystics, Devians, Gorgers, and more. Roaks are a human-like species born with extra strength and agility. Hairys are short and hairy dwarf-like creatures with feet like an ape which are used as hands. Grandars are eight-foot human-like giants. Evos are smaller than Hairies, furry, appear half human, half fox, and can replenish magic. Mystics are also human-like. They are born with the ability to wield magic and can tap into a higher strength of power. They are the strongest creatures on the planet of Legends. Devians are reddish, evil goblin-type creatures that Herana, the dark queen, initially created. Gorgers are greenish fourteen foot ogre-like huge monstrosities. Lastly, most of these creatures strive for a status, and once they reach that status, they are considered Druids. Druids are any of these creatures, except Mystics, who have evolved to a state where they can wield magic. Mystics and Druids must have a gemstone in their possession to use their magic. Many of them place the jewels in their weapons.

There is something extraordinary about Legends. The world contains gemstones that hold elemental energy. These stones absorb energy from four elements of nature: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. The stones are red (Fierna), blue (Watre), green (Dirte), and transparent like a diamond (Aire). Once a Mystic or Druid becomes a stone-wielder, that creature develops supernatural powers. A Druid can only bond with a specific type of gemstone and, once bonded, is the only one who can use that stone. Mystics can use any kind of gemstone and are the only ones who can use the Aire stones. The existence of these stones has allowed the emergence of many heroes over time, a few being God-like. Yet, the jewels also drove many insane from greed and an over-indulgence of power. There have only been a few, though, who went to the dark side and became powerful enough to pose an eminently dangerous threat.

In the past, there was a colossal battle of good vs. evil. Good prevailed as the prophecy predicted. Before any evil ever appeared upon the world of Legends, there was a human Druidess who foretold three prophecies. These prophecies describe three instances when evil tries to take over the land and the only way good could triumph. Ever since the creation of these prophecies, this world has been called Legends.

...FOGGY MEMORY...

Aiden opened his eyes. He had a severe headache. He felt a wet sensation on his lips, so he wiped them. He looked at his fingers and saw blood. He tried to think about what had happened but couldn’t remember. Then, he tried standing up but couldn't and realized he was chained to a post inside some building. Aiden looked to his right and saw three devilish-looking creatures bickering over some food and wine.

They were Devians. The first Devian, Juggy, looked at the other, Dagon, and complained, “Why do you always get to go first?”

Dagon gazed sternly at Juggy and responded, “Because I’m your boss.”

Juggy looked confused, replying, “Who told you that?”

Dagon pointed to the third Devian, Kroni, “He did.”

Juggy looked at Kroni, “When did you tell him that?”

Kroni answered, “Yesterday, dummy!”

Juggy grabbed his chin, thinking, “Oh, I don’t remember.”

Dagon and Kroni began cackling because Kroni had never said that. They were teasing Juggy since he had asked a stupid question. Dagon had been their boss for years. Juggy raised his eyebrows, still confused, while the other two grabbed at the food and wine.

Aiden looked to his left and saw Melia chained across the room from him. Melia is a Roak, a strong, human-like creature on this planet. She was unconscious, hanging from her chains in a sitting position. Suddenly, vague memories started flooding back. Aiden was with Melia trying to find Priya when he engaged in a fight with creatures from this world. It was imperative to find Pryia, for, without her, Legends and Earth were doomed. Magus, a ruthless Mystic and leader of his Devian army, had Pryia held captive somewhere in this castle and was about to sacrifice her. Aiden, God-forbid, had to save the world, not only this world but the world from which he came as well. To do that, he needed to get Melia and himself out of these chains. Aiden and Melia against Magus and his army. How in the heck were only the two of them going to do this?

The sound of fighting, screams, and bellows howled, although faintly, from outside. “Someone’s fighting out there, but it’s not too close,” Aiden thought. Then he remembered his friends and Magus’s army were outside in a heated battle. There was another tremendous roar from what had to be an enormous creature. Aiden was immediately very concerned about his friends. He yanked on the chains, trying to break free. His wrists snapped back as the chains demonstrated their durability. He was stuck. At this moment, he flashed back to what had happened to him before someone put him in this precarious position.

….Aiden and Melia, in full battle gear and armed with swords, were running through what looked like a side passage from a courtyard. SLAM! They heard the sound of a catapult from way out in the field beyond the castle walls, followed by silence. Seconds later, they heard a thunderous crash. A large object hit the ground right outside the castle wall. Some Devians and two Grandars ran in the direction of the noise.

Aiden and Melia ran into another group of Devians investigating the noise. The Devians had axes, swords, and daggers. One Devian jumped at Melia, thrusting its sword. As Melia dodged the strike, another Devian lunged at her, swinging its ax. Melia deflected this strike while doing a spin kick, hitting the Devian with the sword. It was sent flying. She turned and grabbed the Devian with the ax, and judo flipped it over her body, slamming it onto the ground. She followed this with a hard punch to the head, knocking it out. Simultaneously, the other three Devians attacked Aiden: one swinging its sword, one holding a dagger, and the third grabbing Aiden around his neck from behind. Aiden blocked the sword attack with his arm guard and punched the Devian, who had the dagger in its mouth, before it could lunge with its weapon. Aiden saw the Devian with the sword raise the blade to attack again, and as it did, he felt a surge of power. In slow motion, he jumped in the air throwing a roundhouse kick. He cracked the Devian in the side of the head, sending it flailing. In the same strike, Aiden’s foot bounced off the sword-yielding Devian’s head, moving backward in a hook kick, and nailed the dagger-yielding Devian in the face. The Devian flipped back onto its head. As Aiden came down from the jump, he grabbed the arms of the Devian who was still holding him from behind, and in one motion, thrust it over himself twenty feet ahead. Aiden looked up at Melia, who joked, “Okay! I never taught you that one!”

Aiden and Melia headed toward the end of the passage and found a haystack on a back wall of a large building. It seemed like the path was a dead end. They looked around, trying to find a way through. Melia placed her hands on the hay and felt a faint draft of wind. “That’s odd,” she said, then moved some of the hay. It revealed a large hole leading into the building. The duo went through the hole into an empty room lit up with torches.

Melia whispered, “We have to pass the Great Hall to get to the West Wing. Once we’re in the West Wing, we can take the stairs that lead to the dungeons. I don’t know where to go from there. Pryia could be anywhere.”

Aiden gave Melia a curious look, wondering how she knew so much about this place, then replied, “Okay, let’s go.”

They left the room and ran down a long gallery to the Great Hall. Hearing voices, they hid behind some plants in the gallery corner, but they heard more than voices. Aiden and Melia also heard something that sounded like panting and sniffing. It seemed to be two large creatures, and they were getting closer. They could smell the stink of the creatures, like wet dogs, super musty, and bloody.

“Nooo, not Nywolves!” Melia said under her breath, but it was too late. A large snout, sniffing, followed by enormous sharp teeth, poked around one of the plants. Aiden and Melia quickly moved to the other side of the plants, hoping they were undetected. At first, there was silence; then what sounded like grunting; then quiet again. They looked at each other, wide-eyed, and shrugged. Aiden peered through the bushes and saw the two Nywolves (Geri and Freki) sitting by the entrance to the Great Hall, staring in his direction. The wolf-like animals were snarling yet patiently waiting.

Geri and Freki were huge, about fifteen times the size of a normal wolf. These wolfish creatures each weighed about 2000 pounds. The Nywolves’ heads were massive with huge fangs. Blood was dripping from their mouths and off parts of their fur. They had a muscular build and large paws armed with devastatingly sharp claws. The coat of both Nywolves was a dull brown color with black mixed in with a touch of white. The noticeable differences between the two were: Geri was slightly smaller, narrower in stature, had a sleeker look, a longer snout, and skinnier eyes; Freki was more muscular-looking and had some white patches on his underbelly.

“The Nywolves can smell us,” Aiden thought, then he whispered to Melia, “So, what’s the plan?”

Melia looked at Aiden matter-of-factly, then looked down at her boomerang blade, made from wood and reactive metal. Hidden at its ends were devastatingly sharp blades which armed when it was thrown and retracted when returning. Melia grabbed her boomerang and threw it around the plants at the Nywolves.

Geri ducked and rolled while Freki jumped and spun over the boomerang towards the area in the plants where Aiden and Melia were hiding. Freki landed next to a bush and lunged towards them. Melia dove to the left, catching her boomerang, and Aiden dove to the right. Geri pounced towards Aiden, and Aiden jumped in the air, pulled his sword, and sliced toward the incoming Nywolf. Geri slashed, hitting Aiden across the chest. At the same time, Aiden’s sword slid across Geri’s side.

Meanwhile, Melia had pulled her sword and was face-to-face with Freki. The Nywolf rushed her, and she jumped, flipped over Freki, and cut off his ear with her blade. Melia landed behind him as he growled in pain. He persevered and back-kicked her. She crashed into the wall and fell to the ground in a daze.

Aiden landed on his back with a thud and looked down at his chest. He was fine, thanks to his armor. Geri had landed on his side and flipped over onto his feet. The beast pounced again. Aiden thrust his sword in the air. The Nywolf landed on him, and Aiden’s blade penetrated Geri’s paw. Aiden watched as it went through the massive paw. As if in slow motion, the animal’s paw slid down the entire blade. Geri’s claws stopped an inch from Aiden’s face. Geri howled in agony and bared his humongous canines. He opened his mouth wide, intending to bite and tear off Aiden’s head. Aiden felt a surge of power again, but it was more potent this time. A flash of blue energy coursed through Aiden’s body, and he punched Geri with both fists so hard the Nywolf launched up in the air and crashed into the ceiling. Debris fell from above. Geri bounced off the ceiling and fell hard to the ground.

“That’s enough,” came the voice of Regin from the background. Regin is one of the most feared evil and powerful beings in the land. He has caused havoc throughout the years working as one of Magus’ army generals. At one time, he was a good man with a family, but that changed after his family was killed in an unexplained accident. Some time passed, and he fell to the dark side, joining Magus' onslaught. Regin is a Roak turned Druid who wears his jewel around his neck. His magic comes from the Fierna (fire) gem.

Aiden got to his feet and turned in Regin’s direction, ready to fight. He recognized the evil Druid. Regin looked at Aiden, smirked, then turned toward Melia as his necklace started to glow. Miraculously, Regin’s hands also began glowing as he made fists, and they erupted in flames. Regin thrust his hands in Melia’s direction, hurling fire at her. The fire landed, surrounded Melia, and trapped her within a fire circle.

Regin spoke again, “What is your plan now, Aiden? What will you do to take on the strongest Druid in the land? Do you think I won’t enjoy burning your friend to a crisp? It’s been a while since I’ve had some fun. What do you say, shall we burn her?”

“Nooo!” Aiden exclaimed, “Leave her alone! If you hurt her, I’ll kill you!”

Melia moaned, regaining her awareness.

“You’re gonna kill me, are you?” Regin replied, “I don’t think so!” Regin raised his hands and moved them closer, causing the fire circle around Melia to close in.

Melia jumped up, screaming, “Ahhh, it's hot!” as the fire enclosed around her.

Aiden yelled, “Alright, stop! What do you want?”

Regin spoke sternly, “All I want is for the two of you to listen and do what I tell you. We have a big evening planned, and the both of you will have front-row seats to watch the sacrifice. Now, put these chains on and go through there!” Regin motioned toward the Great Hall doors. Two sets of chains came flying in and landed in front of Aiden.

“Think again!” came a loud voice from within the fire circle, followed by Melia jumping through the fire, boomerang blade in hand. Melia’s left sleeve was set aflame as she soared through the air. She chucked her boomerang, landed on the ground, rolled, and whacked her sleeve to snuff out the flames.

The boomerang blade zipped through the air toward Regin. He created a magical red shield that blocked the boomerang, causing it to rebound and fly back to Melia. Melia ran over to Aiden, and they gave an “I’m okay” nod to each other.

Although Geri’s side and paw were injured, he had gotten up and re-joined Freki. They stood in attack postures with their teeth bared, facing the two heroes.

Aiden looked around and assessed the situation. He saw the Nywolves on each side of him, ready to attack. Regin was standing about twenty feet in front with a condescending look on his face as if he wanted to glance at his wristwatch, if he had one, and say, “Time’s ticking. You guys about finished?”

Aiden was infuriated. Blue energy coursed through his body as he felt his anger and strength building. He took off like a lightning bolt, running toward the evil Druid.

Regin saw the blue power surge through Aiden and was confused but reacted with a magical defensive block. BAAMM! A bright flash of red and blue energy followed a thunderous bang. Aiden flew backward and landed by Melia, unconscious and smoking.

Freki watched his boss fly backward and crash halfway through a stone wall. The bottom portion of Regin’s torso lay in sight, also smoking. The blow hurt Regin, but after a minute, he was able to work his way out of the wall and stand up. The Nywolves nudged the chains in front of Melia, prompting her to put them on...

Aiden snapped out of his daze, perplexed at what he had been thinking. Realizing his situation again, he looked around for something he could use to pick the locks on his chains. He didn’t see anything handy, but he could see the bottom of the keys dangling from Juggy’s belt and thought, “Why would they give him the keys when he seems like the one you definitely wouldn’t want to have the keys?” With his realistic perspective, he followed that thought with, “Maybe it’s so the others can make him take care of the prisoners.”

Dagon and Kroni walked out the door while Juggy finished getting his fill of food and wine. Juggy drank half a jug of wine in one long swig.

Seeing this, Aiden remarked, “I could use some of that wine. My head is killing me.”

Juggy looked at Aiden and sneered, “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, outsider! You don’t deserve any wine, you dirtball. Anyone who smells like you doesn’t deserve a thing. I could smell you from the stables!”

Aiden sarcastically replied, “Are you sure that wasn’t the stables you smelled, genius? Or, maybe your butt?”

Juggy gave a weird smirk as if he almost laughed, then recovered and made an angry face. He walked closer to Aiden and leaned in. Fuming, he pointed his finger close to Aiden’s nose, “You do not speak to me with such a tone. I will chop your hands off and feed them to our ogre, Drakkar.”

At this time, Aiden lunged at Juggy’s finger, caught it in his teeth, bit down hard, and took off half of it. Aiden spat out the piece of finger and tripped Juggy to the floor as Juggy screamed out in pain. Once Juggy hit the floor, Aiden heel-kicked him to the head, knocking him out cold.

At the sound of Juggy hitting the floor, Melia was startled, and her eyes shot open. She looked around, still in a haze, and could see a Devian on the floor next to Aiden. Aiden attempted to get the keys from Juggy’s waist using his feet but couldn’t reach them.

Melia spoke up, “Where are we? What happened?”

Aiden replied, “Well, look who decided to join the party! Um, I’m not sure. It’s still fuzzy,” he looked around, “I think we’re in a bakehouse. Help me get these keys.”

Melia suggested, “Why don’t you use your powers? You’ve been getting better at controlling them. I mean, first, you did some spectacular kicks earlier. Then you double power-punched a Nywolf and then ran faster than the speed of light! What’s next? Are you gonna teleport?”

“Wouldn’t that be something!” Aiden responded, smiling, “I don’t know. It just happens.”

“Sooo, you can’t bust outta those chains? Even after all our training?” Melia asked.

Aiden looked down at the chains and hesitantly answered, “I can try.”

Aiden took a deep breath to calm himself and then attempted to focus on his chains. He tried thinking about the chains, visualizing breaking out of them, and even thinking about getting revenge on Regin for putting him in them. After a moment, his hands started to shake, and the chains began rattling. Seeing it was working, he gave it everything he had. He was straining so hard a vein popped out on his forehead. There was a glimmer of blue energy that fluctuated in his hands but disappeared as fast as it appeared. Disappointed, Aiden laid his hands down and glanced back at Melia. “Nothing,” he said, shrugging, “We need to get those keys.”

“Hold on,” Melia spoke sternly, “Are you ok? You and Regin collided and exploded. You were knocked out. I was really worried. I thought you might have, you know, died!”

Aiden acknowledged Melia’s concern for him and replied, “No worries. I feel okay. Head hurts, but I’m okay.”

There was a loud bang from outside and a faint thunderous roar at that moment. Next came loud voices from right outside the door. An upset voice sounding like Dagon said, “What the hell was that? Where is Juggy? Juggy, quit drinking, and help us! Drakkar needs help!”

Dagon ran through the door, followed by Kroni, and they saw Juggy on the ground, knocked out, next to Aiden. Again, Aiden tried to reach for the keys. Dagon yelled, “Hey, what are you doing? Juggy, get up, you louche!”

Kroni looked at Melia and warned, “Don’t you move!”

Melia responded, “I’m kinda stuck here, not going anywhere.”

Dagon ran to Juggy, “I can’t believe you passed out on the job again!” he exclaimed. He grabbed a jug of wine and poured it into Juggy’s mouth.

Juggy’s lips quivered at the taste of wine, and he started waking up. “Wha, what happened?” Juggy wearily said, “Owww, my finger! That bastard!”

“What did you do to his finger?” Dagon spouted at Aiden as he looked at Juggy’s finger, “You bit it off? You bit it off! That’s it! I will kill you!” Dagon stood up and pulled his dagger.

“We can’t! The big boss wants them alive for now!” Kroni warned dubiously.

“Kill them!” screamed Juggy. Dagon raised his dagger with murder in his eyes. Aiden braced himself in a defensive posture. Subtle blue energy began to coarse through Aiden’s body. Dagon held the dagger high, a second from plunging it into Aiden’s chest. Aiden only hoped he could defend himself with another spectacular move. A pot came flying in and nailed Dagon in the head in the spur of the moment, knocking him to the ground.

“Hey guys!” exclaimed Gil, as he appeared in the doorway, smirking, satisfied that his aim was true. Behind Gil followed Cedric, both of whom are Hairies. Kroni turned towards Gil and pulled his sword. Gil had another pot in his hand and threw it, hitting Kroni in the head, as well.

“Damn, you’re pretty good with those!” Cedric joked. He ran at Kroni, tackling him to the ground while throwing punches.

Juggy was still within Aiden’s leg length, so Aiden kicked Juggy in the head, knocking him out again. Gil ran over to Juggy, grabbed the keys from him, and unlocked Aiden and Melia from their chains.

“Thank goodness you guys got here!” declared Melia, “What is our position?”

“Jack and Borak are fighting that huge ogre-looking beast!” Gil informed, “They need our help! We hit Drakkar with the catapult, but that son-of-a-gun is tough!”

Aiden got up and hurried over to Melia. “How are you feeling? Do you remember any more of what happened?” he asked.

Melia hesitated for a second, then stuttered a little, “I uh, I, uh, um, hmm. Yea, I feel fine. Wait, I remember you were lying there, on the ground, smoking. I was worried if you were ok, so I dropped my sword and tried to wake you. You didn’t move, but you were breathing. Then, they made me put the chains on us.”

…...Melia reached over and grabbed the chains as Freki and Geri stared at her. She put the chains on herself, then on Aiden. Regin spoke, “Ahh, that’s better. Great to have you on the team. If you will head through those doors now, please, there’s something I’d like you to see.” Melia picked up Aiden, slung him over her shoulder, and walked toward the Great Hall. Freki and Geri followed behind with their teeth bared. As Melia entered the Great Hall, she could see creatures up on the stage. She looked closer and could see female Devians giving another woman in shackles a makeover. The Devians were partially in the way, so, at first, Melia could not tell who was getting the makeover.

“Oh, doesn’t she look beautiful! A little dab here and a little rub there and voila, we turned this hideous creature into a star,” complimented one of the female Devians.

“Yes, she was so ugly when we first met her, and she’s so beautiful now!” agreed the other female Devian.

Melia walked in further and could now see the woman in makeup. “Holy crap!” she thought to herself. Looking past the horrible makeover the Devians had given the imprisoned woman, Melia saw it was Pryia.

Pryia had on black lipstick and eyeshadow. Red paste covered the rest of her face. She wore a plain white dress and jewelry, including a crown, bracelets, earrings, and a perfect shimmering golden necklace with colorful gemstones in it. It had four stones: red, blue, green, and one that looked like, wait, one was missing.

“Pryia!” Melia yelled out. Cutting her off, Freki swatted her in the back. Aiden tumbled off her shoulder, and Melia fell to the ground.

“Conversations aren’t allowed. I’ll tell you if you can speak,” instructed Regin.

The two Devian ladies, giving Pryia the makeover, glared at Melia as she picked herself up.

Regin spoke again, “So as you can see, the beautiful Pryia is looking ravishing for her theatrical debut. We have dressed her traditionally with makeup and jewelry. Did you notice the necklace she has on? That is the necklace of Herana. You know, the one that consumed Herana when Naru defeated her. Once the necklace has consumed a worthy replacement, it will release Herana. Pryia will be the next sacrifice. She shall be the one to bring the Queen back!”

“All praise Herana!” chanted the lady Devians as they bowed.

“You will not hurt her! I will kill you! She will kill you!” screamed Melia at the evil Druid. Melia turned her attention toward the enslaved Princess and said in a softer voice, “Pryia, why aren’t you doing anything?”

Pryia looked at Melia and Aiden remorsefully. Aiden was lying on the ground, unconscious and bleeding. She wanted to say something to Melia but, more importantly, didn’t want to get her killed. Melia was ignorant of all the necklace’s powers. The necklace of Herana can also allow the worthy entity who wore it the ability to communicate with the spirit world. Not only that, it can act as a magic dampener. When the necklace was missing a gem, it prevented anyone wearing it from using magic. Pryia was a Druid like Regin and known to be as powerful as Regin, if not more powerful. Because the necklace was missing one of its gems, Pryia was currently powerless.

“The sacrifice is ready, Master Regin,” spoke one of the lady Devians.

“Good, take her to the dungeons. Don’t worry, Melia. You won’t miss any of the action. You shall have a front-row seat,” Regin said wickedly.

Melia rushed the stage toward Pryia as fast as possible in her chains. Regin reacted by whipping his hands around his head and throwing a red energy ball at her. The energy ball struck Melia in the side and tossed her to the left into some barrels, knocking her unconscious. Pryia put her head down as the Devians guided her to a set of stairs that went into the dungeons.…