The Jeweled Gate 1 (continued)

The Cleric stood with a battered cloak and rusted sword at the library desk. "Hello Ailen" he said without looking up. "Hello, master Devren" Ailen said. "Stop calling me by a title boy, with this havoc stretching across the land, all Vackrowthins find themselves equals!" snapped the Cleric. "Yes mas- i mean yes Devren" said Ailen. "Come" said Devren the Cleric, "I want to tell you a story". Ailen sat at the opposit end of the desk, in a dusty chair withered with age. "In the beginning, three Mages of elementiol powers saved this land which was at that time, named Crenn" he said, "and they learned of an ancient Kalris soul, being lost, He only can open the jeweled gate, but only when he has gained all knowledge of his true life and past, you see Ailen the queen and king are not your true parents, i believe you are the ancient Lost kalris, you must go on a quest alone" and he told him many other things as to why he was going on a quest. "you are to go on this quest because you alone can save Vackrowth and the jeweled gate and Ancient Ruin from being curropted once more". In a few moments, Ailen would set out in the brisk air which first steps would carry him across far lands, and away from home....

Ailen made good milage. He was already past the border of Vackrowth when night fell. "I've to find cover that's all" he told himself. He found a dry patch of ground and pulled a thin blanket over himself and drifted off to the place of illusions. Ailen woke with a start the next day, sunshine over his face and he saw for the first time, the plains beyond Vackrowth. "He's not here"! yelled angry voices. Ailen jumped up when a flame-caught arrow hit a tree a few inches fom his face. "Great"! he said as he made a run for it. If i haven't told you already, Ailen is a dark-brown haired person who's bangs lay flat on his forhead which looks quite nice to his long body arms and legs. He ran and ran, letting dandelions brush his legs. A hot pain was searing through his leg. He looked down and an arrow was stuck in his leg, not deep but it was there. He pickd it out and ran some more. Finally he found shelter in the trees. He watched as an army of at least 100 went past, all too occupied with running forward to notice that the boy they were going to run miles trying to catch was hiding in a tree right beside them. They were all red-cald dress and the royal archer said they were Volnicks. Ailen didn't even know Volnicks existed. Then another pitiful looking army of about 50 royal archers came running past and the same royal archerv that was caught beneath the bridge saw Ailen and spoke "What are you doing up there"?. "Does it look like i want to be up here in a tree filled with stinging wasps"? Ailen replied. "Ah, yes they were ready to tear the city apart before Dadren, Devren's brother, could drive them backwards, they were looking for you, young prince" said the royal archer. "Well, don't pursue them, they think i am already in Nork and they are driving themselves mad looking for me" said Ailen. "We never meant to pursue them" said the royal archer "with this army of 50, we couldn't kill a impish farmer". "What are you doing then"? asked Ailen quizically. "We're putting fortifactions on the hills of Dern" said the royal archer. "Well you sure have a strategic mind don't you"? asked Ailen. "Oh you can't give me credit, it was Levrick who decided it all" said the royal archer. "I musts be getting out of this tree, i think i've been stung twenty times in the least and i can't die of pain a few fifty feet away from Vackrowth" said Ailen. Ailen then climbed out of the tree. The royal archer was laughing at his joke. "Don't you ever get any fun in your life"? asked Ailen. "Well, look at me, i'm wearing my grandfathers breast plate, i've got scars the size of a small snakes, i have a gash in my left arm that's still fresh and i'm told i'll see at least ten battles in the next week, which is the most any Vackrowthin warriors seen" said the royal archer. Then the army moved on. Ailen started his walk again through the hot plains which surprisingly was the most populated outskirt of Vackrowth.