The Legend of Tantus - Book 1

Chapter 1 - Prelude

    Sumith Maxlyeben, a simple young traveler, one more among many around the world, or so he believed. Born in the town of Mérit, on the continent of Lieben, he lost his father in the war with only three winters old, at twenty-one winters his mother got sick and unfortunately died, and having no more reason to stay at home, he attended a desire of the heart and became a traveler, a wanderer. Sumith was a light-skinned young man with brown hair and eyes, wearing simple travel clothes and slightly greenish, although with a chain mail underneath, he carried a long shiny sword, Laguna, presented to him by a stranger who was about to die. Always smiling and easily sociable, despite coming from a noble family, always understood very well the value of humility and sweat in every way, these being the most important teachings of his mother, so he led and left good memories wherever he ventured, although there were always those envious people who bothered with his simple good humor. Sumith was passing through the town of Andamon, on the continent of Meira, that continent was formed by five islands with four main cities, one of which, the central island, was uninhabited, because rumors told that it would be the refuge of summons, what caught his eye, but not enough to decide to exploit it, since all the islands were similar in their beauty and danger. At the time of the war Meira was the first of the continents to inflict really heavy losses on the armies of Zeijadel, using excellent maritime strategies planned by their king, making use of its islands, annihilated many troops that dared to try to invade them from the southwest, forcing the lord of darkness to command his armies to circle the continent, and it was at the foot of the great Mountain of Solitude that their greatest battle occurred. Their king, known after this as "the cunning one", attracted the enemies to that place, where the majority of his troops already awaited them behind the mountain. A dangerous plan that counted on the opponents biting the bait necessarily, because if it did not occur the kingdom and all the other cities would be defenseless. Meanwhile the king succeeded, the great mountain was broken by the union of his most powerful sorcerers, causing a terrible avalanche that destroyed much of the troops of Zeijadel, this resulted in the spectacular victory, in spite of the great losses in the course of the battle. Later the place became the Triplets Mountains.

    The inhabitants of Andamon, typically farmers, were always eager for news from abroad, their town being slightly small but very pleasant and hospitable. Sumith went to the shipyard near the docks, where, by world consensus, the fire crackled, the meat roasted, the music played and beer poured down the throat. There he was welcomed and told a lot about the comings and goings of the world, as well as his adventures, the young man ended up amusing them with stories of his travels, from the Estravas Mountains, the Forest of Illusion, everything was reason for hours of pleasant conversation, and the boy's cheerful manner soon conquered many friendships, even free beer rounds were offered to him in the place.

    After two pleasant days of stay in the city he went on a journey, passing through all the other cities of the continent, always enjoying his little journey to the fullest, finally went to the great Kingdom of Arfank, whose symbol showed a shield with the image of a tree on the breastplate of the beautiful greenish armor of the soldiers, living up to the green of their forests. In this place he contemplated a truly splendid castle, surrounded by forests, with beautiful and large trees in its great courtyards and streets, as well as walls as high as the tops of these trees, they could surprisingly be used as a form of defense exclusively by sorcerers of this kingdom, because they were bewitched to disobey any magical force that was outside the boundaries of those walls, many said that this strategy, developed by their king, could annihilate thousands of soldiers and stop an invasion. As a son of Kin Lyeben, famous in the great battles of the past, Sumith was very well received by the great king Andros Ravelion, the cunning one, who accommodated him in his own castle. But it was not only the powerful name of his father that he carried, also for being a great warrior, even if he had not yet the chance to put this truly to the test. He also possessed a potentially high magical level, especially in the element of fire, which was his favorite.

    In the slightly more recent past, the king's former adviser, Kraven Licaon, betrayed Andros weakening the defenses of the kingdom that had been plagued by goblins, the king and his family survived, and after many winters of difficulties managed to rebuild their home. Andros vowed vengeance against Kraven, but he was never seen again on the continent, at first it was only rumors, but shortly afterwards it was officially confirmed that he had settled in Pandemonius, on the continent of Tantus, where now they knew nothing about what happened to him or what he planned, it was later discovered by a warning from the lords that someone was getting in contact with Zeijadel. The first suspect was Kraven, for Andros said that for many winters his adviser studied the arts of the enemy in order to discover a means of purging him, but the curse of darkness, as well as his malice, were so great that Kraven, who one day had possessed an honest and kind heart, was utterly corrupted, becoming an evil and great admirer of the renegade lord. In fact, Kraven betrayed Meira with a simple intention, to search the continent for something that could lead to the Solitary Prison, kept secretly by the lords, in order to free Zeijadel (or that was what they thought). Pessimistic rumors said that evil was starting to form again.

    Sumith spent a week in Arfank, always in the king's company, the traveler learned a great deal about the customs of the kingdom and also their battle techniques, enhancing his already sharp ability. This was one of his great qualities as a combatant, thirst to absorb, evolve and add, and in fact was not any warrior who carried this ability, or simple interest, Sumith was considered as a warrior of amazing talent from childhood, from the first touch of the first blade, it became clear that he, like his father, had the potential to become a genius. Meira was also known as "the fruitful continent", for all its islands still possessed large orchards of the most varied fruits, which were exported and appreciated proudly to the whole world. After this week the young man went to the Karan Harbor, unfortunately did not visit the beautiful Triplets Mountains, but he intended to return one day to do so, and for now he decided to follow his journey.

    It was a rainy day when Sumith arrived at the harbor, and even in the rain he went straight to the docks, where he searched for the most enjoyable price for the continuity of travel, after all, spending money anyway was always a foolish recklessness. On the penultimate ship of the place his attention was called by a man who, in the drizzle, sat on the parapet of his ship (beautiful ship by the way), but the dragon frown on the prow was the one that caught his attention the most. The young man approached:

- Travel to where? – asked Sumith.

- Where do you want it? – asked the man, who was staring at him from head to toe.

- I like to travel, where do you recommend?

- Why do not you come up here and negotiate? – proposed the man directly, Sumith accepted and went aboard.

- Very pleased, sir, my name is Sumith Maxlyeben.

- It's an honor, young man, my name is Arkan Marne.

- Arkan? The sailor?

- In fact I planned for this day, son of Kin.

- You met my father? – asked surprised.

- Let's get out of the rain, it looks like we have to talk. – suggested the sailor.

    Arkan was in fact a sailor, famous in trades around the world, he traveled everywhere in search of rare artifacts and any record on, plunging into the deepest and most dangerous holes of ancient people. He could be said to be an adventurer, he also appeared to be very old, but at the same time robust and vigorous, with the strong appearance of a warrior, he had an austere face, short silver hair and black eyes as night, besides dresses slightly similar to those of the young. As Sumith entered, he saw another man sitting with his feet on the table, he was sturdy and with long golden hair, but his blue eyes and face made no mistake that he was still very young, carrying a scar on his right arm in the shape of Sun, the mystic mark of summoners, a sorcerer!

- This is Enghon Reizeu, he is part of my crew. – said Arkan.

    A kind of person difficult to meet out of the military, and perhaps so the wanderer's surprise. Enghon had just turned seventeen winters old, a sorcerer indeed, wore a small gray cloak over garments of the same color, and carried a long metal staff (perhaps silver) with a magical, red, triangular crystal at the tip. In Tantus the magic force of the elements pulsed powerfully within all living beings, and each depended primarily on their own strength, power and talent to utilize the spells that were provided to them, from the simplest to the most complex and unique. However, there were those with powerful weapons with magical properties, and these weapons simply served as a reinforcement of power (especially the staffs), simplifying the execution of such spells, and this could make a beautiful difference especially for sorcerers like Enghon. But in fact it was power that gave birth to the great warriors, by the level they reached they became consequently stronger, faster and agile, extrapolating the average even of other races. Soldiers who fought alongside the great warriors in history said they seemed to defy the laws of nature. For Enghon the staff, being very resistant, also served as a direct weapon, for he was very well trained and dangerous, not to say deadly, in the art developed by the northern warriors, called "Bö", whose meaning in the ancient language of the lords was "Stick". The young man was the son of sorcerers, lost his parents as a child in a goblin attack in the village of Esgaion on the continent of Tantus, and was raised by relatives, born in the eclipse of the Moon and therefore had a Sun-shaped mark on his right shoulder, the mystic mark of summoners, as mentioned before, and ended up following the same path of parents being practically a specialist in the legend of summons, traveling the world with Arkan in the hope of finding and obtaining them, as the guardians of the elements can only have one master at a time, and for a long time nothing is known about this.

    After meeting Enghon, and feeling a cold sadness in his eyes, Sumith sat at the table while Arkan served a meal, something that pleased the young man, and after reloading the true conversation began.

- I met your father a long time ago, and I must say you have his eyes. – said Arkan.

- What do you want to tell me, Arkan? – asked Sumith.  

- Your father once told me that one day I would meet you, and he asked me, like the good friend he was, to guide you in a certain way.

    Then Arkan told him about the guardians. Some time ago, Kraven, the cheater, cast a millennial spell on the great dragons, causing a terrible battle between them, now they were separated and thus abandoning the task delegated to them. This disunity caused the imbalance and led to the detriment of the cycle of life, species would become extinct, whatever was abundant one day would become scarce, and without the lord of darkness to complete the maintenance of this balance, the cycle was doomed to die slowly by the simple absence of only one of the lords. It would undoubtedly be a lengthy process, but the fact was that it would happen if nothing was done to stop it. This was the mission of the guardians, to assist the cycle in some way, or to put an end to all irreversibly corrupt existence... Arkan knew that Kraven was responsible, even though it was irrelevant how he was achieving it, the connection with Zeijadel was as certain as day follows night.

- There was never any doubt about the war and it was not over yet. – said the sailor.

- Did my father reveal all this to you? – Sumith asked.

- So hard to believe?

- Maybe... it still surprises me. Why me?

- An old man once said that the new generation brought us great promises.

- How?

    At that moment the door opened, and another hurried young man came in asking:

- Did I miss the meal?

- Do not worry, I saved your part, though I should use it as punishment, you negligent! – replied Arkan.

- I already apologized.

- If you had not forgotten the shopping I told you to do the day before yesterday!

- Yes!

    This young man had fair skin, black hair and brown eyes, he wore two long, beautiful, well-crafted and elaborate knives, Arkan's gift, and wore dark robes. He appeared to be quite skilled (and he was), but he had a different posture, looked slightly like a friend of Sumith's father, whom he did not remember very well, named Loki... But that was many winters ago. He was a little older than Enghon, eighteen winters old, proper deduction from the sailor himself.

- This is John Viktor, he is with us too. – said Arkan.

- Nice to meet you. – said John, greeting him.

- It's my pleasure, John. – returned Sumith.

    For some reason John was very sympathetic to Sumith, being immediately content to have him as a traveling fellow. Not even Arkan knew exactly about the young man's past, he found him as a child, wandering the shores of the Flame Archipelago, and all he could say was his own name, which was written on a chain he wore around his neck. Arkan welcomed and educated him, making him a good boy and discovering that he possessed a great talent for combat. "Fight like a young prince." – said the sailor. But strangely John had no magical abilities, he was never able, even under Enghon's tutelage, to dominate any of the fifteen elements, there was no explanation for this, but Arkan suspected that John kept within himself a great secret.

- Your father also left a gift for you, Sumith. – said the sailor.

    Despite the young man's curiosity, Arkan, seeing the sword he carried, only said that he should have patience and wait for the right time. Sumith thought at that moment how valuable such a gift would be, but the fact was that Arkan had a sometimes annoying habit to produce mysteries, otherwise he might be really right in fanning the young spirits, otherwise the young man also noticed that there was much wisdom there, and agreed to control himself.

    If there was one thing that Arkan knew about, were rare and mystical objects (to get into any hole out there had benefits) then he understood that the sword that Sumith carried was not common, and ended up asking about it. Lieben's young man, enjoying the conversation and the interest, told.

    Two days after leaving his hometown, wanted the fate that Sumith decided to take the path through the Forest of Illusion, the least used of the continent, ending up getting lost, which was nothing new in the place. On the way he found a small hut destroyed, it seemed, just a few minutes before, was a man badly wounded on the floor holding a traditional long sword:

- A cyclops attacked me by surprise... and destroyed my house. – The man whispered, looking at Sumith, and for a moment seemed to recognize him.

- Calm down, do not talk, I will help you. – said the young man looking for help.

- My family! My family is in danger. – muttered the man, holding Sumith's hand firmly. – Save my wife and my daughter... and I promise that I, Laguna, will be eternally grateful to you. – And again he looked at Sumith differently, and smiled. – Thanks for everything. – He whispered, handing him his sword, before closing his eyes and leaving for the afterlife.

    Sumith met Laguna's last wish, brandished his sword, and entered the forest following the giant's footsteps, and soon found his wife and daughter trapped in a ravine by the cyclops. Taken with rage, the young man attacked and struck the monster's left leg heavily, causing him to kneel, the giant tried to fight back, but Sumith, agile, turned away from the great hammer of the creature and crossed his single eye with the sword, until the same appears bathed in blood on the other side of the head. So Sumith saved the family of Laguna, and from this day forward a beautiful silver glow began to emanate from the sword. It was possible to feel in it an awesome power, the warrior was fulfilling his word, and Sumith firmly believed that his spirit was there. With this he went on to call it Laguna, the giant-biter, in his honor, its strength was overwhelming, and the young man had a lot of affection for that weapon.

- Great story! – said Arkan, minutes later untied his ship and sailed, taking Sumith into his company even without negotiating price. – Well, the journey will be long and difficult, all that young people eager for adventure might wish.

- Journey?! – wondered Sumith.

- Do not pretend to be a fool. That is why you travel, is not it? That is why you are here. – said Arkan taking the wheel.

- It is... – Sumith barely knew Arkan, but he had to admit, he spoke the truth.

    Did your heart long for this? He did not even know what it was exactly, everything happened so fast, not planned by him, but certainly by others. He could feel the exciting chill in stomach, could not lie or deny.

- A great journey? – murmured Sumith.

- The journey, deep in your heart you know, because you are like your father. – said Arkan.

    By now the rain had passed, and the wind blew a little louder, as if announcing something.

- You too, troublemaker! – told to Enghon. – And you, negligent! – shouted to John.

    The goal, according to Arkan, was to get all the legendary summons, preferably secretly, but the real reason has not yet been mentioned. They were about to dive into something big, perhaps too large, but the sailor knew he would find them again and everything would be revealed in due course. He also hid something else, which only he could know or realize, but above all, the confidence he conveyed was incredible, for Arkan the healthiest thing for the young people's character was to let them discover their own ways. According to him, Kraven was almost as cunning and malicious as his master, and probably could already be one step ahead of them.

    They both looked at each other and smiled in a mixture of anxiety and delight, then what better chance for a good trouble out of that monotonous ship, by the way, with good old Arkan? The sudden form as a new way showed itself, and although it could be magnificent, Sumith still was reluctant. John and Enghon, already very much acquainted with the sailor, looked more naturally, but the young man doubted slightly, perhaps it was not really his wish, or perhaps he had not yet admitted to himself. From adolescence, as the son of a legendary warrior, this was rather his goal. “You will be great, time itself will not forget you.” – His mother told him always looking in his eyes. With the emotion brought by adventure, by danger, by fate, a group was formed, half convinced, half forced, it was time to admit it. Then he set out on his way to the continent of Zelante, the first step.