Concept pic 3

Concept Pic 2

This Concept picture was drawn by my mother Dorothy Fulmer. Thanks Mom.

Concept Image 1

Star Wars: The Old Republic Review

              

Star Wars: The Old Republic, (SWTOR), is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, (MMORPG for short), Developed by BioWare, and Published by Electronic Arts, and LucasArts, for the PC. It was released in America and part of Europe on December 20^th 2011. The story takes place in the Star Wars fictional Universe shortly after the establishment of peace between the re-emergent Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic, 300 years after the event of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games, that were released on the original Xbox in 2003, and the sequel was released in 2004, it is noted that a series of books were also released in conjunction with the games. The time frame is also more than 3,500 years before the events of the Star Wars film series, so no Darth Vader. =(

               Let me begin by saying that I am a biased fan that spends WAY too much time playing this game. So that being said, I’m beginning this review with a rating, right off the bat. I’m giving it a solid 7. Now I could go by saying that I’m a huge fan of the Star Wars movies, books, and previous games, and that it doesn’t live up to the incredible cult following that is the Star Wars universe, but that is not why I can only rate this as a 7 out of 10. I gave it a 7 because it takes such a powerful computer to play this game that most people can’t play it. I have a fairly powerful laptop and I can barely play it, without having to stop after about 10-20 minutes due to lag, in which my character starts running in place and my companion starts twitching out. Now that is only one point I have taken from the ultimate score of a 10.

               Point two is taken from the fact that Player vs. Player, (PVP), is incredibly hard, due to the fact that they have no level filters. What I mean by this is, while playing PVP, a level 55, (max level character), can walk up to a level 1, and kill them with one shot. I know it might sound like I’m whining, and well, I am. All of the best armors and weapons are gained by playing PVP, and the people that are max level are usually subscribers who spend even more time playing the game than I do, and that is saying something. The game is free-to-play, but they do a lot of things to make it really hard to play for free. Such as follows, while trying to log into the game, the launcher, if you do not subscribe to the game, tells you that your password is wrong, and therefore have to go to your email and wait another 15 minutes in order to receive what they call a “one time password” in order to log into the game, could of fooled me seeing how I have to get this one time password every single time I log in. That is not the only reason it is hard to play the game for free, another one is you level up very slowly as a free to play character, and they warn you about this when you start a free character. So while subscribers are quickly maxing their level, you’re still running around as a level 25 when you’re more than 60% done with the main storyline. I digress, you can buy EXP boosts from the Cartel Market, using real cash, but if you’re going to do that you might as well subscribe.

               Point three is taken from the Game Launcher as a whole. It’s not just the password issue for me, albeit that really does tick me off. God forbid if your someone like me who can’t get high speed internet where I live, and BioWare decides to do random a maintenance, in which you never actually see any real change when you play, and I have to wait an entire day for the update to download, then practically another whole day for the Launcher to do something that it calls “re-organizing data” and when you call to find out what that is all about, they give you a nothing answer and tell you that it will be fixed during the next update, and it never does. After you finally get past all of those issues, you finally get to load the game, and it takes FOREVER! All for someone like me to be able to play the game, and if the server is overloaded, I get kicked out because I don’t have strong internet and have to go through the whole launcher process over again! =(

               Now, after all of that being said, this is one of my favorite games of all time. In the game you get to create your own character, and based on a serious of choices and conversations become either light or dark. What is really great about the character creation is that you don’t have to be a Jedi or a Sith. You can also choose to be a smuggler, like Han Solo, a Bounty Hunter, like Bobba Fett, or an imperial agent. The beauty is that there is no wrong way to play this game, you can be an evil Jedi if you ever wanted to see that, or a Sith with really great morals even. It has a great story line for all classes and is all around fun to live like a true Jedi Master. I have found myself losing track of time while playing as my Sith Lord, Darth Laraniss, yeah I named him after the character I write in my short stories, sue me. Another cool factor is the fact that you get your own ship, and you get to build and design your own stronghold with the latest expansion release. To top everything off, the graphics and world design are immaculate. It is truly amazing to be able to wreak havoc on a planet like Hoth or Coroscant and feel like you’re actually there. I for one am extremely excited for the next expansion coming out in December based around the story of Darth Revan, my favorite Star Wars character, who was your character in the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games.

               All in all, if you’re a fan of video games, and have always wanted to live like a Star Wars character, then this is the perfect game for you. If you don’t mind all of my previous ranting on the issues surrounding the game. Now please excuse me while I fly my space ship around the Death Star in search of that tiny little hole that can blow the whole thing into smithereens.

Naruto Shippuden Review

              

               As most Anime goes, this is a story about good and evil. The main reason I enjoy the show/manga, is because the story is the most in depth I have ever come across. Their attention to detail, and hidden Easter eggs is truly remarkable. I started watching this from the very beginning, (the original was just called “Naruto”) and was not very impressed. They seemed to focus way too much on the comedy, rather than the story and the action. Little did I know that it all led to my favorite Anime story of all time. After the story “Naruto” unfolded and led to its climax, it ended with Naruto choosing the side of justice, and Sasuke, (Naruto’s best friend/rival) choosing the road less travelled, not necessarily evil, but most certainly not good.

               Now because this is a review, I won’t bore you with all the details of how it unfolds, especially seeing how there are 500 or more episodes, with probably 300-400 manga chapters that have not even been aired yet. In Naruto Shippuden we’re time skipped I believe 3, maybe 4 years into the future, don’t quote me there. Sasuke has obviously surpassed Naruto in every way, due to his hatred for his brother who killed his parents, and every other living member of his family. I just finished reading manga chapter 697, which was epic because finally after reading 698 chapters they are finally settling their differences in a battle to the death. Now the problem with that statement is that it is painfully predictable how it will unfold, because anyone who follows it at all knows that somehow Naruto will find a way to tug at Sasuke’s heart strings and bring him back to reality.

               It should also be noted that the manga will officially be ending at the end of this year, not sure of the exact date, and I can’t blame them. They made both Naruto and Sasuke incredibly over powered during their tag-team style battle against the original human to possess chakra, a woman by the name of Kaguya, who ate some really big fruit from a forbidden tree, which in turn turned her into a god that ended all the wars in the land. Pretty noble, right? Wrong! Shortly thereafter, it drove her insane and made her want to kill everything and anything in her wake. It took her son, known as the sage of the six paths to seal her away back into that same tree for all eternity. The sage of the six paths went on to use the chakra he inherited from his mother to create all ninshoo, (the powers they use as shinobi, also known as chakra, or jutsu). We later find that The Sage had two sons, which coincidentally ended up like Naruto and Sasuke, one good, and one bad, and that the two are actually descendants of the two brothers, in fact they are reincarnations of them. In order to defeat Kaguya, who is revived by a man named Madara, (my all time favorite anime character now) accidentally, when he intends to use the tree to try to place everyone in a dream state of mind to end all war and sadness, The Sage gives Naruto and Sasuke all of the powers’ that the son’s once held. So as you can see they become extremely over powered to the point that they are now stronger than Kaguya.

               So that is pretty much the gist of Naruto Shippuden, now for my rating. On a scale from 1-10, Naruto Shippuden is a solid 8. I can’t go hire due to the fact that the show has an incredible amount of filler in the form of flashbacks. They have gone as far as to have flashbacks inside of flashbacks. To add more salt to the wound, and possibly a spit in the face in my opinion, season 6 was an entire season of flashbacks from the original Naruto. Don’t get me though, I like a good flashback here or there, when it actually has meaning. The problem is that every episode has at least one flashback, and most of the time, it’s a flashback that we have seen fifteen times prior. Other than that, this is a great show to get into, it has incredible visual prowess, (fans of Sasuke’s older brother Itachi will understand that joke), with an incredibly diverse and rich story. I am looking forward to the climax, even though it means I will have to find something else to pass the time, other than writing these reviews and my short stories.

            The Dream is Real

               Sly was confused. He jumped up from his bed in the realization that the man from his dream was now standing in his room. He kept checking his shirt, but every time it still read “It’s a dream”. He searched for an answer to this impossibility standing in front of him, but there were none.

               “What’s going on? How are you here? This isn’t possible.” Sly said with a sense of confusion.

               “It’s not what you think Sly. I’ve waited patiently for you to let me in, it only took 16 years. This most defiantly isn’t a dream this time, but yes, I did come from your dream” Said Laraniss as Sly struggled to grasp what was happening in front of him.

               “What are you talking about?” Sly asked.

               “It’s kind of hard to explain…I’m a Prince from another planet, that was enslaved inside of you when you were a baby. I’ve been searching for ways to release myself from your sub-conscience. That’s why I was manipulating your dreams like that. I figured you’d try to find answers after watching you all these years…finally you were able to see me, and not yourself, which gave me access to your mind…did you get all that?” Laraniss answered. Sly stood speechless and confused, he didn’t have an answer.

               “No…not really.” Sly replied with distain.

               “Look, I need your help. Do you want me out of here?” asked Laraniss.

               “I don’t even know how you got here!” yelled Sly, becoming a little frustrated now.

               “Technically I’m not here.” Laraniss replied.

               “Seriously!? You’re really not making any sense.” Said Sly.

               “I know it’s out there, but I’m kind of like an imaginary friend that isn’t imaginary. I’m a figment of your imagination that is presenting itself in front of you.” Said Laraniss.

               “Oh yeah, that helped a lot, thanks.” Sly said sarcastically.

               “Ok ok. When you saw me in your dream, I was able to gain access to your mind, which means that from now on, I’ll be able to talk to you. Which is a lot easier than the way I was contacting you before.” Said Laraniss.

               “So what is it you want from me?” Sly asked.

               “I need you to figure out how to release me from inside of you.” Laraniss answered.

               “So you’re somehow inside of me?” asked Laraniss.

               “Yes. I don’t really understand how myself yet, but that’s what the deal is.” Said Laraniss.

               “I’m losing my mind…yeah that’s it, must be some sort of side effect from all the soda and junk food I eat. This will blow over eventually, it must be some teenage phase I’m going through, yeah that’s it…it’s just a phase.” Sly replied, in a state of disbelief. Laraniss breathed a sigh of breath, and in a flash, he was nose to nose with Sly. Sly’s eyes widened, seeing the Prince move that fast. The Prince grabbed him by the arms and lifted him into the air.

               “Listen here boy! I am the Prince of a warrior race called Raynians; I have fought countless battles to prove my strength since I was very young. I was told when I was a boy that I would someday save the universe! You will help me out of this prison, or I will torment you for the rest of your life.” Yelled Laraniss as Sly started laughing, in disbelief. Laraniss dropped Sly, and he shrugged to the floor still laughing.

               “Ha, next thing you’re going to tell me is that you’re the Legendary White Warrior! Ha-Ha!” said Sly, still in disbelief.

               “What did you just say?” asked Laraniss.

               “I said that the next thing you’re going to tell me is that you’re the Legendary White Warrior. The story you just told me sounds an awful lot like the old legend my mother used to tell me about when I was little.” Sly replied. Laraniss was stunned.

               “This planet has heard the legend too? I don’t understand, how did I miss that?” Laraniss pondered to himself. Sly, seeing how surprised the Prince was finally snapped into reality.

               “No way! You’re him aren’t you? You’re the young Prince that vanished all those years ago on Planet Rayne!” Sly said as he finally got a grip on himself. Laraniss began pacing across Sly’s bedroom.

               “I don’t understand, how could I have missed this…all these years and I never knew how far the legend had travelled.” Said Laraniss. For 16 years, real time, he had been suspended in time, at some points he was able to see what was happening through Sly’s eyes. He had to live with what happened all those years ago, to his parents’ and his people. For 16 years, he had been training and planning on how to take revenge, and restore his people. He had come to the conclusion that, no matter the cost, he would restore his people back to their rightful status as the most powerful race in the universe. In his current state though, there wasn’t much he could do. He looked at Sly, who had still been rambling. “Was I this absent minded when I was his age?” Laraniss thought to himself.

               “So you’ve been gone for 16 years? How old are you then?” asked Sly.

               “Technically, 32.” Laraniss answered.

“Really? You don’t look that old. If I had to guess, I’d say that you were around 18.” Sly replied.

“My people do not age as most do. Once our bodies fully mature, we age about half as much as our age suggests, that way, we are able to continue to battle for the full extent of our lives, it was something all Raynians learn the moment that they ascend to their Elite form.” Laraniss replied; a little confused at how quickly Sly switched from hysteria to level headedness.

“Elite form?” Sly asked.

“It’s a transformation, notice the red glow? I have been stuck in my Elite form ever since I was enslaved in you. That’s why I have barely aged; the longer we’re in this form, the less we age. No one has mastered the form, I didn’t have much choice. For a long time it was quite painful for my body to be fully transformed like this.” Laraniss answered.

“Oh I see.” Sly replied.

“We’re getting off topic here.” Laraniss said, remembering that he was finally able to speak directly to Sly. “I think I have a few ideas on how we can release me.”

To be continued…

Laraniss Prince concept pic, edited using GIMP2

Thorum backstory, by Andrew Wade

               *~~~# A FAMILY REUNION #~~~*

               The air was crisp yet warm, [summer] was about over.  Cicadas hummed so loudly Thorum could

barely hear the dry dirt crunching beneath his boots.  It was all too familiar to him.

               "Dear Rega this place has gone to [hell]." says Thorum as he looked upon the dead and barren

farmland that was once his home.

              

               "Papa! Papa! Chase me!" yelled five year old Thorum while he ran in circles around his father

who was tending to their crops.

               "Alright!" Thorum's father belts out as he drops his tools and starts chasing after him. "I'm

gonna get you!" he yells while pretending to be a monster.  Thorum yells and lets out a giggle as his

father scoops him up and spins around.  They both laugh as they tumble into a pile of freshly harvested

wheat.

               "I love you papa!" Thorum giggles and gives his father a kiss.

               "I love you too, son." Thorum's father whispers with a smile.

              

               "OH HOW TOUCHING..." Zed whispers, interupting Thorums memory.

               "Shut up!" Thorum yells. "He wasn't always bad..." Thorum looks down as a tear starts to form.

               "UNTIL HE ZTARTED DRINKING." Zed chuckles.

              

               "I'll teach you, you ungrateful little shit!" Thorum's father screams, Drunk, tugging on Thorums

hair. "First you kill our crops!" He smacks Thorum up the side of his head. "Then you complain when we

have no food!?" Another smack, sending Thorum to the floor.

               "MMM THAT LOOKZ PAINFUL." Zed laughs.

               Thorum winces, gently touching his cheek then wiping away his tears.  He pulls out the coinpurse

filled with a thousand [gold] and clutches it close to his chest.  Half the money he has made since he

ran away, yet still enough to allow his parents to leave the farm and move to Kregola.

               "WHY ARE YOU BEING ZO GENEROUZ TO THE AZZHOLE? WE ZHOULD INZTEAD UZE IT ON MORE IMPORTANT THINGZ.

LIKE ZTRIPPERZ!" Zed chuckles.

               Thorum ignores him but begins to think maybe he's right.  Then his old home came into view and all

doubts leave his mind.  I can't believe how run-down this place has become.  First the barren farm and now

what looks like a haunted house?  Broken windows, cobwebs in every nook and cranny.  The roof probably leaks

during each rain it's in that bad of shape.  A strong feeling of guilt washes over him and his eyes start to

glaze over. He feels like crying again.

              

               At the door Thorum stops.  He can hear yelling. Great Dad's drunk like usual. Well, here goes nothing.

He knocks.

               "WHO DA FUK?!" He hears his father yell from inside.  The door wrenches wide open.

               The man standing in front of Thorum couldn't be his father. No, this man was fat and dirty. He looked

homeless. Can three years really do that much to a person?  With enough alcohol and no work I guess anything

is possible.

               "WHAT DO YEW WANT AND WHY IN REGA'S NAME ARE YEW DOIN ON MAH PROPERTEH?!" His dad blurts out.

               He doesn't recognize me yet! Maybe I can just give him the [gold] and be on my way and never have to

deal with them again!

               "OH COME NOW. WE BOTH KNOW YOU WANT HIM TO KNOW WELL WHO YOU ARE." Zed whispers.

               "I...I...I br-brought gold..." Thorum stutters with an awkward gulp and holds out the coinpurse. His

dads eyes widen.

               "OH! Here on business ehh? Why didncha just say so friend?" His father motions for Thorum to enter.

"Come in, come in."

               "N-n-no I-I shouldn't..." Thorum hesitates, reliving another bad memory. Zed giggles yet again.

               "Nonsense friend, my home is open tah anyone lookin tah buy!" His father says with a drunken grin.

               "Joseph, who's at the door?" Thorums mother calls from the kitchen

               "Not now woman! we have a customer!" Joseph yells back to her as she walks within view of the doorway.

               "Thorum!" she gasps, dropping the plate she was cleaning. Her eyes widen.

               Time seemed to stand still while only the plate slowly made its descent. Thorum, frozen in shock that

he had been recognized fearful for what may come of it.  His mother, in disbelief that her son had returned home

at last after all this time.  His father, dazed and confused not knowing what to make of the situation.

               The plate shatters into a hundred pieces and time warps back to its normal flow.

               "Shit..." Thorum mutters under his breath.

               "YEZ!!!" Zed gasps excitedly.

               "Bless Rega, Thorum!" His mom begins to tear up while running to her son, embracing him in a hug only

that which mothers know how to give to their children. "I thought the worst! I was so worried!" She was now in

tears.  Thorum drops the coinpurse he was holding and returns the hug feeling guilty again for leaving. He begins

to apologize but is cut short when his father snaps back to reality.

               "Wait on Rega-damned second!" Joseph yells pulling her off Thorum and throwing her to the ground.

Squinting he looks Thorum over. "BOY?!" He shoves Thorum backwards to the front yard. "HOW DARE YOU!" He yells

with another shove. "HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE BACK HERE! RUNNING OFF LIKE THAT! LEAVING US HERE TO STARVE AND

GROW OLD WITH NO ONE TO TAKE CARE OF US! HOW DARE YOU! BOY!" Another hard shove.

               "Show him what we can do!" Zed giggles

               "NO!" Thorum screams at Zed's taunt.

               "NO?!" his father looked confused but kept up. "YOU LEFT YOUR MOTHER HERE TO CRY AND MOURNE OVER YOU EVERY

NIGHT WHILE YOU WERE PROBABLY OUT PLAYING 'HERO' WITH SOME DIRY KYOKI WHORE I BET!" He shoves Thorum hard sending him

spralling in the dirt.

               "DO EET DO EET!" Zed sounds ecstatic.

               "NO!" Thorum yells. Scared. "She's not a whore! And I AM a Hero!" Getting back to his feet.

               "NO. You're nothing. I always knew you would never amount to anything!" Thorums father yells.

               "He's right, until you show him he will never know what we are capable of..." Zed chuckles.

               "And to come back here expecting us to welcome you home with praise and open arms!?" Thorums father opens his

arms. "Well I've got an open arm for you, Boy!" He winds back and smacks Thorum across the face.

               Thorums world goes dark briefly, then a reel begins of every time his father had hit him growing up.

               Zed giggles.

               Thorum's eyes flick open, now completely black. "Never again." He mumbles under his breath.  His father

ends a fist straight for his jaw but Thorum concentrates and turns his cheek to stone for one short moment. 

The bones in his dads hand shatter on contact and he screams in pain grasping his broken hand.

               "WHAT THE FUCK!? YOU LITTLE FREAK!" His father swears, nursing his hand. Thorum stands tall, looking

through his father.

               "Yes. Father. I may be a freak. But you're wrong about one thing. I have become something, something

that Torega hasn't seen since the rise of the Adepts."

               "THATZ MY BOY!" Zed laughs hysterically.

               The ground around Thorum beings to tremble and shake.

               Thorum screams as he shoots his knee up and a clod of dirt breaks free from the ground below his father and smashes

into his chin sending him reeling backwards.  Thorum follows it up by slamming his foot down bringing his body with him which

sends a shockwave splitting the earth on its way to his father, sending him spiraling into the air. Thorum punches

his fist into the earth which creates a fist shaped pillar to protrude from the ground below his father, crashing into him and

keeping him airborne. Thorum juggles him by punching the ground with his other hand. And in a final swift motion, Thorum

rips both hands out of the earth and points at his father and throws his hands down. At the same time two thick vines shot out

of the ground, latched onto Thorums father, and slammed him into the ground.

               Joseph's limp body slumps over twitching, almost every bone broken or fractured, bleeding profusely.  Some bones

sticking out of his skin. He coughs up blood and gasps for air.  Thorum calmly raises up and straights his body. He walks over

to his father's body and looks him dead in the eyes hoping he is still conscious enough to see his son one last time.

               "Goodbye Father." Thorum whispers as he snaps his fingers. A sharp stone spike punctures through his dad's back and out

his chest then crumbles into dirt.

               Thorum's mother, still awestruck and gazing on in horror finally snaps out of it. She screams and runs over to her husband's

lifeless corpse. "What have you done?!" she cries, then stands up and looks at Thorum disgusted. "What are you?! You're  a monster?! What have

you done with my sweet, sweet little boy?!" she begins to weep on Thorums shoulder, flailing her hands at his chest.

               "Hardened him..." Zed whispers through Thorum.

               She freezes in fear.  Thorum calmly walks over to where he had dropped the coinpurse, picks it up, and walks back to his mom.

               "Mother, all I really came to do was give you both enough money to move into the city and never go hungry againn." Thorum

says cooly.  She looks at him still frozen with fear, tears streaming down her face. Thorum holds her hand out and places the pouch of gold in it.

"But since you never seemed to be able to raise your voice or lift a finger in my defense, so shall you never have to." And with that Thorum

embraces her one last time, softly kissing her forehead.

               From that contact on her forehead her skin slowly begins to petrify until all that is left is a stone statue that used to be his mother.

Still clutching the bag of gold and frozen tears stil streaming down her face.

              

               Back on the road to camp to meet up with Aime, Thorum's black eyes return to their normal clear hazel, the beautiful green and purple hue of

sunset gleaming off them.  And he can't help but feel an odd sense of calm ease.

               The Reunion with his parents went better than he had hoped.

Overview

I'm starting the site in hopes of one being published. These short stories are ones that I started writing when I was around 11 years old. I've been writing short stories ever since. These stories are all written by my, with the help of my friend Andrew Wade as well, some of the characters are his, and some of his short stories will be posted on here as well. We are working on a either a book, or an anime, or even a movie, video game or tv show, we'll see where it goes. The stories will all intertwine with one another at some point. If you like the stories please feel free to share this page on facebook/twitter or just by word of mouth. I will also be blogging about music, movies, video games, anime, manga, and tv. ENJOY!!!! =)

Sly Hudgens/The Vessel

Sly Hudgens

Pain…anger…sadness. Most people when they dream, dream of impossible things…this holds true in this case, but they don’t have feelings of this nature. As he falls, he wonders if there is an ending, it seems as though he falls into in an endless pit of nothingness. Where is he falling? The truth is, he wonders who he is, if his life is the dream…or if the dream is his life. Will he ever truly awake from this endless nightmare? One can only wonder if it’s a life worth living…falling into nothingness, finally he stops falling…but doesn’t land, he just floats…still upside down with his eyes closed. He opens them to find that he is standing now, in a bright white room that goes on and on, never ending. He begins to walk, but quickly realizes that he isn’t moving…at least it feels that way due to the nature and landscape of the room. He opens his mouth and screams…but no voice comes out. He begins to run as fast as he can, but still doesn’t seem to be moving, he stops, and bends down to try and catch his breath. As he is bent over, a black hole begins to form at his feet, and begins to sink into it, he looks up to try and grab something, but standing in front of him is a person…he yells out for help, but again, he has no voice. He reaches for the person, but he is too far away, but yet he is standing directly in front of him. The person reaches back, but he can’t reach either. He sinks further into the hole, it engulfs his entire body, and we watch as he reaches through and his arm is all that is left gripping at the air, from the elbow, to the forearm, the wrist , the hand, and finally a finger. The hole closes and the person falls to his knees, placing his face in his hands…he cried. It was him, he watched himself fall into the hole but couldn’t help himself.

“WAKE UP!!” Shouted a voice that came from all around him. Sly opened his eyes to find that he was in his bed. He was sweating profusely, a cold sweat from fear. He had been having these strange dreams for quite some time now, but none were as intense as that, he realized that he had been crying, just as he did in his dream. The door to his bedroom swung open, and in came his parents.

“What’s wrong Sly? Why were you screaming?” His mother asked with a scared and confused look in her eyes.

“It was just a dream, a nightmare.” Sly answered with both fear and relief in his voice. He looked around the room as if to make sure that it was just a dream. He then looked at his parents and smiled at them. “I’m fine guys.”

“Sly, you were screaming some very odd things, you really had us scared.” His father said.

“What did I say?” Sly asked. His parents looked at each other shocked that he didn’t know what he had said, due to how loud he had been screaming.

“You said…help me Sly, you have to bring me back. You were screaming it.” His father said to him, terrified. Sly’s eyes widened.

“Oh…” That was all Sly could muster, he didn’t know why he would say something like that, the dream was so vague and strange, he didn’t understand himself. “I don’t remember the dream…I just know that it was very intense. I’m sorry that I scared you, it must’ve been a nightmare. I’m fine though, really.” He replied to his parents. His mother walked over to him and sat next to him on his bed, and gave him a hug.

“We’re here for you baby. Don’t ever forget that, whatever you need we’re here.” Said his mother as a tear ran down her cheek.

“I know mom, I’m ok though, I promise.” He said as he hugged his mother back.

At School

Sly sat in the front of class; he had been moved to that seat thanks to his stellar performance on the proficiency tests. He was top of the class, he could feel the jealously from the other students, every time he answered a question correctly. He wasn’t answering questions today though; his mind was on the dream. “What does it mean?” He wondered to himself, all morning he had been reading a book about the meanings behind dreams. There was nothing even remotely close to the meaning of his dream, it was as if no one had ever experienced a dream like that before. He began to feel angry, he was confused, he slammed his fists onto his desk, and looked up to see that he wasn’t sitting in his desk, he was standing in front of his teacher’s desk, and it was that desk that he had slammed his fists on.

“Sly! What are you doing!?” yelled his teacher. Sly looked around the class, they all had a terrified look in their eyes.

“I…I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened.” Sly said as he sat back in his desk.

“Well…alright then, perhaps you can answer the question on the board?” said his teacher trying to change the subject. Sly looked up at the board…and was immediately swept with fear…the board had writing all over it, but the writing all said the same thing…”HELP ME SLY!!!!!!!” Sly’s eyes widened, he jumped up from his desk and ran from the room. “Sly! Wake up!” he heard his teacher yell. He opened his eyes to find that he had fallen asleep in class. It was another dream, but this time, he realized that he was standing in front of the class and writing on the chalk board…the writing read, “HELP ME SLY!!!!!!” This time he was writing it. The same words from both dreams. He looked at his class to see their terrified looks.

“What is happening to me?” He said to himself as he walked with the teacher to the counselor’s office. His mind was racing as he walked down the hallway. He felt hot, his entire body was sweating again. “Is this a dream too?” He wondered to himself.  He sat in the chair in the counselor’s office, and behind the desk was a very tall middle aged man, with long brown hair that he wore in a ponytail.

“My name is Mr. Herg. Would you like to explain to me what’s going on?” said Mr. Herg with a smile on his face. Sly could tell it was a fake smile. That man didn’t want to help him, he was being forced to help him.

“Nope.” Answered Sly very quickly, throwing another fake smile right back at Mr. Herg.

“I understand that you wrote something very strange on the board in class. Is that right?” said Mr. Herg with a sigh. “Your teacher said it was like you were sleep walking, from what he tells me, you’re a very exceptional student, top of your class. Perhaps you’ve been studying too hard and are stressed out? It’s very common.”

“I wish it were that simple.” Answered Sly looking down at his feet.

“Well tell me what’s going on then, maybe I can help.” Said Mr. Herg. Sly thought for moment, he didn’t know if he should, it sounds insane when he thinks about it, what would this guy think?

“I’ve been having strange dreams. They don’t make any sense.” Sly gave in and explained what was happening to Mr. Herg, who seemed shocked, and didn’t say anything to Sly as he told him about the odd dreams. There was silence for a moment.

“How often do you have these dreams Sly?” Mr. Herg finally asked.

“Every night, and just now in class.” Sly answered.

“Is there ever anything that is the same in the dream?” Mr. Herg asked.

“Just the words “Help me Sly.” Which is weird, I know.” Answered Sly.

“I’ve heard about this believe it or not. I think you just need to relax, you’re probably just stressed out like I said. There is nothing to worry about, find something that relaxes you and go home and do it.” Said Mr. Herg with a smile. Sly looked away with no response.

Later that day at home, Sly began researching strange dreams on his computer. To no avail, there was nothing about a dream like his. He tried to put the meaning together but found none to this extent. He closed his eyes, remembering the dream as best he could. Finally he decided to learn about controlling a dream. Perhaps if he could realize it was a dream during the dream, maybe he could find the meaning. Over the next few weeks, he practiced the techniques he found to control his dreams. At first nothing was happening. He had set his mind before bed every night to realize that he was dreaming by checking the writing on his shirt. He read that if he checked the writing the on something the way to realize that your dreaming, is if for example your shirt reads “Hello, my name is Sly” the first time you check it, look away and check again, the second time it may say “Goodbye” instead of “Hello”. After several weeks of training his mind, and nothing happening, finally it worked. He was wearing a shirt for his favorite band “Skimming through Pages”, and the second time he checked it read “Shining through books”. He quickly got excited and yelled out in excitement. Alas his excitement caused him to wake up!

“Dammit!” Yelled Sly realizing that he awoke right after it finally worked. He reached over to his bedside table, in the top drawer he had been keeping records of all of his dreams. This was one of the steps he had read about. He was pretty happy to write that he finally made progress. The next night he wrote is journal exactly how he wanted his dream to happen, and focused on the writing on his shirt again, seemed to work last time. He drifted off to sleep.

It started out the same as always, he was upside down, falling, from where? He didn’t know, he immediately looked at his shirt. It looked “It’s a dream.” He closed his eyes, and this time it read “It is a dream”. He fought back his emotions of excitement, in fear of prematurely awaking early again. He realized that he was approaching the ground, he turned himself right side up, and closed his eyes and thought of flying. When he opened his eyes he had stopped falling, but was floating ten feet from the ground. He lowered himself slowly and put his feet to the white floor, immediately the black hole formed under him and he jumped up and flew again. He stared down at the strange black hole, it looked like tar, and it stood out in a completely white room that never continues on forever. He lowered himself down again, and stood in front of it, he knealed down and reached a hand out to touch it, and it reached back, he fell on his backside to get away from it.

“What the hell is that?” He said, realizing that he finally had a voice in this world.

“It’s about time Sly.” A voice from behind him said. Startled, he spun around to see a young man, not much older than he walking towards him. The young man was wearing a black cloak, he had black spikey hair that flowed down his back, and piercing red eyes, and a red glow shown around his body. As he approached Sly he reached out his hand to him. Sly was suddenly swept with fear, he was losing control of his emotions.

“Who are yo…?” He didn’t get to finish his sentence. His fear had gotten the best of him and caused him to wake again. He let out a sigh of relief and reached for his dream journal, as he grasped the handle on the drawer, a red glowing hand suddenly grabbed his wrist. Startled he looked up to see the young man from the dream staring back at him!

“We need to talk Sly.” The young man said.  Sly quickly looked to his shirt, it read “It’s a dream”. He closed his eyes, then opened them, and read the shirt again, it read “It’s a dream”.

“This is real!?!? It’s not possible.” Said Sly, realizing that he wasn’t dreaming this time. “Who…who are you?” He asked.

“My name is Laraniss Prince, and you have finally let me in.” Said Laraniss with a smirk.

                              To be continued….

The Hero Returns

The Re-Awakening of the Raynian Prince

               Sly, and Roux find themselves back on planet Rayne, the green light of the moon shown that before them stood just a sliver, of Thorum’s undead army. A sliver, in which was one hundred thousand strong. The two felt weak at the sight of the fallen. As though their soul had been ripped from their bodies at the mere sight of what was Thorum’s true strength, his undead slaves. All of these poor people forced to walk among the living, long after they had passed on, by Thorum’s armies before, now they are nothing but his slaves. Above the undead was Thorum himself, floating atop, perched on a rock, still his face was hidden. They could feel his satisfaction without being able to see his face, they knew he was smiling.

               “Ha…ha-ha-ha!” Sly belched a laugh at the full view of what stood in front of him. Roux looked at him with disgust; he knew they could never compete against an army of this magnitude.

               “Your laughing!? Don’t you get it…this is the end you fool! The powers you were given are near gone, and I am almost completely drained. How can you laugh at a time like this!?” Snapped Roux as Sly continued to laugh.

               “Oh…you know, because it’s the end.” Sly said, as he caught his breath. He glanced over at Roux and realized that Roux had aged at least three times more as he tried to heal himself. “Those powers of his sure do take a toll.” He thought as he stood up straight. He glanced into the distance, hoping to find a way to survive this battle…but the numbers lie heavy against them, and he knew it, he never was one to deny when the chips were against him. “Stop trying to heal yourself Roux, it’s not going to make a difference. Save your strength and hope we make it out of here alive…but in truth I think only one of us will. Laraniss…I’m sorry I couldn’t resurrect you and help you reclaim your people…I’m afraid that they are all gone anyway. They are standing in front of me.”

               Roux finally realized that the shimmering green light, wasn’t the moon at all…it was the aura’s of all of the Raynian people…Thorum truly was made of pure evil. He turned the Prince’s people into an undead army and he now forces them to fight against their once beloved Prince…he was supposed to be their savior. He shot a cold glance at Thorum as he hovered above the battle field, safe and sound. Roux began to flood with anger, he had no allegiances to these people, but still he knew that this was wrong. Thorum sits back as these poor people are forced to do his bidding, never feeling eternal rest even though they are long gone.

               “Why don’t you fight us yourself Thorum!? You’re a coward sitting all cozy up there with no one to challenge you!” Roux yelled. He couldn’t help himself, his rage had taken him over, and Thorum had to be stopped. Sly looked over at Roux with wide eyes. He had never seen Roux act this way, usually he was cool and collected…maybe it was because his powers were nearly gone, usually he can make a problem go away, just by thinking of it being gone. That is what makes his power special after all. Sly smiled again; perhaps they had finally become friends.

               “Yeah, you’re nothing but a…” Sly couldn’t finish his sentence; he suddenly realized that Thorum was coming over to them. He was swept with fear again.

               “Sly, I’m going to try and take him out with the last bit of power that I have, you try to get out of here, you need to bring the Prince back, and it’s the only chance of taking this guy down once and for all.” Whispered Roux as he snapped his fingers and two giant fists formed around him. This must have taken a lot of strength, because Roux quickly aged ahead at least another ten years. Seeing how he was only a few years older than Sly, and now he looked to be near sixty rather than his usual mid twenties.  It was then, that Sly figured it out, right then as he watched Roux age before his very eyes. He knew what the key to reviving the Prince was. That is why they needed the Dragon, and the Life blade. The swords of life and death forged by the first gods themselves.

               “Roux…I’ve got an idea, but you’re not gonna like it.” Sly said as he lifted the two swords.

               “Well you had better say it quick, because he’s coming over here.” Replied Roux, as Thorum floated towards them…they could finally catch a glimpse of his eyes. They were black…as if in a story, the eyes of true evil, black…nothingness. His eyes alone struck fear in them, their stomachs’ in knots. Thorum was hovering directly above them, his cloak fluttering in the wind. He leapt from his stone and slowly fell to the ground, landing with a subtle “tick” and there he stood. Thorum himself; the Demon ruler of Planet Rega. He removed his hood to reveal his face. It was then they had finally laid eyes on him. He was short in stature but his presence alone made him seem like a giant before them. He had mid length gray hair and a round face with a short chin, but a nose that had a large scar on it. His face had almost no color, yet it was gray, with dark cracks that seemed like wrinkles at first glance. There was almost no shred of human features left in him. He was the demon now…at least in his looks.

               “You…you’re so…short! Hahaha!” Roux couldn’t help himself; the demon king that stood in front of him was nothing like what he had imagined. “Where are your horns?” Roux grabbed his stomach as he laughed and lowered his head, trying to catch his breath, he raised his head again, to find Thorum standing less than an inch away, and he looked into those cold dark eyes and instantly returned to feeling nothing but fear. Thorum quickly, in an instant, grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off of the ground.

               “Do I still seem short now?” Thorum finally spoke, his voice was odd. It seemed as if there were three voices fighting to speak together, but a deep cracking one came out. Sly stood wide eyed as he watched his companion being lifted off of the ground as if he were nothing. He decided that it was now or never to act. He leapt forward towards Thorum, as Roux kicked his legs trying to get free. Sly threw the Dragon blade towards him in hopes of catching him off guard; the sword pierced him in the chest. Thorum now stood with a sword in his chest, un-phased and still holding Roux above him. It was as if he didn’t even notice, as Sly made his way towards them Thorum shot a cold stare, and rose his hand, a large wall of stone rose from the ground directly in front of Sly. He didn’t have time to avoid it instead he went through it with a “CRUNCH” the wall came down, and Sly fell to the ground and rolled. Sly found himself at Thorum’s feet. He wasn’t sure if he had rolled there, or if Thorum came to him. He was still holding Roux by his throat, but he was dragging him across the ground now, his nails digging into Roux’s throat.

               “So, you want to play too?” Thorum said as he lunged over Sly, the sword still in his chest. This time a different voice came out, this one was higher and more mischievous.  Suddenly, Roux manifested a shark around him and the shark bit Thorum’s shoulder, releasing him from his grasp. “OWW! It bit us!” Thorum screamed in pain. What was going on? Just a moment ago, he took the most powerful sword, a sword forged by gods directly to the chest, and didn’t even notice. But that hurt him? Roux didn’t stop to think about what was happening; as usual he chose to act directly. Roux charged straight for Thorum, again creating two giant fists around his hands, he swung his arms towards Thorum, and the fists leapt forward directly toward him, Thorum was much too fast though, using his powers to control elements, the ground below him lifted up and flung him into the air, and in mid air, he rose his arms above his head and formed a large ball of fire; he flung the ball directly at Roux. Roux acted as quickly as he could, but it wasn’t fast enough. He formed a shield in front of him, but when the ball made contact, the shield shattered, jettisoning Roux onto his back.

Sly rose himself up, he had no feeling in his left arm, but his determination made him able to refuse to stay down. He called upon every bit of energy that the Prince had given him and his Aura slowly began to engulf him, his eyes changing from their usual soulfully beautiful light green, to a dark and powerful red. Roux tried to roll over, but he was drained, he had used nearly all of his years(his power) and was now nothing but skin and bone, an old man, near death, he was done. All he could do was turn his head, and to his surprise he witnessed as Sly began to change. His body began to transform, his muscles bulged, and his short red hair began to grow to mid length and turned to black in color.

               “It’s not possible…how could he be transforming?” Roux thought. Raynians were known for being a warrior race not only for their thirst for battle, but where their true strength lay was their ability to transform their bodies and become stronger, much stronger. As the ground began to shake and the sky darkened, in a bright red flash of light, Sly came back into view. He had somehow transformed into an “Elite”, the ultimate form of a Raynian Warrior. “Could the Prince still be feeding him some of his power? Yes! That is the only explanation for his being able to transform like that, even though he has no true Raynian blood flowing through his veins…I’ve only heard stories of the Elite Raynians…it’s incredible.” Roux said.

               As the smoke cleared, Sly appeared into view; one arm dead, but the rest of him much more powerful. He stared at Thorum. Thorum seemed surprised, but he managed to smirk, and at that moment Sly vanished. Roux tried to search but his body forbade it, he looked at Thorum, and there he was. Sly stood inches from Thorum, looking down at the Demon; still smirking, as if this were a part of his plan.  Sly reached for his sword that was still imbedded in Thorum’s chest, and slowly pulled it from him. Thorum allowed this; it was an odd sort of interaction between the two with no words. As he pulled his blade from the Demon, Thorum looked up at Sly, and finally looked into his eyes. His new red eyes of the Elite were piercing, and then, Thorum stuck his tongue out at him as if he were a child trying to be playful. Sly was taken aback; he took his sword and threw it into the air behind him. The sword flew through the air then fell and pierced the ground, directly next to Roux’s hand. Surprised, Roux used the sword to pull himself up to his feet. When he looked at them again, Sly was gone! Even Thorum had lost sight of him, he looked in all directions, then used the ground at his feet to cover his body like armor.

               “I just had an interesting conversation with the Prince.” Roux’s heart jumped to find that Sly was standing next to him.

               “Don’t do that! Can’t you see I’m an old man now?” He said with a laugh. But Sly didn’t laugh back. “What’s the matter? Look at you, you’ve transformed into an Elite without being Raynian…does this mean I can do that!?” He replied with excitement.

               “No…I’m not fully transformed. This is Laraniss’ power. He gave it to me so that we could survive this. I figured out how to revive him…but he won’t let me, that is why he gave me this power.” Sly said.

               “What the hell? Isn’t that why we’re here? What, is he scared?” Asked Roux.

               “No, he doesn’t want me to die for him.” A tear shed down his cheek as he answered.

               “Die? I thought he gave you that power to survive!?” Replied Roux with dismay.

               “He did; WATCH OUT HERE HE COMES!!” Thorum had grown tired of this conversation, after seeing Sly’s new powers come to light, he wanted to test them, and was charging at them with a full head of steam. Not only was his body covered in stone armor, but his hands were now engulfed in flames, but with a red flash he was met by Sly’s foot to the right side of his face. He took the blow as if a bug had bit him. Annoyed, he grabbed Sly by the ankle and slammed him into the ground, which had formed a hole under him, and covered him like a coffin. Thorum then formed a new ball of fire with both hands and was aiming at were Sly was covered by the ground. With a loud explosion Sly flew from stone ground into the air. The explosion sent Thorum flying backwards landing at the feet of his undead army. His loyal minions made their way to help their master up. Sly hovered above them, and before they had the chance to help Thorum, they were blown away by a large red ball of energy. He turned and flew back to Roux.  

               “Listen, before he has a chance to get up. You have to take my life.” Said Sly as he helped Roux up by placing his arm around his neck.

               “You really need to explain this, I’m not going to take your life force to save myself, and we’re in this together!!” Snapped Roux.

               “There isn’t time, you’re just going to have to trust me, I don’t like it either, but it’s the only way.” Sly snapped back. Roux looked up at his friend, and could see in his eyes, he had a plan, and there was no other way…he realized that this whole time, he had been crying…mid battle.

               “Fine…what do I have to do then?” Roux agreed with hesitation.

               “Use the Dragon Blade to take my life force for yourself.” He said as he reached behind him and manifested the Life Blade. “Then plunge the Life Blade into my chest. Alongside the Dragon Blade, it’s imperative that they are both in my chest, otherwise it won’t work. Thorum had finally risen back to his feet, and had them both in his sights now.

               “Exactly what are you two planning?” They hadn’t been paying attention to Thorum, he made his way to them and was now standing in front of them. He was different again; this new voice, seemed…human. “You’re not planning on reviving that ignorant Prince are you? Now that would just ruin my day, and I was having a very good day!!” As he spoke a wall of flames surrounded them. The heat from the fire stung as they stood in awe of this new part of Thorum. He reached for the Dragon Blade, but it shocked him, as if it were rejecting him.

               “That sword chooses who wields it. No matter how hard you try, you can’t pick it up.” Said Sly as Roux picked up the Dragon Blade. “Now Roux, DO IT!!”

               “I’ll finish this Sly!!” Yelled Roux as he plunged into Sly’s chest with the Dragon Blade. Using his powers to pull Sly’s life force into him, as Roux aged backwards, becoming younger, Sly aged forward, becoming older, slowly dying. Roux was now able to stand on his own two feet, by taking Sly’s life force he had now become many times more powerful than he had ever been. He picked up the Life Blade from Sly’s clenched hand, and raised it into the air, but before he had the chance to finish the ritual Thorum had grabbed him by the wrist. He had to hover on a stone to reach high enough.

               “I will not allow you to ruin everything that I have built on this day, I am the strongest, and I deserve to rule over everything and everyone!!” Bellowed Thorum. Before he had a chance to finally kill Roux, suddenly the Prophet appeared! Grabbing Thorum and pulling him to the ground.

               “Your breaking the rules Thorum! And I cannot allow that!” “The Prophet” yelled as he pulled Thorum to the ground. Thorum engulfed himself in flames in an attempt to break free, but “the Prophet” held on, he refused to let go. Roux stared as this happened, almost forgetting what had to be done. Sly slowly began to fade away, nothing but skin and bone, with a sword in his chest; he began to cough up blood. Thorum refused to give up; he manipulated the ground at Roux’s feet to grab his hands and feet and pull him to the ground.

               “I’ll kill you all!” yelled the first voice of Thorum.

               “Stop him! Stop him! Now! Now!” yelled the second voice. Just then, someone appeared, as he came to the battlefield floating on a rock just as Thorum had before, the third voice spoke again.

               “Ryoone, help me son.” Said the third voice. Ryoone, Thorum’s eldest son was the one floating on the rock. The same Ryoone who had enslaved Laraniss inside of Sly all those years ago. He looked at Sly, Roux, Thorum and “the Prophet”.

               “No father, I am not your puppet any longer.” Said Ryoone as he rose his hand, and the stone that had trapped Roux released him. Roux didn’t ask questions this time, he didn’t have any time left, and he quickly picked up the Life Blade and plunged it into Sly. As the sword burrowed into his a chest, a white light erupted from Sly’s lifeless body, blinding everyone in the area, they struggled to keep their eyes open. Thorum in stubborn fashion refused to give up. He finally got the prophet off of him and jumped to his feet. He slammed his hands into the ground and a large stone, the size of a small island, leapt from the ground, and fell directly on top of where the light was coming from, Roux barely made it out of the way.

               The white light was pure energy, it cut through the stone like butter. In another flash it was gone. They looked on in astonishment to see nothing. Then suddenly there was an explosion of energy, they were all flung backwards, they looked again to see a white ball of energy this time, floating over Sly’s body. Slowly it began to take the shape of a person. Starting with the feet, then the legs, torso, arms, neck and finally a head. The light was still too bright to see who was there. Finally, with a gust of wind the smoke cleared, and there he was. There stood a young man with green eyes, and long brown spiky hair that flowed down to his shoulders, he was tall, and his presence was awe inspiring. The one true prince, the last of the Raynians; Prince Laraniss had returned.

               He looked down at Sly, then to Roux, then Ryoone, “the Prophet” and finally Thorum. Before anyone could blink, he vanished with a puff of smoke coming from the ground that he stood. A loud “BOOM” erupted from the sky, and they saw him again, he made his way to Ryoone. He had grabbed him by the head and was now plunging to the ground at incredible speed. With another loud “BOOM” he slammed Ryoone into the ground; they felt the impact in their feet as they crashed into the earth. Ryoone was knocked unconscious immediately. Thorum jumped to his feet, formed another floating stone then tried to escape. But he was immediately met by Laraniss floating in front of him. He acted quickly though using his power over all four elements created a vortex of air, water, stone, and fire, to send the newly awakened Prince to the ground hard. When he stood up again, Thorum was gone. Roux was so stunned by this new development, he couldn’t move. He wasn’t sure whether to be amazed, scared, or happy. Instead he just stood there in awe of this awesome being who struck fear into a Demon like Thorum. Laraniss made his way over to sly, and removed the blades from his chest.

               “Did you know that this is actually one sword?” Asked Laraniss as he looked over at Roux. Roux was stunned…the Prince was so calm, He just displayed in incredible amount of power, but Thorum got away, and yet…he was calm.

               “N…No, I didn’t…Sir?” Answered a stunned Roux.

               “Well…it is.” Said Laraniss. He then sheathed both swords behind his back, and turned to Thorum’s undead army. He took a deep breath, smiled, and said. “Now it’s my turn to have a little fun.”

               The Raynian Prince stands in front of an undead army one hundred thousand strong. Does he plan to take them all on, on his own?

                                                            The End

The Fall of a Race

The Raynian Destruction

               6 years after “the Prophet” stormed the Raynian castle, the Prince had not only grown in age, but also in power. A short time after “the Prophet” told them of his prophecy; Warriors from across the universe began challenging Laraniss. As usual the Prince never fell, very few even forced him to transform into his Elite form. He truthfully didn’t like it, he wanted a challenge, and he was a true Raynian Elite. He was the youngest to ever ascend to this level; some even said that he should take his father’s throne and become king early. He enjoyed the attention, but he could never do that to his father, and understood that he was too young. Plus he wouldn’t go into battle as often.

               The Prince stood on a ledge atop a mountain that looked over the main city. This was his favorite place to be after training; it calmed him, and helped him meditate. He loved his home and his people, and they loved him. He turned around and allowed himself to fall from the ledge, as he fell the wind blow through his hair, and he smiled, and then began to fly. He made his way home, flying over the city admiring everything on his way. He walked through the halls of the palace heading towards his room; he met with his personal guard, Quimm, as he usually did before bed.

               “Prince Laraniss, please stop leaving on your own like that, you know that your parents worry.” Said Quimm as Laraniss approached him.

               “You know that I don’t need a guard Quimm, I’m far stronger than you, and I have never lost a battle.” Answered the Prince with a smirk.

               “Yes my Prince, but you’re not the one who has to deal with your mother. Don’t forget that she is stronger than me too, and scares the shit out of me!” Replied Quimm, with a look of seriousness on his face.

               “Ha-ha! We have that in common Quimm. I’ll keep that in mind, good night.” Said Laraniss, as he closed the door to his bedroom behind him. He fell on to the bed, and lay there thinking about various things as he usually did, he wondered, “Nothing could be better than this.” He then fell fast asleep.

               Hours later, his door was crashed open, and he was abruptly woken to see Quimm wielding his giant axe and he was swinging it at him. Laraniss quickly jumped up and barely avoided the sharp axe as it split his bed in two.

               “Quimm! What the hell are you doing!?” Laraniss yelled, but Quimm didn’t respond, he was breathing heavy, and looked battle worn. “Fine! I’ll let you come with me whenever I go somewhere! Happy Now!?” Laraniss said jokingly. Again Quimm didn’t respond, instead he lifted his axe over his head and swung down at Laraniss again. Laraniss grabbed the great axe by its shaft and stopped it with a loud “TING!” he rose his energy and Quimm struggled to hold onto his axe as the Prince’s red aura surrounded him. “Don’t make me kill you Quimm. What are you doing!?” Laraniss yelled one more time, but it was no use. He rose his hand to Quimm’s chest and released a blast that pierced through Quimm and sent him flying across the room into the far wall. The force from the blast caused Quimm’s arms to rip off because he refused to let go of the axe. Laraniss dropped the axe, and walked over to Quimm’s body and removed his helmet. Quimm looked as if he were dead long before Laraniss blasted him, he looked undead. Laraniss turned to leave, and Quimm rose up again, walked over to his arms, lifted them up and placed them back onto his body. Laraniss was stunned.

               “I guess you really are some sort of a zombie.” Said Laraniss, as he watched his friend and protector attempt to kill him once again. He placed both hands together and released a blast that completely engulfed Quimm, leaving no trace. ‘’There, now put yourself back together.” He now made his way to the throne room to raise the alarm and warn his parents. As he walked through the door way, he was surprised to find his parents already there, sitting in their thrones.

               “Mother, Father, something is happening, Quimm attacked me in my room and…” he couldn’t finish his sentence; he looked upon his parents to find them, exactly as Quimm was…Undead. They stood up and charged at him. He couldn’t move…with Quimm it was survival, he had no choice…but these are his parents. His father picked him up and flung him into the air, as his mother kicked him sending him flying across the room and into a wall. He lay there, unharmed on the outside, but on the inside he was broken…something like this had never happened, nor had he ever imagined it. How could he fight his parents, he wondered. They, on the other hand, continued their attack and charged at him. The both of them reached back planning to punch him at the same time, but with a loud “CLAP” he caught both of their fists’. “I won’t let this happen to you too.” He looked at the both of them and his eyes began to change from black to a piercing dark red, and his hair began to grow from short brown to mid length and began changing to black, he was transforming into his Elite form. It was rare for him to do this, but he knew that he had to finish this quickly, not only that but his parent’s are two of the most powerful warriors in the universe. His red aura surrounded him as he raised his energy to finish the transformation. His energy reaching its peak caused such a change in the air that his parents were blown away across the room.

               “Well, I see why they say you’re the most powerful being in the universe kiddo.” Said an unknown voice. Laraniss searched the room, trying to determine whose voice it was speaking to him.

               “Who are you? What have you done to my parents’?” said a startled Laraniss. He searched but saw no one.

               “My name is Ryoone. Your parents’, the King and Queen, are my slaves now; they only wish to do as I ask.” Said a young man who came into view from the shadows.

               “Let them go. You’re here for me, right? You can have me, so long as they live.” Said a panicked Laraniss.

               “Ha…ha-ha! Oh boy, really? I’m not here to take you…I’m here to kill you. I just thought it would’ve been more fun to let your parents’ do it, but I can see that you’re much more powerful than they are.” Ryoone then snapped his fingers, and Laraniss watched as his parent’s melted away, into nothing. “Oops…where’d they go?”

               “You bastard…does this have something to do with the prophecy?” asked Laraniss as tears began to swell in his eyes.

               “It has everything to do with the prophecy, but not for me though…you see, my father really likes this planet, and thinks it would be nice to add it to his collection…but the people have got to go. I mean what good is a race of fighting idiots? He wanted me to come here and see if the legendary white warrior really did have a white light surrounding him. I guess that part wasn’t true.” Ryoone answered in a condescending voice.

               “No…no I don’t glow white…but I do glow red!” He rose his energy to its max, and his red aura filled the room and charged at Ryoone. His energy flowing behind him as he made his way across the room, but before he could make it across the room a wall of fire sprang up from the floor creating a barrier between him and Ryoone.

               “You can’t beat me that way Prince.” Said Ryoone with a smirk. The wall proceeded to surround Laraniss, trapping him. “You are powerful though, and the wardrobe change was nice. But I’m a different breed of fighter…I’m actually half demon, and I have control of all 4 elements, which is rare even for my kind. We’re very much alike you know, you’re a genius of sorts, as well am I.” He made his way towards Laraniss, who jumped into the air attempting to escape, but Ryoone raised his hand, and the ground below Laraniss rose up and formed around his feet, pulling him down hard into the floor. Laraniss had never fought someone with powers such as these before; he was completely caught off guard and saw no way of victory or escape. Ryoone parted the flames and stepped into the circle of fire; he lunged over the Prince and looked down at him. “How old are you? 16? Wow, I don’t really see what all the fuss was about, you’re not that special, I’m sure that your people think that you’re great, but to a demon, like me, it’s really not much.”

               Laraniss looked up at him and smiled. He saw an opportunity and used his hands to form an energy beam to push him up, using his head to uppercut Ryoone in the chin, who was stunned. Laraniss acted quickly and blew the stone cuffs off of his feet, and grabbed the still stunned Ryoone and flung him into the ceiling, then charged up an energy wave and fired it up at him. Ryoone regained himself in time and avoided the blast, but as soon as he landed Laraniss was already attacking, he had used the energy wave as a diversion, Ryoone acted quickly and covered his body in stone, creating a full body armor made of stone.   Laraniss’ punch made contact to no avail, he couldn’t pierce the stone armor, he unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, but nothing worked, the last connecting punch, hit Ryoone’s armor square in the chest, as his hand touch the stone, it leapt from Ryoone’s body, and swallowed Laraniss whole. He struggled and squirmed, but the more he moved the tighter the stone prison squeezed him, he was defeated, he slowly slips away from consciousness.

               “Well I was surprised; you really put up a good fight kiddo.” Ryoone stood over Laraniss and spread his hand open over him. He just stood there, with no motion…he couldn’t do it…he just couldn’t bring himself to kill him. “What is the matter? I’m a freaking demon! Why can’t I bring myself to kill this child? Ugh! Just do it already Ryoone.” But it was no use, he couldn’t bring himself to kill a kid like this, his human side wouldn’t allow it. “I have to do something…my orders were explicit.” He said to himself. It was then that he thought of another way.

               “Where am I? Am I dead?” Laraniss wondered as he woke to find himself surrounded by nothing, he was in a white room, which seemed to never end. “Hello? Is anybody there?” There wasn’t, he was alone. He looked for days but still found no one. He began meditating, when he closed his eyes, he realized he could see…but not where he was…he could see another world. But he couldn’t reach that world…he was seeing through someone else’s eyes…”Sly” He kept hearing the people, he could see when he closed his eyes, say that name. He finally realized that he had been enslaved in the body of someone else. “What power could’ve done this to me?” He wondered. It was then that he remembered what happened…he had fought a half-demon named Ryoone…this must be one of his powers.

               “Its done father, you are now the most powerful being in the universe.” Ryoone said as he kneeled before a shadowy figure.

               “As if there were any doubt.” Said the figure. Ryoone stood up and turned around, to watch as an army of undead Raynians now stood before them.

               “No one could ever hope to challenge us now.”

                                                The End

The Legend of the White Warrior

               In the Gorose Galaxy, on a Planet called Rayne, lived a warrior race, the Raynians. The Raynians were ruled by their King, King Rayne, and their Queen, Queen Moine. The two of them were beloved by their people, each of them respectively known as elite Warriors throughout the universe.  The only person more loved was their son, Prince Laraniss. Laraniss was born with unusually high energy readings, a genius of sorts. He easily made his way through the elite ranks by the age of 7, winning battles became second nature to him, and he had never known defeat, not even from his father.

               On the Prince’s 10^th birthday, a man in a black cloak attacked the Raynian Palace, easily shredding through the guards and blowing down doors as he approached the throne room. The royal family sensing his presence awaited his arrival, each one smiling, preparing for battle. The Raynians live for battle, nothing satisfies them more. With a loud “CRASH!!” the doors flew open, in came charging the man in the cloak, his face completely covered, all you could see were his orange eyes. An orange aura surrounded his body as he made his way directly for the King of the Raynians himself. The cloaked man reached back to unleash a blow directly to the kings jaw, but with a loud “CLAP” he was stopped, and unable to move. Before he could reach the King with his attack, the young prince had grabbed the man by his wrist, and with his tight grip the stranger was on his knees. A red Aura surrounded the Prince’s body as the stranger writhed in pain, just from the Prince’s grip.

               “Please, Release me, I mean you no harm!” yelled the stranger as the Prince held onto him. The king stepped towards the dark stranger, and reached for his hood, as his fingertips touched the cloth he was shocked to find that he could not touch it. The man suddenly became transparent, and calmly stood up, King Rayne suddenly noticed that Laraniss no longer had a grip on him. In all of his battles, he had never laid witness to such strange power.

               “Who are you?” bellowed the King.

               “At this point in time, my name is of no importance; the only information about my being, that you may currently know is that I am a prophet.” Said the prophet, as he rubbed his wrist trying to forget the pain that the 10 year old Prince just inflicted on him, by his grip alone.

               “Ok then Mr. Prophet, explain to me how you mean us no harm, after cutting down my palace guards, and attempting to challenge  me in my own throne room. Because at this moment, I’m having trouble believing you.” Said the king in a condescending voice.

               “My apologies your highness. I needed to confirm the strength of the boy. You see, I have had a vision, and in order for that vision to come to light, a certain chain of events must come to be. ” Answered the Prophet.

               “Of what events do you speak?” Laraniss replied.

               “Your power, for starters. I needed to see your strength, the other was that you would stop me, and no one else in this room.” The Prophet answered with a coy smirk. He had finally garnered the Royal family’s attention.

               “Okay, you’ve got our attention, Mr. Prophet.” Spoke Queen Moine as she sat in her throne.

               “You honor me with your words my queen.” The Prophet said with a bow.

               “You are no Raynian, therefore she is not your queen.” Interrupted Laraniss, pointing his finger at his mother as the Prophet bowed.

               “Hmm, are you sure about that Prince?” The prophet quickly answered, as if he knew the Prince would say those words exactly. The Prince stood dumbfounded; no one had ever interrupted him in that way, especially not after they were begging for mercy just moments ago. “But that explanation is for another time, as I said before, I have come to warn you of a vision that I have had, that involves you Prince.” Said the Prophet to cut the tension.

               “Well then speak, I still haven’t decided whether or not to kill you, and I’m leaning towards the latter at the current moment.” King Rayne bellowed.

               “As you wish. The vision that I speak of is one of great strength, and turmoil. There is a great threat coming to Planet Rayne, and if all events happen according to plan, you will no longer rule this Planet.” Spoke the prophet.

               “In case you hadn't heard, we welcome all challenges Prophet.” The Prince interrupted, with a smile. He had been waiting to interrupt him since his earlier interruption of him.

               “Good, that’s what I wanted to hear.” Said the Prophet. Again Laraniss was dumbfounded; he had hoped that his interruption would upset the Prophet as his did he. “In 3 years time, a young man will be sent here to destroy you Prince, and take your home from you. Before hence, you will fight many battles, because after today, you will be known as the most powerful warrior in the universe.  If all events unfold accordingly you will defend the universe from a great evil. This evil will threaten to place the entire cosmos in darkness and despair. You will glow an Angelic white glow and carry the only two God made swords as one. That is the vision that I spoke of.”

               “So all I have to do is beat this guy who is coming to destroy me? That sounds easy enough.” The Prince replied with a laugh. “So father, what do you suggest we do with him now that he has explained why he came here?”

               “We fight him…if we lose, he may leave freely. That is our way.” The King Answered.

               “I’m afraid…that won’t be happening.” The Prophet replied. He then began to fade away with a black fog; in a matter of seconds….he was gone. The Royal Raynians stood in awe as to what they had just witnessed. They had never seen powers such as these before…who was he? Was he really a prophet…or is there something else happening? Perhaps…that is the question that lies with the Legend of the White Warrior.