Chapter 1: Genesis
The forest rustled gently, a cool breeze blowing through the lush green trees. The sun was shining, and the birds were chirping. It was a great time to relax and have fun. Especially for children.
Tammoh had wanted to stay in the village and listen to the stories from the travelers. They always came from far away and always told exciting tales of mighty warriors, evil dragons, and powerful wizards! Tammoh was inspired by many of these tales. Yes! That's what he would be when he grew up! He would be a strong hero! Off to save the weak and the poor from the evil dragon. Or the rotten ogre. Or the demons summoned from hell. Whatever the foe of the week was.
But that would come later. Tammoh had something very important to do right now.
"Ready or not, here I come!"
He had to catch his friends.
Tammoh climbed the tree he was standing near and looked around. This was the part of the game he hated. All he had to do was find three of his friends. It sounded easy enough to do. But he always found hiding to be easier than finding.
A bush rustled and caught Tammoh's eye. Tammoh looked intently at the bush, and smiled. He just found Timmy. He thought for a second. Timmy's a fast runner, so if Tammoh just jumped down and ran towards the bush, Timmy would just run away, and Tammoh would wind up exhausted and have a harder time later.
Tammoh quickly turned to look at another bush, pretending to hear something. He stared at the bush for a short time, and then climbed down the tree. He slowly walked towards the bush, never letting it out of its sight. He knew how Timmy played this game. Timmy would try and distract him, and then make a break for it while Tammoh was preoccupied. It always worked.
Tammoh slowly approached the bush and pretended to be inspecting it. If he was right, Timmy was crouching in the bush directly behind him. Tammoh smiled. This plan was going to work. The evil villan Timmy was not going to escape from Tammoh the Hero!
A rock bounced off a tree to Tammoh's left. Tammoh quickly turned around and jumped over the bush behind him.
"Ouch!" Timmy yelled. "Get off me!" Tammoh looked down. He had landed on Timmy's hand. "Uh, sorry," Tammoh said. "I guess I found you!" he said, smiling."
Timmy shook his hand to try and dull the pain. "How'd you know I was here? You never catch me!" he asked.
"You do the same thing every time," Tammoh said. "You always try and throw a stone or something to distract me, and then you run away." Tammoh smiled and pointed at the tree he had climbed. "I saw you shake the bush when I was in the tree. You're fast, so if I had just come right at you, you'd have taken off. So I just pretended to have found something else, and when you tried to distract me so you could run off, I just jumped on you."
Timmy frowned. "Yeah. Well, next time you become so smart, how about not landing on my hand. That really hurts!"
Tammoh laughed. "Sorry, Timmy. You'll just have to hide better next time. Now, I've gotta go find Marc and Cera!"
"Tammoh!" a voice called out from the distance. "Tammoh! Come home now! Dinnertime!"
Tammoh slumped. "Aw nuts. It's my mom. I gotta go, it's dinner time." Tammoh extended his hand to Timmy to help him up. Timmy stared at Tammoh for a second, then grabbed his hand and pulled himself up.
"Yeah, I should probably go back home now too. My folks'll probably have dinner soon too. And I'm hungry!" Timmy said.
"Marc! Cera!" Timmy called out. "We have to go home now. Come on!"
There was a whining voice from above Timmy and Tammoh. They looked up, then jumped backwards as Marc jumped out of the tree and landed right where Timmy had been standing. "Nuts," Marc said, as he stood up. "You'd have never found me there, too!" The bush Tammoh had been pretending to stare at rustled, and Cera emerged. "Whew. I thought you had seen me for sure!" she said to Tammoh. "Guess I lucked out again!"
The four kids started walking back towards town. As they neared the clearing in the woods, the wind picked up. Cera shivered. "It's getting cold. We should hurry," she said. "I'll race you!" said Timmy, as he took off towards town.
"Hey! No fair!" shouted Marc, as he ran after Timmy as quickly as he could. Tammoh started to run, but decided against it."
"Tam? Aren't you gonna run after them?" Cera asked.
"Nah. Timmy's a lot faster than I am. He's got a big head start now, so I'd never catch him. Besides, I managed to catch him just before. So that's all I need for now!" Tammoh said, smiling.
The wind blew again, and the trees started swaying back and forth. The skies darkened, and a drop of rain fell onto Tammoh's head.
"It's raining! Let's go!" Tammoh said, as he grabbed Sara's hand and pulled her along. The raindrops fell with increasing frequency, until there was a light drizzle.
"Ow! Tammoh! Ow!" cried Cera, struggling to keep up. "I can't run that fast!" Tammoh slowed down just enough for Cera to keep up.
Tammoh and Cera ran through the front gate to the town, and Tammoh let go of Cera's hand. "I'll, uh, see you later!" Tammoh said, as he ran off towards his house. "Yeah! See you later, Tam!" Cera called out after Tammoh, and she turned and ran to her house.
Tammoh ran into his house and almost slammed the door on his way in. "Mom! Dad! Guess what!" he called out, excitedly. Tammoh's parents scarcely had a chance to turn around and acknowledge his presence before he continued. "Me and Timmy and Marc and Sara were playing hide and seek in the woods!" Tammoh jumped onto his chair at the dinner table. "And I had to find them. So I counted up to fifty! And then I climbed a tree! And then I saw Timmy! But I had to pretend I didn't! And I walked up to another bush and pretended to see something! But then he thew a rock to try and make me look somewhere else! But I knew where he was, so I turned and I jumped on him! And I found him! Really!"
"Tammoh, you're wet! And you're dripping on the table! And you know better than to stand on your chair! Now go dry off before your dinner gets cold!" Tammoh's mother scolded.
Tammoh bounced off his chair and ran up to his father. "Didja hear? I was playing hide and seek! And I found Timmy!" Tammoh said, jumping up and down. His father laughed and put his hand on Tammoh's shoulder to keep him from bouncing.
"Yes, I heard!" Tammoh's father said. "I told you you'd catch him if you just thought about it! Now, go dry off so you can get something to eat." Tammoh nodded, and ran up the stairs into his room.
"He's such a good kid," Tammoh's father said. "Isn't he, Lucy?" Tammoh's mother nodded. "Yes. I couldn't be more proud."
Tammoh ran out of his room and down the stairs, having changed his clothes into something dry, and took his seat at the dinner table. "So! What's for dinner? I'm starving!" he said.
Late that night...
Tammoh woke up, and shivered. He felt cold. But there was something wrong. Something didn't feel right.
Tammoh got out of bed and walked over to the window. It was still raining. "Stupid rain," Tammoh said. "Go away. I can't see the stars."
Tammoh looked out towards the river. He couldn't see it, of course. It was a long walk from town. But the forest seemed strangely alive.
A man rode into town on horseback. That was unusual. Especially this late at night. Tammoh watched the man, curiously. The man rode towards the Chief's house and got off his horse. He ran up to the door, and started banging.
Tammoh laughed. "Boy, is he gonna get it," he thought. The last time someone woke up the Chief in the middle of the night, the Chief made them wash his whole house with a horse brush.
Tammoh looked back at the town square, and saw something odd. It was hard to see, but, just barely, he saw the faint image of a man walking towards his house, looking up at him. The man appeared to be average height, with long hair, but was holding a staff taller than he was.
A candle illuminated the Chief's bedroom, which caught Tammoh's attention. He saw the window open and the Chief lean out. He couldn't hear, but Tammoh assumed the two men were talking. Then suddenly, the Chief closed his window. The light went out in the Chief's bedroom, and Tammoh saw lights turn on downstairs. The Chief opened his front door and let the stranger in.
Tammoh was amazed. If it weren't raining, he'd sneak out of his house and try to hear what the two of them were talking about. But Tammoh didn't want to go outside. It was too cold. And his mother would just yell at him for getting his clothes wet. Tammoh sighed, and got back into bed.
There was a loud crash, and Tammoh jumped up. He looked around frantically. There was a lot of noise outside. He could hear horses, and lots of men yelling. Then he saw a bright light coming towards his window. Something crashed through and landed on the floor. Fire! Someone through fire into his room!
Tammoh's mother ran into his room just as he screamed. Tammoh saw his mother and ran up to her, hugging her tightly. "Mommy!" he cried, as she picked him up and carried him out of his room.
"Mommy! What's happening!" Tammoh cried. "Why is the house on fire?"
Tammoh's mother was trying to hold back tears. "Sssh, Tammoh. It'll all be all right," she said, trying to comfort the crying six-year-old. "Your Mommy's here."
Tammoh heard another window shatter. Someone had thrown more fire into his mother's kitchen. "Mommy! Why are they doing this?" Tammoh cried out.
"I don't know, dear," she said, stroking Tammoh's head. "There are some bad people outside." Tammoh's mother carried him downstairs, and sat him on the last step. "Tammoh, wait here. Don't move," she said. But she didn't have to. Tammoh was too scared.
Tammoh's mother rolled the rug on the floor partway back, revealing a trap door. Tammoh's eyes opened wide. His dad got angry with him the last time he went down there. Tammoh didn't understand why his father would want to hide the room under the house. But Tammoh was ordered not to speak of it, so he didn't.
"Tammoh! Quickly! Come here!" his mother called. "Where's daddy?" Tammoh called out. Tammoh wasn't going to go near the basement if his dad was around.
"Your dad is out fighting the bad men. Now come here. You'll be safe under here," she said. Tears streaming down his cheeks, Tammoh ran to his mother. She hugged the trembling child. "Tammoh, no matter what happens, know that your father and I will always love you." She kissed his forehead, and then put him into the underground room. "Tammoh," she said, "It is very important that you stay quiet. Do not talk. Don't say a word to anyone." Tammoh blinked at his mother. "Not to anyone!" she shouted. "Do you understand me?"
Tammoh shook, and mouthed "yes." His mother looked at him, then rolled the rug back over the door. Tammoh couldn't see anything, but he could hear lots of shouting and fighting outside. There was a loud crash, and Tammoh saw fire above him. The rug that his mother had used to hide the trap door was on fire! As the rug was slowly consumed, Tammoh could begin to see through the floorboards. His whole house was on fire!
There was another crash, and Tammoh heard several men break through the front door. "No! Please! I haven't done anything!" he heard his mother wail. "Please!" she cried, "I beg of you! Please spare me!" One of the men shouted something, drew a sword, and pointed it at Tammoh's mother. "Stay where you are!" he yelled.
Another man entered Tammoh's house. He was very tall, and held a very large sword. The man put his sword into its sheath, and walked up to Tammoh's mother. He grabbed her by the throat, then pulled her towards him, and slammed her into the floor. Tammoh cowered in a corner.
"Speak, Woman!" he commanded. "Where is he?" Tammoh's mother whimpered. "I don't know who you're talking about," she said.
The man growled, pulled Tammoh's mother up by the neck, and then slamed her back into the ground. Blood trickled down the woman's face and dripped on the floor. "This is your last chance," the man growled in a loud, powerful voice. "Where is he?"
Tammoh was frozen in place, too terrified to move, or speak, or think. All he could see was the man's hand on his mother's neck. All he could see was a red dragon tattoo on the man's hand. Tammoh shivered.
Tammoh's mother sobbed. "I don't know who you're talking about," she said.
"Fine, then, useless bitch," the man growled. He clapsed her neck by both hands and squeezed, until there was a loud crack. Tammoh's mother's body fell limp, the life squeezed out of it.
"Boss! Over here!" cried someone from a distance. The man stood up and shoved the lifeless body to the ground. "What is it?" he shouted.
"We found a young girl. Should we kill her?"
"Is there anyone else alive?" shoted the man.
"No!"
"No," shouted the man. "We bring her with us. Let's go. We've destroyed this miserable town. They won't be troubling us further." The man stood up and walked out of the house. The three men who had entered before followed him out.
Tammoh trembled. Those men destroyed his house. His town. They killed everyone! Even his mother! Why?! His mother wouldn't even harm a fly! And Cera? Had they taken Cera?
Tammoh shook and silently cried himself to sleep.
The next morning...
A strong breeze blew smoke throughout the forest, darkening the sky. There were no birds chirping; they had been driven away by the smoke.
The Wanderer followed the smoke trail quickly, and frowned. The smoke was coming in the direction of Riverdale. He had planned on stopping there to obtain a few basic supplies before heading back out into the firest. But this much smoke couldn't be a good sign. He neared the clearing surrounding Riverdale, and as he looked ahead, his heart sank.
"Oh my," The Wanderer said. "This whole town! It's burning!" He rushed into the town square, or, what was left of it. Everything was burning. The buildings were destroyed. There were charred, bloody bodies littering the ground. Was there even anyone left alive?
The Wanderer took a deep breath, then closed his eyes and held his staff in front of him with two hands. A blue sphere slowly formed around him, then expanded to cover the entire town, extinguishing the flames as it passed.
Tammoh awoke. He felt a chill pass through him. He listened. Nothing.
The Wanderer held his staff at arms length and slowly turned around, as if searching for something.
Tammoh stood up and looked through the rubble, through what remained of his house's floor. He saw the wanderer. He was tall, with short black hair, and was wearing a black wizard's cloak. He looked unhappy, and was carrying a staff even taller than he was. And he was walking right towards Tammoh!
The wanderer walked through what used to be Tammoh's front door, and stood on the floor directly above Tammoh. He kneeled down in front of Tammoh's mother. Her body was mostly burnt, but the wanderer could tell that she had been spared the agony of death by burning.
Tammoh crouched and slid back into a corner, hoping to hide from the stranger before he was seenr. Was this man one of the bad man's men, sent back to finish the job?
The wanderer turned around and looked down through the floor at Tammoh. "Hi there," he said with a calm, soothing voice. He extended his hand towards Tammoh. "My name is Ehlrick. You look like you could use some help."
