Preface: The Young.
Now it had come about in the age of mankind that many, youth and old alike I should surely say, had alas forgotten the long and lost world that J.R. Tolkien had conjured out of the brimming uncontrollable spirit of fantasy. No more did the dreams of the young fill with the meanderings of the hobbits in early morn. The thoughts of great wizarding battles of flashing staves and twisting long beards had gone. The idea of prolonged adventure, and courage, and bravery were dead, and playing in the backyard had succumb a most detestable defeat. This war of course was waged on man by the technology that they had come to afford. Too soon mankind altogether lost the ability to think creatively on rainy days such as is. They only sat in a stupor, eyes fixed on idols, and for hours they sat unstirring to the whisperings of their imaginations. But one day the whisperings were to be heard.
It was then that a great force fell upon the Earth, which no one could see. Every kid absorbed in their videogame suddenly saw a blinding light which wholly stole their vision and their attention. Then when all had gotten most perfectly quiet, they heard the whisper that their true-hearts had longed to hear. It whispered-
'Away you go in a dash. Light beguiling post haste flash'
'Days of old are now days of new, indeed beset this second's dew'
'Wishes quick, and wishes past, you now adorn adventure's sash'
'On open eyes they will reveal a most conspicuous vicious veil'
'Which once surrounded children's eyes, released, released into the skies!'
Chapter One- Who is here?
The haze sat on Kyler's eyes for a moment like a dull fog. He didn't know what to do, and quite honestly was a tad afraid at what had just happened. He knew there had been a brilliant flash and a poem of sorts by a whispering someone, but that was all. After a dozen seconds he blinked and rubbed his eyes. The white haze was slowly depleting, and now he was sure that his vision was restoring because he watched as the Earth began to appear all around him.
Then, finally his eyesight was restored, for a second moment he became afraid. Suddenly he realized that he was no longer sitting behind his computer desk at his snug home in Carbondale. Instead he had been transported to a lush forest over grown with the humming of summer insects. Bright wild flowers hung from the nearby bushes in all shades and colors. To his left was a babbling brook which sputtered neatly down his right side. Instantly upon seeing the brook he felt he must have a drink of it. The cool blue water sloshing against the smooth marble-worn stones. He had never seen water like it trailing far to his right and under a cobbled bridge, which looked hand crafted and ancient.
His first instinct was to pinch himself to test whether or not he was dreaming. But before he had the chance a teenage boy came sprinting through the forest. Kyler heard labored breathing and crashing through leaves and branches long before he saw Jonathon Heath appear. Jonathon tumbled out into the clearing looking quite distressed. His long blonde hair stuck to his head sweaty from running. Picking up speed and in one fell swoop he jumped, and cleared, the babbling brook, and landed on the other side a tad off balance. The result was Jonathon rolling hand-over-foot and sliding across the soft dirt. However, as only Jonathon could do, he displayed some lithe maneuver and bounced incredibly back to his feet never losing pace. His burgundy tunic, which was tucked into a tanned pair of slacks, was covered in a layer of dirt as he bounded four strides passed Kyler, who sat with a look of bewilderment.
"Jonathon!" Kyler said jumping to his feet.
Jonathon cut a quick glance over his shoulder, and then suddenly realizing it was Kyler, came to a complete halt several yards away. Then he turned around. "Kyler? What the heck? What are you doing here?" he said completely out of breath. His face was red and he looked alarmed.
"I just, sort of came here. I have no idea how," Kyler said raising his hands and shrugging his shoulders.
"The same thing happened to me! Only I appeared somewhere out in a cornfield, and I heard an old man yelling. Then I heard his dogs he had with him barking and freaking out and They started chasing me. Like seriously... they were trying to kill me, and I have no idea how far I just ran." Jonathon bent over and put his hand on his knees to catch his breath. and after a moment he straightened back up and vising his eyes with his hand he checked the suns position. "Where do you suppose we are Kyler?"
"I have no idea," Kyler said taking in his own green and yellow tunic/vest combo, and his dark brown slacks, which looked somewhat like capris. He also had dark brown boots on that buckled over the top and matched the slacks he had been placed in by some unknown force with a sense of humor.
"Check out these cloths," said Kyler making a repulsed face. "I look like the lucky-charm guy without the hat."
Jonathon just shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know... I kinda like it."
Kyler began laughing, but, as does happen quite a bit in most adventures, the light moment didn't last because out of the forest from precisely the same direction that Jonathon had come came the screaming of a man and the pounding of hooves. Kyler rushed towards Jonathon and pushed him over into the tall weeds landing on top of him and they sat quietly.
The screaming grew louder and louder, and then bursting out of the darkened lush forest and into the sunlight was a man on the back of a gigantic muscular black horse. The man had a full blonde wiry beard which was braided down along his chest and mail armor all over. His sheen iron boots glared and glinted in the sunlight as his horse spun him round and round, causing his screaming to become more and more high pitch, and equally more unlike the masculine image on the back of the horse in front of them.
It became blatantly obvious to Kyler, after another minute or so of watching the man twirling and screaming under the massive frame of the black horse, that this man had never ridden a horse before. Also it became apparent that the man was in serious trouble. So Kyler and Jonathon jumped out of the weeds and traipsed cautiously across the grass with their hands raised to the beast to calm it. The horse continued to buck and throw the man all until Jonathon could come into contact with it and then immediately it stopped. The bearded man on the horse quickly climbed half way off the horse and then fell the other half into a heap on the ground next to Jonathon, who now had ahold of the reigns and was sweet talking the dangerous horse into submission.
"Are you okay buddy?" Kyler asked the man who was now laying face and beard down on the ground with his butt in the air. The man quickly turned over onto his back and raised the shade of his helmet revealing another familiar face to Kyler. However, it was immediately recognizable. There was something striking about the man, and all at once it hit Kyler as the man spoke.
"Kyler! What the world?" Said the man raising himself up to his feet."
"How do you know my name?" Kyler said looking quizzically at the bearded man, whom now standing and off the horse appeared to be only about four feet tall.
"What do you mean how do I know your name? It's me...Jeremy Reed."
