Chapter 1: Awakenings

His eyes open to darkness and the sounds of stalactites dripping. Adjusting to the inky blackness, he tries to think back to the events leading up to his current situation and is met only with searing pain. Breathing hurts but after several minutes of gathering strength he manages to struggle to his feet, hands braced against the damp wall of the cavern. "ILLUMINOUS" declared a voice that echoed throughout the underground. Small balls of lights suddenly illuminated the dark space and at its mouth stood a gruff looking man adorned in fine royal blue robes and dazzling jewelry, his piercing blue eyes full of concern. "Finally" the man gasped with a sigh of relief as his gaze fixed on the young boy standing before him. "Master Gawain! What on Alternia are you doing down here on your own. You know the caverns are incredibly dangerous, especially for one so young." The boy stared back at the man, his eyes full of confusion and fear. "W-who are you? And w-why do you call me Gawain?" the boy whispered while glancing over the cuts and bruises that covered his body. "D-did you do this to me?" he asked, tears welling in his eyes. "Gods no!" exclaimed the man causing the boy to flinch. Concern once again took over the gaze of the man in blue as he strode across the room to kneel by the boy and examine the damage that had been done. "Gwain I came down here in search of you after you disappeared from camp this morning, you had all of us worried sick." The man said softly as he took the boy into his arms. "I-i'm sorry" cried the boy "I-i don't, I can't remember" he choked out between heaving sobs.``let's get you out of the caverns, we can figure out what happened when we get back to camp." The man sighed with a small smile. Picking up the boy he retraced his steps through the dark underground. "The boy had obviously been through alot in the 12 hours since his disappearance. what could have happened to cause this much damage, and why to one so young as master Gawain?" These questions circulated in the man's mind until they broke the surface and were once again embraced by the light of day.

After an hour-long trek through the forest they arrived in front of a massive wooden gate just before twilight. To the boy's amazement it seemed as though it could have stretched on forever upward. "Is that you Brommel?" a voice called from somewhere beyond the wall. "Enrich!" the man exclaimed "I've found master Gawain, open the gate and call Eriy at once. Something happened and I need her expertise." "Yes sir just a moment" said the voice beyond the wall and after a minute of waiting the giant gate began to creak and groan, slowly opening to show a ring of tents and a large central fire pit in the middle. There were many people of all ages hurrying about, soldiers swung their swords again and again to the cadence of the instructors call, men and women hard at work under the setting sun chopping wood and tending the garden, and there was a delightful smell of fresh baked bread in the air. Brommel led the boy to one of the benches by the roaring fire, the heat felt so cozy on this cool summer evening. "Stay here Gawain, Ms. Eriy will be along shortly to tend to your wounds. I must report to captain Sinrel and let her know of your safe return." As Brommel strode away from the fire pit he was stopped by a beautiful young lady with hair as golden as the setting sun and the kindest smile the boy had ever seen, there was something familiar about this girl and as she approached she stopped ,her breath hitched and tears welled in her eyes. "Gawain" she exclaimed happily as she ran over to hug the boy, tears of joy running down her face " Thank the gods you're safe, Brommel promised he would find you but I was so worried. NEVER run off like that again!" the girl cried as she hugged him tight. The boy sat quietly for a second before looking at the girl's face hoping for some sort of recognition but found that no matter how hard he tried he could not place the familiar face. "Who are you?" gawain asked inquisitively his green eyes full of curiosity. "What do you mean Gawain you don't recognize your own sister?" she laughed at first before seeing that the boy had no look of amusement on his face. "Oh no" Eriy gasped as she looked over her little brother more closely, a look of horror masking her features at seeing his current condition. "Oh Gawain what happened to you!?" "I don't know" said the small boy meekly "I can't remember anything past that man finding me in the cavern". Concern filled Eiry's eyes "come with me Gawain lets get you patched up for now. We can find out what happened later." Eiry rose and took her brother by the hand leading him to one of the large white tents. This one was different from the rest with a golden trim around the entrance flaps and a red ring surrounding the top, groans could be heard from within causing Gawain to hesitate. "It's alright Gawain this is the medical tent. Your wounds need immediate attention" Eerie smiled pulling the young boy through the threshold. Inside there was a row of cotts with wounded soldiers and nurses scurrying about tending to them. "Take a seat on that one over there Gawain, I'll see to you in just a moment" Eiry said before going off to check in with the head doctor and gather supplies. As Gawain stared around the large room he wondered what could have done so much damage to such a large group of men, though every time he tried to think about it he was met with that same searing pain from before. "Alright let's get you patched up" Eiry sighed, setting to work and snapping Gawain out of the trance of intense thought. "O-oh alright" he said staring at the floor while the girl worked with blinding speed binding and bandaging his cuts as well as applying ointment to stop the spread of bacteria in the wound. Within 30 minutes she was almost completely done and Gawain marveled at her incredible skill. "Alright Gawain that should be just about it, be thankful nothing was broken or this would have been a lot more complicated. Now there's just one more thing we have to do." "what's that?" Gawain asked, wondering what else possibly needed taking care of. "It'll be easy for you all you must do is sleep.'' with that Eiry smiled, clapped her hands, exclaimed "NOCTURNUM" and the world went black.

When Gawain awoke he was no longer on the cott in the tent at camp instead he was nestled in a large down bed under the finest silk blankets he had ever seen. "E-Eriy" the boy called, hearing his voice echoing off the stone of the chamber he was currently occupying. "Anyone?" the boy called again panicked at the thought of being alone again. Throwing off the covers the boy sprung out of bed and ran from the room searching for anyone who might be able to tell him what was going on. Left and right he sprinted through the halls of the labyrinth of a palace he now found himself in, only slowing when he reached it's center. A grand throne room with gorgeous tapestries strung along all of the walls and a flowing red carpet that led from the entrance of the chamber to an intricately crafted golden throne. Seated upon it a greying old man in shining armour. "Gawain, welcome my boy! I've been waiting a very long time to meet you" the man thundered jovially, his voice a rich deep baritone, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. Though the man was loud and jarring, the boy felt unbelievably comfortable in this stranger's presence. " Who are you? And what is this place?" marveled gawain taken aback by the scenes depicted on the towering walls. Scenes of brave warriors fighting off all manner of beast, the rise and fall of glorious empires, stories of love and tragedy, war and peace spilled fourth in the ever shifting weave in front of him. "Both excellent questions young man! This is the hall of fate and I am it's keeper. After Eriy induced your sleep I simply borrowed your consciousness for a bit so we could chat." The man smiled wide at the boy. "See I need you to do me a small favor, something on Alternia seems to be interfering with the hall's and by extension my influence. After reviewing all possible outcomes I've decided that you are the perfect candidate to be my champion and Alternias savior." At this point the boy just chuckled which turned into a full laugh as the impossibility of the situation set in but when his gaze met the old man's face again he could see the man was completely serious. "I'm sorry sir but it can't be me you're looking for, I'm just a boy and I can't recall anything past today, what could I possibly do for you?" This time it was the old man's turn to let out a hearty chuckle. "It's not so much who you are now boy, but the potential for who you can become." I've seen your fate boy and there's no doubt about it, you are one of the very few who can complete the task I've laid out for you. Now come here" the old man stood and from one hand produced a ball of light. "When you touch this orb it will release you from this plane, train hard for the future Gawain and always let the light guide you". As if possessed by a spell Gawain's feet seemed to move on their own until he was face to face with the old man. "Goodbye sir, I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you" said the boy looking into the old man's eyes. Though he expected disappointment, he was met only with pride and that same mischief as before. As Gawain touched the orb a shining light enveloped him lifting his form from the grand throne room but not before hearing the old man's final words. " No need to apologize boy, you'll do more for me than you can ever understand."