Spirit Riders

Chapter One - Theoden

Théoden sat cross-legged on the earthy floor waiting, wanting to hear the words of his teacher, completely relaxed even in the presents of Mother Nature herself.  It was his gift or more over his knowledge and complete acceptance of that gift that gave him the confidence in the face of the only God to have survived the Great Changing.  Théoden was the model student.  Absorbing every piece of knowledge and spell that Mother Nature saw fit to bestow upon him. 

The most beautiful and otherworldly flowers always covered the walls of the Throne Room, the encapsulating centerpiece of Mother Nature’s underground paradise.  A perfect classroom for the nine-year-old Théoden.  Enchanting Eden the birthplace and home for the God of everything living, breathing and growing and many of the most wondrous of those things where showcased therein.  And the teacher, the spiritual embodiment of Mother Nature, was a beauty that was hard for some to even look upon.  The average man who looked deep into the eyes of Earths last surviving God would fall so deeply in love, so spellbound that nothing in life would matter but to worship at the God’s feet, but not Théoden.  Not because he did not look upon her beauty and wonder, but because his gift made him immune, made him powerful, made him as close to a God as any mortal could ever be.

“Your power makes you special, but it will never think for you.  You must be the master of your decisions.  The master of your powers or they will blind you.  Lead you on paths that only appear for the best, but are truly the work of smaller demons and hobgoblins.  Master first your mind and your abilities will soon follow with the ease of thought.”

“I will lead my people with the knowledge that you have given me, Mother.”

“You have no knowledge yet, my son.  You have but the ideas of thoughts and nothing more.  Do not let your power make you wiser then you truly are.”

Théoden was a brilliant student but his power sometimes corrupted the young man.  This was the subject that Mother Nature most stressed with him in their daily training of the mind.  A subject that he understood to be important but was still too young to comprehend the true meaning for himself and his people.  A subject that would all too soon show its true importance.


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Théoden ended each day with a shaping of the mind with a God but began it with the tortures of warrior training with a man.  A man that had once changed the world in his own right. 

Thoruck had lead his clan into battle against the last wave of the Arressgone.  The most ferocious of the underworld clans.  The Arressgone where hobgoblins that rode fiery vultures into battle and carried great swords of hellfire on their backs.  Thoruck had rallied his people in the face of pending destruction and rode his spirit animal into the darkest pits of swarming Arressgone.  Emerging only after the last general was slain upon his sword and the evil minions scattered to the four corners of the world.

“Follow through with your thrust!”  Thoruck yelled circling his pupil and his assistant locked in mock combat.  “Parry and attack!  Never waste time when your enemy has an opening in his guard.”  Thoruck instructed pushing his assistant Hiss aside and jumping into battle with Théoden without missing a step. 

Théoden, only nine, was faster and stronger then most warriors three times his age, but Thoruck had the advantage of true combat experience. 

“Do you see that?  Attack from different angles.  Don’t conform to the standards we practice.  Open your mind.  Let your instincts and training guide you, but do not be tied down to them.”  Thoruck said bringing the young man down with an unconventional spinning attack.

This was just a normal day for Théoden.  As the sun rose in the western sky peaking it’s light from behind the Mountains of Lost, his muscles were but warming up for the morning’s training at hand.

“In battle there are endless ways to die, but only one way to survive and that is to be ready for whatever may come and at the same time be unready.  Do not wait for your enemy to do what you think he will.  Attack, and if you must defend then defend what he does.  Not what you hope he will do and then attack.”  He said helping the boy to his feet.

“Yesss,” Hiss enthusiastically agreed, “Demonss have no training.  They attack out of pure hatred.  When you fight them you musst be ready for anything.”

None would know better than Hiss the actions of a demon, being one himself.  Hiss was a snake demon looking much like the cobra snakes of the Olden Days and standing an intimidating six feet tall.  He was the only demon in the history of man to be accepted into a mortal clan when he pledged his undying devotion to the Wolf clan just less than nine years ago.  Since then he was made the training assistant of Thoruck and had fallen into favor with many in the clan.

“When they come at you they come fast and hard.  Sometimes attacking with weapons sometimes spells but always with razor sharp teeth.”  Thoruck said preparing for the next sparing session.

“I understand fighting.  I know what a demon looks like and how they may fight.  Just look at Hiss’s ugly face.  What I want to do is call upon my spirit animal.”  Théoden complained to uninterested ears.     

“When your spirit is ready it will call upon you.  And you think you know about fighting eh?”  Thoruck said bringing Théoden to his knees with a surprise blow to the back.  Hiss smiled just a little seeing the young man brought down.  And that was but the beginning of the day for the King in training.


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Mother Nature and Thoruck were smart enough to know that even though Théoden had the power of a mortal god he was after all just a boy.  And knowing that they left his days free to do the things that boys enjoyed must.  Like being with their friends.

A boy is not a boy and for that matter a king is not a king without friends and Théoden had two and a half that where his best in the world.  The half comes into play because one was a Jack Rabbit.  Now you may be thinking of the cute little rabbits of Olden Days but you must remember those days have past.  A Jack Rabbit has many of the characteristics of old but with a few additions.  They are on average two feet tall with large, round blue eyes and buckteeth and, oh yes, they can talk.  Not as well as a mortal boy but enough of a vocabulary to keep the average one entertained and Jack as Théoden called him had been entertaining the boy since his birth.

Ruscal and Sharon were his other two friends.  Now all in his clan from the new borns to the elders respected Théoden, but these three would stick together until the end. 

Ruscal was the son of Dycom the head of the Elder Council and a powerful boy in his own right.  Ruscal had been born just a week after Théoden and the two where raised almost as brothers and Sharon was a newcomer to the clan; adopted when her home clan had been destroyed under strange circumstances.  Ruscal, a short boy for his age, had jet-black hair and a fair complexion but when it came to spells he was the quickest learner in the clan and had even been able to call upon his spirit animal, a grizzly bear, for almost a year.  Sharon was ten with long brown hair and taller even then Théoden.  After joining the clan she had quickly mastered the Lightening Bow and Daggers of Fire to the surprise of many of her trainers.

“Let’s go to the river today.”  Théoden suggested after finding his three friends waiting for him at the Council Hall.

“That sounds good.  Want to cool off after your training today, “oh, king”?”  Sharon asked with a smile.

To which Ruscal replied, “You know he does.  Let’s go.” 

“Yes, river!”  Jack proclaimed and jumped several feet into the air as they all laughed at their silly little friend.

The River of Krill, so named for the fallen God of Water, was one of the groups’ favorite hangouts.  The waters where clear, for a river anyways, and just deep enough for swimming but near the middle got much deeper and faster.  The Krill ran winding down from the Mountains of Lost and proved a wonderful thrilling experience to anyone brave enough to give the surging rapids a try.  All three of the kids where plenty brave enough and had many great adventures there.  Jack never ventured further then the swallows but loved to splash up the water with his bounding leaps.

“Come, come.  To battle!  To fight!”  Jack announced to the three weaving their way down the rapids of the Krill.  He so loved to watch them fight.  Jack was never allowed into any of their training sessions.  So when they fought for him he was that much happier.

“Did you bring the Sword of Destiny?”  Sharon shouted as her head bobbed up from the water.

“Yes.”  Théoden called back.

“Let us entertain Jack then!”  Ruscal said shaking water from his eyes.

As they emerged from the waters of the Krill blood still pumping hard from the surging river, they where excited for the chance to test themselves and each other.  Théoden pick up the Sword of Destiny and Sharon her Daggers of Fire even Ruscal brandished his Sorcerer’s sword though he hardly used it, relying mostly on his skill in spells and took his attack positions.

“Yes!  To battle, friends!  To battle.”  Jack cheered his smile showing even more of his oversized teeth.

Théoden was the first to attack.  Lunging at Sharon, his weapon high above his head, only to be stopped with a Protection spell of Ruscal’s. His sword rebounded, clanging off the invisible shield.  When they fought it was always two on one, just to make it fair.  Ruscal then attacked with a spell of spikes.  Théoden blocking every one not easily but easily enough sent a spell of his own Ruscal’s way.  The Falling Star spell rained star like projectile on the opponent.  Ruscal was forced to put a Protection spell around himself keeping him out of the fight for a while.  Meanwhile, Sharon came diving in on Théoden, brown hair drying in the wind of her attack, from above with a dazzling aerial maneuver.

“Yes!  Sharon get him!”  Jack shouted acting out the fight as he watched.  This was a wonderful show his friends were putting on.

The sparks flew as Sharon’s daggers clashed with Théoden’s sword.  Spinning Théoden pushed Sharon back on her heels.

The three tested each other to limit that day, but never with hate in their hearts.  Only a love of combat and friendship drove them to better each other. 

Later that afternoon they sat recovering from their battle and talked of adventures they wished to have and stories of old past down from their fathers.  Ruscal talked of exploring the Mountains of Lost, as he sometimes did.  Sharon reminded him that they where a forbidden place, as she always did.  Jack jumped around happy and content and chattered his little words to everyone and Théoden smiled at his friends and dreamed of things to come and, of course, thought about Mother Nature who would soon be expecting him for training.

And so the story of Théoden begins; a boy with great power, a boy with the future weight of the world on his shoulders, a boy with great friends and exciting adventures ahead of him, but far off in a land much darker than this one the story of another boy was beginning as well.