Hidden World

　　 Chapter 1

FAIN
My name is Fain and I am sixteen. My world, you could say, is unique since everything around me is a dream out of my head. Every detail I think of projects into this world, and every part is as life-like and dangerous as your world especially the rare dreams like the one I am in now.

Fire is all I saw around me along with the screams of children around me. I ran toward the screams but then the sound changes direction making me alter my course. Time slowed and shadows danced around me until they solidified. Soon I saw in front of me, two children who stood in the middle of the fire unharmed while the flames licked their bodies. They giggled looking at each other and ran up the stairs. I chased them to a room that is familiar to me. By the time they stop, sweat dripped down my brow and I panted due to the lack of oxygen in the air. The little girl walked over to me and placed her hand on my cheek.

She looked me in the eyes and said, “Why did you let us die, Fain?”

Before I could answer, the fire swallowed them and I fell through the floor into a different scene. I looked at the house from the outside as it burnt to the ground. As it burnt, I felt a hand touch my shoulder; I turned to look into the face of the owner. Before I could see their face, I woke with a start and fell off the branch that is my makeshift bed because of the dangers that lurk below at night.

Getting off the ground with some difficulty, I began to rub my eyes and brush the dirt and leaves, which clung to me, off. Once I was sure, nothing was broken and I was clean; I went back to the tree I fell out of and gathered up my bow and quiver along with my sack. This dream made me wonder about my life before now.

I don’t remember much of my life before I woke up on the forest floor. When I had first arrived, I had no idea where I was or how I got here. I had wondered the forest for some time trying to remember something to help me figure out my past. Soon I noticed an emptiness that engulfed my sleep. No matter how hard tried I saw no dreams but I rather felt like I was floating in an abyss. This abyss contained a darkness that froze you while you were there. Soon I began to see a woman dressed in modern sophisticated attire. She always looked calm and poise. Every time she would visit, I would ask her name but never received an answer.

She told me about the place I was in, which she called Legacy. She would tell me that everything around me was a dream that I created. Sometimes she would refer to me as an Architect from which amazing things can come from. This thought stumped me until one day I confronted the woman about it.
*********************
“Fain, are you awake,” the woman’s voice asked caressing me into consciousness.

“Yes, yes I am,” I replied.

“No your not, silly” she replied with her girlish laugh. ”Come on get up; it’s time for your lesson.”

Opening my eyes and sitting up, I noticed that we were not in the darkness that I had come to know as the Boundary. We were in a meadow surround by all sorts of flowers. In the distance, you could see a mountain range and a grandiose castle. I looked around for the mysterious woman but I could not find her.

“Fain, I used what little power I have to bring you to my realm,” her voice said echoing from the mountains.

“Why did you do that, my lady,” I asked in awe of the world around me.

“It is because you have an important question for me,” she said.

“How did you know that,” I yelled projecting my voice as she was doing.

“Ha-ha, I know everything that happens in Legacy, Fain,” she chuckled.

“Well then tell me, why do you call me an Architect?”

“At this moment I can not tell you that secret but I do have a word of advice.”

“And what is that?”

“When your Guide comes do not reject its help. You are a strong boy who does not rely on others because of your past. Do not let that stop you from accepting help when you need it” She paused. “My power dwindles fast, Fain. This is the last time we will speak for a long time; remember what I taught you and be patient.”

As the Boundary began to take me back, I began to yell, “Wait, do you know about my past?”

“Bye Fain” she whispered.
******************************
Ever since that moment, I made a world that allows me to enjoy the simplicity of the world I left. I imagined the only thing that seems to be inside my head: Sherwood Forest. The forest began to grow the more I thought of it and soon it expanded as far as my eye (which I enhanced) could see. Time went on and the world seemed empty to me so I added a small village which was placed near the majestic Major Oak of Fairwood. Along with these people, I thought of forest dwelling animals and mythical creatures.
After I had created this town, the inhabitants branched out into different areas and a thriving world had begun because of my dreams and thoughts. This thought overwhelmed me yet gave me the idea to recreate myself. Rather than some lost boy who did not remember his past, I became the Fain, protector of the forest. The humans began to create folklore around me; stories about what I was and what I have done spread like wild fire between the villages.

Even with all the humans in my world, I still had no friends until a lone blacksmith moved deeper into the forest. Lexon was this brave man and soon become my best (and only) friend in Fairwood (as I decided to call my world). He had lost his wife and kids to bandits one day while he was out looking for firewood. He went on a search for these men since the other villagers refused to reveal their identity. Many years had passed and he had failed to find them so he decided to settle down in solitary. That was until he met me which included me falling through his roof, but that’s another story for a different time.

Once I’m sure that I had everything in my sack, I decided to head to Lexon’s house. The path was a fairly simple one for those who know the forest lay out. From the river where I sleep, it took me a fair amount of the day to reach his home, which was a small cottage that had a stone path leading up to the wooden door. An old friend gave this door to Lexon for a wedding present and engraved it with Lexon‘s family crest, an eagle holding something in its talons. Lexon then placed gold and silver within the engraving to make the door stand out. Next to the simple cottage stood his forge where he made everything from weapons to nails for building. Something seemed off about the place when I arrived at the front door. No candle was lit in the lantern that hung by the door and no smoke was coming out of the forge’s chimney. These little things were odd to me since Lexon is a total freak when it comes to his forge always being lit and having a candle in the window for anybody who is lost.

After a few knocks on the door, I decided to check the forge thinking he fell asleep with a bottle of whiskey in his lap. Opening the door was difficult since it was new and not weathered down yet making me suspicious of what was going on. I walked into the main room and saw that nothing seemed out of place from its original place. As I inspected the various assortments of tools, I noticed the thin layer of dust that had collected on the surface of many tools I saw Lexon use for his blacksmithing. Running back to the house, I realized that the grass around the home is scorched.

When I reached the door, I pounded so hard that I thought it was going to come of the hinges. I waited a few seconds after knocking and still no answer. I raced to the back of the cottage. There the back door laid on the ground as if it blew off its hinges. Slowly I inched forward to the opening readying my bow, as I got closer. Just as I was about enter the home; a crow flew out scaring my half to death and making me shoot the notched arrow off into the distance. I readied another arrow I walked into the kitchen.

The inside of his home was a mess. The kitchen table stood on its side with scattered food on the ground. Burn marks scarred the walls and floor in the kitchen and one mark seemed to leave the kitchen and move into the parlor. Cautiously I moved into the parlor when something wet hit the back of my neck. Wiping it off with my hand, I looked up to see what fell. There splattered above my head is a pool of crimson blood.

Seeing this sends me into a panic, which is when the creaking of floorboards and the scuffing of feet catch my ear. The first thought in my head is that the murderer stayed behind for some reason. Moving into the shadows of the dimly lit room, I began to skirt around the room heading for the front door. Just a few steps away from the door, the icy cold feel of a blade touches my throat. Soon the body holding the knife steps in closer until the person’s head was next to my ear.

“You lost, Fain,” said the voice, which had the roughness of an older man.

“What are you talking about,” I said trying not to move too much so that the knife did not cut me.

“The game. You lost the game and now your friend is dead.” the voice chuckled in my ear.

“What did you do to Lexon,” I growled and began to struggle against his grip.

“Ah Ah, you mustn’t move too much or your throat might just open up.”

“You would like that wouldn’t you, you sadistic bastard.”

“Why yes, yes I would. If you’re offering I might just do it, but then again where is the fun if I don’t get to chase you first,” the man said shoving me forward. “Run, little mouse, run.”

Rather than running I turned a fired the arrow that was still notched in my bow. It had missed the man’s head by a hair.

“Whoa, Whoa, Fain calm down. No need to kill me or destroy my house,” the figure said attempting to dodge my arrows.

“This isn’t your house; now tell me what happen to Lexon.”

“I am Lexon you, blundering idiot.” the man said throwing open the door revealing, Lexon’s face.

“Lexon is that really you,” I said in a state of shock with my mouth half agape.

“Yeah man, it is me so stop trying to kill me,” he said laughing as he walked over to me.

When he got with in arms reach, I dropped my bow and punched in the face so hard he fell to the ground.

“You fucker, what was the purpose of this,” I yelled gesturing to the scene around us.

“You like it? I thought I would have fun with you and try to scare you.”

“Luckily, you didn’t scare me.”

“Oh is that right, and the fact that you nearly put an arrow through my head doesn’t prove that you where scared?”

“I thought you where gonna murder me what else did you expect me to do?”

“Touché,” Lexon said with a smile on his face. “Well you want to help clean this
place up?”

“I guess since I have nothing else to do,” I said shrugging.
******************
Cleaning the mess in the parlor was relatively short, but once we got to the kitchen we knew we had or work cut out for us.

“Why did you make such a big mess,” I complained while scrubbing the burn marks, which was just soot, off the walls.

“Would you have believed it if everything was still clean in here,” he asked raising one eyebrow.

“I guess you’re right there.”

“You bet I’m right now help me clean off this blood on the ceiling.”

Looking up at the crimson splatter on the ceiling, I remembered the drop that fell onto the back of my neck. The thought sent a shiver down my spine and then a new thought came to mind.

“How did you get the blood up there and whose blood is it,” I asked pulling a chair over to use as a ladder.

“Carefully,” Lexon said with a smile. “The blood is a deer that I had for breakfast.”

“Lexon,” I said looking at the man.

“Yeah, Fain” he said looking down at me.

“You are one sick man.”

“Hahaha, well when you live out here alone your mind gets a little twisted . Now hurry up and clean that up I have a job for you,” he chuckled walking out to his forge.

Looking up at the blood, I knew I had my work cut out for me and began to chisel off the deer blood. The blood came off relatively easy but not without some chunks of the ceiling falling out.

Shit, I thought when a large chunk fell out; Lexon is going to blow a gasket then really kill me. Where can I hide this? Oh man, oh man I’m gonna die when he gets back. That’s when I remembered the open door and thought of an idea. I grabbed the largest chunks and chucked them into the forest. Turning back to evaluate my work, my heart fell seeing all of the dust on the ground. Sighing I began to clean up the dust and burn marks.

By the time the sun reached the high point in the sky, I finished cleaning up Lexon’s murder scene and washed up using water from a near by well. After all the sweat , dust, and blood flakes came off, I made my way to the forge. Knocking on the door, I heard crashing and Lexon shouting curses.

“Lexon, you all right man,” I said as I pushed the door open and entered the forge.

“Yeah,” he said leaning on his anvil that had a tarp over it.

“What’s under the tarp,” I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me, walking over to the anvil.

“Nothing” he replied stepping between the anvil and me.

“What are you hiding under there,” I asked trying to push past him.

“Nothing shrimp, now did you finish cleaning the house for me,” he asked trying to change the subject.

“Yeah,” I said. “I cleaned up your mess and the rest of your kitchen.”

“Wonderful,” Lexon said distractedly. He walked over to his small desk in the back of the forge and grabbed a piece of paper. Returning back to his position in between me and the anvil he said, “Take this into town for me.”

Taking it from him, I looked for an addressee but could not find one. “Ummm who is this going to,” I asked.

“Take it to the gemstone merchant, and she will know what to do from there,” Lexon said. “Now you leave if you want to make it a good distance before the sun sets.”

“Alright you ol’ geezer I’ll get out of your hair,” I said walking back toward the door.

“Don’t take to long I need the item you are going for, so be back before the sun sets in two days,” he said as I exited the forge into the shine of the noon sun.

********
It didn’t take long for the sun to start to slip under the horizon. Before it was completely gone, I climbed the tallest tree I could find and sat on a branch to watch it set. Every time I watch the sunset, it seems like it is fighting to stay up and shower the land with its golden rays. As it loses the battle, the thought that crosses my mind is whether or not it will come back to my world and share all it has to share. What happens if it doesn’t come back? How will it affect my world? How will Legacy be affected? Where does the sun go to when it sets in my world?

All of these thoughts plague me as I watch the last sliver of the sun disappear and fall into the Boundary.

********
Once again, I am inside a house that is on fire, but this time I recognize everything from the carpet to the ceiling. I heard the screams of children coming from somewhere inside the house. I run around looking for the children. I checked every room downstairs but to no avail. I stopped to catch my breath, which was being sucked out by the fire, I heard the screams once again but this time closer.

As the echoes of the screams faded, I walked toward the wooden flight of stairs and stopped. Looking up into the endless darkness that engulfed the stairs, I slowly put one foot onto the first step and suddenly the fire was gone. Quickly removing my foot, the fire returned sucking all the coolness out of the air again. The screams reverberated through out the house but stopped suddenly. Then the fire disappeared and a shockwave sent me to the ground. Once I was on my knees again, I looked up into the brilliantly blue eyes of a young girl and the emerald green eyes of a young boy.

Both of the children looked to be about six or seven in age and had a similarity to them in their face features. Their noses were pointed and freckles seemed endless on their faces. The boy’s hair was unkempt, curly and brown while the girl’s was wavy and blonde. The sight of these two children made me shiver and want to vomit. A thought had passed through my head.
They shouldn’t be alive!

I had no idea why this thought passed through my mind but it frightened me nonetheless. Movement caught my eye and brought me back to the place where I was now. The young girl started to walk toward me and did so until she was close enough to touch.

She reached her hand out and said, “Why did you let us die Fain?”

“I don’t know,” I said with tears pooling in my eyes.

Laughter soon fills the emptiness as they both laugh at my reply. It grew louder and louder until I couldn’t take it anymore. I curl up on the ground covering my ears to protect them from their shrieking laughter.

“Why do you laugh at me,” I screamed at them.

“Cause you don’t know what your future holds,” the young boy said and with that both of them disappeared in a blistering inferno.

Floating in the Boundary’s unending darkness, I pondered the answer the young boy gave me. My future. What did that have to do with anything? I did not think there was a future to an existence in Legacy unless you were one of the creations. The event that I first saw when I had entered the Boundary this time also bothered me. The home reminded me of a distant memory.

A memory!

Is it possible that I could have a memory? The lady from my first days had told me that I would lose all of memories, but this seemed to contradict what she said. It didn’t take long for the Boundary to finally gain control over my thoughts and freeze my body.

********
Sunlight hit my eyes turning the inside of my eyelids red and highlighting my veins. I stretched out forgetting that I was on a branch and nearly fell out of a tree again. Luckily, I caught myself and began to make my way down the tree. Once I had reached the bottom, I started out in the direction of the town of Lengale. Lengale was the first city I created that thrived on its own.

It started off as a couple of buildings with no inhabitants because creating humans with personality is a difficult task. Every dream that is created in Legacy drains the energy of the person, so every time I tried to create a human I would be put into an extremely deep part of the Boundary. Finally I created a man and woman with personalities all their own, they were the founders of Lengale but I soon had to add more humans. After adding a few more families, I left their world and lived in the forest.

That is where the legend of the forest dweller who robs caravans would begin. I soon became a different thing to each town once the people decided to spread out. Lengale soon became the capital of Fairwood and grew tremendously in a small amount of time. My original man and woman would become the first King and Queen of my world.

Watching the town grow from a distance, I was able to influence the people through rumors and my powers as the creator. As time went on, I decide to just fade out and let the world go on by itself. I venture into the towns from time to time so that I can catch up on the latest news. Lengale is also the town that Lexon lived in before his tragedy struck.

To get into Lengale most of the citizens go along the Grimmwell Road but I created many other paths to get in. The path from Lexon’s cottage is the only one I have not made marks for since he prefers to be left alone and I don’t want bandits attempting to rob him. Finding the path is difficult since it is up in the trees and even the bandits are afraid to climb the trees because of the creatures that live in them

Moving as swiftly as I could without falling out of the trees, I made it to the wall of Lengale some time before the sun sat highest in the sky. I moved into the shadows to avoid being seen by the patrolling soldiers and stationed archers. Looking for the entrance I created on my last run took some time from where I was hidden. The entrance was a warp in the wall that only I could see but would place any wanderer into the downtown part of Lengale. Finally, I located it just behind one of the guards who seemed to be fixing some part of his armor.

Sliding farther back into the shadow, I try to think of a way around the guard without being seen by the archers. That’s when the idea of an invisibility ring hits me. (Why a ring don’t ask me okay). Concentrating on that thought, I soon felt my energy drop a little and the fabric of the world around me tighten then loosen. When I opened my eyes, there on the ground was a red ring. Picking it up, the ring was cold to the touch yet looked like it was holding enough energy to start a forest fire. I placed it on my right ring finger and stepped out into the sunlight.

Hesitating a little, I continued walking until I reached the area of the wall behind the guard. Slowly stepping up to the entrance, I froze when the guard suddenly turned around. Holding my breath, I continued to step through the entrance until I was safely on the other side.

Releasing my breath, I turned away from the wall and began walking down the cobbled street to the gemstone merchant’s shop. The street was practically empty except for some of the early risers and people who lived on the street. I nodded to a man who just walked past me without any acknowledgement.
“You could at least make some sign of acknowledgement, you fucker,” I said turning around to face the man.

“Who said that,” the man said looking around for the owner of the voice.

“Me. Are you really that blind that you can’t see another person,” I said walking up to the man.

“Where are you, you insolent brat,” the man said his fear turning into anger.

“Right in forn….” I began to reply until I noticed the ring on my finger.

“Where are you?’

I decided to have some fun with the invisibility ring. While the man was standing there waiting for the owner of the voice to walk out of the shadows, I walked behind him and pants him.

“Fuck’” he said his face blushing. “I’ll get you for that whoever you are.”

He bent down to pull up his pants and I pulled his coat over his head and pushed him to the ground. When he got up, his face was redder than some of the roses I’ve seen in the forest.

“You will regret this,” he yelled turning away and stalking down the street, which had begun to fill up with people.

Taking off the ring, I laughed at the man as he turned the corner. After that, I made my way to the shop; it was harder to maneuver the street now that more people had begun their day. It took some time but I had finally reached the gemstone merchant’s shop. Looking at the shop from the outside, it wasn’t much and blended in with the buildings around it. The door was a simple wooden door and the shutters hung from their hinges in the front. Upon entering the shop, my mouth fell open at the sight of all the precious gemstones.

I wondered how this store had stayed in business so long with out being robbed. I didn’t see anyone at the counter in the back of the store, so I proceeded to look around. Most of the gems were in glass boxes and on ornate stands. The ones of immense value had special names and stood in thick-glassed containers. One of the gems seemed to call out to me. It sat on the counter in a plain wooden stand. I walked over to it and read the nameplate: Mother’s Eye. Looking below the name, I noticed that there was no price written. Shrugging I set the paper back down and examined the gem closer. It was a rather large gem, or at least from what I have seen, and it seemed to catch the light in the room. It was a golden honey color.

The longer I stared at the gem the more I felt something pulling me toward it. I reached down to grab the gem.

“Don’t touch it,” a woman said worriedly.

“Ahh,” I screamed stumbling back nearly knocking over multiple stands.

“You idiot, you’re going to wreck my entire store,” she said running down the rest of stairs.

“I’m sorry,” I said hurrying to pick up what did fall off.

“Leave that stuff alone, you will just break it” she said throwing me back and picking the items up with a cloth. “You are lucky nothing broke or else you would be in some serious trouble.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“Name’s Charlie, not ma’am” the lady said standing up and turning toward me. When I got a good look at her, I saw that she was no older than me. She had brown eyes with a green tint to them depending on the lighting and her hair was brown hair that fell to her shoulders. She was lithe which was surprising since city dwellers are usually bony unless they are upper class.

“Hey idiot, what are you gawking at,” Charlie said glaring at me.

“Nothing,” I replied trying to compose myself.

“Right. You have a bit of drool on your chin,” she said pointing to my chin.

I wiped it off as she asked, “So what can I do for you?”

“Ummmm… Oh hang on,” I said reaching into my pack for the note Lexon gave me. “Here it is.”

She took the note from me and read it. Her face seems to pale slightly as she finishs the note. She turns and walks into the back room. When she returns she had a box with her, she walked over to Mother’s Eye and placed it into the box.

“Here take it and leave now,” Charlie said avoiding my confused gaze.

“Are you….”

“Just take it and go now,” she yelled before I could finish.

I grab the box, place it into my pack, and left the store with only a glance back at Charlie. She was staring at me with what looked like tears welling up in her eyes.
********
The sunshine nearly blinds me when I walk outside. Oddly enough the streets are empty even though the sun had reached it’s highest point. I began to walk back to the warp I enter through until movement in the corner of my eye made me stop. I hear the shuffling of feet behind me so I pull my bow off my shoulder and notch an arrow as fast as I could. Spinning around I came face to face with the man from earlier.

“Remember me, you little bastard,” he grinned. “I’m the one you decided to mess with. Well I’ve got news for you that was a bad idea.”

“What are you talking about,” I said raising my bow as he moved forward slowly.

“Don’t play dumb, you little shit,” he spat. “I saw you just before I turned the corner. Thought that was a fancy little trick turning yourself invisible huh. Well it just got you into some deep shit.”

He was now standing at the tip of my bow. He whistles and before I knew it, three other men join him. Looking around for an escape route, I realize there is none.

Make one, a voice said in my head.

So I turn toward the smallest of the three and shoot my arrow. It lands in between his eyes with a thunk. Without thinking, I run through that hole and ran for my life.

“After him, don’t let him get away,” yelled the leader.

The other two lackeys caught up to me in and instant. One made a dive at my feet knocking me to the ground. My head hit the ground so hard that I saw stars and nearly passed out, but the taller of the two yanks me to my feet. Once I regain my footing and the world stops spinning, I pull out another arrow and shoot. This shot went through the man’s chest and land in the sign behind it.

While watching the man fall to the ground, a searing pain shot up my left side. Turning around the last of three stood there with a bloodied knife. This also gave the leader time to catch up to us. Knowing that I couldn’t take the chance of shooting and missing now that there was two of them and one had a weapon, I ran with all my energy toward the wall. With every little step my energy became empty, the man was nearly on top of me when I finally reached the wall and threw myself through it.

I land on the other side with a thud. Groaning I stood up but was knock back to the ground when the two men came bowling through the warp. The leader got up followed by his lackey.

“You can’t get away from me you bastard,” the leader said bending down to speak into my ear.

“Hey you there, where did you come from,” the guard from before yelled.

I use that as a distraction, I elbowed the leader in the face feeling a crunch under my elbow. I roll to my feet and began to make a beeline straight for the forest. Stumbling across the open ground, I hear more shouts and several arrows landed around me. Just before I cross into the forest completely, a sharp pain rose from my thigh up threw my spine. Looking down I saw the shaft of an arrow protruding out of my right thigh. The adrenaline in my body allows me to continue running from the men who begun their chase again.

It was a good thing that I knew the forest so well or else I would have been in even more trouble, but with all the blood loss, I was starting to get dizzy. I thought of the idea to climb a tree. Hearing the men close behind, I climb the tree as fast as I could in my state. In minutes, one of the men was right under the branch I climb onto. He searches the area around the tree but stops when he saw the blood at the base under my branch. He slowly raised his head until our eyes met. By this point, I already had an arrow notched and ready to fire, the moment he moved forward I fired. The arrow landed with a sinking squelch into his abdomen. He did not seem to be fazed so I shot another arrow. The man did not go down until the fifth arrow.

As he died, I watch as the life drain out of his eyes before I fell out of the tree onto the ground. Looking up into the azure sky, I notice that there weren't any clouds and then the leader’s countenance blocks my view.