The Linvale legacy

         Ayomide glanced ecstatically at the wall of time, one thousand years had gone by like a flash of lightening. he let his thoughts linger back to his prior emergence and the defeat of the witch, a smirk scrolled over his face. "she was hesitant and inadequate with her powers," he announced loudly to an empty room. Ayomide craved a battle, a capable and daring opponent, and an admirable victory or a deserving defeat.
         The fisherman of Tohl had been worthy contestants in the tournament for the sturgeon. Ayomide was the victor of that game, their witch had faltered, allowing him to claim the prize. He relished his accomplishment and was well compensated for the heap of fish that was presented to Adaria, high priestess to the realm of demons. It was ayomides job to secure the lot of valuable fish, they possessed a substance that was had numerous purposes and was highly tradable.
         The demon, capable of manipulating water and commander to the Tribe of Red Hail, a fierce and deadly army of pygocentrus. Laying in his domain, Ayomide fantasized about the upcoming campaign and the witch. The anticipation had made him restless, jumping up in one quick move, he glided towards the door.
         Kellin was furious at the notion of the upcoming motion. The Linvale code stated that every five hundrerd years a witch must accompany the fishing expedition, to protect the men and their catch and to defeat the demon if necessary. The lengend of the water fiend was rampant this year, not one soul of this realm knew where he would strike or who his accomplices were.
         Kellin was not ready, the premature death of her mother at an early age slowed the learning of her skills to a turtle crawl. She ventured to other territories, learning from both witches and hominals alike, having breathtaking adventures like no other from her village. Her extensive absent from Linvale, odd behavior, and seclusion provoked disapproving looks from the villagers. Every child's dream is to be their towns witch, she thought to herself, Why would it be wasted on me? At the young age of seventeen She was an outcast, unable to perform the duties as the town healer, unable to really practice magic at all.
         Tired of the whispers and stares, Kellin procured a small cottage on the east bank of the Crehx river, at the far edge of the village. She was determined to perfect her craft in solitude, far from prying eyes. "Destiny always prevails, no matter the plans we have made for ourselves," she whispered aloud as she peered out the window, watching the water dance by. She could clearly see the supports for Zivon crossing, a bridge allowing much easier trade with Westerbeach. A ripple near the closest support caught her eye, were the bears awake already? She sprinted to the door,around the elder oak, and down the bank, focused on the ripple as it started moving closer. Kellin shrieked and tripped, nearly falling into the river, as a head rose up from the crystal waters.
         "Is-is-is that what I-I think it is?" she howled. As the beast glided towards the bank, revealing greater portions of itself, she instantly recognized it. "Oh my, a water dragon," her voice mimicked her excitement ' I cannot believe my eyes!"
         "My name is Firth," the dragon thundered "I have spent much time searching for Kellin the witch." He lowered his enormous head to her level "Would that be you?" Firth paused, looking impatient.
         "It-it is, I mean I am, her. Why are you seeking me?" Gazing at the creature, she gasped for air. Raising one giant arm, the dragon softly patted her back, "Breath, breath....calm down girl! I have been chosen to aid you in your upcoming voyage. I received warning some full moons ago to uncover your whereabouts, now I am here." Firth raised his head a devoured a gob of leaves from the old oak besides him."A warning, from who? why?," she glared at him, tapping her foot furiously, " and that is the eldest oak in these lands, you are maiming it!". "I am famished and it was right besides me," he sneered back at her, "a dream from the stars, it is destined.". "A dream from the stars? You make no sense dragon!" she fell to the ground giggling."Destiny does not always make sense in the beginning and MY NAME IS FIRTH!" he roared angrily.
         Gryphon danced down the long hall to the huge double doors, behind them lye a collection of magical instruments, gathered over thousands of years. Gryphon felt lucky to be here, in the realm of his friends, the demons. He had been born during the battle for Ormoor, the last fight for this planet, the one that drove the demons to the realm. Only a small child then, his parents were executed for aiding the evil beings. The town had taken pity on him, raising him as one of their own. They had really tried to care for the boy, to bring him up proper, the damage had been done though. He had grown to hate people, he felt they had stolen his life from him, denying him the advantages he would have had being raised by his parents. The townsfolk were reluctant to contact Adaria, they had hope, there was still a chance for him. That was until the morning of his thirteenth birthday, when he boldly announced that he was no longer willing to live with the ones that caused him so much pain.
         It took weeks to locate a witch mature enough to summon the high priestess. After pleading their case, the ruler agreed to take the boy. Gryphon could only remember the piercing emerald eyes of the queens companion, he was introduced as Ayomide, an especially talented water demon who was to be his mentor. He smirked wildly at the memory of arriving in the realm, oddly enough it reminded him of any towns square, there was conversation, laughter, and the trading of goods.
         The planet had once belonged to the demons, it had been given to them as a refuge from the light. As the earth aged, it did as all things do, it evolved. Creatures emerged that had the capability to think, reason, and advance as a species. In the first three centuries of their existence, they eradicated the beasts, battle after battle the humans had driven them away, claiming this place as their own.
         "GRYPHON!" He heard Ayomide holler down the massive hall, "the time is upon us, where is that forsaken wheel?" Gryphon snapped back to the present, looking up, he instantly located the wheel in the far right corner. It was pure silver, ornamented with Ogham symbols, with four distinct quarters distinguished by successions of blood red rubies. These quarters represented the four natural elements and each contained a panel. The mystical wheel was sequestered when one had to decide between three or four possibilities. The wheel rarely failed and with all of his research, Gryphon was convinced it would present the correct answer, the village that the sturgeon would bless this year. He had narrowed it to three: Westerbeach, Linvale, and Ormoor. He excitedly rolled the wheel into the cozy common room where Ayomide was dwelling, the place where he would remain until the bow and arrow were granted to him, only when the wheel perceived his true commitment to the situation. Gryphon closed the doors as he walked out, the next few days belonged to him, he danced down the halls, up the path to the market square.
         Kellin woke early to discover Firth had been up for hours, readying himself for the days voyage. She walked outside to find Shaw, captain to the vessel Linvy, the vessel that would carry them to their fate. She watched as Shaw discovered the dragon, as he defensively watched where the dragon was going. "what did you summon that for, we have nothing to fear, the demon will fall!" Shaw was thrilled at the idea of facing a fiend, he was ready. He had recruited the strongest, most skilled fisherman from Linvale, He was not taking chances, He knew the legend of the sturgeon poacher, it would his greatest moment. The man had foresaw the journey in a dream, he was certain that his village would be blessed this year..
         Kiran, Lieth, and Nessan had packed the vessel with supplies for the five day voyage. Kiran glanced down the peer to witness a very odd sight, Shaw was leading the way followed by Kellin. He knew the rumors of her, gazing at the witch he could hardly believe any of it was true, She was young, petite, with long flowing hair, and piercing eyes. As shaw and the witch boared the boat, the three men stood at attention.
         "men and miss, we leave on a dangerous voyage this day," Shaw was gifted at boosting the moral of his crew "we will be accompanied by the witch, as the five hundredth year is upon us. We also have a special type of aid following as well. Men'" he hesitated for a moment praying the men would accept the odd companion "we have the special luck of being accompanied by a water dragon, by the name of Firth!"
         " A water dragon!," the crew said in unison. "Why do we need the help of a beast?" Lieth moved nervously, scanning the water for signs of the beast. Shaw informed the men the beast had gone on ahead, he would join them in deeper waters.
         Two hours later, Shaw announced it was time, the anchor was dropped and the sails released, they were on their path to fate. The crew spent the next few days reliving past journeys, playing games, trying not to think about what could be waiting for them. On the third day, in the deepest part of the Crehx, Shaw spotted the beast on the west bank devouring a tree of its leaves. They would soon know if the sturgeon chose them, at the break of dawn the following day. He gave the order to drop anchor, secure the wheel, and headed below to eat.
         Kellin leaped up the stairs to the deck, desperate to further dicuss defeating the demon. spotting him, she waved frantically, gaining his attention immediately. Firth snaked through the river to the edge of the deck, raising his head to her level. "We know Ayomide's weakness is fire, we must find a way to tempt him to board the vessel, and" Firth was interrupted by Kiran, "even if we get him on deck dragon, how do we restain him? he realized the strategy showed promise but lacked detail. The crew argued and agreed on a scheme that sounded feasible. They settled in for an endless night of drowning their fears and sharpening their swords.
         Shaw rose from a long restless sleep, he had shifted so frequently in the slumber, it reminded him of his youth hauling logs from the woodland. Ascending the stairs, he could see kellin leaning over the side, squinting to see a figure next to an overturned row boat. "You have to do something captain!" kellin ordered. Shaw called for Lieth and Nessan to release the skiff and ready it for a rescue. As the men boarded and rowed off, shaw was watching with a spyglass for the entire rescue. As they neared the misfortunate man, he swiftly grabbed onto the small boat, Lieth and Nessan each grabbing an arm, in one rapid move the man was on his knees inside the boat gasping for air.
         Just as the man was safely on board the vessel, Shaw scanned the river in front oh him. A shutter in the water caught his eye, aiming the spyglass slightly to the left, his heart jumped when he viewed the breath taking sight of the school of sturgeon half mile up river. Shaw turned and bounced down below, the shaken man was being handed cloths and dry garments, "Sir, you are lucky we found you when we did, My crew and I are fishermen and we have found our catch. For the time being you may rest in our quarters or if you have any useful skills..." Gryphon halted the man from continuing with wave of his finger, "Sir, I am much obliged, you gentlemen save me from a watery grave and all, I am a skillful man." Gryphon went on to recount his many labors from youth to present, keeping in mind Ayomide would need the distraction to kill the witch.
         Ayomide watched as the crew desended below deck, he could see the witch on the far side of the deck with the spyglass. The beast he had seen earlier was no where to be found. He slithered across the water, observing the fish as he came to the edge of the boat. As he ascended the ladder to the deck, the fiend crawled closer and closer to kellin, "behind you girl!" Firth flew up from the water trying to protect the witch. Kellins adrenaline filled her body and she jumped around, landing right in the dragons face. She stumbled back, grabbing at the rail with both hands, the rail snapped and sent her falling to the waters below. Ayomide was at the edge of the deck, attemping to give chase when he was struck by the giant head of the beast, which sent him flying to the opposite side of the river.
         Shaw popped his head up from below deck in time to see Kellin go overboard. Pointing the situation out to Kiran, they raced for the skiff. Kiran lowered it with Shaw already inside, he paddled in the witch's direction while Kiran distraughtly tried to gain the dragons eye. Firth had been distracted by the Tribe of the red hail, who were approaching Kellin faster then she could get to shore. Surrounding her, readying themselves for the morning feast, they leap to attack, the witch raises a hand to the sky and clears her mind. As she recites an incantation, the winds starts howling around her, removing any tribe member brave enough to jump through the air. Kellin is still left to eliminate the remaining members when she turns to see Shaw armed with a bow and arrow picking off the remainder of the red hail. Turning to swim to Shaw, she catches Ayomide out of the corner of her eye, spear pointed towards the captain. It's too late, she cringes and lets out a wail as the spear pierces Shaws chest.
         Firth zooms to the witch, blocking Ayomides path to her, she grabs ahold of the dragon and is whisked back onto the giant vessel. As ayomide nears her location, Kellin reminds the remaining men to carry out the plan exactly as was discussed. She was quietly mumble a summoning spell, one that gave her power over lightening, the demon reached the deck and started chuckling. "You think your clever witch? You will not defeat me!" his sarcastic tone angered her, she growled back "we will defeat you demon, this world does not belong to your kind anymore, one by one you all will be driven out, until the mention of a demon will be nothing more then legend!" Ayomide gazed strangely at her, wondering what the girl was up to, it was to late.
         Firth had the fishing net dangling in his mouth, waiting for the signal from Kellin. With a swift motion of her hand, she propelled a sturgeon spear towards Ayomide just as Firth let go of the net. The net entrapped the demon, allowing the spear to pierce him in the chest. The demon frantically grabbed for the spear, Firth was knocking him around, allowing the witch the time needed to summon the lightening. Each lightening bolt that struck the metal spear surged through the demon like a hot knife through butter, creating a fire that quickly spread to the boat. As the lightening came to an end, a pile of ash is all that remained of Ayomide.
         Firth gulped a mouthful of water and sprayed part of the deck that had caught fire. The three fishermen were bursting with pride, the captain would have wanted them to rejoice at their victory. The vessel had sustained significant damage, with the help of their lucky dragon, they returned to Linvale with a boat overflowing with the valuable fish. Kellin remembered what the dragon had told her about fate, she smiled at the thought, Fate has it own plans, what does not make sense at the beginning of a story will make sense at the end!