Chapter 1: The Prophecy

The old man pulled an apple out from his right pocket, "Would you like an apple?" He asked. Albert shook his head. The wizard then folded his hands over the apple and squeezed it. When he unfurled his hands, the apple is golden, and shining. The boy gasped and reached out from under the bed, he touched the golden apple and it crumbled to dust. Albert stared in disbelief.

The boy slowly crawled out from under the bed, but not before his stomach pronounced it had nothing to eat, by grumbling loudly. The old man was amused, but Albert was not. The witch chuckled, "You want something to eat?" She asked. "Yes." Albert replied, as he stood up on his feet. "And what about you?" Agnes looked at the old man. "I'm alright, I ate before I came here." The wizard answered.

The witch set about cooking up some poultry in a small cauldron, an enchanted flame below with a mysterious aura. "So, Albert, what brought you to this forest?" The old man asked. The boy looked sad, conflicted and confused, "I… I don't know… my parents are dead because of stupid guards!" Albert placed his head in his hands, looking anguished. The witch looked at him, but couldn't do anything.

The wizard placed his hand on Albert's shoulder, and sighed, "I lost most of my family." The old man said. "Centuries later, I had the means to bring them back to life, I could resurrect people, but I could only resurrect my daughter and my mother. If you really wanted, you could become one of us" Albert pulled his head from his hands, watching the old man.

"Agnes, we'll be out for a bit. Come on, kid, I want to show you something." The old man said, got up and urged Albert from the hut, and walked along the untrodden path deeper into the forest. "Where are we going? I wanted to eat..." The boy asked, his stomach growling as he walked.

"It's not far, just a few miles away." The wizard said, and smiled. Finally they reached a massive wall that when looking left and right, would presumably reach very far. The old man grabbed a polished silver key and inserted it into the lock of the wall and turned. The ground rumbled and the wall started opening up with a groan, as if it hadn't been opened in a century.

As the path was still opening up, the wizard urged the boy into the narrow space, the walls unlit, darkened with blackness. Finally the two of them reached what looked like a garden with a small wooden gazebo inside a massive pale white box, the ceiling endless.

The old man reached out to a tree nearby and plucked an apple, handing it to Albert. "Here, you can have this. It won't turn into dust, this one." The old man hands the boy the fruit, who then takes a bite. Albert's eyes light up like a beacon, "It tastes good." He said.

"I'm glad you like it, but I'd like to direct your attention to something more important." The wizard said, and pointed to an open wooden free-standing structure which housed a strange floating and glowing object.

Suddenly, Albert and the wizard both appeared in a flash in front of the small gazebo, the boy started to feel nauseous with and his head spinning. "Urp..." The old man placed his hand on Albert's shoulder to help steady him.

Albert regained his sense and swallowed, and slowly reached out to the crystal, it glowed harsher before the reach of his hand. The boy's fingertips touched the surface, and all lit up in a silvery flame of power. The crystal is absorbed into his body, and Albert felt pure power flowing into him. In his right hand, a staff appeared, and a shield made of glass, like a mirror, appeared on his left hand.

His peasant clothes shined, and were replaced by a blue shirt, long brown pants, dark brown boots, and a silver forehead crown formed on his forehead. Albert looked around himself, astonished and amazed at his transformation. "W-what happened to my clothes? What are these?" The boy asked.

The old man smiled. "I'm glad you asked, you now possess a staff and shield, but it seems the staff is unfinished, it's pure unformatted synergy." The wizard said. "So, with these, I could… avenge my parents?" Albert asked, while twirling his staff. "Yes, you can." The old man got on knee level to Albert, "Take this too, you'll need it." The wizard gave Albert a pendant necklace. Albert took it and placed it in his new pockets.

The old man checked his watch, "Look at the time! It's time for me to go, kiddo. Tell Agnes I said goodbye." And disappeared in a flash, before Albert could reach him. The boy sighed, and sat down on the floor of the structure. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" Albert muttered. All of a sudden, a young black haired horse appeared right in front of him, snorting and kicking dirt, looking stunned and distraught.

The boy slowly walked towards the horse, and laid a hand on its neck. "I didn't expect a horse to appear, but this will have to do." Albert grapples on and hauls himself onto the horse, attempting to keep himself steady. The horse snorted and buckled backwards, throwing the boy off its back. Albert landed on the ground, and rolled away as the horse kicked out.

Albert spotted his apple lying on the ground, and reached for it, only to be crushed by the horse's rear. Yelling out, he throws the apple nearby, and pushes the horse off him. "You're so damn heavy, you know that?" Albert said, standing up and straightening his back. The horse did not appreciate that, and knocked him over on his back with its head.

Albert sighed and got up once again, "Look, pal, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you fat, you're just bigger than I am, I mean, look at me." The boy said, and slowly reached out to the horse's snout, only to be licked and nuzzled. "O-oh ok, ha-ha, that tickles." Albert put his hand over the horse's head around the ears and started gently scratching. "Time to head back, come on, this way."