The Legend Of Artill

Year 1217 Gadrannian Calendar, Winter

Above the continent of Gadrann, an opening appeared in the sky. That gap in the sky was no ordinary occurrence, it seemed as if reality had bent inward to shape a hole filled with a black void.

The size of the spatial fracture was about ten meters in diameter, but there seemed to be an eerie feeling surrounding the shadowy crack in the sky. The occurrence of the phenomenon drew little attention, at first, since the height of this otherworldly event was nearly touching the edges of space.

A blinding piece of light, like a shooting star, fired out from the center of that hole. The blob of light began to dim as it plummeted down onto the continent of Gadrann as the pocket of darkness behind it closed in on itself.

The mysterious object's distance from the surface grew closer and the object's luminescent glow had now faded.

The image of the object falling onto Gadrann was as if a shard of darkness was trying to pierce a thick pure white blanket, the snowy surface of the ground. However, the object's angle of entry was quite acute, so instead it skidded along the ground. This caused a trail of fallen leafless trees, a long path of dug up dirt and snow, and led to a cratering stop into the side of a small hill.

The, now much smaller, hill now currently housed a strange object. Its aura resembling a black hole, not allowing a speck of light to touch it. The object was about three meters large, in width and height, and had already drawn plenty of attention to itself.

When the object was close to landing on the ground it was close by to a village. Many of the villagers had witnessed, with jaws dropped, the falling object touch down onto their land. As the object had bounced along the surface of the ground, the village had also felt the ground quake multiple times.

It was not long before all of the village had gathered altogether, in counsel, and decided to investigate the source of the disturbance. Under a light snowfall, nearly all of the able-bodied a.d.u.l.ts of the village hiked towards the devastated landscape and swiftly spotted the unusual mass of darkness. Although they saw the destruction wrought, of what they thought was a meteor, they could not help but give in to their curiosity and sense of paranoia.

Some of the villagers held torches in their hands, for warmth and light, while other villagers wielded an assortment of miscellaneous weapons; rusty swords, large sticks, and farming tools. When they all first saw the strange black object, their bodies shook in fear and awe, while their eyes were struck with astonishment.

To the villagers the object was like a large foreign jewel, it possessed a dark l.u.s.ter and the strange property to reject light. None of the villagers had ever seen anything resembling such a strange material.

A few of the villagers approached the object with great caution and vigilance. As they advanced closer, the ominous object began to form cracks on its surface, like glass slowly cracking. It had begun to fall apart and its pieces disintegrate, but then a person fell out from it, something resembling young boy.

After a few more seconds the object had completely degenerated, only leaving the boy behind. His body was very skinny, almost like his insides were made of wires instead of bones, he had hair as grey as ashes and his body looked very smooth, but he was starch n.a.k.e.d.

The villagers, for an unknown reason, took him back to their village. They wrapped a fur cloth around his small body and took turns lifting him back to their village.

They put the boy in a warm cottage with a lit fire, to protect him from the invading chills of winter. The villagers covered him in a large blanket of animal skin and placed him onto a mattress of straw, for him to rest and recover.

After they had left the boy in the cottage they put up a vote for suggestions on what to do with the young child. After much discussion it was decided that the boy be kept until he was fully recuperated and then questioned. However, one particular villager did not attend the town meeting and was instead watching over the young lad, a motherly looking middle-aged woman with red hair. Her name was Enri.

Enri's pale red eyes stared at the boy. The thoughtful glances she gave towards him were filled with mixed feelings of curiosity, sorrow, love and regret. The woman tried to make the boy as comfortable as possible; tucking him into his bed and keeping the fire burning.

After doing some small chores in the cottage, she decided to leave the cottage and leave the boy to recover. However, a particular villager, a strong, bulky looking middle-aged man with greyish hair, was outside the cottage, waiting for her.

Enri's husband, Kirg, had an anxious face and sternly said to Enri,

"I know that he might resemble our dead son, but please Enri, see reason. We know that our son died a long time ago and even though we buried his body at-."

Enri interrupted and angrily said,

"Don't you think I know that Kirg, but that doesn't mean I can't care for this child. Even though we don't know where he came from, he is still an innocent, lost boy and he needs our affection. I am the person that will see to that and if you don't support me, then that's fine."

Enri bitterly walked away from the conversation, while Kirg was left standing there with a complicated expression lingering on his face.

Enri went back into the boy's cottage. She calmed herself down by taking long, deep breaths, while pacing around inside the cottage. After she had calmed down she put a chair next to the boy's bed and sat on it. She sighed and then placed her soft hand on the young boy's forehead, bent towards his head, and whispered into his ear.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you."

Right after Enri had said that, Kirg silently opened the door to the cottage and gently closed it behind him. He stepped towards Enri, put his hand on her shoulder and said,

"No, we'll take care of him."

The couple looked at each other longingly, needing no further words to express their complex emotions. Kirg took another chair and placed it beside Enri. They held each other's hand tightly and they both gazed at the boy with wet eyes, waiting and anticipating for his awakening.

Kirg had been one of the villagers that had volunteered to investigate what the village had thought was a meteor. However, the discovery of a young boy whose appearance had mirrored his deceased sons brought him much shock and surprise. The villagers with him who had also recognized the boy all gaped in horror.

Unsure on what to do with this development Kirg convinced the other villagers to bring the boy back to their village, much to the dismay of many of the other villagers who thought this was a supernatural incident.

Kirg and Enri's son died a few years ago and was buried at that hill, yet this boy was found at that same hill, where the meteor had fallen. Their appearances were an exact match, but there was no sign of decay or rot on the boy found.

This occurrence drew the speculation of much of the village. Some saying that this was an unbelievable blessing of a second chance, while many others claimed that this was wicked sorcery.

But no one had expected, not Enri, Kirg, nor the entirety of the village that this would be the beginning of a long tale.

The story of a young boy who would grow to become a legend.

A journey through the continent of Gadrann, exploring the wonders of magic, mysteries and many more different sensations.

This is the story of Artill, the boy that was born from the sky and the earth.