The Elder

"When the Earth was young, they were already old..."
Since the dawn of time, the Elder have watched silently over a virgin world and all its creatures...
Now, they have assumed the form of mortals so that they might walk amongst men and guide them
The Elder are an ideal... They embody the wisdom of the ages and the power of goodness and knowledge...
But the Elder were not alone in the beginning and are not along still... Another force has existed eternally...
In every place, in every time, an evil is loosed whose sole purpose is to destroy all that is good. And in every time, and every place, it is the task of the Elder to find and train a warrior... a champion to conquer the evil
As the looming clouds gather, the council of the Elder sit at their ancient table under the sign of the Rose. Once again they must combat the evil that is lurking in darkness and spreading throughout the world
They await the word from Morpheus, the caretaker, whether the boy be deemed ready for the sacred rite of accession to the Order of the Rose... and for the pronouncement of his sacred duty...
The odyssey begins...

As the early morning sun began to cast shadows upon the land, Morpheus entered Philiopia. The city was already thriving with business. The streets were lined with venders selling their goods. There were many people out with their children. The local taverns were already open for business. Even this early in the day, there were people ready to sedate themselves with alcohol.

Morpheus slowed his walk outside of such a tavern. It was named Tavern of Morpheus. He smiled at the name. Too much alcohol is as destructive as Morpheus could be on a bad day. He turned to go inside, to show the chosen one his destiny, when suddenly a man came flying out of the door. With his quick refexes, Morpheus dodged him. The man landed on the ground with a hard thump. A strong young boy named Aramis came out of the door behind him.

"We've shown all the kindness we can tolerate," he said, "Don't come back here with your deadbeat attitude."

Morpheus smiled as he looked at the young man. He knew he was in the presense of the chosen one.

The man quickly got up. A group of three men came out behind Aramis. They were friends of the man and they weren't too happy. "You can't treat Traxzy like that."

"Watch me, " Aramis said. He wasn't going to hurt the man any more than he had, but he knew because of brut ego, that these other men would attack him. Man no. 1 decided to tackle Aramis. Aramis suddenly turned around and grabbed him by his neck, and threw him across the street. The man's head hit a building and the blow knocked him unconscience. Morpheus was surprised by the boy's strength. Man number 2 decided he would try some oriental techniques. He decided to do a karate kick. Aramis caught his leg with a strong arm and spun the man around and let go. The man twirled in a dizzle circle and landed in the street. The third man was too afraid to even try, so he ran away. The others managed to crawl off.

The chosen one looked at him. "Can I do something for you?"

"Yes," Morpheus replied, "I'm looking for a boy named Aramis." As if he didn't know.

"I'm Aramis," the chosen one replied. "Who are you?"

"My name is Morpheus"

Aramis laughed, "Morpheus, the undertaker, the angel of death, the God of Thunder."

Morpheus smiled at his strength to laugh in the face of a possibly dangerous stranger whom was demented enough to believe he was a god. "Yes, that's right. I'm from a race not quite human, but we're not gods. I got my reputation from visiting people about to die. I council them and let them know there's nothing to be afraid of, and that when we die we go on to another life form." He could see now was the time to change the subject. "So do you often have this kind of trouble with people that come into the tavern."

Aramis paused not sure if he wanted to reply. "No," he smiled. "It usually doesn't go that far. I can win the people over with my charm. We often get people in here with a bad attitude. It's easy to pick up their hate, rage, and bitterness they feel towards the world. The thing is there's alot of people that have been hurt by people in the world. So in a business of service like this, you see alot of hurt people. It doesn't help to reflect their hate. So when I deal with people I'm nice, and I smile. I let them know the world isn't all bad, and not to focus on the negative. Negativity comes easily, but I let them know they should focus on the positive in every situation. Also, it just isn't worth it. I refuse to let their negativity bring me down. I'm gonna be happy no matter what the world thinks. Anyway, to get back to the original question, these people just got out of hand and I had to show them the way out."

"Well," Morpheus said, "you're very wise. So I suppose you would understand, that I am Morpheus and I have come for you."

Aramis raised his eyebrows. Apparently he has another delusional drunk on his hands. "Alright, so you're Morpheus the caretaker, the god of thunder, the god of death, blah blah blah, I think you've had enough to drink already, I can't let you come in here, you might end up causing trouble, and I might have to hurt you."

Morpheus smiled, he understood he would see it like that. "I understand, but I have to tell you, you are more important than you know. I have come to show you your destiny."

"Oh please, as if the gods would just come down and start talking to people, and me especially."

"Like I said, I'm not a god, but you have special gifts, which are rare for a human."

"Well," Aramis said joking, "If you're referring to my beauty, style, and grace, well that's true."

"No, I'm referring to your supernatural power."

"Oh, well my uncle told me there is no such thing as supernatural. Nothing is above nature. I believe anything people do is natural and those that complain that the things we do are not natural are wrong. If it was not natural, people wouldn't do it."

"Yes, but, supernatural is just something in nature that is super and way out of the ordinary. Alot of people who take hold of their destiny are supernatural. That is a rare occurance in nature."

"Well," Aramis smiled. "Angel of death or whatever, it was nice chatting with you, but I have to get back inside before my boss misses me."

Morpheus smiled, "Alright, but a black dragon will soon enter the village from the east and will cause you grief. Trust your instincts."

Aramis smiled rather nervous. He didn't really believe the stranger, but he was starting to suspect maybe it's true. "Well, I've got to go." Aramis turned and started to walk inside. He glanced back to look at Morpheus, but he was gone. He suddenly turned around and walked back out and looked in the street. There was not a trace of the stranger.

As the sun rose in the east, the city was suddenly blanked with a huge shadow. Many townspeople looked up, and shrieked as they saw the horrible black dragon MegaDestruction approaching.

MegaDestruction swooped down and clawed at the people. They ran for cover. The streets were an ocean of people as they tried to escape. MegaDestruction grabbed a man and carried him into the air. The man screamed in fear of his life. MegaDestruction ripped him in half and throw his body down at the running crowd.

It then blew fire down on the people. Many were burned to a crisp.

At a nearby school, a young girl named Michelle sat in class. It was her final year of school and she sat listening to her teacher's rather boring lecture. Her mind was else where. She bagan to rub her pretty black hair. Her soft white skin was smooth against it. Michelle's Earth green dress made her look enchanting. Suddenly she was destracted by screaming. Michelle looked out a window with her pretty blue eyes and saw dozens and dozens of people running by. She got up for a better look just as MegaDestruction's claws hit the window. Michelle screamed and jumped back. The dragon appeared to be trying to get in the school. The group of young students jumped to their feet frigthened. Panic filled the room, nobody knew what to do. MegaDestruction tore down the wall, and death seemed sure when suddenly he pulled back.

A group of warriors were behind MegaDestruction. A sharp sword penetrated his skin, and he reacted with anger. He breathed fire out on a attacking man. The man held a sheild up in defence. A woman warrior named Beletrix stabbed at him with a spear. An archor aimed his bow and arrow. MegaDestruction swung a strong wing and knocked down the irratating people. Suddenly a strong warrior named Magnus jumped upon MegaDestruction's shoulders and bagan repeatedly stabbing him. The dragon shook violently trying to get him off. It finally flung itself against a wall, and Magnus lost his grip and fell off. The dragon was furious, it hurried back up to the school. The students were again in fear. It reached in a power claw. The students backed away as far as they could, but there was no where else to go. The dragon grabbed ahold of Michelle and pulled her out, then before they knew it, the dragon was gone.