The Legend of the Defender

Gastro

Notorious Pirate
Prologue: The Beginning

The sky was black and the stars were shining bright. Bystanders walked by and thought nothing about the sight that they just saw. The rough concrete floor had cracks in it for the lack of repairs to it.

An old man with a white beard and eyeglasses was standing in front of a doorway. He was holding a fragile, wrapped object in his hands. It was not an object, though. It was a newborn child wrapped in gentle fabric. Next to the old man was a young man, probably 19 by the looks of it. He wore a blue hat with stars on it and had brown hair. He wore dark black clothing and was holding a peculiar staff with crystals at the top in his hand.

"Master, who exactly is that?" asked the young boy, apparently speaking to the old man. The old man turned to the young man, still holding the baby. "A talented one. He has the makings of a true wizard that was born to be a master of the arts." He smiled. "And, some day, you will be teaching the young boy when the time comes." Confused, the young man replied back, "But, when will that be?" The old man put his hand on the young man's back. "Quiet, my boy. Do not rush the future. The time will come soon enough."

The old man turned to the doorstep and laid the baby on the mat. The baby started crying and making a ruckus. Some of the lights from the other houses started coming on to see what it was. The old man knew immediately what was to occur. "Reese, the minute that boy becomes 16, you are to hurry to him and take him to the House of Wizards to be initiated as a true wizard." Reese nodded and replied, "But...what about you...?" The old man responded, "Do not worry about me, Reese. The only thing you need worry about is to get that boy to safety when he turns 16." Reluctantly, Reese nodded and looked at the baby.

Reese and the baby caught a last glimpse at the old man before he vanished. Reese looked back at the baby and said, "I'll be back for you...when the time comes."

He, too, vanished and the door opened. "Good grief, Frank! It's a child! Bring him in, he's crying!" said a voice. The other voice, apparently Frank, said, "Coming, dear!" Two people walked to the baby and carried him inside the house and closed the door. The street lamps all flickered off and the lights of all the houses turned off.

The baby was no ordinary baby. One day, he would grow to become a powerful defender of the world and become a hero.

This is the legend of one of the Defenders.
Chapter 1: Meet Regulus

Regulus was a boy living in a house on Cenadome Street. How he was born, no one knows but he appeared in front of Martha and Frank Glumdin's house. When he was brought in, he was just a newborn and was immediately fed and washed.

They tried putting up posters saying that there was a missing baby, but it appeared that no one was missing a newborn. One time, they even tried taking him to an orphanage but as if by magic, they couldn't walk out the door with him. It was as if there was a magical barrier stopping them from taking him to the orphanage. This was very peculiar, because this only happened when they tried to give him to someone else.

As the years passed, Regulus grew into a refined young boy and helped the Glumdins around the house and with everything. One day, a package arrived for Regulus. He looked at the label. He read the name of the sender, "'Reese Tunpole.' Hmm..." He ripped open the package and tossed aside all of the paper. He saw a note taped to a box. He read aloud, "'Dear Regulus, these are your proper clothing. It will suit you when you begin your training and your new quests.'" Confused, Regulus squinted at the paper but still read the same thing. Mystified, he said, "What quest? What training...?"

He opened the box and found a robe with yellow stars all around it. Alongside it, he found a hat with stars on it that included a piece of paper inside. It read, "'Do not forget to stay awake when this time comes. Thursday, April 12th, 11:30 PM.'"

Still confused by this, he pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. But, he wasn't. Before he could question any further, however, Frank called him. "Regulus! Can you help us? Figaro is in the tree again!" Figaro was the Glumdins' cat. He was very shy and usually ended up in the tree.

Regulus stepped out of his room and out the back door to his backyard. Figaro was in a high branch of a tall tree. "Oh man, this is gonna be tough." said Regulus. He tried waving his arm to shoo Figaro out of the tree. It did, except not in a way he would have thought of.

For some reason, the exact same time he waved his arm, the tree was cut down and fell on the fence, breaking it. Figaro jumped out before it crashed, however, and landed on the ground. Frank stood in front of the tree, gaping in horror. "W-What in good gravy's name happened?!" Regulus, speechless, finally responded, "I...don't know."

"I do." said a voice. Regulus and Frank turned around. There was a man with a hat with stars and a robe with stars. He had a white beard and wore a monocle. "You see, Regulus, you haven't known it for a long time, but you have powers. Powers no ordinary mortal has." Frank, shocked, pointed and said, "Who exactly are you?" The man bowed and then replied, "Forgive me, I must remember to introduce myself. My name is known as Reese Tunpole. I am a wizard and so is Regulus. We have been watching him for a long time now."

Regulus then said, "If you really are Reese Tunpole, though, weren't you supposed to come on the twelfth of April?" Reese smiled and then said, "Why, yes. It appears you read the note I gave you in the package. However, the situation has changed in the world and we need you far more than we originally did. You see, the kingdom of King Mungulo II is in grave danger." He held out a staff with a crystal on it and it shone, revealing an image of the kingdom.

It was flaming and smoke was pouring from it. Mysterious wizards in purple robes and purple hats were attacking everyone and cackling. Regulus assumed them to be evil witches and didn't like the sight of the attack. The image disappeared and Reese continued, "As you can see, the kingdom needs wizards with the most potential and the most power. And you are among the strongest--no, you are the strongest wizard that I can find."

Regulus, shocked but accepting of the truth, then said, "I have to leave now?" Reese replied, "Unfortunately, right now, that is the case. But, after your training is done, you fulfill your quests, and you become a master, you may visit again."

Regulus, sad to leave for now, said goodbye to Frank and Martha and left with Reese. "So, what exactly is attacking the kingdom?" asked Regulus. Without turning, Reese explained, "The kingdom is under attack by a dark evil. It is approaching King Mungulo II's kingdom. Soon, it will spread to the whole world."

"I see..." said Regulus. A new journey was starting for our new hero and he will face many new dangers ahead. What will they be? Will he survive? These questions will be answered on his journey.
Chapter 2: Dark Troubles

Reese and Regulus kept walking. It had been a while and Regulus could have sworn that he saw a flashing kingdom ahead. It had been bright, then sank back into the shadows. He mentioned this to Reese a few times, but the man simply replied, "Must be your imagination." But, Regulus didn't listen. He thought there was something odd there, something with a dark past. He didn't want to venture there at the moment, however, not under the guidance of Reese and especially since he hasn't learned how to use his powers properly yet.

Finally, hours later, they stopped and sat down a minute. Reese, with a flick of his staff, floated wooden logs big enough to sit on towards them and they sat. With another flick, he summoned sticks and stones. He arranged the stones in a circle and gathered the sticks together inside the stone circle. Then, he pointed his staff at the sticks and suddenly he created a fire.

"So..." said Regulus as he attempted to make conversation, "...what's really happening in King Mungulo II's kingdom, anyway? Anything serious?" Reese rested his staff down and took a deep breath. "Before I answer this question, I must tell you that you do not have to call it his kingdom. It has a rightful name." Regulus raised his eyebrows and said, "Why does everyone keep calling it his kingdom, then?" Reese stroked his beard and took off his monocle momentarily. "Well, the kings for that kingdom are very...vain, as I should say it. They've always asked of the citizens that they all say the name as we have been saying it. Its true name, however, is Gardenwell." Regulus sat back and replied, "Yeah, well the name hasn't seemed to live up to itself, has it?" Reese laughed and said, "No, it has, admittedly, not. However, we Defenders have kept the kingdom safe, at least until the witches that you saw turned up.

"As you can see, they didn't exactly want peace and started destroying everything. We Defenders had to stop them. Unfortunately, we only drove them away twice. The witches' names are Agathor, Hazel, and Annika." Regulus sat up and said, "Hmm...may I know the Defenders' names?" Reese smiled and replied, "Certainly. As you know, I am Reese. I am the founder of the Defenders and my strongest element is Air. The second one is James. His specialty is fire. The third one is Skyler. Her specialty is the element of light. Then, the fourth and last one until now is Luke. His specialty is water. And, the fifth one...is you." Regulus froze for a second. Then, he asked, "What's my specialty?" Reese smiled, and said, "That's...to be found out soon enough."

The moon started rising and the stars twinkled one by one. Reese looked up and said, "I think it's time we start moving again. If we go now, we'll make it by morning." Regulus nodded and stood up. They walked forward again and Regulus saw a shadowy figure. It turned around, its eyes blazing red. It walked closer...and closer...then suddenly, it said in a raspy voice, "Leave now. Your death will be decided by the fates. Or, possibly, The Mighty One will catch you first." Then, Regulus blinked and the strange figure was gone. He rubbed his eyes, and it was still gone. He whispered to Reese, "Hey, um, did you see it too?" Reese raised his eyebrows and said, "See what?" Regulus, looking around, said, "I thought I just saw a figure. It spoke to me telling me that my death would be decided by the fates. Then, it said that "The Mighty One" might catch me first."

Reese stared at Regulus for a moment and said, "Let's keep going. I don't think it's safe here." Regulus then said, "But, who's The Mighty One? I don't understand!" Reese then said, "The Mighty One is a dark fiend. He is feared throughout the kingdom. His dark powers are like none other and even the mightiest of wizards, like the Defenders, possibly might not stand a chance against him." Regulus decided not to say anything. He didn't want to hold up Reese any longer. Then, out of nowhere, Reese said, "Perhaps this should help?" He waved his staff and a broomstick materialized out of thin air. Regulus, frozen in awe, said, "Wha...wait, why do we need broomsticks?" Reese, as he materialized one for himself said, "What else for? Transportation." Reese continued, "Oh, right. For a second there, I forgot you're not used to wizard affairs. Well, just get on and jump hanging onto the broom. It'll fly off instantly."

Regulus, still in shock, obeyed the instructions and he flew into the air! Reese soon followed on his own broom. Reese got beside Regulus and said, "How does it feel to fly?" Regulus, trying to remain balance and steer said, "I-I don't know what to say!" over the sound of the wind. Then, in the distance, a town-like kingdom was becoming clearer to see.

Regulus is in for a big surprise.
 
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