Drake

By Steve Eum
 It all started that night. Fire, screams, pain, and a dark glowing eye. The night I can’t

remember. All I know is that it took my parents away. As my life went on I slowly forgot that

night, the same way most people forget bad memories. It just slowly disintegrates within your

brain. I was treated differently because of my petite stature. I lived alone in the harsh wilderness

of the mountain. Completely have forgetting what had happened that night. But some part of me

just knew, and that part gave me the will to survive and thrive.

As a kid I had a miserable life. Growing up as an orphan without any adult guidance was

difficult. I built somewhat of a shelter up in the woods. I ate berries and vegetation. When I got

old enough for schooling, I attended without hesitation. Being smaller than everyone else, I was

picked on. Every day I prayed that the others would leave me alone. And every day I came home

with bruises and scars. The scar on my body didn’t hurt me enough to stop me from attending

school every single day.

As I hit my pre-teenage years, I kept true to myself, set up goals in life. No matter what I

wanted to marry that pretty girl that rode the horse through the woods every day. I never quite

knew her name until that day.

It was a steamy summer afternoon. I sat in the shade to avoid the unforgiving sting of the

sun, hungrily wondering what to catch for my next meal. Suddenly, I heard a shriek then a cry

for help. I stood up and slowly and cautiously looked around. That’s when I saw her. Her

massive white horse tripped on a rock and was kicking into the air. With her in the way of those

deadly hooves, I ran to rescue. As I neared her my heart started to race. Faster and faster it was

beating. Time slowed down around me. And just before one of the hooves swung towards her

head, I jumped, caught her firmly in my arms and quickly and swiftly I rolled away with her. I
got up, stood there huffing and puffing. Then I saw her burst into tears and gasped as she pointed

at the back of my neck. I suddenly hit with a great pain. I reached over with my hands and they

came back painted with carmine red. The fiery color triggered something in my brain.

Then I saw nothing. My mind went blank. Slowly, figures started to form. Now

everything was red and black. I saw hazy red triangles floating and dancing. I heard distorted

noise that sounded very desperate. Although the figures didn’t scare me, I was somehow eaten up

by fear. I couldn’t breathe; it felt like smoke had filled the air. I was choking and terrified. I tried

running but everything followed me. I ran in a tunnel to hide. Then I saw a light at the end of the

tunnel. I ran faster and faster with the horribly gruesome haze reaching closer and closer to grasp

me and pull me back in. Just as I reached the end, to the extent where my hands would touch this

mysterious light, I was being pulled back. I fought the grim cloud pushing as hard as I could,

toward the shine. Just before I ran out of strength to fight, the light spoke.

“Don’t worry my son. I’ll always protect you,” it said.

That very moment, the light radiated like a thousand suns. It blasted away my fear and

the thing that caused it.

That’s when I woke up, gasping for breath. I looked at my new surroundings. I was

extremely confused. I saw white floor with white walls with windows that were also white. Then

I heard an elegant voice say “Are you okay?”

I replied with a nervous “Yeah I think so,”

“Well you should rest,” She insisted.

 “No. I need to go back home,” I said without much thinking.

“Okay,” She said sadly.

As I limped quickly towards the door I heard her say “Wait! What’s your name?”

I replied “Drake. Yours?”

“I’m Pearl,” she said.

I said “Goodbye Pearl,” and ran as fast as I could.

I ran through the great halls and looked for an exit. There was a guard who tried to stop me. I

slipped through his grasp with ease. His big, clumsy suit of armor traded speed for defense. I

found a great big door with more guard by it. Dodging left to right, I escaped the huge building

and ran back home. I calmed myself down and decided to go to bed early.

Pearl, I thought to myself as I lie on my bed. She was very attractive and kind. I like the

way her hair swayed in the wind. Her glittering blue eyes reminded me of the first falling snow

of each year. The way she made my heart beat passionately for her. I thought of her as I lay in

bed trying to sleep. Then I noticed a cold and heavy feeling on my chest. I looked at it. There lied

a golden yellow pendant shaped like a mushroom with a blue ice-like stone in the middle of it. I

knew it was from Pearl. I clenched my fist over it and lifted it high up against my breast, waiting

until the day when she would come galloping on her horse.

Sadly she didn’t come. She never came after that incident. Day after day I waited. Every

little rustle sounded like her footsteps, but all those sounds just gave me hope and crush them

right after I found out it wasn’t her.

 A few years later on another steamy summer afternoon, I sat in the shade to avoid the

unforgiving sting of the sun like before. I heard some rustling footsteps. By this point I could

distinguish many different noises so I knew it wasn’t Pearl. Instead a tall, muscular, and rugged

man came to me with his buddy.

He spoke to me in a deep and friendly tone “Hey, kid. How ya’ doin’?”

I didn’t answer. I only stared at him.

“Sorry to break it to you, kid, but the king ordered every teenager to be drafted,” he said.

“Oh, is that so,” I replied carelessly.

“Yeah, you’ll be trained and all that but the good thing is that you be living in a better

place than this old shack,”

Without hesitation I got up. I was bored out of my mind anyways so I gave this army

thing a try.

First day, I saw a kid get beaten up and thrown out in the street because he didn’t try hard

enough. He wasn’t suited for the rage of war. As I walked into the facility, I was amazed at the

great living condition it provided. They had free clothes, spacious rooms, comfortable beds, and

the best of all good food. This place was like heaven to me. I put a lot of hard effort into training

everyday to make sure I stayed here. Due to this effort, I unintentionally became the best. I was

the fastest runner, swimmer, and horse rider, the best swordfighter, archer, and spearman. I was

also the most physique, taller and more muscular than anyone else.

Soon, I found out the reason for this draft. The king of the Mushroom Kingdom, Deedior,
got fed up with the constant raids that occurred in his land. The culprits were the neighboring

tribes of Turteliods, a mean, vicious, and barbaric groups of tribes that wanted more land. In this

war they were outnumbered yet we were far out powered. A renegade Turteliodian brigadier can

easily drag one hundred Mushroomian souls to hell with them.

I soon became an Elite General and my troops and I were ready for battle. We got

approval from the king, and we started marching. Through vast plains and rugged foothills we

marched. For 7 days and seven nights we only stopped to sleep. My troops were the finest, hand

selected by me and equipped with all the supplies they needed. They never complained or

whined. They were strong enough to handle this great trip. On the eighth day we passed through

a raided village.

It was the most gruesome and horrifying scene I had ever seen. Fire was everywhere.

Houses were destroyed and looted. It was as if God lit a tornado on fire, lost control over it and

dropped it on the poor little town. I could smell the stench of the slaughtered hundreds. I then

collapse to the ground.

“Captain!” my most talented major said “What’s wrong?”

I couldn’t answer. I started rolling on the ground, clenching my fist. There was

something in my head that tried to get out. The agony was unbearable. The feeling moves down

my neck and sunk its caustic teeth in to my heart. I pounded at my chest. They it started to crawl

over to my shoulder, down my biceps and finally onto my forearm. It snaked under my skin as if

it were my own vein. I formed a sharp and distorted figure. The pain suddenly increased.

“Ah~ Errahha~,” the pain burned my skin like it was being stenciled. The pigment started
to darken and finally the torturous pain ceased.

My men helped me up, still in awe and not being able to believe or comprehend what had

just happened. I looked at my forearm. It was still smoking. As the wisp was blown by the wind,

I noticed a very majestic being had been drawn onto my arm, a dragon. Encircling the figure was

a circle with archaic words around it. Drops of blood were oozing out like sweat. I was

extremely puzzled but it didn’t deter me further. I simply wiped the blood off with a ripped piece

of cloth on the ground and continued to walk. Then my troops hesitantly followed soon going

back into our usual marching rhythm.

Not very far off the raided town we spotted a hostage caravan full of our people. With

quick thinking and movement, we set up an ambush in a little alley along their path. We lay as

flat as we could on a ledge positioned just a few feet above the Turtliodians head. When all the

soldiers were in the alley, we slit all of there throats with a quick, clean maneuver. We then got

down and freed all our people from their bondage.

That’s when I saw her. Pearl. I walked over to her. Smiling. I wanted to say so many

things. Thoughts were running around in my mind. Then I stopped. Her necklace had a familiar

symbol on it. A golden mushroom with the royal gem, aquamarine, inserted in the middle of the

mushroom cap. It was similar to the necklace that I wore every day. I didn’t care much about it

other than it used to belong to her. Then I realized that it was a Royal pendant. I fully understood

now that she was the princess of our kingdom. I took my necklace out of my armor and looked at

it. It was full of dents and scratches, lightly soiled and quite tarnished. I put it back just as I

noticed her walking my way. I put my head down and tried to avoid her. The overjoyed hostages

running around pushed me even closer to her. I bumped into her and continued to walk while
muttering a mere, “Sorry,” I felt that it was over with.

But she turned around and said “Drake? Is that you?” she said, full of anticipation. My

body froze. My chest started to tighten. I couldn’t breathe. I tried to calm down. The moment my

body loosened up, I ran, crying. I was running from the only girl I ever loved after I longed for

her all these years.

“You’re so stupid Drake,” I insulted myself. I secretly rejoined my troops and we all

slept.

The next day I sent a message to the king and left some of my men to watch over the

hostages while the escort squad I requested arrived. Then we finally reached the heart of all there

camps, Turtloidika. I watched these savage beast do thing that I dare not to tell. Made me gag.

We set up a camp and I sat in my tent. As I was thinking, an old man passed by and let out a very

eerie aura. He wasn’t one of us. I knew something about him was different. I had to follow him. I

pursued him into a maze-like cave. Inside there was a huge chamber with strange markings on

the wall. I examined it very closely.

“So you’re Drake,” said a voice.

“Who are you and how do you know my name?” I said.

“Oh, I know much more than your name. I led you here so I can help you,” said the voice

very persuasively “You have powers that you are not aware of yet. I can help you but I need you

to cooperate with me,”

“Who are you?” I asked cautiously.

 “That’s not of importance. Look at the marking on your arm. Doesn’t it look familiar?”

I stared into the vicious looking tattoo that I now had. Then I notice the markings around

the dragon resembled the writing on the wall.

“Come over here child,” I approached the shadow cautiously yet at a steady pace. In the

middle of the circular chamber, he stood by a cauldron of some sort. It bubbled away a thick,

viscous liquid which continuously changed its color.

“Hold out your arm,” he said. Then he took out a piece of carved wood, a wand perhaps

and pointed toward my marking as I let him place it above the cauldron. He whispered some

words as the tip of his wand started to glow. “Emplari… Aiur… Adun… Toridas…”

The figure started to fade and the man’s eyes let out a beam of light. Now my marking

glowed and the light became more and more intense. It shone the whole chamber. I tried to pull

away but he held fast. I heard him say, “I’m Damdien. Follow your instincts,” and his voice

faded.

I woke up back at my tent. I was confused. Yet I had an outburst of incredible and

awesome energy. It flowed through my body and it lingered in my hand. I shook my hand hoping

to rid the unusually heavy feeling. Instead the energy poured out in blue flames from each of my

finger tips. Then my head felt fresh. My head felt as if I stuck it in a portal that leads to the top of

the Elvish Mountains. Now my memories cleared and I had a flash back of my past.

Those hazy pictures that had lingered in my in my head were now crystal clear. Those

dancing triangles now turned to fire. The distorted noises were now desperate calls for help

mixed in with death. I saw a little boy cry next to two bodies lying on the floor. I knew that this
little boy was me. My parents, were dead. I watched the savage beast leave the scene. It was too

late. I couldn’t stop him. My past self screamed at him. He turned around. I noticed that he had a

much grander armor on than all the rest. He looked at me.

“Pathetic, little brat,” he said with the coldest and most evil tone I ever heard. I saw his

yellow eyes with a great big scar running from his forehead to the middle of his cheek while

cutting through his eye. His armor was shining in the moon light. Every jagged pieces of him suit

was black. He smacked me with the back of his hand.

He then said “Remember the name lil’ punk. Craygon,” he spat on me and left, laughing.

I then came back to my senses. I now remembered his name. “Craygon…,” I said to

myself. It was now day time and I had wasted enough time. Just then a bloody wounded soldier

of mine came running to me. Clutching him arm, he informed me that another group of Turtloids

came and took back the hostages. I had to go rescue Pearl. I told my soldier to get ready for hell.

Without much hesitation my troops infiltrated the camp. Many died. I swung at

everything that was bigger than me. That way I wouldn’t accidentally wound a fellow soldier.

There were screaming everywhere. Arrows whizzed by your ear every five seconds. I fought the

hoards that came at me. They were very strong and powerful. Yet in the end I got to the “castle.”

I went in there. My instincts told me that Craygon was the leader of the Turtleloids. I cried out to

him, “ Craygon!”

Then suddenly my sword burst in to blue flames. The energy overflowed. I didn’t care. I

ran, climbing the castle stairs while slicing open every one that was in my way. Love had made

me go berserk. I reached the top of the stairs and arrived at a huge room with red carpet dividing
the room. The blood on my sword boiled and vaporized altering the metal’s surface now making

the flame black. I saw a massive throne at the end of the carpet. There he was. He had a scrawny

little wizard with him. The wizard was looking in a crystal ball and constantly mumbling thing to

him.

“My servant tells me that this little whore is your lover,” he held up a girl who had

fainted. He then turned her over. Pearl.

I charged at him in rage. I swung my sword only to get blocked by his great big battle

axe. He pushed me off sending me flying through the air. I crashed through two stone pillars and

the third one stopped me. I exploded out of the pile of rubble and ran towards him. I kept my fire

sword held at the hip and sliced the ground as I prepared to make and upward slash.

“Do you really think you can kill me?” he said. He then stood up high and with both

hands, hit the ground with the handle of his battleaxe. The shock wave created enough turbulence

to send couple waves of rock towards me. I jumped. From rock to rock, I moved towards him.

Trying hard not to lose me foothold I got past all the waves except one. This wave had a giant

slab of rock quaking its way towards me. I charged at it and jumped high as I can. Holding my

sword behind me I struck while coming down upon the ground. The slab opened enough for me

to slip through before it crashed down and fell. Still on the ground, I looked up at him. I could

see in his eyes that the evil pride had turn in to fear.

He said with a shaken voice, “Enough of this crap,” he then swung his axe at Pearl.

I ran as fast as I could. As I neared her my heart started to race. Faster and faster it

was beating. Time slowed down around me. And just before the axe hit her, I jumped, caught her
firmly in my arms and quick and swiftly I rolled away with her. Then with all my strength I

slashed at his neck I created a crescent blade of flames that decapitated him. He went down with

a great fall as his tainted blood spilled all over the place. The wizard looked at me. I looked back

at him. He casted a spell and with a big poof he vanished into thin air. I woke Pearl up. I held her

in my arms as she lied there.

She stared into my eye as she said, “Is that really you Drake?”

“Yes my lady,” I said.

I believe that the right moment was then, “I love you,” I said.

“I love you too,” she replied as she moved closer to me. Then she gave me a kiss as we

fell deeper in love.

I returned to my kingdom after killing every single one of our enemy. I asked the king for

his daughter’s hand in marriage. He gladly accepted. We lived happily ever after and when the

king died I became king.

“And so this is my story children,” I said to the little boys and girls. “ My life, adventure

and love,” I added

“ I’m sorry little ones but the king has to rest now,” said Pearl. “ Run along now,” she

said as she gestured them to leave. Pearl walked over to me and we watched the children run out

of the castle. Then I looked at both my necklaces. One, a golden yellow mushroom with an

aquamarine in the middle that looked like Pearl’s eyes and the other, dented and scratched lightly

soiled and quite tarnished. I stared deeply into those two little pendants. Then I let out a long
peaceful sigh.

Fin.