The Shadows Emergence As fog started to form above the village, a hooded figure walked past the gate.

The guards paid him, for he was undoubtedly masculine, no heed. The man continued walking through the village, never looking to the sides. He continued his walk until he arrived at the towns center, a large fountain facing the town hall. By then the fog had thickened, drastically lowering visibility. The man stepped on the fountain and placed a covered arm into the water. He raised his arm, letting the water flow between his fingers and back into the fountain. He repeated the motion, this time keeping the water, and washed his face. Minutes later, an old farmer walked up to the man and frowned. The farmer grabbed his axe and began to yell. Whore you? You aint from round ere. Whats your business here? Youd better answer or youre gonna regret it. A low chuckle emanated from the man. He drew back his hood, revealing a face black as charcoal. His face, however, was not human. It had no features .It was just a blank, black oval. Although it had no mouth, it began to speak in a deep voice. You have no idea who I am. You could never comprehend my power. Just as you can never best me. Nor can you defeat my servants. You are merely a human. You could never match the power of a shadow! The farmer dropped his axe and ran away from the man, hoping to escape. You cannot escape my power. None is safe from the shadows. The man raised his arm and spoke. Rise, my servants. Make an example of these people. Show them our power.

The farmer continued to run in the dense fog, but tripped and fell over. When he attempted to get up, a strong hand grabbed his throat and held him down. Looking up, the farmer saw a reflection of his own face smiling down at him. The face continued to smile as it tightened its grip, beginning to suffocate the farmer. The farmer struggled, but could not best the thing holding him down. As the farmer began to lose consciousness, he heard the hooded mans voice once more. You cannot defeat your own shadow. No human can. It is futile to resist. In time, all shall see my power. The power of the shadows. With that the farmer lost consciousness and died. The figure with the hood walked back over to the fountain and sat down. There he waited until he began to hear screams from all around. Screams of fear and of pain. Screams of people dying. When the screams began to die down, the figure stood and raised his hand. The fog all around quickly dissipated, revealing the gruesome scene around him. What was once a town was now a battlefield. The ground was slick with blood. Corpses littered the streets. And in the middle of it all, was the hooded figure. You did well my servants. You showed them to fear us. We have finished here. For now, let us rest. We shall continue later. The figure walked past the corpses and into the town hall. When he went to open the door, however, it did not budge. He struggled with the door but ultimately gave up and summoned some shadows. Open this door. I am not yet strong enough. I must rest and regain my strength.

The shadows gathered weapons from around the town and battered down the door. Eventually, the door gave way and opened. The hooded figure drew a long, slender sword and entered the building. Come out! I have broken down your door. You have nothing left to protect you. Surrender now, or face a slow, painful death. The figure walked through the entrance stopped at another locked door. This time he tore down the door with his sword, splintering it. Coward! Doors cannot protect you forever. Come from your cover and face me like a man. Suddenly, a hawk came out from a room and flew out of the building. The figure ignored it and entered the next room. The figure continued his search of the town hall, but to no avail. After inspecting every room, he gave up his search and turned to leave. What he saw surprised him. All around him, shadows were defeated. Some were pinned to walls. Others, motionless on the ground. Not a single shadow remained on foot. All had been defeated. The figure attempted to summon more, but none appeared. From the entrance, a beam of light shot forth, nearly hitting him. The figure drew his sword and rushed out of the building. There on the fountain stood a single man. The man, clearly past his prime, had long white hair with a beard to match. Though he was old, he was still strong. He easily held a two-handed sword. What most fascinated the figure about the man, however, was the sword.

Carved into the sword were six different symbols, each a different color. Red. Blue. Green. Brown. Yellow. Black. The figure recognized the symbols. In fact, one of them was on his cloak. These were the symbols of magic. This old man was not an ordinary man. He was a man of magic. To handle that sword would take a considerable amount of skill and might. This was no mere mortal. This was a master. I see you recognize my markings. I clearly recognize yours. You are a creature of darkness. A shadow. In fact, you are the king of shadows. However, you are not in your true form. You are in your humanoid form. You are attempting to regain your strength. Something happened. You lost your strength and must now regain it. Maybe you were summoned. Whatever the case may be, you are killing innocents. I cannot allow that. Today, you return to your prison. The old man jumped from the fountain at an amazing speed, appearing to fly, and impaled the hooded figure through his middle. He then withdrew his sword and jumped back. Blood seeped from the wound, staining the figures cloak. The figure doubled over in pain and held his wound. You surprised me, old man. I did not expect such power from you. You are too powerful for me, I admit. Before I die answer my one question. How can you use all the elements? The old man smiled and nodded his head. It is true that not many have this power. Your kind thought that we had been wiped out. Fortunately, I survived. I killed out my assailants and escaped. I have been hiding out here all these years, training. Waiting for the Light. I am destined to train him. I, Taka, have waited many years. But, to answer your question, I am a wizard. The last true wizard alive.

The hooded figure lifted an arm and sighed. I am no match for you. Not yet, at least. But, I will have my revenge on you, old man. Mark my words. You will die by my hand. Do not forget. I, the King of Shadows shall end your life. Today, however, I make my leave. Before Taka could react, the king of shadows sunk into the ground and disappeared. Taka cursed and ran over to where the shadow king disappeared. He was gone. He had escaped. Taka had lost his chance. Just as in his past. Dammit! I made the same mistake. First the wizards fell. Now shadows are rising. Things are looking bad. The Light needs to emerge. This darkness is spreading. If we do not make haste, things will be irreversible. Taka sat on the ground and took out the scroll at his side. For the umpteenth time, he unrolled it and read its contents. In time, the balance will fail. It will fall upon a wizard to train a champion to restore the balance. That is the only hope of balance. Be wary, however. To succeed, sacrifices must be made willingly. Should an impure hero rise, the quest shall fail. Success comes at a great price. For balance to return, a Light must shine in the Darkness. Taka returned the scroll to its case and laid back to stare at the clouds. Though he had failed to save this village, he was determined to save the world. His days were limited, however. He had to make the most of them. He had to fulfill the prophecy. He had to help save the world. Take stood up and sheathed his sword.

I am sorry friends, I failed you. I swear I shall stop this evil, even if I must do so myself. He entered the towns shop ready to scavenge for supplies but found it empty. He left the shop and headed towards the towns gate. He needed supplies. Luckily he was close to the shopping town, Shoppes. I have no idea where to go but I cannot stay here. I must leave and find the champion from the prophecy. What better place to start than a shopping town. Taka left the village, hoping to find a champion. Little did he know that he would soon find this champion.

To be Continued