The Hero's Stone: Book One: Their Beginning

By Russell Marshall

As some search for the hope of the world wishing to be it, others hope for this to not be found, so as to tell them that the peace will continue. A broken stone tablet tells of a legend, a war, a darkness. These legends are told among the young and the old, those who believe and those who don’t, the living and the dead.

The legend tells of a savior and the destroyer; however, due to the stone being broken and only so much being left, not much is known of the prophecy that is foretold by it. Only that of a hero will find the first piece of the stone, and at the same time, the darkness will rise in the world.

Even with such a prophecy in the world, simple countrymen live in complete peace, not worrying whether it will or will not happen. Others with a sense of duty scour the land unendingly, feeling it is their responsibility to search to find what they are looking for. Kings shall order. Queens shall beckon. In the end, only the true hero may find the stone, whether they want to or not. The world is an ever-changing, mysterious place with many unknowns. One can only hope that their life goes as they dream it will while striving to make it that way with everything they have.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662457685

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The Hero's Stone

Book One: Their Beginning

Russell Marshall

Copyright © 2022 Russell Marshall

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-6624-5766-1 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-5768-5 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Mrs. Mary Rosselli, Mrs. Sheri Duffy, Mrs. Sandy Cucchiara, and my family for supporting my dream and helping me along the way.

Word and Name Pronunciation and Meaning

Arkis (are-kiss)

Berk (ber-k)

Derek (dare-ick)

Saria Zeraphin (s-are-ea-a z-air-a-fin)

Elric Wysaul (el-rick y-soul)

Ilphas Bivalure (ill-f-as biv-a-lure)

Zeno Gilfaren (zen-o gil-fair-en)

Jezebel (jez-a-bell)

Or’thos (or-thaw-s)

Or’nic (or-nick)

Aldengraz (all-den-grauz)

Arachnull (a-rack-null). An ancient spiderlike creature with a body like stone. Its name is based on two words of the human language, arachnid and null, due to the fact that humans were the only ones who managed to survive one’s attack since its skin nullified most attacks that hit it.

Prologue

A shattered stone that holds a prophecy is separated by great distances and trials. Only one piece is still held by one of the races: the elves. It tells of the beginning when a great hero is said to find and rise from the first trial with the first piece. From there, the hero will fend off a darkness set on destroying the land. None know when this legend will rise or who this warrior will be. Not even what the hero is to fight. It is also said that the hero and the darkness will rise together. A prophet of the elves told that it will be one of two races: humans or elves. This prophet told only this, and since then, many elves ventured the land, our home of Avidornia. One elven girl is more determined than the rest, but the hero is not.

This world is inhabited by humans, dwarves, elves, and other creatures, and among them are special ones called power users or variants. They can use special powers that are based around nature, Elementalists, or themselves, Augmenters. The most common ones are water, air, earth, fire, and body augmentation. Other powers are rarer than others. Elementalists are somewhat rarer than Augmenters.

One’s true potential, though, is in the control, strength, and creative use of this power. Elements have their own advantages and disadvantages, just like Augmenters; these can spell trouble or even death.

Some must actively seek out their power while others just get it at a random time. Some use their power to fight, while others use them for work to improve the work done. They both are properly used by all races; however, some do not like power users. This can cause problems in small communities. A prejudice like this is seen as unavoidable but not accepted. Some power users don’t, or simply won’t, use their powers to each their own.

These powers were once thought to be magic. Over time, however, it was considered a gift. You could not learn to use a power you did not have already. You can’t use fire if you have water abilities unless you have an innate potential nor augment your left leg with speed if you can only augment your right. You can’t use speed if you only have durability. You can only learn to use the powers you are given at birth. Everyone is born with a power. The problem is finding this power and summoning it. This is how one must train if they wish to become stronger, but triggering the ability initially to manifest can sometimes be dangerous. Once you do, though, you have it for life.

Chapter 1

CRACK, the sound felt heavy in his ears. This was the sign he awaited on this branch high above the ground, this one sound in a sea of silence. He opened his eyes to the trees shrouded in darkness. The sound was to his left. To the inexperienced, the sound meant little more than place and that something was present there a moment ago, but to him, this was all he needed. He now knew the area of the animal was approximately fifteen feet away from the volume the branch broke at. The animal was of a medium weight that of a dear and that it was not moving very fast—a mere leisurely pace. This was an easy kill. All this came to him within a fraction of a second, no doubt from years of this practice. Silently, he adjusted for his attack while placing a hand over the knife on his right side.

Now facing the origin of the sound, he waited for the final mark of his prey. CRR CRACK! There you are, he thought to himself. Just one swift movement was all that he needed to close that distance. This was all thanks to the years of practice with his knives. Over time, he developed an impressive speed that his cousin could never compete with. A sharp slicing sound came from his knife as he unsheathed it, SPLICE. Then came the familiar sound of the well-honed blade he held slicing the animal’s vital point, the jugular vein. He knew where it was based on the direction the deer was moving and speed. SHLICK, giving it a quick and clean death.

"PERFECT," he whispered to himself. He took pride in such kills. This manner of killing gave a chance to cut and preserve all the meat on the animal in larger chunks, saving space. He attained the ability to strike this point from countless hours of practice. Now, he could do it with ease.

The deer, of course, didn’t die instantly. It ran off, stumbling. Arkis grabbed his wagon and followed its blood trail for one and a quarter miles. He found the carcass and confirmed it was dead.

The animal was soon strapped to the small wagon and hauled out of the forest. A small village was just barely visible in the distance. The sun began to rise behind him, showering a dim