Tales of the Lorekeepers 01 - Rise of the Red Dragon

hassle.
    He was right: in the end, every action, even the smallest, takes its full meaning.

    “Samuel.”
    A voice called out to him, in his head and in his heart. Slowly, Samuel grew aware of his existence once more, gradually regaining his conscience, after the …
    The …
    He could not remember. Where was he? He opened his eyes, only to see nothing. Even though he knew his eyelids were open, all he could see was pitch black, the complete absence of light. He tried to turn his head, but found he could not. It was not as though he was paralyzed, but as though there was no head to turn. He could not feel his neck at all.
    In fact, he could not feel his entire body.
    “I must be dead,” he thought.
    Again, out of habit, he tried to put his hands in front of his eyes, with the same result. Nothing happened, not even pain or any sensation of any sort.
    “Samuel,” said a voice, again.
    “Who … who’s there?” asked the boy. “Angeline?”
    “No, I am not your fata.”
    “Then who are you?”
    “A friend.”
    All of a sudden, a bright spot appeared in front of him. Or was it behind? He did not know which way was up or down anymore. Without any points of reference, he could not picture anything at all. It was as if he simply floated somewhere and nowhere, out of this world or in no universe at all.
    “Where am I?” he asked, not knowing how the words were said.
    “You’re in a place that doesn’t exist.”
    The bright spot appeared to be coming toward him. Or maybe the young boy was moving in its direction. Samuel could not say if it was a minuscule dot, slowly approaching, or a larger object far away, closing in fast. There was absolutely no sense of proportion here.
    “That doesn’t make any sense.”
    “Indeed, it does not. This is a place in between worlds, where nothing exists and no rules apply.”
    The bright spot came a little closer.
    “Why am I here then, if nothing exists in this place?”
    “Because I brought you here. Had I not, you would have died from the lightning curse cast on you.”
    Suddenly, everything came rushing back. The rain, the thunder, the clash of his swords against the dark man’s weapon. He remembered Malloy screaming his name and the dark man pulling the lightning from the sky and striking him with it.
    “Who are you? Or rather, what are you?” asked Samuel.
    “My existence would be too much for you to comprehend, but rest assured, I mean you no harm. You are safe here.”
    The light suddenly became much larger than before, engulfing Samuel. It was as if he could see all around at once, feel the warmth of this light and the rejuvenating feeling it projected.
    “Why did you bring me here?”
    “Because your time is not up, Samuel the Lorekeeper. There are still things you need to accomplish, duties I have planned for you. I chose you to be my champion, and so you will be. However, you have to be more careful. Your enemies are powerful and cunning. They seek to fulfill their goals, as well as to destroy those like you. You need to proceed with caution or you will quickly fall to your demise.”
    “Easy for you to say.”
    “Yes, it is. However, only through hardships and difficulties can a true hero emerge. Do you not agree?”
    “I suppose.”
    “This first adventure of yours was nothing more than a test, a sample of things to come, designed to get you acquainted with your new purpose in the universe.”
    “Well, when you put it like that.… How did I do?”
    “You barely passed your test. You have to learn to control your emotions. Your foe could have easily killed you. The only reason he waited was to use you as bait for Uther Pendragon. You were lucky to have brought Malloy into the legend. That misstep turned out to be your salvation, for he was able to save the father of Arthur.”
    “At least I did something right.”
    “Yes, but you have to learn from your mistakes, Lorekeeper. Next time, learn about your opponent before you charge in.”
    “I will.”
    The light became even brighter, now surrounding Samuel’s consciousness with a white blanket of pure energy.
    “Your journey is still young, Lorekeeper Samuel. There will be many more battles to be fought, many legends to save and many traps to avoid. Some will bring you to the edge of madness, others to the verge of the abyss that is Death. You must tread carefully, for the forces against you are evil and have no mercy.”
    “You know, when you put it like that, I’m not sure I want to be