The Path To Khamal

Khamal

The smell of delicious cooking meat was flowing into the living room from the kitchen. Enveloping the entire inside of this small home. The sound of the meat simmering from inside the kitchen was unbearable as my stomach rolled begging for food. I decided to look around the room as I slept. I looked to my right towards where the little man was now sitting on his little chair. He started scratching his beard, and then stood up, and began walking over towards the wall behind us. He walked to a nightstand in the far left corner of the room, and opened a drawer. He pulled something out, but I couldn't see what it was. He also removed the boy from his back, and placed it on the wall.
"Boy" the man says sternly. I was extremely surprised to hear him speak English.
He turned around, and looked at me with a serious look. He had a bit of fear, and sadness in his eyes. He spoke to me softly saying "I will not ask how you ended up on the path of Khana, and nor do I have any business wondering why you have the mark of Khamal. I will say however you are extremely lucky to be alive. There is no doubt you have some great purpose. What that purpose could be is untelling."
He then walked towards me. He held out his hand, and handed me 8 coins. I did not recognize these coins at all. They were all different sizes, and they were a silverish color. They each had something in common though. They all had the symbol, of the same dragon on one side, and a picture of a figure I have never seen before. I looked at the small man unsure of what to say, or do. I had no idea what these coins were for. The only thing I could think of to do was say thank you.
I bowed my head sincerely, and said "Thank you sir, but I have no clue what these coins are."
"You are from the upper realm aren't you boy? I can see it just from your clothes. Well not that it matters. Whether you are born in the upper realm, or not you still have the mark of Khamal." He pointed to the picture of the dragon on the coin he just handed me.
Just as I was about to speak to ask about the mark. The old lady called through the house, and asked us to come eat. Me and the man walked into the kitchen, and I was shocked by what I saw. At the opposite side of the entrance to the kitchen was a sink, and above the sink sat a window with beautiful curtains adorned with yellow, and purple flowers. To the left of the sink was a table. Above the small table a picture of a familiar looking dragon was hanging. It was a very beautiful picture. It showed the dragon fighting a group of people. The dragon was not fighting these people alone. In the photo there were people fighting alongside the dragon.
Some of these people looked different. They looked like orcs, elves, and even lizard people were fighting with the dragon. Right next to the dragon stood a human holding a spear that was glowing. His shirt was torn, and down his side the same mark on me was shown on him. The people they were fighting against were also very diverse, but one person seemed very different. Leading the army stood a man, with long black hair, and a muscular body with a scar down his chest. The most notable thing about this man though was that his eyes were glowing red.
I got so caught up looking at the painting I forgot what I had come for. The old lady called me over to eat in a nice voice. "Boy come eat with us." She said.
I walked over to the table where they sat me down with my back to the fridge, but I was facing the painting. "Forgive me if this is rude, but can I ask both of your names?" I asked nervously.
The lady looked surprised, and then let out a little chuckle. "Where are our manners? I am Vana, and this is my husband Banta. We are what are known as the guardians of realms." The lady answered with enthusiasm.
I was so confused I didn't know what to say, but at this point I had witnessed so much that I knew these people weren't lying to me. "Guardians of realms? What exactly are these realms, and how am I connected? Where am I, and who were those people after me?" All my questions came out at once.
The lady looked at me with understanding. She then said kindly, "I don't mind answering your questions, but in order to answer them all we will have to start at the beginning. The founding of the 12 realms, and the war of the realms. Embrace yourself because it's gonna be a long story."
The lady then began the long story. "In the beginning there was one realm. This realm was known as Vakana. In this realm all peoples lived together equally. The leader of this realm was known as Ganda, and he was seen as a divine being. Ganda wanted all races to go live together under one flag, and one country in which he controlled. News of his deeds to unite all people reached far and wide across the lands of Vakana. Until a certain man heard of his desires. This man's name would be known as Vik, and he would go on to challenge Ganda, and his supporters. He believed everyone should have the right to choose who they will follow, and where they should belong. The two men may have had a difference in opinion at the time, but it was not violent. They would both have heated debates with each other. Each trying to get their point across to the masses," the lady takes a break from the story to sip her tea. She sips her tea, and sets the cup down easily on the table.
She begins to speak again, "The debates would get pretty heated, but they never got violent until he showed up," The lady got serious as she pointed to the picture of the man with red eyes.
She continues to speak "Devaltuth is the one shown in this photo. When he was a young child he grew up to the far north of Vakana. It was always very cold there, and it was extremely hard to grow crops, or stay warm. The name of these lands were Vakhats meaning land of frost death. The people on this land were known for raiding, and ravaging villages. Stealing any food, and water they could. Many people tried to subjugate these people, but everyone failed. When Devaltuth grew older he inherited the same cruel nature, but he also had another talent. He was an extremely good strategist. When he heard of Ganda's desire to unite all nations he saw it as his chance to gain infinite power. He rode southwest to a town called Vental. Vental was a town that was a strategic hotspot for both Ganda, and Vik. It was here that Devaltuth was able to get an audience with Ganda, and was able to persuade him that he would be able to get his point across more effectively. So Ganda would go on to hire him as an advisor,# The lady was getting more, and more tired as the story went on, and it was getting really late.
She then said, "It's starting to get really late now. Do you mind if we finish this story tomorrow?" She asked me in a really nice way.
I said "Not at all. Thank you for sharing so much tonight."
They led me into the living room where they flicked their fingers, and a bed appeared out of nowhere. "Feel free to go anywhere you want, or look around. If you go out try not to wonder too far. The wildlife here is a bit dangerous, and you don't wanna get caught up in it trust me," the man said. His words sounded serious so I decided to listen to him. I crawled on the bed, and quickly fell asleep thinking of the story I had just been told.
I opened my eyes to find myself standing in a large room. The room was the same size as a mansion, and i was standing on a marble floor. In front of me was a throne? On this throne sat a man with dirty blonde hair, with an aged face. He had a scar down his right cheek, and piercing blue eyes. To the left the sound of giant doors opening rattled the room. I looked, and to my shock it was none other than Devaltuth entering the room. Walking towards the man. As he approached the man he began to speak.
"Burman, Titaly, and Venine are swearing their loyalty for Vik's campaign my lord." The man says with an evil aura omitting that even I could feel.
To this news the man through his crown that was decorated with rubies. Smashing gems all over the marble floor. The man would shout "What am I supposed to do if that nusaince keeps getting in our way. How will we ever unite the nations!" He spoke with anger, and urgency.
"My lord I don't wanna interrupt, but maybe a suggestion," the man spoke. His bloodthirst pushing me against the wall.
"Speak your mind Devaltuth, but you better not disappoint me," the man says sternly with anger, and confidence.
"Sure thing my lord I will not disappoint. If your highness would think about this logically. If this village wants to get in the way of unification then what is the use of the village?" The man says smiling holding one hand over his chest bowing.
"Do not make a fool of me!" Says the man angrily. The man stands up, and starts to walk away only to be stabbed in the back by the little weasel Devaltuth.
The image starts to leave my brain, and then I am shown scenes of a town burning. People are screaming as knights are slaughtering innocent people who are surrendering. The cries of flames engulfing homes, and the smell of iron in the air. I wanted to puke, but I wasn't able to. I turned to my left to see Davaltuth wearing the same crown the man had on commanding this army.
I suddenly woke up in a sweat. It was all just a dream I told myself, but I still couldn't shake the feeling of how real it felt. The last thing I remember from the dream after I saw Devaltuth in the crown was hearing a strange voice. "Come find me, and call me as Khamal! You are the destined," the voice was very low, and scratchy. I did not know what had happened, but one thing was certain. I definitely wasn't completely dreaming because when I awoke I was still in the cabin, with bits of sunlight peeking in through the curtains. I sat up in the bed, and rubbed my eyes, and said "Well it's another day huh?" Let's get the day started and see where it leads