A Story Less told (The Legend of Greg) Book 1 of 2

Chapter 5: The Scrolls

Greg sat alone, watching the people prepare for change and rejoice in celebration as their Prince gave his speech. An old man, one of his advisors, approached Greg.

"You care to sit with a halfbreed?" he asked, drinking his beverage without turning to see who it was.

"So you are the Blacksmith they have been looking for. Many old men died to ensure you were among the captured. I never imagined you would be so...different." he said taking a seat.

"Expecting a man of honor and wealth, perhaps someone with a bit more faith in his role." he said admiring his lucky stone, noticing it had changed sides again.

"They say you have unnatural magic within you. Faith is not always easily accepted, especially for those who were never part of the inner circle. Many men grew up on the stories, wanting to be the Hammer of Fate so badly they would have done anything. I assume with your clouded blood, you have spent a long time waiting for answers." he noted.

"Looking for them, not waiting. Waiting does nobody any good. I waited for a myth long enough to find my sister had died, in service of a master who killed my parents. By the time I found him, he was old and dead as well. Now I discover that I had been lied to by the same people who protected me. I don't know what to believe anymore except my own gut instinct...and a little bit of guidance from a magic I don't understand." he said tossing the rock and catching it.

"You speak to the elements. There is no higher truth than those." he assured.

"It's a rock. I speak to a damn rock because I don't trust anyone who can guide me astray with idle words and prophesies. Either I speak to something beyond all of us, or I speak to myself, and I am lost in madness. Do you see the lights?" he asked, holding up the stone.

"I see a stone, nothing more. If you see something real, than perhaps you are wiser than us all. If there is nothing there but a stone, than maybe your madness is a good thing. It kept you safe from the evil of the new gods, and guided you to your destiny." he suggested.

"Or I keep moving so I can't be found, and eventually I was bound to run into either the ones who needed me or the ones who wished me dead. I can wager the same odds on a coin, and it does not make it magic. The scrolls predicted a great blacksmith, and that same prediction caused them to flock to this place to prove themselves. It's no shock that one day someone would arrive who was up to the task. It does not prove anything beyond my competence with a hammer above those who came before me."

"The scrolls are clear, You are the Hammer of Fate, Greggory. In a time before empires, The old gods looked upon us with love, disconnected from us and only observing from the heavens. The Great Goddess sent the 12 new gods to help us, 2 for each great empire, The Dwarves of Ferria, the Elves of Gnor, The men of Ash, The Trolls of Elm, the Imps of the South Lands, and the Nymphs of the Sea. But they soon disagreed on how we should be treated. The Trolls were too defiant to follow, so they wiped them to near extinction, the Nymphs were too skittish, and they were left to die. There was much imbalance, and the new gods became drunk with power." he said as Greg took an ironic swig from his flask.

"I can see the appeal." he belched. The old man shook his head.

"In their feuding, they new gods killed one another until 4 remained forming the 4 main empires we know today, Ferria, Ash, Gnor and South Elm. It was not until the Goddess, displeased with her children, decided that new leaders were needed. She sent the second generation from the stars. From falling suns came the generation of gods to bring balance yet again, to the world. It was with them that the 7 Prophesy stones were discovered. These young gods brought with them new magic, great powers that the old other gods feared. To maintain their power, they killed the new children of the goddess and stole their magic for themselves. It was only by chance that the elders found 2 of the cradles that the gods did not know of. The Prophesy stones..." he said, placing a strange metal device on the marble table. "They tell of the prophesy." he explained.