Long ago, those in power built a cave, surrounding the previous leader. Those in power created many myths surrounding this cave, as they were afraid of what would come of them if anyone figured out that they were wrong in building the cave. It came to the point where even if someone figured out the truth, they would immediately disregard it.
It was told that this cave was filled with darkness, deception, and despair. Those told these lies only saw the darkness, and were afraid of the deception. Eventually the despair fell out of the fables for the ancient caves. Even those born into power were only fed the lies and never knew of the truth.
One of those born into power, at the the time of this story, was bored of their easy life. They left home in search of an adventure, creating the group which I will call, the Travelers.
The fables of these caves led to nobody watching over it, nor the boy inside. Infact, within only a few generations, they all forgot about the boy who was chained inside. Eventually, without anyone maintaining the chains, the boy was set free. But he had forgotten anything that lied outside the cave, so he never left.
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The boy was all alone in the ancient cave, and didn't remember the feeling of a friend. Or rather anyone, for that matter. Thus, you could imagine the boy's surprise when another was thrown into the cave. This person was so weak, they could barely move. The one who threw that person inside was never identified.
The person became quick friends with the boy, and told him stories of the outside world. But once they grew the strength to walk once more, they ran away from the boy without a second thought.
This left the boy with the feeling of loneliness. The 'friend' had done much more harm to the boy than good. I mean, it is much easier to remember the bad than the good.
Thanks to the stories this 'friend' had told the boy, he was tempted to step outside, for the first time he could remember.
The boy found his 'friend' in the woods, not too far from the ancient cave. Around the friend was blood of animal the 'friend' had killed in order to survive. The boy didn't know this, and ran away from his 'friend' without a second thought.
Unbeknownst to the boy, his 'friend' was found dead a couple days later, only spreading more rumors about the cave.
The boy, however, did not run back to the ancient cave. He was already too excited with the outside world to return into the darkness.
The boy started traveling, and soon met another lonesome traveler. This traveler and the boy got along quite well. After many months, the boy became best friends with the traveler. They could talk for hours with each other, and neither questioned the strange behaviors of the other.
After many years, the boy and his best friend found other people to travel with. They didn't attract much attention from others, until they came across the ancient cave.
The group agreed to go inside, and for the time in centuries, outsiders stepped foot in the ancient cave. The boy was surprised to see others in the cave, cast out from society.
The group tried to teach them their language, but those within the cave were only able to speak in rhymes. After a couple weeks, the group noticed something strange about this group.
Now, the group was not new to magic, infact they saw it quite often in the world outside the ancient cave. The magic these people were able to use, however, was much different to the magic they were used to.
It was almost as if they they were a completely different species. The group had come across different species within their travels, but they were blinded by them, and could only see those that looked like themselves.
Well, expect for the boy. But he never said anything.
Astounded by this amazing 'new' magic, the group quickly ran out of the cave to tell the outside world.
But there were two within the group that looked very different once the sun hit their appearance. One of these strange-looking people was the boy. The group ran away from them, including the boy's best friend. The duo that was left walked into the woods where the boy had once found his 'friend' circled in blood.
The duo both had broken souls, from being deserted by the group. Together they had mended their souls together, and made each other appear as normal to the outside world.
They were each other's true friend.
One day the boy's true friend had left to gather wood, and didn't return for 3 days and 3 nights. The boy, assuming the worst, created a note that only his true friend could see, and left in return to the ancient cave.
On his walk there, the boy got stuck in a hunter's trap. Unfortunately for the boy, there was nobody around to free the boy.
With nobody around for the boy to think of or talk to, the boy had time to think.
He eventually came across the thought of his origins, and could only think if the cave. With plenty of time to ponder on this thought, the boy finally remembered what had happened.
He knew why he always felt so different from those around him, expect for his one and only true friend.
He swore to only tell his true friend about this discovery, until he remembered that they had gone missing. The boy could now only think of the hope that their true friend was not forever gone.
The next day, the hunter who placed the trap saw it was triggered. The hunter quickly came to see what had triggered it, and laid eyes upon the boy.
After apologizing profusely, the hunter offered the boy some rations. The boy declined, saying he had plenty back at his camp.
The hunter was surprised to hear the boy was a traveler, and proceeded to ask the boy many questions about his travels. The boy, afraid others in his so-called group had warned people about what had happened, decided it was best not to answer any of the hunters questions.
The hunter, who grew tired of asking questions the boy never answered, asked the boy if he would want to join his traveling group.
The boy thought about it for a moment before he agreed. The hunter brought the boy back to his group and, to the boy's surprise, it was the famous group called The Travelers.
The boy was stunned for a moment, until the leader came out and questioned the boy. The hunter explained the situation, and the leader took the hunter aside for a moment.
The boy was scared for a moment, thinking this group wouldn't accept him. When the leader came over to the boy, he was sure they were about to kick him out.
The leader asked for the boy's name. The boy, panicking, blurted out a fake name, one that he and his true friend had come up with on their mission to blend in. The leader stood up and said,
"Well, _____; welcome to The Travelers!"
The boy, filled with joy, smiled for the first time in weeks.
Many years later, the Travelers came across the ancient cave. To their surprise, two figures were standing outside the cave.
The boy's heart started racing as he recognized one of the figures. His one true friend.
The boy ran from the group and hugged his friend. The others were surprised, until the boy explained that he used to travel with this person until they got separated.
The group was curious who the other figure was, and the boy's true friend explained that the other was a person that had rescued them.
The Travelers, having not added any new people into their group in a while, asked if the two would like to join them.
They accepted, and have been traveling together ever since.
I wonder how long it will take them to figure out that two of their three newest members are the enemies of their leader...
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{1382 words}
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Juicealyn