Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

Raul saw the sun setting behind the mountains when he heard Phil knocking on the door. He knew it was Phil by the rapid, emphatic knocks. “Come in,” said Raul, already sitting by his fireplace, ready for the night’s annals. Before he had even finished speaking, Phil had burst in through the door.

“Hey Raul, do you have a good story for us tonight?” asked Phil. Raul chuckled “In the past 10 years that you have come here, have I ever not had a story?” As he said this, he noticed Lyall and Naji entering, with Lyall’s face contorting in annoyance.

“How can Hobar expect me to weed the entire field if he also wants to me make the breakfast, lunch, and supper? It’s like he thinks I have an infinite amount of time in my day!”

“Lyall! How many times have I told you, keep your problems out of my house.”
“But I...”
“I don’t care how important you think your problems are; this is a place of stories, not of

headaches.”
“Come on Lyall, just let Raul get to his story.” interjected Phil, already sitting down,

eagerly awaiting the night’s adventures.
Lyall begrudgingly sat down, with Naji soon following. ​Sometimes I forget how strong he is

Raul thought as Naji’s chair creaked under his muscular frame. ​Smithing does that to a man. How long has it been since Jake let him man the forge? A year? Two? ​“Anyway, now that we are all calm, let’s get on with the night’s story. Do you want to hear the tale of Hanitosi The Dark of the Ubraton? Or perhaps Commodonius The Mighty of the Akkadians?”

“What about Thanos of Titan?” Phil inquired eagerly.

“Oh come on Phil, you ask for that story every week.” said Lyall, clearly irked by Phil’s enthusiasm.

“That’s because it is the best story! Plus, it has been at least a two moons since we last heard it.”

“Calm down boys.” Raul chuckled, “if Phil wants to hear the tale of Thanos of Titan, than I shall tell it. It has been a while, and I would not want such a beautiful story to become warped in your memories by the passing of time.”

“Yes!” Phil exclaimed. “Thank you so much Raul.” Naji’s mouth cracked into a slight smile.I​ neverknewNajilikedthisstorysomuch​Raulthought.“Fine”Lyallgrumbled.

“Our story takes place long ago, in a familiar land. King Gabriel the Wise had just settled the Aturian province rebellion without shedding a drop of blood, signalling his prosperous reign. We begin in a large village, Titan, in the upper Crescent region. It was large enough to
have an imperial doctor, but most of the people who lived there were still farmers. And with any village, of course, you need hunters to gather the meat. This is where our protagonist Thanos makes his appearance. Thanos was an ordinary villager, and on the cusp of becoming a man. He had hunted with his father for much of his life, and today was the day he would take his first hunting trip by himself, finally starting to provide for his family.”

It was still several hours before sunrise when Thanos set out from the village on his own for the first time. He knew that the elk were most active in the mornings, and was hoping to find a favorable position to set up before they started moving. Reaching the creek he planned to set up at an hour before dawn, Thanos could see the sky in the east beginning to brighten. He noticed that the creek was running lower than normal today. It hadn’t rained in about a week, and he was aware that this would cause even more animals to drink here than normal. Unfortunately, this made his job more difficult. Thanos knew that with so many animals around, he would have to be very well hidden in order to not scare them away. Deciding his normal birch tree was a little to low for such a busy day, he decided to climb on the old sycamores instead. As he climbed, he noticed the wind was picking up from the south. This was perfect, as his tree sat to the south of the river, meaning the wind would mask his smell. Thanos just had to hope that it would last into the morning. He found a suitable branch where his view of the creek was not obscured and settled in to a comfortable position. Even on busy days, he might have to wait for a few hours before an adult elk appeared. Making sure his bow was still tightly wrapped in cloth to prevent the morning dew from warping it, he waited. From his perch on the sycamore, he could see the sun slowly climbing over the eastern mountains, lighting up the world anew with the coming of another day. The sunlit hills were mesmerizing, and for a while, Thanos simply stared. How much time passed, he did not know. All he knew was that eventually, he heard hoofs hitting rock below.

Immediately, Thanos broke his gaze from the mountains, awakening from his trance. He realized that the sun was already well into its trek across the sky, and he had hardly noticed. He had gotten so used to waiting over the past years. “Hunting is all about patience” his father would always tell him. Slowly, Thanos set about unwrapping the bow from the cloth, making sure none of the morning dew had warped it. He then pulled out the string from his belt and strung the bow. The bow was strung slowly and methodically, with the practiced hands of a man who had known his way around the bow for most of his life. He had to be careful, lest the bow creak and the elk run. Eventually he was finished and he unwrapped the quiver, notching an arrow. Drawing back his arm, he took aim at the elk, who was still sipping at the creek. The elk was at least a full 25 horses away, but Thanos had no doubts that he would make the shot. He reached full draw on the bow, and took aim at the elk’s head.

He heard it before he saw it.

A low noise, like thunder, slowly growing louder. A crimson flash, fire falling from the sky. For a moment, his gaze was locked on the heavenly light. In the next, the Earth erupted like a volcano, dirt flying in a plume upward. The Earth reached its zenith, and for an instant it was
as though like a mountain had appeared out of thin air. Then slowly, it fell back down to whence it come. Thanos’ eyes rested upon the crater, all that was left of the ground where the heaven’s had fallen. From the perch on the sycamore tree, he could not see the bottom. Only a dim yellow glow rose from the crater, slowly absorbed into the light of the rising sun.

Thanos slid down the tree, taking the bow and arrows. Hitting the ground with a crunch of dried leaves, he quickly pivoted to face the crater and got the bow ready to draw at a moments notice. Slowly, crouched low to the ground, he walked over to the crater. He inched closer, and could now see the creek start to push around the mound of dirt that had formed at the mouth of the crater. He put one foot on the mound, drew back the bow, and peeked his head over the mound.

There, lying on the ground in the middle of the crater, radiating like a piece of the sun fallen from the firmament, was a golden gauntlet.

End of chapter 1