The sun blazed overhead, relentless and unforgiving, the wind was especially bad today as a flock of Sand Whispers wreaked havoc in the kingdom stirring up a maelstrom of sand and debris.
"Whew," a tired man sighed, stepping inside the home, dragging in dust and sand with him.
With a deep breath, he said,
"You all would not believe the kind of chaos the kingdom was in today, it was like a constant hurricane of sand and anything that was not tied down."
Silence.
"The wind nearly swept away your strong, hardworking, and outrageously handsome father…"
Still, no response.
"It would've been a real tragedy, you know?" he added, mock-offended.
"Because who else would've brought you all this fish and crab?"
Suddenly, movement.
A figure shot up—fast. Almost too fast.
The man chuckled.
"Fish? Crab? Where?"
"Oh, do I have your attention now, glutton?"
"Yea, the market was in a frenzy today, prices had hit an all time low." he dropped the groceries onto the floor with a dull thud.
Excitedly the boy rushed over to his father hugging him with his frail, weakened body.
"By the way check that bag over there, something really boring is inside." He said with a dumb grin.
Curious, the boy searched the bag only to find a rare delicacy called Golpka, a fish the boy had been dying to try for so long, along with a large box neatly wrapped.
Holding his hands over the back of his head the man said. "Yea, you know just a little everyday find at the shop not like I had to fight off like thirty people for this."
The boy was in utter shock. "You Remembered!"
The father paused for a second. "Yup, you really think I would forget?"
The boy screamed "Thank you!" laughing and giggling, rushing to his room.
A figure walked into the living room asking the father. "Did you really remember?"
"Heh, heh... nope."
The mother sighed, disappointment written all over her face.
"The father smiled looking down at the floor, this only added to the mother's disappointment.
Opening and closing his door shut, the boy tore into the wrapping with wild excitement, shredding it apart.
His breath caught as he lifted the lid, revealing a large, leather-bound storybook resting atop a massive claymore nearly six feet in length.
The sword's appearance was lackluster, its blade plain and unpolished, as if forgotten by time. However, his eyes were drawn to one defining feature, a core embedded in its hilt, pulsing with a faint, unreadable energy.
"It's mesmerizing." A knock at his door interrupted his thoughts. "The book is pretty good too, you know. I read it a lot when I was younger, pretty much as soon as I could. It's about Zion, an unbreakable dragon and legendary hero, wielding a sword destined for greatness.
"It was said that the sword was so legendary, entire wars were waged over its possible whereabouts after Zion hung up his cloak, crazy right".
"At one point, the search became so desperate that entire nations began to question whether the sword even existed. It became the greatest wild goose chase in history".
The boy's eyes lit up with excitement. "Well,what made the sword so legendary?"
With an excited glint in his eyes, the father smirked. "Oh, just read the book, you'll see."
"Zion was a true genuine badass, you should really give it a read, he may teach you something."
"Oh really, whenever I get around to it I guess"
"By the way that claymore, it may look a little shabby and unattractive but I swear to you it can become something great, I'll teach you how to use it if you want but only when I have the time, alright?"
Instantly the boy's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Oh, teach me how to do that spin-e move where you jump up in the air and counter."
"That wasn't really a move more than it was something I just did in the heat of the moment, but hey you'll learn to move like that soon."
"But for now you should go ask your mom to help you cook the fish, I'm gonna go get the bags."
The father stretched, letting out a growl that was overly loud just because he could before finally reaching down only to find his praise possession was not there.
His blood ran cold, and his face went pale.
"Damn, where is it, this can't be real, where could I have put it."
After much searching later.
"No way, It has to be somewhere, Ah shit it must be at the market or shit, somebody must've stolen it by now. Thieves, DAMN!" he thought.
From the kitchen a nosy boy peeked around its corner.
"Did you lose something, father?" the boy said with a concerned expression.
"Seems so, but don't worry, I'm fairly certain it'll come up tomorrow."
The man took one deep breath and smelled the aroma coming from the kitchen, "Ahh, is that steamed Golpka with a hint of Maisa, lovely."
"Wait, what did you lose?"
With an over exaggerated groan the man said "Bleh, bleh, bleh, let's not worry about it right now, what you got cooking in the kitchen is much more interesting."
With an annoyed look the boy said "Sure, whatever you say." shortly before pulling his head back into the kitchen.
"It was his necklace, It had to be, I didn't see it around his neck, and it's really the only thing he could truly stress over losing as everything was replaceable except that." the boy thought to himself.
"It was more than a necklace to father, it represented something much more poetic. He wears it as a reminder of some sort from his past long buried in mystery and darkness."
"I could always tell, just by the way he looks at it sometimes, there is a look of grief, sorrow, and regret in his eyes whenever he holds it to his chest."
"Its blood covered gemstone carries a grim promise. That gem is menacing at times, I often wonder who's blood could possibly stain its deep emerald glow or if it belonged to somebody else before father, what is your sin father?"
The boy sighed, revealing himself from his thoughts, but then an idea popped in the boy's head.
"I don't know exactly what that necklace means to him but I know very well he would be over the moon if I found it for him before the night was over."
"I may have a weak heart… a frail body… but if I can't even return something this simple, what kind of son am I?"
"If I'm quick about it I can avoid trouble just like that. Yeah… I could.
And with that single thought, the boy unknowingly took his first step into an endless tragedy that would shape his fate in this merciless world.
If only he knew what this single act of love would cost him.
A great tragedy lurks.