Rei and Avi left the castle, with Keo following behind them. The three entered the main road, with Keo catching up to them. “So... this is Avindors’ Wake! Here… uhm... What was it again? We, uh...” Avi said, pacing. “Your home,” Said Rei. “Oh, yeah! About that... I… Don’t have a home…,” said Avi. Rei quickly became frustrated and responded with “Ok seriously, did you lie to me, or are you dumb, like dumb as in, all body no brai- wait a minute, what am I saying?” “Hehe” Keo giggled nervously. “I wouldn’t bring attention to that.” Keo said, trying to redirect the group’s attention to the housing area, by pointing at it. “Attention to what? Me? Is there something wrong with me? And no, I’m not dumb, just an amnesiac! I… think.” Avi said, puzzled. Rei shook his head and noticed Keo pointing towards the houses.

  “I share a home with Avi, she gets the bedroom, and I sleep in the study. It’s small, but we make do with what we have.” Keo walked towards his home, directing Avi and Rei to follow him. While walking, Rei noticed the bustling castle town, the civilians walking, the horse carriages, the sound of voices and trading. But one thing stood out more than others, and it wasn’t part of the town. A small area of gathering darkness could be seen in the sky, with a circle of clouds surrounding it. Rei studied the object in the sky, but got his attention driven back to Avi. “Hey! What are you looking at!? (At least it’s not me, that was weird) … Oh. The hole in the sky, Keo will explain everything later, it’s some pretty serious stuff, but nothing to worry about. Here! Follow me, were almost there!” Avi said, seeming like she was hiding something.

  The three made it to Keo’s house. “Here it is, our home. Like I said, you can share the bedroom with Avi, and I’ll stay in the study, getting things ready for our adventure.” Keo Said, unlocking the door. “Wait, adventure? That sounds fun! (Maybe I really SHOULD stick around.)” The three entered the house and Keo split up from Avi and Rei and went into the study, locking the door behind him. “I’ve got to study some scrolls, Ill see you guys tomorrow, goodnight! Or, good afternoon…?” Keo yelled from the other room. “He’s a college shut-in, just let him do his thing, he needs his time anyway.” Avi said, leading Rei to the bedroom.

  They made it to the end of the hallway; Avi opened the door. Rei looked around. The ceiling was very high, and shaped, akin to a cabin. Everything was made of wood, including the cheap pieces of furniture, which there wasn’t much of. “(No TV.)” Rei thought to himself, looking at the empty tables. Avi got into bed and laid back. “Oh yeah, the bed isn’t super comfortable, so just be wary on the position you sleep in, its hard as a rock.”

  Rei went into the bathroom, expecting a sink, and was greeted by two buckets. A small one for a sink, and a large one for a tub. “Uhh, Avi, where’s the plumbing?” Rei questioned. “Plumbing? What’s that?” Avi said, while entering the bathroom. “Actually, I need to get a change of clothes, these are pretty hot, and I kinda feel like relaxing. Can you step out for a second?” Avi requested. Rei left the bathroom and Avi shut the door behind him. Rei got into bed and waited for Avi. Around 5 minutes later she stepped out. “Hey! Get out of my spot!” Avi said. “Oh my… ok, whatever you say.” Rei was stunned by Avi’s outfit and looks. She was wearing a tight, low cut shirt, held up by straps, with the same pair of shorts on.“(Well, she’s not hot anymore, but she is HOT, in the other way…)”. Rei tried to hold it together as Avi made him scooch over and laid next to him.

  “Ok… so whatever world you’re in, snap out of it, we need to talk about the adventure we have ahead of us.” Avi said, putting her arms behind her head. (“Ok Rei, you’ve trained for this, look at her face, make eye contact… Ah damn it! Maybe going outside really was necessary!)” Rei thought to himself, frustratedly. He finally was able to lock onto to Avi’s face, disregarding her figure. “So, where do I start…?”

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  “So, as Keo already said, you were prophesied to arrive in this world, otherwise known as Avindor. The Town were in is Avindors’ Wake, located in the Avnoria region. There are eight regions in Avindor (minus Avnoria), with only 6 being discovered, and 4 being explored, by the kings’ royal knights.” Rei started to doze off in boredom. He closed his eyes, waiting for Avi to stop talking. He woke up an hour later, opening his eyes to a frustrated look on Avi’s face. “Yes, I stopped talking right when you closed your eyes, and now I’m going to finish my story. Please listen. I’m not joking around, this is extremely important.” Rei rolled his eyes and said “Ok, whatever.”

  “Currently, Keo has focused his studies on the closest region the Gilded Groves. Which is said to hold an Artifact of Time-Space.” Avi explained. Rei’s eyes lit up. Artifact of what now? That sounds pretty cool, and Lemme guess, we need to find seven of these to stop the big bad “lord of darkness” and save the world, right?” Rei said, smiling. “How did you know!? Did you secretly study with Keo when I wasn’t around!? Ah Whatever, you’re nearly correct, just a little off. There are 7 artifacts of time space, and we need them all to stop Ardonous. Ardonous wields an ancient sword known as “Dharkanboranada” which starts off weak, but will only grow stronger.

  “Keo read me a passage that said something like this: “When the blade of the ancient one releases the soul, it can absorb the life energy of the soon-to-be husk, growing stronger. The blade will then output intense spiritual energy into a rift in the sky, a place shattered from the fabric of reality, and will form the “Storm of the End” The storm of the end will only grow, as the wielder of the sword claims more and more lives. And in the end, the storm will consume all of existence, leaving not even a single trace of life.”

  “Ardonous already started his plan. He attacked the central citadel, and murdered hundreds. He has already probably started killing again, and there is nothing we can do but hope; Hope that we can find the artifacts, before he claims too many lives, and destroys Avindor. Nobody deserves to Die; This includes all living beings, no matter how tainted the heart. Everything has a meaning…”

  Rei’s mouth was opened wide, stunned by Avi’s speech. “Ok, so this IS serious. I’ll gladly help.” Rei said, a tear trickling from his eye. “Thank you… That took a lot out of me, I don’t like talking about icky stuff. Well, anyways, it’s getting late, should we go to sleep?” Avi said, blowing out a candle. “Uhh, you sure the world won’t end overnight?” Rei said nervously, looking at the hole in sky outside the window. Avi went up to Rei and shut the window. “It’s way too small to hurt a single soul at the time. Millions need to die for it to reach full capacity. We have a lot of time, but not everybody else does. Let’s go to bed, we have a lot of work to do…” The two got in bed, with Avi comforting Rei, holding him close. “She’s like a mother, well, hopefully NOT a mother because she’s really hot…” Rei thought nonsense to himself while dozing off to sleep.

  Rei woke up in the morning, alone in bed, with the door to the room left open. “Avi… where did she go…?” Rei said to himself. Rei went through the door to find Avi and Keo mapping their first journey. “Morning, Rei!” said Keo, with Avi smiling beside him. Keo pointed at a map depicting the Gilded Groves and said… “The Gilded Groves are vast fields, made up of golden grass, multicolored trees, and several hidden grottos. One of these grottos is much vaster than the others and holds the first artifact.” Rei pictured the location in his head and became excited.

  “So… this grotto isn’t going to be obvious… is it.” Said Rei. “No, it won’t.” Avi replied, shaking her head. Keo got up and walked towards the door. “Well, we should get going, ill fill you guys in on the way.” Rei and Avi followed Keo out the door. They walked through the central street of Avindors’ Wake, and out the front gate. Rei was once again greeted by rolling green fields. “So, the journey begins, huh?”.