The Dark Side of War - Prologue

Prologue: The Legend

“There’s a legend?” asked a young man, with a smooth, shaven face, as he raised a skeptic brow at the old man sitting in front of him.
“Yes, there is.” said the elder, rubbing at his beard.
“First, there’s a war, and now there’s a legend?” asked the man sitting next to the other one. He looked almost like him. “Get real, man.”
The old man glared at him as another man, a bit older than the others, but not older than the old man, came up to them, fist raised.
“You’d better listen, boy. And learn to show some respect towards your elders.”
“Now, now, John, it’s okay.” said the old man, smiling.
John growled, and turned, swiftly walking away. He walked so gracefully that the young men could imagine him as a leopard, walking on a tree. So graceful, yet so strong.
“Don’t mind him,” said the old man, “he just gets a little upset.”
“Why?” asked one of the younger men.
“Well, why tell you if you won’t believe it?”
“We will!” echoed the men, ears at the ready, as they leaned forward, waiting for the old man to talk.
“Okay, well, as I was saying, there’s a legend. There’s a legend that states that even though things look bad now, they’ll get better.” he stopped, looking sad as his eyes got distant, as if he were remembering a time so far away. “You see, things weren’t always this way. There was a time, long ago, when we were all at peace.
“The land thrived, and creatures roamed free. We all got along, too. It was a wonderful time full of joy and love.
“But, then the strangers came. Strangers so vile that you wanted to spit in their face, and throw them in a hole, and hope for rain. They came with weapons our kind wasn’t used to. They took over, ruling over the land.
“Everyone obeyed them, being the cowards that they were. Few fought for what was right. In the end, though, it didn’t really matter. They were all killed, bad and good alike. Our ancestors died fighting in a battle that they could never win. Not alone, anyway. Strength comes in numbers, and their strength wasn’t great enough.
“But, the strangers were attacked too, by a sorcerer called Malo. He overtook everyone, and made them his slaves. Except for the strangers, that is. He saw them fit to work for him; be his knights, and protect him.
“For years, he ruled the land, capturing and killed all who opposed him. Or, so he thought, anyway. There were a fair few who remained unscathed, and fought, gathering troops. That’s how this whole army was formed, boys.”
“Really?” asked one.
He nodded. “Yes, really. It took a while, trust me on that one, but yes. Really.”
“Tell us more!” they shouted.
“Well,” chuckled the old man, “there is another legend that states that five people will come together. One of fire, one of light, one of ice, one of water, and one of air. Each of them will hold another power that comes with being who they are, but that is not yet told, for it is yet to happen. It is told to happen, one day soon.”
“Ooh.” murmured the men.
The old man smiled. “Yeah.”
John suddenly came running over. “Harry, we have a huge problem!” he shouted, coming to a stop, bending down to catch his breath as he panted.
“What?” asked Harry, the old man.
“There…it’s not good, sir. We’re losing…badly.”
Harry’s eyes held a certain emotion that no one could place, as if that were a bad thing, but then again it was good thing. “I see…”
“And…Ginger said that these five teenagers are wanting to get in to the war, to help fight. Should we let them? They’re kind of young, maybe like sixteen or seventeen.” said John.
Harry rubbed at his beard once again. “Let me deal with this.” he said, getting up from where he was sitting. “I’ll be back.” and then he walked off, through the trees, and out of sight.