Illusion

The City of Argus. A city built after a war that ravaged the Main Lands, becoming the successor to the Kingdom of Argoria. If not for a hero chosen by a most sacred sword forged and blessed by four Goddesses, the Kingdom would have fallen to Mordohn [more-don]. He is a being that none who dare to gaze upon would survive. But, if he gazed upon you, any thought of escape was pointless.

With the Blade of the Gods, an unnamed Hero defeated the King of the dark creatures, thus ending the war.

With the war over, the goddesses came down from the skies to bring a sense of peace between the two conflicting worlds. All races from the Mainlands and Forest of Shadows came together to form a treaty, and a new era was born. The Goddesses then gifted every survivor with the ability to hide their actual forms, thus reducing the need for violence. The gift would then pass on through each generation.

For 1500 years, the newly dubbed Argus grew both technologically and industrially. Everything appeared to be perfect. A massive school catered to all grade levels, practically no violence except for the occasional bar fights, and an excellent economy made Argus look like a perfect city. However, all of that was during the daytime. At night, however, Argus was an entirely different city. In the alleyways, violence was a way of life. Murder and vandalism filled the morning news. Yet, even though all that transpired at night, any remnant of trouble would be gone by morning.

In the middle of the city sits the greatest evil to hit Argus. Palmer Industries, owned by Clark Palmer, owns just about everything. From the Hospitals to Argoria Academy, you can’t go anywhere without seeing his name. He pretty much runs the city. Palmer Industries is the tallest building as well. Purposefully built that tall, so Clark would be able to observe the whole city right from his office, from Palora Bay in the south to the Forest of Lost Souls in the north. He could take in everything. If anyone tried to defy him, he would know.

Now we come to our main character of this epic tale. Liam attends and is in his 14th year at Argoria Academy. The Academy is a place where all youngsters are required to attend and must complete 16 years. The first 12 years contain your basic classes such as reading & writing, math, and science. Years 13 through 16 have higher math and science courses with the addition of History & Legends and Sword Fighting. Liam isn’t exactly the brightest student, but he does manage to get by. He has two friends, Jacob and Nikki. And, as we all know, all schools have that one bully. The one that everyone fears, allowing them to run the place.

After his typical day of classes, he started on his way home without delay. It was drawing close to winter. With the incoming chilly air, he was looking forward to returning home to a nice tall mug of hot cocoa; made from fresh Drali Ranch brand milk. He was so excited that he didn’t even bother to hang out with his friends after school. He may be near twenty, but he couldn’t pass up anything sweet made by his mother. However, Liam didn’t realize that he was about to stumble upon his destiny. His world was about to be turned upside down.

He was just about halfway home when he heard what could only be a scuffle coming from an alley he passed. He kept telling himself not to worry and to keep on walking. Liam wasn’t usually the nosey type, but something deep inside told him to look anyway. Not wanting to be seen, he got as close to the wall as possible. He then popped his head around the corner. Liam made sure it was just enough to stay out of sight. What he saw shocked him so much that he almost fell over.

At first, he saw two plain-looking men fighting. One was overly buff and the other a tad skinny. Seeing as there was a bar at the other end of the alley, it seemed normal to Liam that two drunks would want to brawl. He wiped his eyes as he watched the two men begin to change. After the transformation, the buff man now looked like a pig, with the skinny man appeared to be a skeleton. He would generally pass that off as him not getting enough sleep, but this was happening at the end of the day.

Liam was about to creep away when the strap of his school bag broke, making a loud crash as it hit the ground. The two men stopped and looked over Liam’s way, finally noticing him. Liam was too busy picking up his stuff to see the two exchanging words. He left a few papers but did not care. Liam would rather lose his homework than his life. He turned and ran as fast as possible, not bothering to look back.

Both men had been chasing him for quite some time. Among the fears of being killed by whatever they were and the fact that there may be a whole other world around him, Liam wouldn’t stop running. He had finally reached a bridge when he decided to look back. It was then that Liam realized that the men had stopped chasing him. He didn’t bother asking himself why. Liam just kept on running. Liam didn’t care why they stopped, and he didn’t want to take the chance that they would start chasing again. The boy just wanted to get home and feel safe again, hoping that what he saw was just an illusion, that the two men were just drunk and angry. Somehow, Liam figured that wasn’t the case. He knew he needed to tell someone what had happened, and he knew his mother was his best option. He knows she wouldn’t understand, but he knew that she would at least comfort him after his ordeal.

Out of breath and ready to fall over, he entered the safety of his home. His mother came into the hall from the kitchen. She was carrying a mug. The familiar smell kept him awake just long enough to utter a few words, “You won’t believe what I just saw.” His mother was close enough to catch him as he slumped over and lost consciousness.