Prologue: Legends Are Stupid Things
Once upon a time, not actually very long ago, an old Warlock crafted the Eternity Stone, a gem that held unmatchable power.
Obviously, this caused discord amongst the people in the land of Marian, each greedily craving the stone for themselves. The old Warlock, who merely wanted to create a stone to energize all his beautiful tomatoes, shook his head at the fools who actually wanted to use the stone for World Domination.
After a year or so had passed, the Warlock realized that he wasn’t going to be able to appreciate the Eternity Stone with his old age. Therefore he decided to try and hide the Stone in his heavily guarded castle while he traveled the land because of the boredom that comes from being an all-powerful Warlock.
However, before the Warlock could leave his abode to travel, his castle was stormed by an army. Marian’s corrupted leaders and warriors had banded together in an attempt to lay claim for the Eternity Stone themselves. The Warlock threw them out, but that raid had been the beginning of a horrible War. Leaders scattered across Marian gathered armies of both Knight, Mage, and villagers to try to steal the stone, but to no avail. There were some who resisted, some who tried to show the good people that their leaders were using them. They were killed without mercy, so that their voice may be silenced.
It was then that the Warlock realized that there would never be any end to this War if he did not do something that would placate both parties. So he sealed away the Stone within his own castle, preventing anyone from entering. As he held the Key to the castle in his hands, he wondered how he could give it to the public without everyone killing each other in complete and utter greed.
The Warlock thought for a little while, pausing to curse another group of greedy villagers, before he came up with an idea. Create a Great Quest so that only a brave, handsome hero can obtain the stone, so that the people of Marian would be content that one of their own had the Stone. Now while many, like the Warlock of this legend, thought this was a wonderful idea, there was one question that was yet to be answered. Who would he give the map for the Quest to? He traveled all across the Kingdom of Marian, trying to find the perfect hero to complete his Great Quest.
The thing about Legends is that Legends are interesting things. They are the beginning of the greatest stories, the molders of the bravest heroes. They can fill the listeners with awe, and can lead to wondrous discoveries.
They can also be incredibly, incredibly stupid.
Because the hero that the Warlock chose, I believe, was probably the worst decision the old coot had ever made, other than crafting the Eternity Stone of course. The mighty hero that was to set off to complete the daring and dangerous quest, was supposed to be chosen with care and precision. Not everybody can do it, even if many wanted to.
The smart way to have gone about this would have been to launch a tournament, pitting the bravest and the strongest together, or perhaps a battle of wits, in which the smartest one is chosen to complete the Great Quest. Or merely just asking the hero simple questions to see if he’s competent enough, that would have done it too.
Alas, the Warlock found his hero after searching across the land for the bravest hero. Instead of doing any of the things I had mentioned, he merely told the boy the Tale of the Eternity Stone, proclaimed him as the Great Hero, gave the boy the map, and disappeared with a swish of his cloak. He was tired of searching, and if he could judge the boy on face and name value alone, then the Great Quest would be completed in no time.
Of all the fully trained knights in the world, of all the smart scholars that walk this planet, of all the people in this country that could have been chosen to complete the ‘Great Quest’, you chose him.
That guy.
