Ships, Swords, Trials, Tribulations, Powers, And Potions.

prolouge: Stories have to start somewhere let's start here.

Prolouge: Stories have to start somewhere let's start here.

"Benjamin!!" He wakes up and frantically looks around the captain's quarters.

"Ma-ma?!" The boy screams as glass shatters and water starts to pour in.

"Benjamin, Benjamin!!!" She screams again only louder, her voice getting watery.

"I'm coming!" He gets up from his cot and wades through the water, his shirt now soaked through. As he finds her he covers his mouth, aghast.

There she lies in the water face down. Dead, she was the first to go that night. She certainly won't be the last.

"Father!!" He searches through the room as fast as he can. His strength is fading fast, as he keeps seeing images of his ma lying dead in the water.

"Benjamin?!" The door busts open.

"Father!" The boy rushes to the door and runs into his father's arms.

"Ma-ma is dead." He weeps silently as they go out into the pounding rain.

"Heave men!" A crewman shouts as they throw bucket fulls of water over the side of the quickly sinking ship.

"Are we going to die father?" Benjamin asked.

"No son, help these men out. This storm will not take us down tonight." The boy just shy 17 walked over to help the men out, they refused him immediately.

"Not old enough son." One man said.

"Oy! You're just shoveling water out in pales!" He said taking a bucket from on of the older crew members.

"Take a rest sir. I got your workload." The old man smiled genially before he jumped off the ship. He was the second to go.

"That man was a coward." His father shouted at the men who stopped.

"Save us, if not for living. For revenge, this storm has already taken the life of my dear wife. It will not take the life of my boy and you men as well." He shouted twisted hope at them.

Little did they know that they would all die. They all believed his wise words. They sounded brave and would grant the crewman more time, but they would all perish in the storm. Their fate was inevitable and woven into the fabric of time.

The crewman were taken first and Benjamin felt his heart drop everytime one fell over board. The ship was halfway under by now, the boy saw his father losing hope every passing second.

"Benjamin get in the life boat I'll be right there." His father shouted at him in a commanding tone that was not to be disobeyed.

"But father." He pleaded walking slowly towards the boat.

"Benjamin now!" His voice boomed in time with the thunder. The boy felt himself fly backwards into the boat and the ties were cut as he fell into the ocean with the boat and sailed fast, too fast, towards the shore. He landed and the boat exploded as he flew onto the sand. He stood up to see sheets of rain coming down. No ship in sight. No father either, Benjamin wouldn't, couldn't, think magic was involved. It was witchcraft, only evil people were possessed with such demonic ways. He would've been hanged in court, burned at the stake after being stoned.

"No!" The boy shouted as he shut those thoughts out.

"Father!" He shouted repeatedly, hoping that it would somehow bring him back. Alas, we've been over the fate situation, because by now his father was surely dead. Fate had intervined and taken his family. Then again, the boy never believed in fate and neither did I. Maybe fate was destined to find him as it was destined to find me.

After all, I washed up in Scotland as a young lad. Same as Benjamin, maybe that's why our fates were intertwined from the beginning.

The boy collapsed onto the beach and fell asleep in the storm.

***

He woke up sometime later and by that time I had found him, lying there covered in sand.

I poked the lad with my stick. "Boy. Wake up boy, a beach 'tis no place for home." He woke with a start and looked up at me with wide eyes.

"Stop staring at me and get up boy!" I say with newfound gumption.

"Who are you." He stands up, taller than I remember, though it was vision.

"Eframine, do you know where you are?" I raise my eyebrow as he shakes his head.

"You're in Scotland." I motion for him to follow as I travel up shore farther into the field.

"Where exactly in Scotland am I?" He asks.

"What's your name boy?"

"Benjamin, Benjamin James the third." He replies, though I already knew that I didn't want to scare the shell-shocked boy away.

"Well Benjamin, you're on the Queen's private beach."

"My apologies sir, my ship was wrecked-" he stopped thinking for a good story. "I swam a shore and collapsed out of exhaustion."

"It's alright, I think one of her ladies will be more than happy to take care of you." I winked his way. A lad like him would definitely take to the ladies liking.

"Sir?" He quesioned as we approached the castle.

"Yes Benjamin?"

"I don't look presentable for the queen."

"We will get you fixed up before you meet her highness."

He nodded solemnly walking into the courtyard behind me.

I stopped as a vision came through.

Something was coming.

Something old, and dangerous.

Something awakens from depths.

Something powerful.

Benjamin was now radiating with power.

Fate has come faster than expected.

Benjamin looked me up and down as I came to again.

"Sir, Eframine?" He shook me from the remaining thoughts of the vision.
"Are you alright?" He questioned.

"I'm an old bloke Benjamin, I space out alot." I lied covering it up with a smile.

This was just the beginning.