Waffles Inc.

Here I am, staring into the eyes of this magnificent albeit terrifying beast. It’s as if time is standing still, I am awe-struck by this beasts’ beauty. It is of nothing I have ever seen, or could hope to see. It is like a work of art, a sculpture beautifully designed, who’s artist took it to his liberty to pay attention to even the smallest of details. I am nothing in it’s presence. It is on a level of its own, hundreds of miles above me. How am I, a lowly servant of the Emperor to compete with this beast? At this realization, time abruptly began flowing once again, and my heart started beating much faster than usual. This beast had awoken something within me, within my very soul. It was a feeling that shook me to my core, it was something I had never felt before. It was a primordial fear, something that came from the depth of my genes, all the way back from the time of my ancestors. It moved me, forced me to run for cover. This was an ancient beast, one that my ancestors didn’t hunt. Oh no, my ancestors were the hunted, and somehow this beast who is staring me down, had bested time.

My journey started when I learned that my father may still be alive and I knew where he went. A friend had secured information that the king had sent father on a peace-keeping mission of sorts. He was to be sent to a village that had entered a bit of a crisis in place of the king. It took my breath away when I learned this. Father left years ago on assignment by the king. When he didn’t return, my mother was heart-broken. She used to be so full of life, of love but father’s disappearance changed her. When my father disappeared, he took the life and love of mother with him. She no longer showed that same spirit. She was of but a shell of her former self and nothing would change that short of her seeing him again. So when I heard that father may still be alive, I jumped at the chance. I would do everything within my power to bring my father back if not just for mothers sake. Even though I’m dedicated to this journey, I can’t seem to shake this feeling, this doubt. What if I do find father? More importantly, what if I don’t? What if he truly is gone,and I can’t bring him back to mother? Will I be prepared to face that kind of disappointment? Either way, I have to find him for mothers sake.

I went through lush green forests, dark murky swamps, and cold desolate mountains. Across those terrains, I encountered evil in it’s many forms. I’ve fought Trolls, Giants and Orcs, all creatures from the deepest, darkest nightmares. It’s odd, even as I fought off those terrible creatures, I felt no fear. My mind was focused, I had to find father and nothing was going to stop me. No creature could strike me with the same fear as never seeing father again. There were so many unanswered questions I had for him. I wanted to know why he never returned, why he abandoned mother and I. Above all else, above all of my questions I wanted to know whether he was still alive. Using that as my driving force, my travels lead me to and abandoned village in ruins. It was torn apart, like the most destructive of elements had collided and used the village as their battle-ground. Buildings were tossed, roads were burnt and the entire village seemed abandoned. It was while I was scouring the ruined village for supplies when I came face to face with the beast.

I seen Death itself in the beast’s eyes. Such power terrified me, so I ran as fast and a little faster then my legs would take me. I took shelter within a half-destroyed building. I could hear the beast roar as it took flight. No sooner did I abandon the house, guided by am invisible hand which lead me to a watch tower. As I drew near my next shelter, I felt a blast of heat and as I turn to look behind me, I see my previous shelter go up in flames. How terrifying the power of this beast, to be able to ignite an entire building in flames. Without a second thought, I was in the watchtower out of breath. Why was a dragon here? I thought they didn’t exist, how was one here? Was that why the town was destroyed, was the dragon flaunting his success, his destruction by remaining here? Such thoughts made my blood boil, such actions were indescribable. Then again, no matter how beautiful this beast was, it was still a beast and nothing would change that. As I caught my breath, I found a bow and some arrows, blood stained. I readied the bow as I traversed the staircase to the top of the tower. I began to sweat as I neared the top. I could hear the beast roar oh so valiantly and it made me tremble. Fate had dealt me a terrible hand, first it had taken father away and now I’m next. I slouched down on the stairs, how am I to best a beast of such terrible power? As I had lost hope in this battle, in this self-appointed mission I could feel the hand once more, trying to help me up, to guide me to the top. When I looked over, I could see the spirit of a man trying to help me. Something about him looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Somehow, I found the strength to stand, to begin climbing once more. As I reached the top, I could hear the beast roar once more, a bone-chilling cry. However, this time it did not affect me, I did not tremble at the sound, and I no longer feared the beast. The spirit had given me new found confidence, confidence that could be used against the beast.

What I found at the top of the tower shook me more then any fear could. Placed in the center were what looked like two carbon statues, one embracing the other, trying to protect it. It was what I seen on the taller statue that shook me. On the statues hand there was a ring, blackened by what I would presume was fire, and there was a sword lying on the ground, next to the statues. What shook me to my core, no to my soul is the fact that the sword held my family crest. It brought tears to my eyes, and I let out a cry. The charcoal statues weren’t actually statues, but were really my father protecting a child, from that very same beast that is attacking me now. It was then that the beast rose into the air, right in front of me. With tears rolling down my face, and my soul full of rage I sent three arrows flying. Two of those arrows pierced the beasts body, but the third struck his eye. He let out a roar of pain, lost his focus and began a chaotic descent towards Earth.In his descent, the beast crashed into the tower, which shook and began to crumble. I was in shock, everything was collapsing around me. It was then that the spirit had tugged on my arm once more. This time, I ignored it, I had to grab the blade and the ring, at the very least. I made a mad dash towards the charcoal statues, which had broken apart from the tremors of the tower collapsing. With one single motion, I grabbed both the sword and the ring and proceeded run of the side of the tower.

The adrenaline that was pumping through my veins had propelled me of the roof of the tower. I crashed through the remains of a buildings roof which gave way into the rest of the house. As I exited the house, I seen the tower in ruins, toppled on top of the beast. As I took a moment to catch my breath and take in the scale of the damage within the village, I spotted the spirit looking over the ruins. As I walked closer, the spirit turned to me with tears in it’s eyes and a smile on it’s face. Tears filled my eyes as well, as I realized why the spirit looked so familiar. It was in that moment that the spirit hugged me, held me in its embrace. The spirit was father after all these years. As the spirit dissipated, I began to cry. My greatest fear had been realized, before I could even ask any of my questions, he was gone. A great sadness fell over me, but in that sadness I also found relief. Relief that father has gone to a better place, relief that his death was painless. It gave me peace of mind, put my soul at rest and made this journey worthwhile. While my greatest fear was realized, I found that I was at ease with it. I no longer have to worry about father, this has put the past behind mother and me. It is now time to recover, but that in itself is a journey.