Truth Of Magic

Prologue

The spring sun shone its golden rays on the landscape as a man was seen riding through the lands before directing his horse up a hill and stopped, his short black hair fluttering in the wind as he directed his gaze towards the horizon. In a distance, there was a land, at least he assumed it was one as everything beyond was covered in fog, it had been like that ever since the man could remember.

Although it was still the early hours of the morning, a tired look was on his face, the tiredness seeming to get more pronounced with each breath he drew. However, contrary to what might have been thought at the sight of him, his weariness hadn't stemmed from the journey from the distance which he had travelled, he had barely spent two days on the road after all. It was actually the length of the journey which remained to go that weighed him down, the length which might go on to dictate how everything will turn out for him, and the realm for that matter.

                              "Having a change of heart, brother?" a man suddenly asked him as he rode up next to him on the hill, effectively snapping him out of his thoughts.

The second man also sported black hair of similar shade to the first man, although his was a lot longer than the latter. In fact, his hair was so long that he was able to tie it into a ponytail and so didn't get to bother him as much as it did the other man even though the wind was blowing his to and fro too.

                            "Actually, I'll be lying if I said that a part of my mind isn't screaming at me right now to turn back and just bolt anywhere but here," the first man replied, turning to face his brother whose brown eyes turned a shade of gold in the sun unlike his own green ones, "But going through with this is the right thing to do."

                                   "But is it really, Winchmore?" the other man asked with an expression full of concern, frustration and even a little bit of fear on his face, apparently this wasn't the first time they were having the discussion, "I mean, you're going into a cursed land where countless people have gone and never came out, lost without any hope of being found again."

                               "I know that Tramenton, I do" Winchmore replied, his voice calm although his eyes had taken on an intense look that showed the severity of the matter, "But what other choice is there, go back home and sit on our asses while the realm gets destroyed?"

                               "Of course not," Tramenton returned, his vigour in his response matching that of Winchmore's, "But you and I and our brothers can stand and fight this monster, we've already been doing so for a while now."

                                 "There's a higher probability that course of action will end in our deaths than a victory and you know that," Winchmore replied him, the frustrating reality of the situation causing him to make his statement a lot harsher than he had intended, "Brother, I was able to find the elusive seer that everyone has been talking about a few days ago and she told me things, assured me that the salvation of the realm lies beyond that fog in the forbidden lands, that the reason why the other people had gotten lost was because they didn't know what to seek."

                                "And what do you seek, brother?" Tramenton returned, his question stunning Winchmore into silence.

Truth is, Winchmore knew within himself all Tramenton wanted to do was protect him, he was his elder brother and although they were over two years apart in age, their bond was like that of best friends. But there's also the reality that the very same question which his elder brother had just asked had kept him awake all night, becoming something he had mused over ever since he had begun to prepare for the journey he was now on. And now, he knew what to say.

                             "What I seek Tramenton, is the truth of magic," he replied, his voice so low that it mixed with the blowing wind as he looked from his brother to the foggy lands that was deemed forbidden in front of them, "The truth of everything."