The Golden Lands, Volume 1

by Dominic Sceski



  THE GOLDEN LANDS

  Hi there,

  If you’re reading this, then that means the journey has begun for both of us! Thanks for picking up the first volume of The Golden Lands. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. And I hope you come back to read every subsequent volume. There’s a lot in store here for you and me. I’m looking forward to embarking on this adventure together!

  Sincerely,

  Dominic Sceski

  The Golden Lands, Volume 1: Shadows in the Sunlight

  Published by Dominic Sceski at Amazon

  Copyright 2015 Dominic Sceski

  Illustrations Copyright 2015 Clare Sceski

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  For my family, Kelly Ann (Faith), and God’s glory

  Character Profile: JOHN HEDEKIRA

  Age: 16

  Race: Virus

  Height: 6’0

  Eye Color: Green

  Hair Color: Orange

  “He” has always existed.

  Or at least that’s what the stories say. I’ve never found “him” in all my childhood years. I’m not so sure if I believe in “him” anymore.

  In a small house near the edge of a wood, looking out into a grassy plain, lives a humble family; me, my sister, and my brother, both of which are younger than me. We have never been close, not because we don’t get along, but because we are often separated. I do love them; I just don’t know them. For years, ever since our parents disappeared, I have scoured the woods every day, searching for food, gathering firewood, doing everything I can to keep them alive. I don’t know them, and they don’t know me, but I care for them.

  Sometimes, I feel like they don’t know that they’re dying, that without the meager care I give them, things would grow worse. It’s hard to imagine worse.

  But “he” has always existed. My parents used to tell me of “him”. They said “he” was a great warrior—a wielder of strange, mystical powers. His sword flashed quicker than lightning, they told me, and his strength was mightier than a giant’s, and his endurance could not be matched. And they said that, in difficult times, “he” would keep me going. “He” would help me fight through my trials. “He” aided all. “He” was a lender of inner, mystical strength.

  That’s what my parents said. That was before they disappeared. I wish I knew more about who “he” was. But I don’t. As the days go by, I want to travel the large, beautiful forests and the wide, windy plains, and look for “him”. But I can’t. My brother and sister wouldn’t be able to survive on their own.

  My parents always said that there was Evil in these lands. It came from afar, not from the Golden Lands, but elsewhere. They said that it would find us; all of us. We had to be careful, they would say—there was evil in all of us.

  Maybe that’s why I’ve never seen “him”. Maybe I can’t see “him” because of the Evil. Or maybe not seeing “him” is the Evil.

  But then it came. Like my parents said, Evil would find us. It only seeks to grow, they said. The evil inside of us, it beckons to more evil. If we do not defeat the evil inside us, then we might as well let Evil walk right through our door. If we do not cast out darkness, then it will only grow inside of us. And once it does that, it will consume those around us.

  The day I forgot this advice will be the day I will never forget.

  VOLUME 1: SHADOWS IN THE SUNLIGHT

  CHAPTER 1

  PROTAGONIST: JOHN HEDEKIRA