The Legends and Tales of The Orange Poet

}The Orange Poet goes by many names: "The Travelling Poet", "The Orange Stranger" or just "Orange". However, not much knows him more than his long posture and his pumpkin cloths. Even his face cannot be remembered, only to be an orange mist. He is a poet who creates legends and tales for the listeners to keep in their curious minds. He is indeed a mysterious man.

Adventurer and traveler, he is in many places at the same time, but no one knows his place of birth. In the clouds? In Haven? Imagination shall decide. The same happens with his race, a human, they cannot keep his identity for so long with their mouth that cannot stop, a elf, pointy ears, visible they are not, a dwarf, remember the long posture. We will never know for sure.

Nonetheless, you, people, young and old, wise and joyous. You could create his story. And, like I said, imagination shall decide.

= The Legends and tales of The Orange Poet =

Chapter 1: "Black Eyes"
When the pirate lord made his bed in the island of The Scurvy Shores, he heard ,with one ear, a light conversation from two natives. a mysterious artifact left by the former Barbossian fleet, a figure made in a darken metal probably worth millions, in the far border of the sea. Of course, there were merchants after all, always thinking about gold. However, The pirate lord imagined the object in his hands, caressing the object, imagining his first treasure, not as something to sell, but as something to be proud of, his eyes were turning black. He ran to the shore, is vessel, washed into the beach, was a stolen one, damaged by the escape. The burning wood was still cracking to the weigth of the steel cannons and the sails felt like paper, the ones that no one could read. Not even a second later, not prepared at all, the crew was already running and pulling ropes in the middle of the blue waves.

They arrived, at last, to their destination. It was night, The crew, nervous, holding the boat to not crumble underneath them, looked in the distance. A mere patch of sand, tinier than a plume, was surrounding them in a U shape. The pirate lord, controlling the wheel, ordered the bark to be dropped and the shovels to be ready. He went with two of his men and touched the land with is feet, strange, the sand was black. "Like a mere shadow of itself", said the pirate Lord. him and his men, shovel at hand, started to dig. Hours passed and nothing was found, the island was almost gone, the treasure was gone. The sun rose in the horizon, revealing the yellow sand that was left. Wait, yellow sand? "was it not black earlier", the crew noticed. The pirate lord, turned his head to his ship, it was now black, like a mere shadow. Clouds were forming on top of them, rain started to crash, dark rain. The islanders rushed to the vessel, which was in the middle of giant tentacles, waving around like if it was showing off his prey. The pirate lord gripped on a loose board on the front and, that was when he started to fly. The others on the ground were small in seconds and the air was getting thicker. He climbed up to the ship, he saw his crew, terror in their poor souls, screaming for mercy, looking down at the mouth of teeth and the eclipse in his black eyes.The lord, on the contrary, was furious. "This ugly ass monster will not be my end, come and get me you pathetic scum!" The giant squid did not move an inch, and then started to rotate his plate. Men and women were dropping, miserably, one by one, like grains of salt trickled onto a perfect dish. The pirate Lord, the last on the ship, held the cracked main mast with his life. He then had an idea, he reached his sword and sawed the mast, finishing the job. The pole fell, with the pirate lord on top, penetrating the monster's mouth. We heard the shriek from miles. The vessel was free from his grasp, to sink, finally, in the abyss. The blue of the sea turned black

What rose from the sea was something of a fairy tale. An immense ship appeared, with at least twenty-four shining canons, ready to tear apart the hardest wood, black rims going around the vessel and a mast so large that it pierced throught the dark clouds and saw the sunlight. "The Eclipse, this would be the name" the Pirate Lord said, wheel at hand, seeing his crew laughing and enjoying life, seeing with his black eyes, stolen to the Kraken. However, the tale is not over yet, because the artifact is still at large, travelling in the dreams of many.

Chapter 2: "The artifact"
A winter night, the sea was becoming ice, a blueish white, frozen by the absence of heat, the Kraken had a cold heart. Instead of black rain, it was snowing, snowflakes of the purest colour. The Black Isles, blocked by the icebergs, were the most silent, in the strong winds. One of the corsairs entered the empty bar, she saw the pirate Lord, sipping in tea. "Hey Tea, you want company?" The pirate Lord slowly turned his head, showing his empty dark eyes, and accepted with a slight nod. Tyr Leuxos sat on the chair next to him. "I never asked but, your eyes, they are not so pleasant to look at." "I know, that Kraken wore them; now it’s my turn." Leux demanded a jug of beer and started to chug it. "The artifact is lost Leux, lost underneath the frozen sea, forever gone in time. I feel like I’m becoming more and more blind." Tea sipped his tea. "I abandon this doomed search." "Woah, wait. I knew Tea the boy, washed up surrounded by crates of tea. But now, I know Tea the Pirate Lord, slayer of the Kraken and captain of The Ecplise." She pointed to the massive vessel outside. "This war machine is yours, Pirate Lord, yours to conquer all the islands and become the richest man alive. Do you understand that?" Tea looked at her. "No, you don’t understand. The artifact is the only thing keeping me alive, that is why the Kraken was there, searching the same treasure as me." Leux was confused. "How do you know that?" "It is not important, what is the use of a boat when there is no destination in sight, I am cursed to turn into a monster." A crew member suddenly entered the bar in a hurry. "Pirate Lord, the artifact was found!" "Where?" said Leux, Tea was silent, drinking his tea. "Near the northern lands, on a floating corpse, an armada of ships covered with red." The pirate Lord spitted his drink, he turned his head. "Uraka..."

To be Continued...

"The Sand Kingdom Far Gone"
The dunes were high and the sky was low. The yellow orb, standing as a god, reflected the sand below. Zekro walked on his footprints, flooding around his battered shoes, knowing that no one will save him at all. He climbed up mountains of sand to only fall right after. His destination was unclear, like his vision, taken by the touch of the mighty sun. The council made a mistake, and he was the receiving end, the fight was not is own. "Nullaria" this land would be called, but the prosperous Nullaria the council dreamt was nowhere to be found. only a valley of yellow dust and of past civilisations, drowning in the sea of gold. And an oasis of hope appeared before him....

A single palm tree lived near a small pond. green and blue, colours that his eyes forgot. He ran to it, like a homeless men finding a penny, and started drinking the watery liquid his body desperately needed. "What a dream!" Zekro said out loud. But his mind was not much refreshed. He felt a touch of sand on his shoulder, the wind was making grain of sand fly, but he did not stop, too thirsty to stop. But he stopped to think, "what a good place to start it all"."indeed it is" said a mysterious voice. Zekro lifted his head, a woman, sitting on the other end of the oasis, covered with brown and yellow cloth. "What a surprise guest we have here" he continued. Zekro, surprised, rose up and cleaned his eyes, in case it was the work of his imagination. "Mind asking your name?" Still there, Zekro thought. "I am a member of the council of Uldarash, who are you and what are you doing in a desolate place like this?". The man smirked "Oh, i am Hinda, and welcome to what is left of Azei, the kingdom of sand long gone". Zeko finally understood everything

They started walking into the distance, climbed up a hill and Zekro saw it, The remnant of a village, almost entirely covered with golden sand. Pillars of a grand manor ended the one street, houses or shops, bordering the road, preyed to this palace, alas only a mere foundation of broken dreams. Zekro followed Hinda, traversing this serpent like passage, destroyed by age, houses passed them, they were barely standing, the colours of the markets vanished. Life was no more, death was omnipresent. "What happened to this place?" said Zekro. Hinda moved his finger to his mouth and shushed: "come, it is only the beginning". There was a port, with only one boat, stranded on the side, near giant farms, withered by time. Walls, the only protector, had holes like cheese, easy to attack. Trees were branches and bushes were tarnished. They arrived to the palace, bigger than the city, viewing the sun, roasted by it. Hindal welcomed Zekro inside, a wall of darkness, probably to hide into. Zekro entered first, confused of the beauty, "how" whispered he. Indeed, he never saw something like that before.

The hall was a green opera, plants were singing and the flowers were dancing with life. It was a grand hall, with the throne of the ancient king sitting in the centre of it all, beneath a hole through the ceiling. But the king was still there, without skin and only bone. “The king was there when I arrived,” said Hinda, “with his poor crown”. It was made of gold and jewels of blood, it looked so heavy. “With this much gold on his head, he would’ve needed a strong neck.” Noticed Zekro with a laugh. However, all the chests were empty, money was no more. Spent or stolen, a sad way to end, a suspicious way even. Zekro noticed something, markings were on the walls, carved there for generations, sentences sent for us by past victims. “A poisonous tooth shall protect the sand … bliss will reign over us … the greed of the king shall end us all.” Entire paragraphs were gone. “What does this mean?" “It is a prophecy, Azei did not listen,” Hinda responded. Zekro turned his head to the forgotten crown, his eyes bloomed over the object, as the sun reflected on it. “Beautiful,” he spoke his thought out loud. He slowly walked to it, manipulated by the red, gloomy eyes. Hinda noticed him, but it was too late. “NO! DO NOT TOUCH THE CROW…”. Zekro, finally happy, already wore it on his head. “No…”. The palace shook, pillars fell near him, not moving an inch. He closed his eyes and looked at the sky. There was no sun, only darkness. He let his vision clear, only to see. Another eye…

It was quick, the predator found his prey, finally to his mercy. He plunged through the hole, making a bigger one, but was only greeted by the grey floor. They avoided his attack. Hinda was there, not him, everyone but him. They ran to the entrance, to find out his tail was there too, blocking it. The monster encircled the condemned, hungry for greed. “We are stuck, death is our only escape!” the words of Hinda did not shake Zekro’s mind, he was iron willed, to accomplish what he was sent here to begin with. He removed his crown and climbed the green skin of the snake, he then ran to the lighthouse. The monster, surprised, flew to his meal, but these dammed houses and markets protected him. Hinda, not much time to think, mounted the snake’s tail and held on. Zekro zigzagged his way into the hazardous passages, to finally see the lighthouse, illuminating his path. Confused, the snake searched. Zekro finally reached it, but he felt the touch of his eye. He climbed quick, but not enough, the snake was at his heel, circling. Hinda then took his knife and plunged it into his rigid skin, he screamed of pain. It helped Zekro to finish his rise and was now holding the crown over the sea. The snake was enveloping the lighthouse and was ready to get his revenge. “Hinda!” scream Zekro, as he saw his friend falling to his end. He needed to finish it, once and for all. Zekro and the serpent stared at each other, the glorious jewels were the same as his red eyes. “Would you mind handing me over the crown?” Said the snake, with a giant smile, showing his many poisonous teeth, “The crown is for a king, not a thief like you”. And then, Zekro responded, “the blue sea, where the yellow sand stops”. He let go. The crown was now gone, forever, where the snake could not reach. The monster had his final scream and transformed into green stone. It was finally over. Hinda was on the ground, he did not move. Zekro ran to him and held her dying corpse.

“Do not worry, you will meet me again, lost on the sandy dunes,” “What? I don’t understand.” Hinda moved herhand to Zekro’s head. “I am only the work of your imagination, I was here to guide you, but now you have learned enough.” A single tear was on Zekro’s cheek, flowing to then fall through Hinda’s ghostly body. "Without you, i will be dead, below the sand or inside the snake, thank you." He said. “Goodbye my friend, but this is not over, you have a kingdom to create, I believe in you, King Zekro the First.” Hinda then slowly vanished into nothing. Zekro was now looking at the sand beneath him, flooding around his battered shoes.

"The Reality of Dreams"
Shovels dug, sand flew, creating a yellow mist in the air. It was a sunny day, columns of light passed through the palace, rebuilt in a never known glory. The city of Azei was recovering itself, showing is beautiful visage, like a butterfly of hope, flying over the new and hardworking settlers. A new king was at the throne, a king that promised change and prosperity for his people, and he delivered. Zekro would not make the mistakes of his predecessors, but his mind was occupied by another parasite. The mayor of Azei walks through the white and golden hall. "Greetings my king, Azei is almost completed, we found a cavern underneath the city, probably the serpent's work." Azepus stopped, looking at Zekro not paying attention. "My king? Is it Hinda again? You need to let it go, this thought will carve your brain like a pumpkin." Zekro did not respond. "She will come back, I am sure of it." "But when?" Finally said the king. "When and where? She knows what to do more than me. Oh, perhaps the oasis..." He stopped to think. "The capital of Nul'lari is expanding." He said, he stood up and walked outside with Azepus. "It will connect to Azei, making it the old city. Also the farms are going well..." Zekro suddenly froze, the lighthouse with the circling snake, remembering the fall, the fall of Hinda... "Sir?" An abrupt quake was heard in the distance, a cloud of smoke appeared over the sound. They quickly went to the area to see the cavern below, with a single arm sticking over the rocks. Azepus cried, "No! No! Not again! It’s the third time this week!" Zekro counted the survivors. "We are left with 10 people. Not enough to occupy this vast land." Azepus ordered to cover the huge scar.

Night came, the kingdom was asleep, instead of Zekro, on his uncomfortable throne. He could not sleep, scared of his recurrent dream, dreams of her. Surprisingly, a messenger appeared in front of him, he did not notice anything. “A message from one of your neighbours.” “Who?” said he, “Chevkri sir.” The king opened the letter, and his eyes did not believe it. He took his sword and, with a slight glimpse of his crown, quickly departed to the given location. He remembered the place, a single palm tree lived near a small pond. The oasis. Zekro then saw two people dancing and drinking, covered with red rugs. “Hey, what are you swines doing here?” The strangers looked up and saw what it looked like a normal traveller with an iron sword hidden by a large yellow cape covering his left arm. “A Nullarian! Haha, I thought you people were taller!” The giant approached them, revealing his true height. The strangers were not scared, but were only more unstable. “Obviously, us Chevrkians, salutes you, in the new oasis of wine and dance!” The other one goes behind Zekro and continues. “It is not a dream if one thinks it hard enough … haha” Zekro was not there to laugh, and not there to hear lies. He takes his silver sword.

The Walkers of Friholm
In the newly founded port of Friholm, there lies a tale that would change the city forever. The Azurian fleet, who were chasing the first Frilenders, was defeated in an epic battle, inside a crimson storm. The survivors arrived to the land while the others sank into the violent waves. The Frilenders, ordered by Captain Flunk, started the construction of the famous port. when they were finally done, the merchants were plenty, the people were happy, and with the blessing of bliss, the city grew larger and wealthy. However, the dead Azurians were not done. The storm was a weird one, reviving those who drowned inside his grasp. The many corpses stood up and started walking, deep down on the abyss floor.

The moon shining is white light, The Azurian's walker, Friholm in sight, begun walking. Three merchant ships were docked in the port, three merchant ships, dormant they laid, two massive and one small, three merchant ship, that would have seen better days. One of the captains went to return to his home, but it was no more, only a wrecked vessel was left. He tried calling his crew, but there was only silence, another captain came and wore the same expression. The last captain was dead, a death that a sea lover would never wished, on a cursed port. They alerted the guards but they came too late. The Azurian's were there, in the city, their bloody hands, and with their eyes drowned in fear.

Guards started to attack these ghouls, but with no success, there were already deceased. Half of the guards died in minutes, no Azurians fell. They started to roam the city streets, the people, inside their homes, shook and preyed that their doors do not budge. Nonetheless, the walkers are not there for them, their presence in this world is only justified by the existence of their prey. Jimmy Jim, the future husband of an Azcurian noble. The chase was for him, and they will succeed. But they did not know, that he left many moons ago. he was gone, and the walkers was stuck, cursed to wander near the port. They left the streets and the massacres to sleep in the bay. Boats were destroyed, lives were taking, thinking to be Jimmy Jim's. But they still Wait, waiting for the spouse to return.

Donho, The Vulpur Wanderer
In a forest, way before the first written words, a small Vulpur nomad camp was hidden, near a long river, giver of water to the many hunted and hunters. Ten in total, they were. One of them, young, was sitting near the campfire, waiting for the dinner to arrive. Suddenly, A rasp and masculine voice made him jumped. "Hello Little one, what are you doing here, all alone?" Donho turned his head to see his mother, the head of the group. An orange skin, tall and bulky, really rare for a Vulpur, even more for a female. She trained men to fight for decades now, made the entire group warriors that could flee entire armies. But her son, how strange he was. A white fur and red eyes, not from his mother, nor his father, long gone under the dirt. Donho did not talk much, he was scared of everything, even of his own mother. She looked at him, not knowing what else to say. She sat beside him and finally said, with a slight sigh. "You know Dohno, you are different, but the group loves you nonetheless, Vinca and the others probably wanted you to come with them to hunt, my love." Donho knew already, he tried already. "Haha, really? you want to go hunting? You cannot even hold a spear properly, what are you gonna do? Stare at the prey until he cries, hahaha." She then left with his group, turning his back and laughing. Her older sister was better than him, in every way. Running, hunting, talking. But he kept his mouth quiet. Her mother then left the campfire, going to scream to a lousy teen once again. and that is when Donho had enough. he rose up. He will go hunting alone.

He walked to the armory tent, at least no one was there, only weapons, most of them were crafted with the hardest metal, too heavy for him. He tried lifting the spear. Donho thougth at himself, "finally, i will show Vinca how strong i am". When he was younger, her mother trained him, showing him how to handle a sword and throwing axes. He was now ready fir his first hunt. The giant lance was in his grasp, almost double his size, but it was a short victory. The tip immediatly struck the ground, shattering it in pieces. "Hardest metal? more like stone, ha!" He laughed to himself and picked up a stone axe, holding it like Lupdeus, the god of strengh. Leaving the tent, Donho saw her mother, still shadowing the thin Vulpur. "If we stay here any longer, the northen Vulpurs of the mountain will come and kill us all! You know very well they outnumber us." The mother was sick of the damned druid, Nathur, always predicting the end of the world. An increase of temperature followed by a famine he says. She smirked. "These northeners? I like those Vulpurs, always thinking to upgrade their gear, not realising they are pacifist. The chief was scared of me once, he gave me his best weapons, hehe." She became serious, "we will stay here, if they come, we will know in advance, I positioned 2 or 3 scouts in their direction. They will see nothing." Nathur left, with ears of hatred, to his hut near the river. The mother then turned his back, only to see his son, Donho, ligth in hand, entering the deep and black forest. In the middle of the nigth.

The sky was bright, full of stars illuminating the obscure Serrona, like campfires for the cold, cold dead. Vinca looked at them, while returning to the camp. One of them was his father, watching her steps, and those of his brother. “Hey, what are you looking at,” said one of his friends, “Nothing,” she responded swiftly, “I was only making sure of our direction, the stars are helping me”? He looked at her suspiciously and went ahead of her. “Are we there yet, Reli?” Mumbled the impatient. They climbed a hill, to see the smoke in the distance, moving upwards. “We are almost there, do not bother asking it again.” “OK, OK, you cannot tell me what to do.” They walked silently until a shadow quickly passed them in the right, Vinca saw it. “Guys, I think I saw some…” The shadow passed again, and Reli was not ready, he vanished with the shadow to the right, leaving only his weapon, and a screaming echo. The other boy, shocked, stumbled on the ground and moved to Vinca. “WHAT IS THAT!” Vinca equipped his sword and lifted his crying friend. “It is moving around us.” Said Vinca. “DON’T LEAVE ME PLEASE!” Said the boy gripping Vinca. “Stop being weak, Derem, we are warriors, remember your training, I will not let you die…” Suddenly, the monster grabbed the leg of the scared boy, pulling him, he vanished into the wild, already dead. Vinca was now alone, afraid, the monster then appeared in front of her. “No…” Dohno travelled through the rough forest, trying to find a single animal to hunt. “Everybody is sleeping, even the animals.” He said naively. He travelled some more, still nothing. His light was starting to quench, darkness was invading him. Only his white fur remained untouched, and blue eyes shined in the nothingness. He jumped, dropping the remaining fire, and fled to the other direction, only to meet a wall of rocks. The fire started to rise, burning the trees around, forming a circle of flames, and revealing the monster. It was a Keket, a colossus winged serpent, silent as a falling leaf, massive as a tree. Dohno then saw Vinca, her sister, laying there, unconscious. The Keket launched his tail toward him like a whip, Dohno avoids it by jumping over the tale and makes it to her sister. “Vinca! Vinca! Wake up!” He then equipped his tiny axe and throws it at the serpent. Doing absolutely nothing, the Keket even looks like if he is laughing at his failed attempt. Feeling powerless, he tries to move Vinca to the corner of the facade, but the serpent his quicker, but her mother even more. Appearing out of nowhere, she threw her spear in his neck and launched to it, gripping the spear plunged into the monster’s scale. But the Keket made her fall before she could make her final blow. The spear fell near Donho, he looked at it like the shining sword of Lupdeus. “It is my time to prove myself…” Donho took the spear and, while throwing it, he saw her sister waking up from her painful dream. Not seeing her mother in front of him. The spear hit the wrong prey. Bleeding, and seeing the fire calming down, the Keket took this opportunity to fly away, to the star lights. Donho screamed “no” the loudest he could. He ran to his dying mother. “Fly away,” said her, “fly away like the Keket, because you will be hunted like a Keket.” The boy cried, took his mother’s spear and flew away in the dark.

To be Continued...