Prologue 

A flame feebly glowed in the distance. It wasn’t very bright at all, nor was the flame strong. It couldn’t handle wind or rain, nor an earthquake or a breath of air. However, it was special. It was an artifact of the magic that used to be. It would grant power to anyone who took hold of the candle, but if the flame went out, that person would die. Many people fought over this candle, many people died, many people injured, and all of them never even touched the candle. The candle’ light was fading and fading fast. When it fully fades, it would become a normal candle, no special powers or flame. This isn’t some story about good vs evil. It’s ABOUT evil. 

Chapter 1

Good Beginnings

Tuesday morning, in the most cheery town possible. “What a mess,” she thought, despising her ‘sweeter than sugar’ town. She’d rather pass out in gamma radiation than listen to this gibberish. 

“Ignore, ignore, and more ignoring,” she said, as she tore down ‘missing cat’ papers on buildings and bus stops. She stopped for a minute to gawk at the statue of ‘our great mayor who sacrificed himself to get the candle.’ In all honesty, he was corrupt and tried to get the candle but died in the process. “That fat old man could do nothing with his life, anyway,” she thought, rolling her eyes as she kicked a stone under a ladder, causing workers to fall onto the statue and crush what they had built so far. 

“Hey freak! Remember your place!” said a boy in a cart, riding by her and throwing mud and rocks. She threw a rock back and he fell into his cart. The townspeople looked at her, appalled that she would do that. She shot a nasty look in their direction and watched as they ran off, terrified.

Everyone’s got a goal. Hers: The Candle. She already had everything she needed, except time. Time, time, time. It kills you anyway, but she was dying fast. The curse would take its toll in fifty days. Unless she found the candle and gained immortality. Each day she coughed up a single drop of blood every hour, slowly getting weaker. Now it was her only chance; she had everything she needed to start the quest to find the candle. So she would.

That night, she hijacked a ship and went to sea, and no one noticed till morning that she AND the ship were gone. She had to complete the six tasks: cross the “Tortuous Tempest,” the un-sailable seas that were always stormy; climb the waterfall; slide down a cloud; conquer the stadium; call the night; and raise the dead. The Tortuous Tempest was first. She traveled on seas across the sea’s barrier, guarding the average citizens from crossing into the Tempest.

In the foggy distance, she heard a girl singing. She turned the ship towards the sound. The singing was very soft and quiet. Then it hit her. Siren. Sirens lured sailors into their trap by singing their enchanting song and killed them. She rapidly turned the ship away from the sound and plugged her ears. She unplugged her ears to hear blood curdling shrieks coming from the right, where she heard the siren. Then it went quiet. The waves began crashing violently in the distance. More ships came forward into the fog from behind her, some big, some small. Then she had the urge to duck. She quickly bent down and avoided an arrow that would’ve killed her instantly. The fight was beginning.