Chapter 1 - Neville the Great and Theo the Not so Great

1 - Neville the Great
The woods surrounding the dark sinister castle were quite dangerous. So dangerous in fact, that Neville Reed, one of the bravest, strongest men for 100 miles around, never came back out from those woods. Stories were passed on (legends of course)that Neville came out the other side of the woods, found the edge of the Earth, and decided to stay there because of the peaceful surroundings. Other stories (or, legends) said that Neville was killed by an ogre that guarded the castle, or that he got into the castle, and it shifted like an ancient Egyptian pyramid, and trapped him.
But of course, since the forty men he took with him never returned either, then none of these stories were true... Or were they?


Well, that question was what Theodore J. Webster set out to answer.
He definitely was not brave, maybe he was strong in some ways more than one, and he DEFINITELY didn't have any man, woman or child backing him up. Other than his grandfather, whom swore, he himself was one of the 40 men Neville Reede took with him into the woods twenty seven years ago, and he was the only one who returned alive. Edgar C. Webster was his name. Theo looked up to him for inspiration, even though sometimes his stories about seeing purple animals and flying cats in the woods seemed ludicrous. Edgar filled Theo's head with wonderful, mysterious and mystical tales when he was a young lad.
He told him how Neville's bright, long blond hair shone brighter than the sun, and his pure black eyes struck fear into your hearts the minute you saw them, and how with each step, the ground itself shook. People bowed only to him, and he bowed only to one person.
Mira Cray, the love of his life.
But she was no one of importance; she was only the daughter of a book binder and a merchant. The only exception in her importance was she studied a great deal of medicine and herbs, and by the age of 17, everyone in the village came to her when sickness took over, and she always managed to heal.
Theo would have liked to meet her, his grandpa said she was more beautiful then a full bloomed rose in the summer. She had pale skin, black hair and green eyes. She spoke so softly and yet had an aggressiveness about her that made you listen intently to whatever she said.
But she disappeared a day after Neville went into the woods, and sickness quickly overcame the people in the village. Many died and many left. Only Theodore's family stayed, because they practically ran the town after Neville left.
And so, with only 100 people left in the village, part travelers who stayed, and part the Webster family, Theodore J. Webster was the only willing person, whether be called man or boy, to venture into the unknown.

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