I made a vain attempt to stifle a long, drawn out yawn as I rode into the village of Brooksvale- a small, remote area situated by a creek in the middle of nowhere. In all honesty, this village was quite a sight to behold: the cottages I passed by were arranged in an orderly fashion and they appeared to be in decent-enough condition. They were simple little buildings made of weathered oak logs and had a thatched roof to protect its inhabitants from the elements. The sounds of children playing and squealing with delight graced my ears, and I couldn't stop a slight smile from appearing on my face. The one drawback I noted was the people here seemed suspicious of me as I rode past them. I mean, I couldn't blame them. I've been called a demon by the holy men, who run the church in Helios. They don't matter, so fuck them! This story isn't about them!

Never mind that: I was sent here for a reason, and that reason wasn't to trash talk the church. Although I wouldn't mind doing that, my boss Stanford wouldn't be too happy that I got off topic. You see, I'm a member of the Knights Templar, an organization based in the capital of my home country of Alysia. From Helios, the Templars do everything in their power to help those in need. (Just to clarify so no one's confused: Helios is the capital of Alysia.)

Eh, that's not important at the moment. I was sent out here to see if any...illegal activities were happening in Brooksvale. The King of this fine country, Frederick, isn't fond of slavery-or any other types of illegal activities going on inside his borders for that matter. (Most kings aren't fond of that kind of crap to begin with.) Hey, I'm just your above-average Templar, but things like slavery don't sit well with me, kind of like tuna, (I fucking hate tuna) Besides my joking nature, I am actually a serious person and I take my job very seriously.

I subconsciously triple checked if I had my helmet on. I did, of course. I guess you get kind of paranoid when your left eye has a scar running diagonally across it and said-left eye is a paler shade of blue than the other, which is a rich shade of azure mind you. Eh, maybe I'm paranoid, but I don't care either way. It's kept me alive for a fair amount of time, so hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Considering I'm more or less talking about my backstory, I'm sure you're intrigued about just who I am. Well, let me enlighten you, my dear reader. I try to not think too much about my past, so that's why I write it down! It helps me forget the fact that I used to be an innocent eight year old who barely knew any better.

I was your average kid growing up in an average village with an awesome family. My dad's name is Thomas and my mom's name was Jasmine. I don't know how they met, but my dad used to serve as a commander in the standard army of Alysia. From what I've heard, he was a great leader while he served. However, his service to Alysia ended when he sustained a combat injury to his right leg.

My mother had raised me beside my father for about seven years before she died of mysterious causes. My father tried to use a cringe-worthy excuse to assure seven year old me that my mom was "away," but I wasn't dumb. I knew my mom was never coming home.

Life was a little darker after that. I still remember the pain I felt back then. I was seven. Now, I'm about to turn eighteen. A lot has occurred since then.

A year after my mom's death, I did something very...Very stupid. Grief can drive people to do some crazy things, and I was no exception. Ehm...If it's alright with you, I'm going to move on...

All in all, I'm pretty much a normal guy. I have shaggy black hair, rugged-good looks, one azure blue eye-Well, that's where "normal" ends. After spending four years as an exile, I was found by a man in shining armor. I won't say what happened during those four years-I'm not very proud of that time period... at any rate, this man told me his name was Stanford, and that he was recruiting newbies for the Knights Templar. After saying no once, I became a Templar.

I also, apparently, attracted the attention of the court wizard of Helios, Virrius. He looked about seventy years old. Although, he was much, much older-like... I don't know, two hundred years old? Maybe even more. Anyway, he told me that I was special. (Big surprise there) I asked him to be more specific, and he said that I had potential about me. He told me that I could learn a branch of magic called Imagery Magic. What is that, you may ask? Well, my dear reader, it's anything you want it to be. You can create whatever pops into your mind. The only limit is your imagination. That's what Virrius told me when I asked him.

Eh, at any rate, I became a member of the Knights Templar. Even though I joined begrudgingly, my life took a turn for the better. Hell, I've even managed to make a few friends in the process. One of them is a King's ranger named Dorrian. He's deadly with a bow, but he means well. We were sent on our first mission together when I was fifteen years old, which raises more questions than answers if you ask me. Dorrian and I had to investigate an outpost to the southeast of Helios to see if it was under the control of a group of bandits. Of course, It was, and Dorrian almost got shot in the face by a few dozen arrows. Luckily, I was able to get him to the ground before any hit him. Dorrian's eyes are a mix of dark blue and purple, and they also have a mischievous twinkle to them that never seems to fade away. His shaggy hair is dark brown-almost black.

Another one of my friends is named Analise. She has... a complicated past. She's a pure blood elf, and I can tell from her general attitude that her childhood wasn't very kind to her. To further describe these two, Dorrian is about a foot shorter than I am. (Wow. I'm not the tallest person, but Dorrian is short.) Analise has a few inches on him, which makes him very irritated whenever she points that out. Analise also has red hair that's usually tied back in a ponytail. Her eyes are also blood red, which is a staple of her race.

The way I met Analise was far from normal: I got a report one day that a group of cultists were trying to burn someone at the stake. Dorrian and I crashed their party and met Analise. She honestly didn't need any rescuing: she made sure that the cult was wiped off the face of the earth while I, on the other hand, dealt with a grouchy chicken that wasn't too fond of me. By the time I was done dealing with the chicken, Ana was painted red with blood.

"Umm, Hello." I had called out, "My name's Helix."

She started walking away: "Analise," she replied simply, using a piece of cloth to get the blood off of her knife while she walked away from the carnage left in her wake.

They're pretty much my best friends. Well, there is Stanford. He has a certain sense of sarcastic know-how that always seems to get under my skin. He also wears glasses 24/7, which makes me wonder how blind he is when he doesn't have his spectacles on hand. The thing that creeps me out the most about him are his eyes: They're a bright shade of light blue, and they seem to read your every thought and emotion. He has dark golden brown hair that is usually cut short.

King Fredrick's a cool guy too. He gave me my own room in the keep when I first arrived in Helios, which was nifty because I had diddly-squat at the time.

Oh...crap. I'm rambling, aren't I? Well, back to the main story!

Moving on...I rode into Brooksvale, people were looking at me like I had a demon on my back, yada, yada, yada. Well, I was right about illegal activity going on in this fine village. This small little settlement looks to be well off-I mean, no one's dying of a common cold or fighting each other for the last piece of stale bread, so they're actually doing quite well.

I dismounted from my trusty steed and strode over to the main market of the town. I bypassed the lovely cottages and other buildings around me and riveted my attention on the small crowd that was starting to gather in the small marketplace. Based off of what I was able to see, it looked as if a slave auction was about to take place. Things like this always get my blood boiling...I try my best to protect the weak and you're selling them for ninety-nine gold marks each? I call bullshit!

...Outrage aside, I wasn't just going to stand around like a cross-eyed dolt. I'm a Templar, for fuck's sake. I do what I must to punish those who deserve to be punished.