Ocean Heaven Prologue

They say that everyone is special in their own way, that certain people have abilities that others lack. Abilities like calculating, cooking, or being faster or stronger. But how does a person gets these abilities?

"In this world, there are persons who aren't bound to moral values. They would do anything to get what they want. Stealing, murder, raping... Some of them don't have a choice, but some of them make it for pure diversion. Add that the dangerous creatures that lurk the wilderness, and you have the perfect formula for a... Hey! Hiken Anaster, are you listening to me?"

Hiken Anaster. 14 year old boy. Status, asleep, there was saliva streaming down from his mouth. His mother stared at him furiously as she grabbed him from his brown spiky hair, lifted him up, and sank his face into a bucket of cold water next to her. She placed it there as if she knew that his son would fell asleep in the middle of her lecture.

"Whaaaa!" the young boy woke up with surprise, he was panting, he glared at his mother, defiantly, "What the hell! Are you trying to kill me?!" he yelled, with his strong teenager voice.

"If that keeps you awake, yes please!" His mother yelled back, and so it began another loud discussion between a lazy son and an authoritative mother.

The people around the coastal village of Calidum was used to this kind of noise. Everyday the same, he doesn't listen to his mother, she punishes him, he yells and she yells back, almost like a daily ritual. Days without them making a scandal were considered of bad luck, and people used to stay indoors those days.

Calidum was built near a beach, to the west of the Central Continent (CC), the blue color of his waters were equal to the skies', and there were always fishing boats almost everyday. The sand of the shore was soft, walking barefoot on there was like stepping on cotton sheets, and wearing shoes on the sand was considered a disrespect to the beach. Where the town began from the beach, the sand slowly turned to dirt, cocconut palms decorated the town.

Each villager had built his house with wood and cobblestone. The population consisted in strong men, fishermen, lumberjacks, miners, all of them hard working. There were also old men, wise and experienced, with some useful advice to share. There were women, loving women dedicated to the harvesting of fruits and vegetables, and there were also those women who preferred the studies of magic. Girls and boys playing around during their free time, or being prepared to become masters of their enterprises during their training.

Hiken Anaster began his training when he was six, but his occupation was a bit different from the others in Calidum. He was no fisherman, nor a lumberjack, he was not a minner, either. In his family, the Anasters, when a child reaches the age of six, they are asked if they want to continue the family business. If the child agrees, then his training begins.

Hiken inherited an old iron longsword from his father, and a red bandana he likes to wear around his neck, like a cowboy. He likes to wear some black baggy jeans, and a black undershirt under a red button shirt he wears open. The red shirt hung from his shoulders on his back like a cape. He also wears a pair of red sneekers decored with white stripes. He was a calm boy, but can respond aggressively if provoked, his dark brown eyes were usually staring away from what was important.

He is a lazy boy, slim boy, with regular strength, regular speed, and he is scared easily by any creature that it's bigger than him and could devour him in one bite. This last detail is important for his occupation, for he was training to be a...

"Hiken, how do you expect to become a hero if you don't even listen to your mother!", his mother said, she had submitted Hiken by holding his right arm, and stomping the back of his head, pressing his face against the floor.

"Look at that! You can't even defeat me!", she laughed, making fun of her own son. Avilyn Anaster was a woman with a strong personality, but also a loving mother. She educated his son with the most severe lessons that crossed her mind. A short woman, with shiny brown eyes, she tied her long wavy hair with a white ribbon in form of a ponytail, she usually dresses with a mid long black skirt, and a white blouse. Hanging on her left shoulder, there was a black belt which she used to keep the sheath of a longsword, the world famous "Black Steel Sword".

The Anaster Heroes, is a clan which came from a long generation. Avilyn Anaster was the clan's actual successor. She married a man who was also a strong warrior, who he decided to join the Anaster clan to keep the tradition  alive. Hiken is the newest member, but he is not considered a hero yet, he is still considered an apprentice, to become a hero the apprentice has to pass the four trials.

The first trial consisted in deciding to become a hero himself, no one can take that decision for the apprentice or condition him to do it. The second trial is to learn how to negotiate, being a hero doesn't mean being a fighter, and violence is considered a last resort if everything else doesn't work. The third trial is survival, before being allowed to venture to the wilderness, the apprentice is taught to hunt for food, and defend himself from the aggressive creatures which can't be reasoned with. And the final trial is to learn what is the meaning of being a hero, this can't be taught, the apprentice must find this answer on his own, this trial is the one that separates the true heroes, from glory hunters that end up turning evil, or those who make justice with an iron fist.

Hiken Anaster has passed the first two trials, and the time has come for him to put his bargaining abilities to the test. His mother assigned him the simple mission of collecting the "Lunar Stone", an old relique of his family which was shared with a neighboring town as a peace token.