• Once, long ago, there was a mighty and powerful king called James Addison, ruler of Summerhall and all the land around it. His son was in line for the throne and many thought he would be the greatest ruler that the land had ever seen. Many were jealous of the king’s power. Some believed that there was a powerful source behind the throne and many challenged him to possess it. Countless numbers failed trying to retrieve this so said powerful object; however one was to be different.

    One dark stormy night, a plan was over heard by the messenger of the king. An assassin was to be sent by the ruler of Daret, King Riley Eld, who was thirsty for King Addison’s throne. As soon as King Addison heard of the plan, he sent a servant to fetch his only son, Cedric.

    The king waited impatiently in the southern courtyard for his son to arrive. He was tightly gripping a gold handled sword in its leather scabbard over his shoulder. With a red ruby and blue sapphire implanted on its curved spikes, it was so light weight and strong that no one could doubt it belonged to a king. Even so, it was no ordinary sword.
    “What’s going on father?”
    The king’s son had arrived into the courtyard.
    “I need to speak to you Cedric.” said the king.
    The king’s son took a seat on the steel bench and turned to his father, intrigued and curious to hear more.
    The king looked down at his son. When had Cedric grown so tall? Had he always been so handsome? The king stood perplexed not knowing where to start. The truth, he thought, he needs to know the truth.
    “This is the sword of Summerhall,” he said quickly “it has always been in our family.” “The King of Daret is after the throne and if he becomes King of Summerhall, he will become owner of it. If the sword is lost to him Cedric, no power could defeat him.”
    He stopped and regained his breath; it was obvious that he had been longing to tell his son this.
    Yelling came from the castle. What was wrong? Cedric thought.
    The king continued, “This sword has a power, power like no other-”
    He stopped suddenly… an arrow from the top guard tower, had come to rest directly in his heart.
    No! Cedric thought. Not now!
    He grabbed the sword in the scabbard from over his dead father’s shoulder and ran.
    He ran as fast as he could, making sure that he didn’t lose his grip on the sword. Out of the castle, into the empty streets and towards the edge of the city he ran. He left the city gates and continued running until he came to the rolling plains near Oslin Forest. Exhausted, Cedric fell onto the ground and took huge, gulping breaths of air. Where was he to go?, he asked himself. It was obvious that it was no longer safe in Summerhall. Someone had just assassinated his father and now they would certainly be after him, the new King of Summerhall.
    After a minute Cedric made up his mind; he would find a clearing in the forest and camp for the night, hopefully out of reach of any harm. After that he would decide where to go and what to do. But one thing was certain of; he had to revenge his father’s death.

    Next morning Cedric woke up with the winter sun shining in his eyes. He had meant to rise earlier but had been exhausted by the events of the day before. He got up and walked to the stream nearby, cupping the icy water to his mouth. Thirst satisfied, but his stomach rumbling, he returned to the clearing.
    By the time the sun had fully risen, Cedric had made up his mind about what he would do. First he needed food and since Summerhall was the closest town he need to return there. If possible he also wanted to find out more about the person who had killed his father, and the villagers in town were always well informed. If he was to go to Summerhall however, he needed to be careful as people would surely be looking for him, and that unfortunately included the person who has murdered his father. What had his father said to him just before he died? That the King of Daret was after the throne? Was he responsible for his father’s death? All these questions rushed through Cedric’s mind and overwhelmed him. What was he to do when so much was expected of him?
    Cedric picked up this father’s sword and took it out of its scabbard. Everything around him slowed down. Cedric looked around curiously. While the small animals in the forest and the birds overhead no longer moved swiftly, he found that his movements remained the same. It was as if time had stood still, but he was unaffected. Cedric looked down at the sword. Was that what his father had been going to tell him just before he had died? That the sword was not just a heirloom, but truly magical? Cedric tightened his grip on the sword. It fitted his hand as if it was made for him. He stared at the sword for a minute then carefully put it away in its scabbard. He placed the scabbard over his shoulder and began walking towards Summerhall.
    Passing the watchmen and guards at the town gates was not as hard as he had expected. Not taking any chances however, Cedric decided to edge his way around town and enter one of the less frequented inns to get something to eat, incase he was noticed by any familiar residents.
    Entering a particularly shabby building, Cedric pulled his coat tightly around him and tugged the hood down over his eyes. There he ordered a meal and sat quietly by himself in the far corner of the room. He only had a few coins left now and was worried how he would get by. Just as he was about to get up, he heard some voices talking at another table. He caught the name Daret and stopped to listen.
    “That’s right!” said a raspy voice, “Heard it straight from the source.”
    “But why’s the King of Daret in Summerhall?” said another.
    “Rumor has it that the king died yesterday up in the castle! And…” he looked around to see if anyone was listening, missing Cedric. Thinking that the coast was clear he continued, “…others say that the King of Daret actually planned the killing!”
    “So what does that mean? That the King Riley of Daret wants to take over the throne?”
    “Of course, but the real question is…where’s the king’s son? King Riley must know Cedric is next in line to the throne”
    “So do you know where King Riley is now?”
    “Sure do! He’s in town, saw him myself a few hours ago, he was a’going up to the castle!”
    Cedric slumped down in his chair and reflected on what he had just heard. So King Riley was in Summerhall, that could make it all the much easier to kill him!

    Cedric made his way back slowly through the centre of the town careful not to draw any attention to himself. He decided to wait until the sun had set before moving closer to the castle. When the sun had finally dipped below the horizon, Cedric moved quickly and quietly towards the secret passage his father had shown him a few months ago that was located just outside the castle wall. The small opening in the ground was carefully concealed by a layer of thick undergrowth. No one but the king and Cedric knew of its existence.
    “There we go” said Cedric, as he maneuvered the latch that opened the secret passage. He slid effortlessly into the tunnel. It was dark and small but Cedric knew the way. He put his hand on the damp wall and began to walk forwards. Soon he saw a small ray of light coming from ahead. Moving closer to the light, he carefully opened a small wooden door and stepped inside the castle, remembering to close the door behind him. He was now in the servant’s quarters and he moved swiftly and steadily through the castle to the dinning hall.
    He was about to open the door to look inside when he heard a chilling voice behind him;
    “They said you would return” said the voice, “However, I personally thought you would have more sense!”
    Cedric turned around and stared into the face of King Riley; midnight black hair with streaks of silver laying across his face nearly covering his hostile brown eyes.
    “You killed my father!” shouted Cedric as he pulled the sword out of its scabbard. Again Cedric felt everything around him slow down just as he had experienced back in the forest. King Riley had also removed his sword and had begun to strike at Cedric’s heart. Cedric found that he could easily move away from the deadly blow.
    Spinning around quickly, Cedric adjusted his grip on the sword and launched himself at King Riley. This is my chance he thought as he struck hard at the king. The sword went straight through King Riley’s neck. The would be king fell to the floor. Cedric looked down on the man who killed his father, satisfied that he would never harm anyone in his family again.

    Hence the legend of King Cedric Addison and that mighty sword continues to spread across the land. The royal family in Summerhall continues to grow and prosper. The magical sword is still kept safe by mighty King Cedric and one day he will pass it down to his sons, who in turn will pass it onto theirs. That is unless someone tries to challenge them to possess its power.