There was a subtle quiet to the surrounding jungle.  Night had fallen and the moon cast eery shadows through the trees.  Ronan jumped as he saw movement from his left.  He threw a charred stick from the fire at the shadow that now taunted him.  There was a grumbling and then the stamping of hooves.  
      “Ronan, you should know better than to throw burning branches into the forest.”  The human nodded apologetically, “Sorry, I thought I had saw something.”  The centaur chuckled and sat down next to his friend, “You have nothing to worry about Ronan.  Those who seek you will never find you here.”
      Ronan observed his surroundings.  He was sitting in the middle of a small island in the middle of a shallow lake.  The dense Maguma Jungle surrounded them providing them a fairly well hidden retreat.  The solider prodded the fire’s embers, keeping it alive and strong.  
      “Ventari,” Ronan began, “You aren’t like other centaurs.  Why are you so kind?”  The old centaur gave a heavy sigh and looked up at the night sky.  “I was actually a warrior at one point who fought against the humans, but that was a long time ago.  In truth, my people used to be no different than I am now.  We were kind to all creatures.  We gave refuge to those who sought it, food for the hungry, and protection for the weak.”  He picked up the stone tablet he had been fiddling with earlier and looked at his inscriptions.  “Then came a time where our basic principles seemed to be no longer important.  We turned our backs on the ones we protected.  Some say it was provoked, others say it was well past due, I say that whatever the reason was, it was selfish.”  He picked up his chisel and thrust it into the side of the tablet, cracking it slightly.  “I left as soon as I could.  I wandered for days, weeks even, until I found this little sanctuary.  Now I continue what my race used to.  I help those in need.”
      “I see.  Do you miss them?”
      “Of course I do.  I miss everyone I cared about.  As I’m sure you do.”
      Ronan nodded and wiped away some small tears.  He stood up to relax, admiring the tree he had planted when he first arrived.  “Impressive isn’t it.  How quickly it’s grown.”
      “Yes indeed, it will be quite the marvel once it has fully grown.”
      “I wonder if we’ll live to see that day.”
      “You and I both know that day won’t come in our lifetimes,” the elderly centaur laughed.  He got up and set down his tablet at the base of the tree.
	Ronan looked up at the tree and pondered.  “This tree, it reminds me of a story my parents used to tell me as a child.”  He walked around the tree and stopped next to where its twist began.  
~~~~~~~
      A dragon glistens in a jeweled cave to tell brave adventurers their fortune.  Don’t be foolish when approaching her, you have to earn your right to learn.  A man makes an appearance and earns the right.  He asks the dragoness, ‘Will I become the strongest warrior?’  The creature spoke with a sweet grace, and a voice as smooth as glass, ‘Indeed you will, in the eyes of those whom admire you.’  Proud of his triumph, the warrior left.
      A woman walks in before the graceful beast and pleads for a fortune.  Deciding she had earned it, the graceful creature offered it to her.  ‘Will I ever bear a child?  One to whom I will raise and call my own?’  The luminous being smiled and nodded and said, ‘Indeed you will.  A son you shall carry and raise.  Care for his being as well as you can and he may live many more days.’  The woman ran away with glee to find her husband, whom she adored. 
      Years passed and the dragoness grew old.  Sleeping in her cave she awoke with a start, unaware of her new visitor.  ‘Please ma’am,’ the boy asked, ‘There’s something I need to know.’  She stared at her visitor and lay down her head, curious to what he would say.  ‘Speak up boy, don’t be shy, tell me what you need to know.’  The young lad sat next to the glittering being and began: my mother gave birth to her new dear child, that would be me you see.  She raised me and clothed me and called me her own, and has cared for me just like your story.  My father you also spoke to, a warrior proud and strong.  After I was born he left on an adventure and has never since been home.  I want to know, where is my father.  Please tell me he’s only been hiding.’  
      The dragon gazed at the boy and pondered for minutes on end.  A deep breathe she took and let out a sigh and nudged the boy with her snout.  ‘Bad news I’m afraid is all that I have.  Your father is most certainly not well.  He was killed not long after he set out on his journey and died in a jungle so far.  But fret not dear child, he will be reborn for you see there will be a tree so white and pure.  It will take your father’s soul and split it eight and a half ways, creating beings new and old.  While you will be long gone, just know in your heart, your father will come back soon.  He’ll continue his story and you’ll be able to watch, closely from the mists.’
~~~~~~~
      “The child cried and ran home, not believing anything the dragoness said.  His father never came home either.  The moral of the story is, that even when we know the truth of something, we have to face it eventually, whether we want to or not.”  Ronan ran his hand along the trunk.  “You don’t suppose that the story was true and that we planted this tree upon a dead man?”
      Ventari trotted up next to the smaller human.  “Tales have grains of truth buried within them.  If such a seer existed, then perhaps there is a long dead man buried beneath the tree.”
      Ronan knelt down and bowed his head, “May Dwayna guide you safely through the Mists.”

Years Later, 8 Brothers Awoke

--Written by XexustheSilver.6097
The Legend of Eight: Phantasmagoria Chronicles
Prologue