no family to speak of, and he was a bit of an enigma, as Roggie had been raised by the village elder, who had told him nothing of his origins. Roggie had no memories of his early life at all, just those since his education had started. The elder had taught him many things, and since acquiring his burrow, those heady days of studying had been replaced by ones of contemplation, and Roggie did a lot of contemplating!
When it was his turn, he had taken one last longing look back towards the pie, before taking hold of the spear and rushing towards the white line. Roggie had summoned up all of his strength determined to win the pie, and thrust the spear high into the air, coming to rest just before the white line. The spear had sailed off in a near perfect trajectory, and he knew from the moment that he released it, that it was going to go far.
The spear sailed through the air right past the stake with the red flag wafting in the gentle breeze and carried on some distance before sticking into the ground. There had been a loud cheer from the other villagers, as this had been the furthest that anyone had ever thrown the spear in living memory.
Roggie had been taught about spears in his studies, and remembering all that he had learnt, he was overjoyed at the result. His joy increased, as when the contest was over, and his throw had been declared the winner. Roggie had been presented with the Sacred Spear, although what he was really interested in was the large, succulent, juicy pie!
The spear was a curios thing, lightweight and very strong with strange carvings on the blade. It was nothing like the simple wooden spear used in the competition, as it had been cast out of an unusual metal, and no one quite knew what it was. The village elder kept it safely hidden, and it only emerged at the presentation. For some reason breaking with tradition, Roggie had been allowed to keep it.
It was a similar result the following two years, and Roggie became the village champion spear thrower, as well as pie eater!
How he longed for one now, and was still thinking about it when the birds started chirping, as the first flickers of light began to make their way towards the horizon. He must have been asleep, as he gradually awoke, opening his eyes. Far away over the distant hills, he could see the beautiful dawn breaking over the tree tops, as he looked over his shoulder.
Roggie was not used to being up so early in the morning, and it was quite a novel sight for him to witness, and today it was truly magnificent. From his vantage point, he could see right over the great valley, as the small pockets of mist sparkled in the sunshine, giving it a magical feel. Way down below, sat the remains of the Castle, which used to be the centre of the kingdom. That was such a long time ago that Roggie doubted whether anyone had been there for generations. However, he was mistaken, for as he looked more closely, he could see a few wisps of smoke rising above it. Someone had now made it their home and from the looks of it, whoever it was had cleared the undergrowth from its once magnificent spires.
The village was so isolated that Roggie doubted if he, or any of the others, would have ever known of its existence at all, if it had not been for the tales told by the village elder. They would probably not have even known of the existence of Men either, if they had not suddenly entered the village yesterday.
He shuddered at the thought, wondering what had happened to the other villagers. He also thought about Dragons, and searched the sky, just in case there were any hovering above, ready to roast him to a cinder!
He then looked back towards the statue of the Great King, trying to make sense of it all.
According to the tales, the Great King had been very successful, bringing peace and security to the land, and as Roggie looked up towards his statue, he could see the sun glistening off his golden crown, despite the years of weathering. It must have looked absolutely magnificent when the statue was in full colour, and the gold polished like new. He had an enigmatic sparkle in his eyes, and a face that showed sensitivity, and wisdom. The master craftsmen seemed to have captured him perfectly, if the tales were anything to go by.
He had proved himself to be a worthy ruler, and had won all of his battles apart that was, from the last one, which had cost him his kingdom, his life and the lives of most of his people too. Roggie could almost see the far away look in the village elder’s eyes, as he spoke of a time when the land had been rich and bountiful. In its own way, the village had been too, well to its inhabitants that knew no better!
Roggie sighed, thinking about it, and his little burrow, and more importantly, his warm comfortable bed. The climb had made him very tired, and as the warm sunshine began to heat the balcony, he suddenly began to feel very sleepy.
Stretching out with his bag as a pillow, Roggie soaked up the warming rays, as his thoughts began to drift. In his mind, he could see pies and spears, his vegetable plot and all that he had experienced over the last twenty-four hours. He could also hear someone calling out his name, although it was not enough to awaken him.
It was as though he was not really here anymore, and had drifted off to another realm. Roggie was always drifting off somewhere, lost in his thoughts, but this was somehow different.
A strong sense of motherly love seemed to be wrapping itself around him, although strangely, he had absolutely no recollection of his parents at all, having been found wondering alone. He had been raised by the village elder, but had always been a little different. Somehow, he had never quite fitted in, even though they had all been very kind to him. He had often wondered why he had been left, although he never felt abandoned. He was always happy, and as long as he had a warm comfortable bed, and enough food to eat, his life had been complete. Now however, everything had changed!
He could see a pair of wings wrapped around him, and as he looked up, he could see the beautiful Faery again. She seemed to have a wonderful purity and her presence seemed to fill his body with energy and courage. He did not feel at all fearful, despite being alone and far away from the comforts and security of his burrow.
This feeling continued, as he could see the image of a man all dressed in white, giving orders from the castle far below. He had proclaimed himself ruler, and had embarked on a campaign of control over the people. Somehow, he had convinced them that he was their protector, and that all he wished to do was to look after them.
Roggie could see him sitting on a golden throne, pointing his right index finger towards something. On the wall opposite, there was a painting of a Dragon breathing fire, as it mercilessly destroyed a village. The people looked horrified, and begged him to protect them, which he assured them he would, as long as they did what he asked.
For some reason, Roggie had a bad feeling about him, as if he was not telling them the truth, transforming everything to suit his own purposes. He could then see a lot of people hard at work rebuilding the Castle, and others working even harder in the gold mines, which would produce the wealth and splendour he was really after.
Roggie also had the feeling of great sorrow, as he could see that everyone had been fooled by this Man. No one questioned him as they all believed in him, ignoring what was really going on around them. It was as though they had all been brainwashed, and none of them could see things for what they really were.
The scene suddenly changed, as if he had been looking through a bubble that had just burst, and he could now see the balcony that he was sleeping on. He could see himself stretched out in the sunshine, and then the plaque under the large sceptre that the king was holding. Underneath the plaque was an opening, and in the opening there was a smaller sceptre. It was then that Roggie heard the soft gentle voice of the Faery.
“Take the sceptre to the Wise Old Griffin, little one.”
He could then see a pathway opening up on the other side of the balcony, leading down the mountainside into the deep forest.
This scene began to fade as he returned to thoughts of his burrow, and of his warm comfortable bed. Roggie must have slept on for quite some time, as it appeared to be well into the morning when he finally awoke.
It was a beautiful spring day, and the leaves had
already developed into a thick green canopy above the forest. Everywhere was alive with blossom, which floated down like confetti all around him. There was just something magical about it, and everywhere was filled with its sweet scent. It really was a luscious land, and he could almost see the Great King smiling in contentment, as he looked down upon his kingdom.
Raising himself to his feet, Roggie stretched, feeling a lot better after his sleep. His limbs still ached, although not as much as they had done before. He felt quite contented after his dream, and he could still feel the Faery’s comforting wings wrapped around him. It was quite a story, and one of which Roggie was not going to take much notice of, after all it was just a dream!
Curiosity did get the better of him though, as he emptied the last of the food out of his bag. There were only a few meagre vegetables, and as he looked at them, he longed for one of the village’s mouth-watering pies. Sitting munching on what he had, he looked over towards the carved plaque which sat under the Great King’s sceptre, wondering if there was indeed a hidden compartment beneath it. There seemed nothing else better to do, so after finishing what little food he had, Roggie decided to investigate.
There was quite a lot of ivy over that part of the