Free The Staff of Kyade by James L. Craig

The Staff of Kyade

    "Mamaru, what are you still doing up? You should be asleep, young one." She said to her grandson. He was walking around his room with a stick, stalking the area.
    "I am training to be a big, strong hero for Kyade like cousin Haruka. He fought off a wild bear!"
    "Ha, I see. Well you do know that to be a hero does not necessarily mean you have to be big and strong.” She said to Mamaru, who was still in his pretend warrior stance.
    "You don't?”
    "You know the village of Kyade was once the scene of a terrible tragedy, but the courage of a brave young boy helped save it and eventually returned it back to the land of beauty that we enjoy."
    "Really? Was he young like me?" Mamaru asked while sitting down on his bed.
    "Yes, he was. I will tell you what—how about you get into bed, and I will tell you the legend of your great ancestor and how he saved this land, as well as the world, from evil. I'll tell you how he did it with nothing more than a courageous attitude and a pure heart."
    "Ok, grandma." So Mamaru lay down in his bed and his grandmother sat by his side and began to tell him the story of the history of the village they lived in, the village known as Kyade.
    "You see, long ago there was a village called Kyade and it was as beautiful then as it is now. The people were just as friendly and the land was just as peaceful. It was the closest to paradise that anyone could come. The land was known throughout the world as a sanctuary and anyone who had a sickness or trouble of any sort could come to the village and they would be taken in as if they had been born there. The village seemed like a holy place, but in all actuality, it was just a common village. The people farmed and traded and worked for everything they had, but there was something special about this village that set it apart from the others."
    "What was it grandma?" Mamaru asked with anticipation."
    "It was a staff. The staff, like the village, had been in the world as long as the people could remember. It was a long metal staff that had two specific features:  it had two gold intersecting rings on top with a white seal in the middle. The legend stated that there was a guardian connected with the staff known as the Ujiima, who was the protector of the world. The staff was believed to be the tool used to make contact with the creature. Since Kyade was where the staff was kept, the village prospered through the connections of the Ujiima. Legend stated that part of the Ujiima's spirit was sealed in the staff. The Ujiima was said to have a plethora of mystical powers and is believed to be the sole effect of anything good in the world.
    "The Ujiima was said to take the appearance of a beautiful white unicorn that glowed with a celestial bright light. Its mane and tail flowed in the wind. This is what the legend was at that time, but before then, no one really knew for sure what the Ujiima looked like."
    "Wow, grandma, that sounds amazing. But if the Ujiima protected the village, then how did tragedy strike?"
    "I am getting to that, sweetheart. The village of Kyade was left alone in its beautiful glory for years. That is, until a certain man started having nightmares. On the other side of the world, in a country called Teras, lived an evil emperor. He was greedy, mean, deceitful, and his lust for power was overwhelming. He would kill anything and anyone to get what he wanted. His name was Tokufumi.
    "Although Tokufumi was a very bad man, he did have one fear. He was afraid of losing his empire. It meant everything to him and he hated the thought that someone would eventually overthrow him. What he was not smart enough to know was that his people feared him so much that no one had the nerve to ever rise up against him. Nonetheless, his fear of losing his empire grew. One night in his dream, he heard a voice call to him …
    *~*~*
    'Tokufumi … it's time,' said the strange voice.
    'It's time? What is it time for?' The emperor asked fearfully.
    'It