Origins: Seal

This story is part of the Origins series of Seal's Stories.

Chapter 1. Small Boy, Big Heart
“Hey! Leave that frog alone! It didn’t do anything!” Sealio screamed. Young Sealio was playing by the pond with his friend Jango, when some bullies came along and started teasing him and a helpless frog. Sealio always loved to protect innocent creatures. He couldn’t stand it when a defenseless creature was teased or picked on. As usual, Sealio was smaller and weaker than the bullies. “Put it down!” Sealio screamed, jumping up at the bully named Jack “Silly Sealio, you’re too weak.” Jack said, kicking Sealio down. Sealio fell back into a pile of mud. Jack and his crew laughed. Jango stepped in “Hey, back off.” Jango was a bit more intimidating. Jack and his friends backed off a bit “Chill Jango. Why are you even friends with this kid anyways? He’s weak and pathetic.” Jango helped Sealio up from the mud “Jack, back off. He’s done nothing to you.” Jack laughed “Whatever Jango. Stay here with that loser if you want. You’ll never get anywhere but in the mud.” The bully and his friends walked off somewhere. “You okay?” Jango asked Sealio. He looked away, mad that Jango had once again stepped in “I told you to let me handle it. I can take him, I know I can.” Jango felt sorry for Sealio being so small “I just didn’t want you to get hurt too bad. Maybe when you grow-” Sealio interrupted “I’m not small!” he screamed, running away.

Jango didn’t bother running, because he already knew where Sealio would be. Sealio went to a small cave, not far from his village. The only entrance to the cave was very small, only Sealio could crawl through it. He sat in there, alone and crying. He had a few special rocks he had collected organized in there with him. Jango came to the entrance of the cave “Come out bud, we’ll go get something to eat.” Sealio sat there, not moving “I’m not hungry, go away.” Jango attempted to climb in like he always did, but the entrance was just too small for him “Come on, we can get your favorite. Beef and potato stew.” Sealio still didn’t budge “No.” Jango gave up and walked away. After he left, Sealio waited to make sure he wouldn’t come back. He crawled out of his cave. It was getting dark out, so he decided to head back home.

Suddenly, he heard a frightening growl coming from the shadows. Frightened, he looked to his side and saw a snarling wolf. It looked like it was about to attack. Sealio backed away slowly, crying. The wolf pounced toward Sealio. He closed his eyes, thinking it would be best if he didn’t see the wolf ripping his insides out. But instead, the wolf didn’t land on him. He opened his eyes to see someone wrestling with the wolf. The man wrestled it until he broke it’s neck. The wolf lay there dead, Sealio still in shock, and the man recovering. The man, a traveling warrior, went over to make sure Sealio was okay “Are you okay little guy?” Sealio was still shocked “Yes, I’m fine.” The warrior looted the dead wolf for its fur “Ruser is my name. I’m a traveling warrior. What’s your name?” Sealio stood up “Sealio.” Ruser smiled “Well Sealio, it’s getting dark out. I’ll walk you to your village.” Ruser escorted the young Sealio back to his home. They arrived and Sealio thanked Ruser “Thank you.” Ruser smiled “I better be on my way now. I have to get to Draynor Village by tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully I don’t get lost along the way.” Sealio waved goodbye as Ruser walked off into the darkness. Sealio went into his home, feeling different about himself. He wanted to become a mighty warrior, and the only way to do that was to learn how to fight.

Chapter 2. The Warrior's Quest
It was a beautiful spring morning in the village. Not much was going on, just the usual daily routine of everyone doing their chores and running errands. But the lives of two boys would change dramatically when a special visitor came to visit the village. This guest was a brave warrior named Gador. He had traveled Gielinor slaying dragons, saving villages, defeating tyrants, and exploring the unknown. But he was growing old and his time to retire the sword was approaching. He wanted to spend his final days training a young warrior that could eventually become his successor and continue to protect Gielinor.

The villagers gathered around and gave Gador food and water. In exchange, he told the villagers about his recent travels and explained why he had come to the village. Sealio and Jango were in this audience, amazed at this brave warrior. He had traveled all the way from Ardougne, stopping at several villages along the way. “I am seeking an apprentice that I can take under my wing. I need someone that will continue to protect Gielinor and it’s people. They must be brave, strong, and caring.” Gador told them. Just as he expected, the villagers gathered their strongest young boys and brought them before Gador. Jack and Jango were part of this group, but not Sealio. Gador examined each boy closely. He was not that impressed with any of them except Jango and Jack “You two boys seem to be best fit for the job. But to be sure, I would like you two to fight each other. Whoever wins, I will take with me.” Jack smiled “I’m going to have fun kicking your ass Jango.”

Without hesitation, Jango socked him right in the nose. Jack fell to the ground and the crowd cheered. Jango jumped on top of Jack and began beating him. Jack kicked him off, then stood back up. The boys grabbed each other and continued to wrestle. Sealio sat in the corner watching his best friend and his enemy fight it out. He didn’t want Jack to win, but he also didn’t want Jango to leave. Jack tackled Jango to the ground and beat him down. Jango was pinned and could do nothing about it. Sealio watched his friend get beaten. Suddenly, something in him snapped and he lost it. He could stand watching his friend lose so he ran in there and kicked Jack’s ass. “Hey! Get this loser off of me!” Jack shouted. No one interveined. Jango stood up and helped Sealio. Jack tried to fight them both, but he couldn’t handle them both. Sealio finished him with a blow to the face. Gador stepped closer to examine the scene. Jack stood up slowly “That’s not fair! They outnumbered me! That means I win!” Gador looked at the boys “A great warrior must be able to fight off several enemies at once. You failed to show me that.” Jack was furious “That isn’t fair! That loser doesn’t deserve to become a warrior.” Gador examined Sealio “Boy, what is your name?” Sealio was a bit intimidated by Gador’s size “Sealio.” Gador looked over at the villagers “You are such a great fighter. Why didn’t your people present you to me in the first place?” The shopkeeper, standing in the back, shouted “He’s weak! He couldn’t even fight a chicken!” Everyone except Jango and Gador laughed. “He cries when there is a storm outside!” yelled the bartender. The village continued to laugh at Sealio, pointing out his cowardice. Gador looked at both boys “You two worked well as a team. Although it is not what I was intending, I would like to take both of you along with me.” Sealio smiled. He never thought he would have this chance. Gador, not really liking these people, wanted to leave right away so the boys grabbed a few items and said goodbye to their families.

They hit the road and were ready for a new adventure. “Gador, where are we going next?” Jango asked. “Well first I am going to test you two. Then, once I feel you are prepared, we may have to investigate a few places.” Gador explained, not wanting to go into detail. But curious Sealio asked the question “What kind of places?” Gador smiled “Well there’s a dark castle in the Wilderness that may be harboring an evil army, we could check that out. I’ve also heard about an evil tree trying to take over the world. Then there’s the Black Knight I’ve heard about, he’s a lone mercenary that pillages villages. There’s also the Red Gang led by the Crimson Assassin, we could take out a few of their guys. But one job interests me the most, a Mahjarrat named Lucien trying to take over the universe. I wonder if these jobs could be connected somehow…” Sealio smiled, feeling as if he knew something about each of the jobs “Even if we can’t do them all, I’m sure there are other brave heroes out there that will protect Gielinor and it’s people.”