Origins: Salix

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

Chapter 1. Salix and Wolly
Young Salix sat by the pond not far from his farm. It was a sunny day outside with a cool breeze blowing. While other children were running around playing games, Salix sat and talked to the willow trees. Wolly the Sheep sat alongside him, enjoying the beautiful day. “Such a lovely day, isn’t it Mr. Willow Tree?” Salix asked the tree. “Very lovely indeed.” the tree responded. Salix pet his sheep “Doesn’t that feel good Wolly?” Wolly smiled in enjoyment “Feels wonderful.” Some of the other children laughed at Salix, thinking he was crazy talking to sheep and trees.

It was nearly lunch time, so Salix decided to go to his favorite apple tree and eat. “Good bye Mr. Willow Tree. See you tomorrow.” Salix told the tree. He ran off with Wolly at his side. The tree wasn’t far. Salix arrived and saw three other kids smashing the apples from the tree. “Hey! Get away from that tree! If you aren’t going to eat the apples then leave them alone.” Salix said, marching up to the kids. They started to throw apples at Salix. “Hey stop it!” Salix shouted, defending himself. “Shut up tree boy.” one of the kids said. Wolly jumped in and began kicking the apples away. The kids stopped throwing. “See you later tree boy.” a kid said, as they all walked away. Salix walked over to the apple tree “Looks like there’s no apples today Wolly. We’ll go home and eat.” Wolly had a frown “I really wanted some apples.” Salix walked down the path back to his home.

On the path, going in the opposite direction, Salix saw a man that looked confused. Wanting to help, he ran up to him “Excuse me sir, do you need help?” He could tell the man was a warrior. He had a sword on his back, along with some bow and arrows, and also a wand at his side. He looked at Salix “Oh yes. It does look like I took a wrong turn somewhere. Do you know where Draynor Village is?” Salix pointed east “It’s in that direction. You’re almost there.” The warrior looked in the direction he was pointing “Ah, that’s what I thought. Thank you lad.” Curious, Salix asked the man a question “Are you a warrior?” The man chuckled “Why yes I am. My name is Ruser. I’m on my way to visit a wizard friend of mine in Draynor. What is your name?” Salix was very impressed “A warrior! That’s so cool. My name is Salix.” Ruser was glad the child was impressed “Well, I better be on my way now. Thank you for your help. Maybe we’ll run into each other again some day.” Salix smiled and skipped off “Good bye. That would be so cool if we saw each other again.” Wolly skipped behind Salix “That man was nice.”

Soon, they arrived back at their farm. Fortunately, his mother had fresh picked fruits sitting on the table. Salix and Wolly each enjoyed the fruits. After lunch, Salix went and did some of his daily chores. He gave Wolly a bath, fed some of the animals, fixed a broken chair, and cleaned the windows. After his chores were complete, it was nearly time for dinner. His mother had made roasted chicken with potatoes and other fresh veggies. Salix and Wolly ate like pigs. It was the most delicious meal they had ever had. After dinner, Salix rested and sat on his swing. He looked up at the moon “Wolly, some day we are going to do great things.” Wolly looked confused “What kind of great things?” Salix thought for a moment. He wasn’t quite sure. “Well, we are going to protect people and plants. I want to be just like Ruser one day. We’ll fight bad guys and travel all over Gielinor..” Salix told Wolly. Wolly was excited “That sounds so much fun! I can’t wait until we get bigger!” It was nearly bed time, so Salix skipped inside. He cleaned up and got into bed. Wolly slept on hay in the corner. “Good night Wolly.” Salix said, closing his eyes. “Good night Salix.” Wolly said, dozing off.

Little did Salix know, the plants and people of Gielinor would need him some day. A dangerous plant species that seeked to destroy all of humanity was slowly growing. It was waiting for the right moment to strike.

Chapter 2. The Journey Begins
Several years later, it is a beautiful morning. Salix awoke early and prepared for his big day. Wolly also woke up and cleaned himself, for it was a very important day for both of them. Today was the day they set out on their journey. Salix wanted to learn all that he could about plants and nature, and maybe meet a few friends along the way. With Wolly by his side, he believed he could do anything. “Let’s eat breakfast Wolly then we will leave.” Salix said. They had eggs and ham with fresh milk from the cows. They ate quickly. Before they left, Salix hugged his parents and said good bye. Salix’s mother cried, but she knew this day would come eventually. Salix and Wolly left their farm and waved good bye. Little did he know, this would be the last time he saw his parents alive.

Before going into the forests, Salix decided to stop at the Falador Market to buy some supplies. He had a small pouch of coins that his father had given him and a sacked lunch his mother had made. Salix had figured he would do small jobs for people to earn money and food. At the market Salix bought tinder, an axe, and other tools he might need along the way. He also bought a bag of treats for Wolly. The sheep smiled and gladly ate a treat. While walking around Falador, Salix saw an unusual number of cats lurking “I’ve never seen so many cats in one place before. Strange.” A young boy, about the same age as Salix, seemed to be the source of the cats. Salix walked over to him and asked him why there were so many cats around him. “Why do you have so many cats?” Salix asked. The boy replied “I-I-I-I don’t know…” The cats hissed at Salix to back off. Salix and Wolly slowly backed away and left. “Sure hope we don’t ever run into him again.” Salix whispered to himself, walking away quickly. The boy ran to the other side of town into an abandoned house. He cried to himself “Why do these cats keep appearing? That damn witch did this to me. I think her name was Sabrina.” The cats comforted him and purred.

Salix left town through the northern gates to head towards Taverly. “I heard that Taverly is famous for its high quality seeds. What kind of idiot collects seeds?” Salix joked with Wolly. The sheep laughed “I know right? They’re just seeds.” It wasn’t a long journey, but they finally made it to the Village of Taverly. “Such a cute little village this is.” Salix said, glad he finally arrived. A girl about his age and a bird he had never seen before came and welcomed them to the village. “Welcome to Taverly. We hope you enjoy your stay with us. My name is Erikaa, and this is my pet ostrich Princess.” the girl said, greeting them with a basket of bread. “Thank you very much.” Salix said, taking the basket and eating a piece of bread. Wolly and Princess played with each other. The ostrich was still a baby, so it was fairly small. Salix and Erikaa chatted with each other on a bench. Salix asked more questions about the area, directions to the next town, and the seeds of course. “Why is this town obsessed with seeds? I see seeds everywhere in this.” Salix said, making fun of them. Erikaa smiled “The question is, why aren’t YOU obsessed with seeds? They may look like just a farmer’s best friend, but they are in fact a powerful weapon as well.” Salix didn’t believe it “Powerful weapon? What could seeds possibly do in a battle?” Erikaa stood up and dragged Salix along with her “Come with me, I’ll show you.”

Chapter 3. Seeds
SEEDS!!!!!!!