A Story by Oneme
Once upon a time, there lived a young boy in a
strange and faraway land. He was a very smart and
brave boy, and all he wanted to do was grow up to
be big and strong and help other people...
This boy didn't know how he was going to do this,
so he asked everyone he knew "How can I be a good
and brave person?" But nobody could tell him. So,
with a heavy heart, he went to the oldest and
wisest person he knew, a cranky old man named
Pinkfish.
The young boy, whose name was Aragorn, sat at the
feet of the grumpy old man and said "Oh, please,
tell me how to be a good person!". But Pinkfish
was too grouchy to be of any help.
Aragorn became so discouraged that he decided he
couldn't live anymore in his tiny little village.
So he packed up all his worldly belongings and set
out to find the one person who could tell him what
to do. He didn't know wo or where that person was,
but Aragorn vowed to search until he found him (or
her).
So Aragorn walked and walked and walked, until he
came to a wide chasm, with a flimsy rope bridge
stretching over it. As he was crossing the bridge,
he noticed a poor young priestess on the other
side. The priestess seemed very upset, so Aragon
raced across the bridge to see what was wrong.
"Can I help you?" said Aragorn, and the priestess
sobbed harder. "I've lost my flail!" she cried.
"Some evil troll came and stole it from me! He's
right up the trail, but he won't give it back!"
So Aragorn did his best to calm the young
priestess, and grabbing a stout branch, strode up
the trail to confront the troll. Now, Aragorn
didn't know much about swordfighting, but his
youth in the mountains had taought him how to use
a staff. So he went up to the troll, and said
"please, will you return the flail to the young
priestess?" THe troll growled and said "NO! Mine!
Fancy stick belong to ME!" and began to advance on
the brave young man...
Aragorn was a polite young man, and he had given
diplomacy his best shot, but he could see that the
troll was in no mood to be reasonable. So he
bravely raised his staff and held his ground as
the huge troll advanced upon him...
The troll was huge and incredibly strong, but
Aragorn was quick on his feet, and had a greater
strength than his looks would have you believe.
The fighting was furious, and Aragorn gave and
took many blows...
The young priestess could hear the sounds of
fighting from around the corner, and she crept
through the bushes till she could see the
combatents. Even with her scant experience at
battle, she could see that Aragorn was tired. So
she summoned her courage and raced in to cast her
healing rituals upon our young hero.
With the added strenth that the priestess gave
him, Aragorn dealt a mighty blow to the head of
the horrible troll, and the monster fell sensless
to the ground. Aragorn grabbed the flail, and he
and the priestess fled the scene.
Once the pair were as far as they could get,
Aragorn handed the flail to the priestess and said
"Here you are, miss." The priestess was charmed,
and smiled at her young savior. "Thank you, good
sir. Tell me, where are you going?"
Aragorn told the priestess his story, and said
that he was searching out the one who could teach
him to be a brave and good person. THe priestess
laughed to hear this. "You are already a good person,
for you helped me without even considering yourself.
And you are already brave, for you attacked the troll,
who was so fierce, with no thought of fear."
Aragorn pondered the words of the priestess, but
he was still troubled. "But how can I help people?
I want to do what's right." The priestess smiled
again, and said "Come with me to Ankh-Morpork. I
will take you to the Guild of Warriors, who will
train you in fighting. But hold in your heart what
is there now; remember how you want to do only
good." And Aragorn nodded, for the young priestess
was obviously wiser than she appeared (for she did
look rather young and foolish).
So the pair travelled to Ankh-Morpork, and had
many adventures on the way. And the priestess took
him to the fighters guild, just as she promised.
Then she told Aragorn "If you ever need anything,
ask a diciple of Pishe, and they will help you."
Aragorn wondered at this, for the young priestess
(she had never told him her name, and he always
forgot to ask) didn't look as though she had the
power to demand this of her fellow Pishites. The
priestess smiled at his puzzlement, and as Aragorn
watched in wonder, she began to glow with holy
light.
Aragorn realized that he was looking on the
Goddess herself, and was overcome with awe. But
Pishe smiled upon him and said "For the help you
have given me, I and my diciples will help you.
FOr you are good, and brave, and strong, and you
helped me when I was in need." Aragorn gratefully
accepted Her blessing, and went forth to train
hard as a warrior.
And soon the young man was honoured and feared all
over the Disc, but he was only feared by the bad
people, for he kept his promise. And one day he
met a delightful girl named Oneme, who,
remembering the teaching of her Goddess, promised
to help him whenever he was in need.
The truth is that Oneme would have done so anyway,
because she liked the young warrior, and valued
his friendship. And Aragorn made many friends, and
became honoured throughout the Disc (and even by
that old grouch, Pinkfish!) The End.