Emidas’ story begins as a young lad, in a remote village somewhere in the beautiful scenic rural hills of Romania.
Raised as an orphan, Emidas was prone to bullying, and rumors about what happened to his parents. The bullying was incessant, largely focusing on his small stature and penchant for books. But even as a grade school orphan, Emidas showed promise. The villagers quickly began to take notice of his intellect. New rumors spread about his ability to solve nearly any problem, no matter the complexity.
The village elders, faced with increasing pressures facing their population over fears of famine, war, and disease, turned to Emidas. The boy was just 9 years old. An elite group of the village’s finest warriors adopted Emidas. Every day the boy would train in combat. And every night, he was tasked with finding solutions to all manner of problems.
From a scrawny, bullied orphan, Emidas grew. The years of training turned him into the village’s finest warrior. Master of every weapon, master of hand-to-hand combat, and the hope of this small village. As the full moon on the month of his birthday approached, the 12 surrounding tribes decided it was too dangerous to let the boy continue to live and become an even greater threat.
A plan was formed, for all 12 villages, to attack the village of Elrond. Fearing Emidas’ problem-solving abilities could be linked to a genetic mutation found in the village, the plan was to annihilate every man, woman, and child.
Days before the night of the attack, a strange letter appeared on Emidas’ nightstand. A cryptic puzzle, along with a map into the most dangerous regions of the nearby mountainside. Under the threat of the approaching attack, Emidas ignored the letter. With the village elders chaotically pleading with Emidas to save people, day and night he did not sleep. He must find a solution he thought. He must.
With just a few days left until the imminent attack, Emidas returned to his room one day to find the letter, out and placed neatly on his bed. He spent all night deciphering the letter and decoded a hidden key that allowed him to interpret the map. With no hope left, and all options exhausted, Emidas took his most trusted allies and journeyed into the mountains.
With the group running at full speed, resting for nothing, they reach a clearing where they find a mysterious rock, that does not match anything else found in the region. Seeing a glimmering sword stuck halfway within the stone, Emidas turned to his comrades to exclaim, “this sword! my comrades perhaps this is the answer to our troubles. Perhaps this will be the force that protects our people”!
But strangely, the rest replied, “Emidas, perhaps you are weary from all the sleepless nights you have been experiencing. There is nothing here but a strange stone”.
Puzzled and confused, he walks back towards the stone. Placing both hands around the handle, he feels a cool breeze. The full moon begins to shine brighter. The hairs on the back of his neck begin to rise. He must save the villagers at all costs. He must.
