The Lost Prince's Dream: It Would Have Been Wonderful

I had so many dreams as a young, naive child. I wanted to be great, to be someone known across the world, to be a living legend. I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and become a hero. What a foolish, and naive little fantasy, but it was nice to believe in it while it lasted. The mere thought of being able to travel the world, to accomplish the same things my father did, was what first got me into his old adventuring guild. Those years were some of the most jarring ones of my life. Not once did I consider how an adventurer was even made. There was no class on how to be one.

 

Heh, Adventuring 101, what a darling little concept. Of course, later on, I would help make that curriculum to help aspiring adventurers get an idea of what they’d be getting into.

 

I remember the days of training with my father’s old guildmates. They were fun, but… not very understanding of one’s limitations. More than once I was kicked into a dungeon without a bit of preparation to help me acclimate to the rigors of the profession. The looks on their faces when I came out looking like a bloody half-corpse were pretty funny, though.

 

We were taught how to work as a team, how to coordinate navigation efforts, solve puzzles, how to fight, and how to save lives. The trainers told us, time and again, to always work together. Oh, how right they were. More than once I’ve regretted wandering off, only to be nearly buried alive or killed by some abomination just lying in wait around a corner. In the end, however, I made it through, and those lessons still stick with me.

 

Still, I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like had I been able to live that kind of life. My dear partner, Lazarus, and I would have become just as legendary as my mom and dad. We could have uncovered so many mysteries, like an ancient city in a vast tundra crevasse, or some powerful artifact deep within a magical volcano. Oh, we could have even discovered a gateway into one of the Gods’ domains! Father’s team did so way back in the day. It would have been nice to meet one of them under more mundane circumstances. 

 

I could have had a wonderful life, one lived at my own pace. A leisurely drive through one of the old Fae Woods would’ve been pleasant, able to stick my hand out the window and let the fairies dangle from my fingers. I could’ve gone skydiving from the top of Creation’s Spire, had I learned where to find it. I’m sure the sights of the underwater ruins would’ve been majestic had I been able to visit. Above all, however, I would have been free to choose where I went and for how long. I would have had a whole world to cherish, but all of that is just a dream.