"Many believe that before the birth of the warmth of light there was nothing. But they're wrong. There was coldness. And from that coldness the Frost Elves were born. Long ago, this race of literal cold-hearted creatures, lead by the most relentless of their kind, Ymundra, desired to freeze over our world into one of eternal coldness."
High up in some frozen mountains appear a group of pale blue-skinned, pointy-eared, human-like beings called the Frost Elves. Among them was a much larger one with a white beard and hair that gave off a cold mist and was armed with a trident made completely out of ice and wearing a horned viking helmet and cape. This was their leader, Ymundra, who ordered the Frost Elves to go below and wreak havoc.
"Without questioning Ymundra's orders, the Frost Elves invaded in an attempt to freeze over Goltenhiem, my home world."
The Frost Elves charged into a village, firing frozen arrows from their bows, which freeze anything they hit. Others were armed with weapons of ice while some smaller others, who weren't as large as the weapon-wielding one, were able to control the power of the coldness to freeze things magically.
"It was then that Goltenhiem's most formidable force, the Soul Crusaders, lead by me Kul Nerkoth, appeared to drive away these savage creatures back to where they came from."
An army of fighters, lead by a powerful warrior armed with a hammer, arrives to fight off the Frost Elves. Not only were the Soul Crusaders skillful in the art of weaponry and hand-to-hand combat but also possessed special majestic powers as well, which they used together to defeat the Frost Elves.
"The Soul Crusaders were more than a match for the Frost Elves. With my trusty hammer, Caer, in my hand, and the help of my comrades, one-by-one the Frost Elves fell. Ymundra could not stand by and watch his people die."
Ymundra joins the war armed with his ice trident. He thrusts it into opposing Soul Crusaders and summons frigid winds and glaciers to overtake them. Despite him joining the Frost Elves, they still appear to be powerless against the Soul Crusaders.
"In what may have been their worst mistake, the numbers of the Frost Elves fell in combat, driving them to the brink of extinction."
Eventually every Frost Elf is defeated and Ymundra is the only one remaining. Nerkoth encourages Ymundra to fight him and the two clash. Ymundra uses his ice magic against Nerkoth who counters it with his own. Despite Ymundra's larger size, Nerkoth still manages to overpower him, no matter what Ymundra hit him with. The fight goes on with Ymundra's trident being smashed to ice shards from Nerkoth's mighty hammer, Caer. Ymundra drops to his knees defeated with no chance of winning. Rather than finish him off, Nerkoth puts his hammer away.
"However, the Soul Crusaders believe in mercy for all. The battle was already won and Ymundra's people have perished. As the last of his kind, I showed him mercy and allowed him to live. Without his people to follow him, Ymundra and the Frost Elves would no longer threaten Goltenhiem."
Nerkoth turns away and orders the Soul Crusaders to leave. They obey and leave Ymundra to live. With the extinction of the Frost Elves, Ymundra clenched his fist firmly swearing revenge.
"Or so we thought."
After the war, Ymundra discovers a mysterious artifact. It appeared to be a shapeless, ever-flowing, blue liquid that moved like a gas or a mist rather than settled like any ordinary liquid.
"We had no thought that Ymundra would eventually discover the Fyl, a sacred object of unlimited energy spoken of in tales told in Goltenhiem. How unfortunate for one as unkind and undeserving as Ymundra to discover it."
Ymundra reaches for the Fyl which creates a blue force field that knocks him back. The Fyl appeared to be defending itself from Ymundra.
"Legends about the Fyl tell that one can not wield it without a reasonable purpose. Those who wish to use it for personal motives can never possess it. Ymundra knew of this."
Ymundra slowly got back up and approached it to speak to it.
"The Frost Elves are dead. They have fallen to those savage pests, the Soul Crusaders. My people are gone. Extinct. I am all that remains. I feel I have failed them as a leader as I could not protect them. I wish for my race to return so they may live peacefully once again. I am Ymundra, leader of the Frost Elves, and I ask you to take pity on this sole survivor of his people," Ymundra said to the Fyl.
The Fyl believes Ymundra's wish and draws itself into his body by absorbing through his chest.
"Using lies to cover his selfish intentions, Ymundra earned the Fyl's reliance and could at last possess it."
Ymundra gains the Fyl's power, with waves of blue liquid surrounding him and pouring from his body. Some of this liquid even froze from his cold power. The Fyl enhanced Ymundra's strength to unmeasurable levels.
"The Fyl bestows upon those it trusts with eternal life, instant recovery, ability to heal the wounded, and resurrect the deceased. With the Fyl in his grasp, unlimited vitality was now Ymundra's to use as he wished."
Ymundra grinned menacingly and knew now he could avenge the Frost Elves. He returns to the mountains and revives his extinct race of Frost Elves. Only they come back to life as icy, zombie-like creatures. Despite their hideous appearances, Ymundra orders them to go forth and invade Goltenhiem once again.
"With his race of Frost Elves back from the dead, Ymundra lead another assault on Goltenhiem."
The Soul Crusaders appeared once again, shocked to see the Frost Elves alive, and engaged in another war. The undead Frost Elves' powers were enhanced by the Fyl's energy and they put up a much greater fight against the Soul Crusaders than before.
"With their newly acquired power, the Frost Elves could make short work of the Soul Crusaders, Gotenhiem's most powerful force. In a dramatic turn of events, the Frost Elves killed off my comrades."
Many Soul Crusaders fall to the Frost Elves as Ymundra joins the war, unleashing waves of fluid energy of the Fyl which covers and freezes the surroundings. Nerkoth appears with his hammer, Caer, in his hand to challenge Ymundra. Just as Nerkoth was about to smash him with Caer, fluid energy shot out of Ymundra's body, pushing Nerkoth back. Ymundra shot a stream of ice, combined with fluid energy, from a new trident he possessed. This attack froze Nerkoth in an instant. Ymundra then charged at the frozen and trapped Nerkoth with his horned viking helmet, smashing Nerkoth out of his ice prison. Nerkoth spins Caer by it's handle strap and flies toward Ymundra with the hammer pulling him. Ymundra moves out of the way and elbows Nerkoth in his spine with great force.
"Even the might of my hammer Caer was no match for Ymundra and the power of the Fyl. The Fyl's power is tremendous and unmatchable just as the legends behind it have said. And this power was now Ymundra's."
The Frost Elves continue to defeat the Soul Crusaders while Nerkoth does his best to fight off Ymundra with failed results. Even when Nerkoth managed to damage Ymundra, he would instantly recover from the injury thanks to the Fyl. Nerkoth just couldn't believe what he was up against.
"The power of the Fyl rendered Ymundra nearly invincible. No matter how long the battle wages on, no matter how powerful the Soul Crusaders are, Ymundra could not be defeated."
The Fyl's fluid energy flows around Ymundra as he looks at Nerkoth evilly.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but nothing can ever kill me," Ymundra claimed.
With that, Ymundra raised his trident, summoning a vicious snow storm that blew across the entire battlefield and beyond, spreading all across Gotenhiem. If not stopped, this storm will freeze over all of Gotenhiem in eternal coldness.
"All hope for Gotenhiem's survival was lost. My people were dying. The Frost Elves were too powerful. Ymundra will not only have control of the Fyl but our world of Gotenhiem as well."
The remaining Soul Crusaders die from the harshness of the cold weather, leaving Nerkoth as the only remaining fighter for Goltenhiem. And all the Frost Elves and Ymundra were still alive.
"It was futile to continue to fight the Frost Elves and save Goltenhiem. My people and my home will be lost. But I could not allow Ymundra to spread his reign of terror beyond our world. In a desperate attempt, I transported us out of the world of Goltenhiem."
Nerkoth conjures up a handful of magic and casts it at Ymundra, who dodges it. The magic opens a gateway through dimensions which pulls Ymundra in. Nerkoth follows leaving the Frost Elves behind in Goltenhiem. But without Ymundra and the Fyl's presence in that world, the Frost Elves die once again, leaving Goltenhiem in a stormy, frozen wasteland with absolutely no life at all.
Eventually, Nerkoth and Ymundra exit the gateway and arrive in another world: the Earth.
"With the battle in Goltenhiem lost, as well as the demise of the Frost Elves yet again, Ymundra and I arrived in another world. A world called 'Earth.'"
Ymundra rises up, furious at Nerkoth for separating them from their home world and Ymundra's people, and prepares to finish him there on Earth. He lifts his hand, gathering fluid energy in his palm to resurrect the Frost Elves in this world.
"With the Frost elves left behind in Goltenhiem, Ymundra attempted to bring them back to life and into this new world. I couldn't put this other world in danger. If I die in battle, Ymundra will then freeze this world just as he froze Goltenhiem. But with the Fyl granting him eternal life, Ymundra could not possibly be destroyed. I had no choice but to drive Ymundra into a deep, everlasting slumber so he may never wreak havoc again."
While Ymundra gathers fluid energy, Nerkoth gathers energy of his own and gathers it in his hammer, Caer. As powerful as Ymundra was, Nerkoth had to gather every ounce of energy from within to ensure it would be powerful enough to work on Ymundra. Just as Ymundra was about to bring the Frost Elves back to life, Nerkoth casts the magic from Caer at Ymundra, which launched him into the ocean. As Ymundra tried to rise back up to the surface, Nerkoth's magic overtook him and caused him to fall into a deep, deep sleep as he fell to the bottom of the ocean floor. Nerkoth dropped, having used up all the energy he had, entirely unable to even budge an inch.
"With Ymundra now in a long slumber, he will not return to continue his evil intentions. As a result, however, this spell took every ounce of energy required to sustain my life. I was slowly beginning to die."
Nerkoth reaches for his hammer one last time.
"The spell will not last forever. Ymundra will reawaken in the future and when he does, I will no longer be there to stop him. However, there is a way to ensure that Ymundra never awakens. And if he doesn't, he and the Fyl will never endanger another world again. I reached for Caer as this will be the only hope to prevent such a disaster from happening in the future. And if it does, there will at least be some ounce of hope of thwarting Ymundra's scheme."
Nerkoth grabs Caer and holds it to his face as he enchants it with his magical words.
"Should one hold this hammer, if he be strong, truthful, and worthy will wield the Hammer of Caer," Nerkoth spoke.
With that, Nerkoth sent off his hammer which flew out of his hand into the distance. Nerkoth's own spirit left his body and entered the hammer.
"That final spell will be the barrier that prevents Ymundra's reawakening. Unless one is worthy enough to possess Caer, to possess the power I once had, Ymundra will never return. And if one is, then he will return. But with the might of Caer in their possession then perhaps they, by any chance of hope, can be the one to defeat Ymundra for good."
Nerkoth's spiritless body fell over as the remaining energy of his life faded away. In a matter of seconds the brave, honest, and powerful leader of the Soul Crusaders of Goltenhiem passed on into the afterlife. His hammer, Caer, with his own soul within it now resided in the bottom of the ocean along with the sleeping body of Ymundra.
"I hope and pray that someday, if one worthy enough appears and discovers Caer, that he will be capable of saving his world from the threat that is Ymundra. If only... if only I hadn't allowed Ymundra to live. If only I had finished him when I had the chance. He would never have discovered the Fyl, my people would not have died, and my world would never have suffered."
The scene fades to black as the Fyl is shown flowing on a black background.
"Ymundra is undeserving of this ancient relic. His lies were what granted him the Fyl's trust. He will only abuse it's power and use it as he pleases. This force is far too grand for Ymundra to have. Perhaps someday, when the worthy hero appears to challenge Ymundra, he will be stripped of the Fyl forever. For whoever controls the Fyl controls vitality."

3000 years later...

Somewhere out in the sea, a naval ship had left the coastline and moved further out to sea so as not to put innocent citizens in danger in case of enemy fire from enemy ships.
"Weigh the anchor!" the captain instructed.
Two marines were reeling in the anchor with all their might and having a hard time with it.
"It weighs a ton, we know that," one of them groaned.
They continued to try reeling the anchor in but it seemed to be stuck somewhere in the water below.
"What's the big idea?" one marine wondered.
Before they knew it, the anchor's chain broke and tore a hole in the ship. This hole caused the sink to begin to sink as the marines panicked and prepared to abandon the ship. Luckily the Forever Heroes arrive to save the ship from sinking and return it safely to shore. Down below under the sea was the ship's lost anchor. It appeared to be hooked onto something. The thing that caused the anchor to rip from the ship in the first place. It looked like a strap attached to the handle of something. The handle of Nerkoth's magical hammer, Caer. And engraved on the handle read Nerkoth's enchantment: "Should one hold this hammer, if he be strong, truthful, and worthy will wield the Hammer of Caer."

LightningRod728 and DeviantART present

LIGHTNING STRIKERS: THE FREEZE FALL

The title freezes and the background is frosted like a window in the winter. The hammer, Caer, is thrown from a first-person POV and smashes the icy screen. The story opens up in the present time.

Part 1: If He Be Worthy

It was the summer time, the most warmest time of the year. The time of year children can go out and play all they want without any school work to hold them back. Even the adults get to unwind and enjoy themselves during their summer vacations. Even I could. Unlike last summer where Ricardo attempted to ruin my birthday. However he's been absent for quite some time and I hadn't heard from him since our last encounter in the Spring when my friends and I foiled his plans. So everything's been sailing smoothly and quietly for a while. And that's just the way it ought to be. After all, Austin's had to put up with enough disasters already. Of course, I also have had to deal with some disasters of my own. Even some that occurred before the previous events I just mentioned. I was on my way to pay a visit to someone who was no longer with me as they had left me a few months ago. Someone who had been with me for years and I enjoyed the company of but those days were over. Someone I have not really spoken about very often.
I arrived at a grave sight where that someone I loved now rests. The memories of the moment I shared with them were coming back. Very good memories. All of moments that we shared but can't share anymore. I left a dog's chew toy on the grave of my old friend. My old canine friend, Buddy. He was a beagle dog I had before my other dog Bonita came into the family. In fact, I had both of them together but Buddy had already aged by the time Bonita came and was showing further signs of aging. Eventually his time was up and I lost him. I really missed him but at least I knew that he lived a very good long life and shared as much time as he could with me. I knew his time would be up eventually but I didn't think he'd continue to live that long. He proved that he was still strong at that age. Buddy made me very happy while he was with me and I hoped that he was happy in the afterlife.
"I sure miss you, Buddy. You were a very great friend and one of the best dogs ever," I prayed.
The chew toy I left was his old chew toy that he used to play with before he started aging. It was a rubber ball with spikes and was covered in teeth marks from his chewing. Once he started to age, he started to ignore it. But he did love that thing and I wanted to give it back to him.
"I hope you're doing well wherever you are now. I'll never forget you, Buddy," I said.
I left behind Buddy's chew toy and bid farewell to my old canine friend. I do miss him dearly but at least I still have Bonita to keep me company. But I'll never forget the good times I shared with Buddy. Sometimes I wish he was still around but I know that no one lives forever. But the memories I have about Buddy will always live on.

Meanwhile, somewhere along the coast of where that naval ship had surfaced when the Forever Heroes previously saved it in the Spring, the waves of the ocean had washed something ashore. It was none other than Nerkoth's hammer, Caer. It had finally surfaced after being at the bottom of the ocean for 3,000 years. The ship's anchor was no longer hooked onto it's trap. Two soldiers were jogging along the shore when they came across the hammer.
"Hey Mike, look at this," one of them said.
"What is it, Gordon?" the soldier named Mike asked.
"What's it look like, dummy head? It's a hammer," the soldier Gordon replied.
The two soldiers bent over to examine the strange-shaped hammer.
"Where'd it come from?" Mike wondered.
"Doesn't look like any ordinary hammer out of a tool box. Let's take it to the sergeant. Get it," said Gordon.
Mike held the hammer's handle and tried to lift it but it wouldn't budge. He couldn't lift it at all. As if it was extremely heavy.
"I can't, Gordon," said Mike.
"What's wrong with you? You call yourself a soldier? Move out of the way," said Gordon.
He pushed Mike aside and tried to lift the hammer himself. Still no give. No matter how hard Gordon tried, the hammer just wouldn't move. Gordon pulled so hard that he stumbled back, landing in some wet sand.
"You call yourself a soldier?" Mike joked.
"Help me up," Gordon requested.
Mike helped Gordon out of the wet sand. The two wondered why this hammer wouldn't move. It couldn't possibly be that heavy.
"This is strange. Let's tell the serge," Gordon suggested.
"I'm with you," Mike agreed.
The two soldiers returned to the base to inform the sergeant about this object they discovered.

Back home, I had just returned home from visiting Buddy and needed to tend to my other canine companion, Bonita. She's grown to be a very healthy pitbull dog ever since I received her as a puppy from my brother.
"You sure have grown a lot over the two years, Bonita. Here's your lunch to keep your strength up to protect the house," I told her.
I served her lunch for today and pet her head.
"At least I still have you, girl," I said.
Buddy may be gone but at least Bonita's still with me. She and Buddy used to get along well ever since I brought Bonita home and introduced her to him. At least she was still around to share timeless moments with.
After feeding Bonita, my nephew Isaiah came out with a snowcone in each hand. I was impressed with how much Isaiah has grown himself. Believe it or not, he's nearly as tall as I am now at only 12 years of age.
"Bonita's not the only one who's grown. Every time I see you, you grow another foot," I told Isaiah.
"I had two feet before and I still have two feet now, tio," Isaiah joked.
He has developed a sort of a wisecracking personality lately. I guess he kind of picked that up from hanging around me after all these years.
"You're almost as tall as I am," I said.
"I'm gonna be as big as my dad and brother. They're giants," Isaiah stated.
"Yes they are," I agreed.
"Here, try this snowcone," Isaiah said offering me one of them.
"You dropped it on the floor, didn't you?" I said.
"No. I made it myself. Just try it," Isaiah insisted.
Knowing Isaiah's new characteristics he's taken up, I was a little suspicious about trying it. But anything for nephew who I've always been a role model to. I took the snowcone and sampled it.
"Do you like it?" Isaiah asked.
"Bleh! Tastes like mustard!" I gagged in disgust.
"That's because it's mustard flavored. It's summer so it's going to be extra warm and I thought I'd make my own snowcones instead of buying some. Good idea, huh?" Isaiah said.
"Maybe it was on paper," I replied.
"I'm going back in the kitchen to try some new flavors," Isaiah said wandering back into the house.
He may have become a bit of a smart-ass and stretched but he was still only 12 years old and therefore still a kid with an imagination.
"It used to be he'd look up to me. Soon I may be literally looking up to him," I thought.
I took another lick of the mustard-flavored snowcone and cringed in disgust.

Back along the coastal shore where the hammer appeared, the soldiers had informed the sergeant about it. Mike demonstrated another attempt at trying to lift the hammer with no success.
"That is very strange. Just where did this hammer come from?" the sergeant wondered.
"We have no idea. It was just sitting here," Gordon replied.
"It won't budge at all," Mike added.
The sergeant tried lifting the hammer himself and couldn't either.
"Very strange indeed. This may require a lot assistance," the sergeant suggested.
All day long, the soldiers were trying to remove the hammer from it's resting place with each attempt resulting in failure. None of their strongest soldiers could lift it. Even two really strong soldiers pulling together couldn't lift this object. They even tried explosives to loosen it up which failed as well. The last attempt was attaching the strap of the hammer to a truck using a long cable. The driver floored it with everything the truck could muster but this only caused the rear bumper of the truck to rip off.
"Did it work?" the driver asked.
The soldiers watching only laughed at his failed attempt. This stubborn hammer was not going to be moved so easily. Their final attempt was to dig it up. Construction crews proceeded to excavate around the hammer to remove it. Eventually the ground around the hammer was dug up and the hammer was sitting upon the mount of sand it had been resting on still refusing to be removed from it's resting place. But at least they could move this mount of sand the hammer was on by pushing it. Though it wasn't easy moving it. A truck backed up and some soldiers pushed the hammer up a loading ramp, which was not an easy task, and loaded it onto the back of the truck. This caused the truck to tilt back with it's front in the air due to the weight of the hammer.

The next day, Gloria, Crow, and my fangirl trio Penny, Molly, and Carol were doing a little shopping at the local mall. Or actually, a lot of shopping especially since there were five girls.
"Gotta love them summer sales," said Gloria.
"Rod's gonna look so smokin' hot in the new clothes we brought him," said Carol.
"I know, huh?" Penny agreed.
"It's a good thing the boys came along," said Crow.
Vic and I were behind them with our arms full with shopping bags. So many bags that we couldn't even see where we were going.
"I hate when the girls take us shopping. We always have to carry," Vic griped.
"If I wasn't so submissive toward women I wouldn't be doing this," I said.
"Right this way, boys," Gloria called back to us.
"Which way? We can't see," said Vic.
"Just follow our voices," said Crow.
Vic and I continued following the girls around the mall with all of their shopping bags in hand. Or arms.
"I need to make a pit stop at the little girl's room," said Penny.
"Me too," said Gloria.
All five girls entered the women's restroom and Vic and I followed them in without even knowing.
"How about we grab some pizza before we go home?" Molly suggested.
"Always thinking about food, huh Molly?" said Carol.
The sight of Vic and I standing in the restroom made the girls shriek with terror, startling Vic and I and making us drop the bags.
"WHAT DO YOU BOYS THINK YOU'RE DOING IN HERE?!" Crow lashed.
"GET OUT!" Gloria roared.
The girls threw the both of us right out through the door, shopping bags and all.
"Man, how embarrassing," I said.
"We only did what we were told," said Vic.
He got up with a bra on his chest which he quickly removed. Then he saw the headline on a newspaper a man was reading on a bench.
"Strange Hammer Surfaces along Coastline?" Vic read.
"What's that, Vic?" I asked.
"Check it out," Vic referred to the newspaper.
The two of us were reading the man's newspaper up close.
"Mysterious hammer found and delivered to museum in Austin. When discovered, the hammer could not be removed from the spot it surfaced," I read.
"After hours of excavation, the hammer was shipped to Austin, Texas and put on display in the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Long title," Vic resumed then commented.
The man flips the newspaper around to read the other side. Vic and I get behind him to read the rest.
"The hammer sits upon a mount of sand entirely irremovable," Vic read.
"This exhibit is open to the public for all to see," I read.
The man saw Vic and I reading his newspaper and left annoyed at our invasion of his personal space.
"Well that was rude," Vic remarked.
"I know, huh?" I said.
"Hey, how about we stop by to see it?" Vic suggested.
"It's just a hammer," I said.
"But it says it can't be removed. There's gotta be something behind it."
"Maybe under it. Cement."
"That's ridiculous."
"I know, huh? Too ridiculous to be put on display for people to see."
"Let's check it out. We've got nothing to lose."
"Except the money for admission."
"The Center's open to the public free of charge."
"Well alright. We'll check it out when we're all done here."
I reached down and picked up a shirt Penny, Molly, and Carol bought for me which was a Hawaiian shirt with smiley faces.
"Bleh!" I gagged.

Soon all of the girls' shopping was done and we were ready to leave. Vic was pushing all of the shopping bags into the limo.
"Thanks again for coming with us," Crow thanked.
"We had to do all the heavy lifting and all you did was eat up my food," Vic said.
"It was good," said Molly helping herself to some pizza we grabbed on the way out.
"Well alright. Let's get to the Harry Ransom Center and see this thing," I said.
"What thing?" Gloria asked.
"They have some new artifact on display and we thought we'd go see what's so great about it," I answered.
With that, we left on our way to the Harry Ransom Center to see this hammer. As soon as we left, Isaiah walked out of the mall with a slice of pizza and saw the limo was gone not and that we accidentally left him behind.
"Where'd everybody go?" Isaiah wondered.

We arrived at the Harry Ransom Center to see the hammer. It was on display and there was a crowd gathered there to see it. My group and I managed to get up front to see it. A tour guide was there to explain the discovery of this hammer.
"It is with great pride that I present to you our latest addition to the Center. This mysterious hammer was found along the coastal shore near a military facility. Strangely enough this hammer could not be lifted from the ground where it was located. Many soldiers attempted to remove the hammer from it's resting place but none succeeded. It was then dug up and brought here," the guide stated.
"It just looks like an ordinary hammer to me," Gloria said unimpressed.
"Well it has a very unique design," Crow thought.
"Looks like an ancient weapon used for warfare," said Vic.
"It does look kind of old," I thought.
This hammer did look pretty ancient. Hundreds, maybe thousands of years old.
"So this thing can't be removed at all?" Vic asked.
"That's what I've been told, blue-haired sir," the tour guide responded.
"Mind if I try to lift it?" Vic requested.
"Well I suppose there's no harm," the tour guide thought.
"Outta the way!" a physically built man said.
"I'll take it out," another said.
"Let me show you how to do it," said another.
Many of the men there all tried to remove the hammer. Despite all their might, the hammer just wouldn't budge. Vic tried himself and pulled as hard as he could. Even Vic was unable to lift it, it seemed.
"Hold on," he said.
Vic gathered all his strength within to lift the hammer but even that was not enough to remove it. The hammer remained firmly in the mount.
"Dammit. You try, Rod," said Vic.
"Tch. Yeah right," I said.
I highly doubt that I would've been able to lift it if Vic couldn't. I mean he's stronger than all the human men there and even he couldn't do it. Of course, that's a man who doesn't even like carrying shopping bags. After all of the men's test of strength, it was time for the tour to go on. The tour guide lead everyone to the next exhibit while the rest of us remained behind.
"You boys brought us out here just to see this?" said Gloria.
"It was Vic's idea," I said.
"Well at least you know the headline didn't lie. It's stuck there tight," said Vic.
"I'm ready to go home," said Carol.
"Me too," said Molly.
"Yeah, let's go already," said Penny.
"Come on boys. It's time to go," said Crow.
"Alright, alright," said Vic.
The girls and Vic proceeded to leave while I stayed behind glancing at the hammer up close just wondering how it was able to remain stuck there no matter how strong the person who tried to remove it was. Upon closer inspection I noticed a glowing inscription on the hammer's handle that caught my attention. This mysterious inscription read "Should one hold this hammer, if he be strong, truthful, and worthy will wield the Hammer of Caer." The inscription then slowly faded. I had no idea what I had just seen and stood there bewildered.
"Rod!" Gloria called.
"I'm coming," I called back.
I turned away and left to join the others.
"Good thing admission is free," said Molly.
"Yeah. That was boring," said Carol.
"Are you all set?" Crow asked.
Before I could answer I started to hear something.
"Wait," I said.
"What?" Vic asked.
I turned back and looked behind expecting someone to be there but saw nobody. I turned back to the group.
"Did you hear that?" I asked.
"Hear what?" Carol asked.
"You don't hear that?" I said walking away and following the sound.
"Rod?" Penny said a bit confused about my behavior.
I followed this strange thing I was hearing back to the room the hammer was in.
"Someone's calling," I said.
"Rod!" my group called out again.
I turned and to the hammer as if what I was hearing was coming from where it was. Feeling a bit puzzled from this awkward moment I turned away and left. I took one last look back at the hammer then joined my friends and left the Harry Ransom Center. I could've sworn I heard someone or something calling. As soon as we left, the outlines of the engravings on the hammer glowed blue briefly once again.
"Has anyone seen Isaiah?" Gloria wondered.

Eventually the warm summer day became an equally warm summer evening. In Texas, the sun may go down but sometimes the temperate doesn't. I was watching another one of my movies, where I play a detective.
"Oh Rodolfo, you are fabulous. And that's no mystery," I stated.
Just then Isaiah arrived home.
"Where were you?" I asked him.
"I was going to ask you the same question," Isaiah replied.
Isaiah went off to make more snowcones.
"It was a long hot walk over here. Want a snowcone, tio?" he offered.
"Uh, no thanks," I replied not wanting to taste another one of his frozen concoctions.

It was about 9:00 PM now and I was starting to doze off watching my movie. Everything today really took a lot out of me. Just as my eyes were starting to close, I could hear that same calling I heard back at the Harry Ransom Center. I immediately awoke.
"What the heck?" I said.
I shrugged it off and began to fall asleep again. Again, I could hear the calling, so clear that I couldn't possibly be the only way who hears it. It was strange but it honestly sounded like someone was calling me telling me to follow. This calling started to become hypnotic. I couldn't help myself. I just had to get up and follow it. Isaiah came into the room so I could try another one of his snowcones.
"Try this one, tio. It's popcorn butter flavored," he offered.
But then he saw that I was gone.
"Tio?" Isaiah said.
The front door of the house was left wide open from when I had wandered off following this voice that kept calling out to me.

The Harry Ransom Center had closed for the day. The engravings on the hammer on display were glowing blue again but nobody was around to see it. A security guard was on patrol around the Center to ensure everything was safe from any pesky intruders wanting to steal the exhibitions. One intruder had already entered the Center and was approaching the hammer which was still glowing. Glowing brighter and brighter the closer the person got. The person gripped the hammer's handle. As soon as they did, a huge wave was released that pushed everything around back and a beam of energy struck through roof and down to the hammer. This commotion caught the guard's attention.
"What the hell?" he cried and hurried to the scene.
The room was a mess with all the artifacts scattered about.
"What could've happened here?" the guard wondered.
Then he saw something else.
"The hammer! It's gone!" the guard exclaimed.
The hammer that once rested on the mount of sand was no longer there. A dark figure smashed through the glass of the Center and escaped with the hammer firmly in their grasp. This figure leaped over long distances and escaped into the city.

The alarms at the Center were going off and the police were out to find this culprit who stole the hammer.
"We don't even know what we're dealing with," one officer said.
"Yeah, I know. The hammer couldn't even be lifted. Whoever stole it has to be pretty strong," another thought.
Several police cars were patrolling the city to find the one responsible. It wasn't long when something dropped from high above. The same dark figure landed, smashing the hammer on the road, creating a violent tremor that rattled the entire area. The impact the hammer made with the road released a wave of energy that pushed all the police cars away with great force.
"What was that?" an officer cried.
The officers crawled out from under their flipped car and saw the figure. Though still dark, the figure appeared to have glowing blue patterns on it's body. Patterns that resembled the engravings on the hammer, which was firmly grasped in their hand. It also wore a long cape that flapped in the wind.
"He's got the hammer!" an officer exclaimed.
"Sir, please drop the hammer!" another officer requested.
The figure answered with a swing of the hammer that created another wave that blew the officers away. With no other choice, the other officers opened fire upon the culprit who protected themself with their cape. They let out a echoing bellow and attacked with vicious swings and smashes with the hammer, causing a great amount of destruction. The police were overpowered by this person and were helpless against them. The figure turned to the police, pointing the hammer at them.
"If you truly value your lives, you will leave this place at once. All of you," the figure said in a dark, gruff voice, though familiar.
They lowered the hammer.
"This is a warning. If you wish to survive then go now. Or there will be horrific consequences," the figure assured.
They spun the hammer by it's strap and fled the scene with it pulling him. Everyone was spared but with collateral damage.
"He's gone," said an officer.
"But he won't get away with this," another officer promised.
The thief fled into the night taking the hammer with him. The hammer that was incapable of being removed from it's resting place until now. But just who was this who managed to lift this weapon? And just what was the point of this warning he left?

Meanwhile out at sea, something was stirring at the bottom of the ocean floor. The water directly above at the surface began to freeze and blue fluid energy was flowing through the cracks of the ice on the surface like a mist. After three millennia, the hammer has been found and lifted. The spell has been broken. And Ymundra awakens.

To be continued...