Chapter 1- Butterflies

3000 years ago…

The King of this ignorant planet, Malema. He speaks with kindness and care to the worlds entity of evil and hate. King Polo placed his right foot forward and breathed in the morning air. The two had been fighting for twelve hours. The sun had crept over the horizon and it shined on the King. He felt the sunlight give him power and confidence.

" Step down Demon Dragon, if you surrender now I will spare your spirit and release it among your ancestors. It's not much but it's all I have to offer", King Polo of Malema said to the Demonic humanoid. The Demonic Humanoid that The King faced stood no more than ten feet away. He stood much taller than the king.

" Even if you win…I will come back and devour your child". The Demon Dragon took a step closer." I will make you watch as I rip apart their ribs and splatter their blood across your face. The smell of death will infest your nostrils and haunt you for the rest of your pathetic life". His voice radiated pure evil as he giggled in anguish.

With the golden katana, King Polo wielded he slashes the air, causing a wind to throw The Demon back and gone…he disappeared instantly into the purple portal that floated menacingly in the air. He closed his eyes in respect. He pulled his katana back and placed it in its sheath. Where it belonged.

" I know we didn't get along but I hope your spirit finds its place among the others". The peace that King Polo kept with him at all times was a defense mechanism. Peace was his way of life and he hopes that this moment will give the people of Malema peace once again.

Present Day…

" I know you've always wanted to go to the Royal Island and study under King Polo. Well, I think you know and understand what you want to do with your life. So, we will follow your dream of learning the Laws of Nature and go to Royal Island!" Benjamin Potter stood motionless. Even with the excitement he had within him, he couldn't move. " Ben?" Dr. Gemm motioned a hand in front of his eyes. Ben, with almost no emotion, said, " Are you serious?" Dr.Gemm nodded his head with a smirk. He made his child so happy that he lost all recognition of emotion. And that made him happy.

Ben came back to reality and not ten seconds later he yelled, " Let's go now! Let's go now!" Dr. Gemm laughed and walked to get the one thing a scientist would ever need, his bag of journals. Dr. Gemm had recorded every plant, rock, and animal in the Mal-X desert. He puts his bag over his shoulder and says, " Let's go". Ben jumps up and says," How long of a walk is it to the portal?" Gemm answers without skipping a beat. " 15 miles. We should get there. an hour before sunset". Ben adds to Dr.Gemm's answer with a smile. " Leaving us enough time to walk down the hill and into the Kings Castle". " Exactly ", Dr.Gemm ends.

Dr. Gemm went out first with Ben following. He closed the bamboo door and set his bare feet in the warm sand that covered the entire continent of the Mal-X desert. This is where Ben was raised by Dr.Gemm. He didn't want to leave because he had grown so accustomed to this place. Deep down he felt like he had to, the start of a new journey was on the rise and he could feel it.

No one greeted them or even said goodbye. Ben felt like an outcast. He grew up with these people and they didn't even say goodbye. He didn't talk to his father about this. He didn't want him to worry. It wasn't his problem and he shouldn't have to worry about it. Quickly the village had been left behind and they were only going to get closer from here. Ben kicked sand as he stepped over the tiny dunes of the desert. Then a voice rang out from the village.

" YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO LEAVE US! FILTHY TRASH!" Ben didn't know who shouted the comment but they didn't pay attention to it. Now he really was an outcast. He could never come back and the rest of his life would be spent do something. Something important.

A few minutes later, Ben hung his head low as Dr.Gemm held his high.

" Do you feel them?" Dr.Gemm asks with curiosity. " Feel…what?" Ben asks, looking up at the tall man.
" The butterflies Ben. That tingle in your gut when you're about to venture into the unknown".
They walk a little slower. Then the golden sun catches Ben's eye. He stares not directly at it but close enough for his eyes to water." I don't feel it often. Meeting the most powerful man on the planet is definitely a time to feel nervous". Dr.Gemm looks at the sky for a moment, " But it's not a feeling of nervousness. It's a great feeling that's like a little cousin to adrenaline", Dr.Gemm said. He paused. Crickets could be heard in the background before he spoke." You should be proud to feel them. It's an honor ".

Although Ben was Nervous and had butterflies, Dr. Gemm was old pals with The most powerful man on the planet also known as the King of Malema. He didn't feel nervous, or the butterflies at the moment but he did have another feeling, happiness. He felt glad and joyful that Ben was going to feel as he once did. The butterflies were that feeling of a journey, of discovery. He couldn't wait to see Ben grow into that emotional spectrum.

Gemm jumped out of his state as he heard Ben yell. " Gemm! It's the portal! We're gonna meet him! We're gonna meet King Polo!"

Dr. Gemm had studied Malema for years and knew a lot, especially about the portals. He knew how to navigate them and use them.

The butterflies flared up in Ben. He had only heard of this portal of travel. He had never left the village limits and now he was finally going to achieve his dreams.

They reached the massive portal and stared into it. Ben had never seen a portal before. The blue swirling gate was lined with massive stone bricks that were dried out because of the Mal-X desert climate. It was fifteen feet wide and fifteen long and bricks supported beneath it.

" Okay, Ben. Listen up. You must think of nothing more than the Royal Island. If you think of anything else for even a millisecond, you will vanish to a random portal anywhere on the planet. After that, I would not be able to find you". Ben nodded in understanding. Gemm started again." 1…2". The anticipation grew Inside of Ben. He almost thought of something else." 3!!" They jumped into the portal, it felt like jumping into the ocean. It was calm and soothing, Ben thought. It felt like waves of the ocean but didn't soak him. He opened his eyes in the liquidity substance. It was an endless abyss of bright blues. Then suddenly, the blue liquid disappeared.

They appeared atop of the hill on The Royal Island. The land was so much more different. The ground was soft and squishy. It was green and lush, not hot sand. The sun, instead of being right in front of them, was peaking behind grey storm clouds off in the distance. Ben spun around, taking tiny sidesteps for each turn. He looked down the hill, into the green and verdant forest. Up into the grey cloudy sky. Far out in the distance was the rocky beach, with violent waves smashing against the shore. Birds chirped in the distance. Such diverse sounds among such a small environment. Ben had lived in the desert for his entire fourteen years of life. Never had he seen such beauty, such an elegant environment. Dr. Gemm could tell that this moment meant the world to Ben. It was different for him, it was diverse and new and he loved it.


Down the hill was a stone path, similar to the stones that held together the portal back in the desert. Except these stones were covered in moss and cracked, sprouting tiny flowers from them. They flowed down the path that would eventually lead them to a castle, the Kings Castle.

The Kings Castle was a castle built 100,000 years ago by the very first King of Malema. It has the world's largest and only library, filled with every piece of literature and knowledge know to man.

" Are these trees?" Ben asked placing his hand on the white and smooth bark.
" Indeed. I know you've never seen one before. There truly unique among this Island". Dr. Gemm answered, making his way down the path.

Roughly a 30-mile walk down the hill, Ben and Dr. Gemm started walking. As Ben smiled at every little thing, he started to notice the giant trees settle in. " Uh. Gemm. Wasn't the grass less than a foot before? Why is the forest growing so giant?" Gemm answered," The Royal forest is a thing of beauty. It's alive just like the Island and planet. It grows when it wants with the power of magic". Now that they were actually in the forest of the Royal Island, the sun was almost completely blocked out and the sound of chirping loudened.

Ben nods and said," Ohh. I almost forgot that this whole island is magic-based".
" there's an entire other life of magic out there. If you're interested this island is the best place to start".
Ben stuttered." But…I-I don't think I'm ready for magic. I haven't read anything about or even seen it before…And I want to learn the Laws of Nature. Magic seems to difficult", Ben stutters.
"It's understandable if you're not ready for magic, but once you get older, magic is gonna be there and its gonna be apart of your life".
They continue to walk on the stone path, surrounded by tall trees and grown out grass. Moving leaf's and tripping over tree roots as they walk, Gemm continues talking." Are you familiar with the three pillars of existence?" Ben shakes his head.
" Physical, mental, and spiritual. The three pillars of existence describe how a person has a physical, or a body, the way they move and act. A mental, the way they think, their emotions and battle strategy. A spiritual, or a person's place in the universe.
Every member of the Demon Gaurd has to undergo this process of defining their own Pillars of Existence. As a way of becoming stronger and better. For them the physical is a weapon, the mental is their Way of Life, Ikik Taka, and their spiritual is what their goal or place in their universe is".
Ben is in utter shock at what he just heard. So much information." Woah", Ben responds.
"Woah is right". He looks back at Ben, then forward again." If King Polo agrees to teach the Laws of Nature to you, he will most likely train you in The Pillars of Existence".

Ben gets nervous, but not the butterflies Dr. Gemm loves so much. Ben doesn't want to be a warrior, he wants peace, he wants knowledge.

Finally, they reach the front gates of Kings Castle. The grass gets shorter and the trees disappear. The gleaming white castle was surrounded by a hedge. At the end of the path was a wooden gate that was about twenty feet tall. The once stone path now littered with pebbles.

They stood right in front of the massive gate and waited for them to open as if they were automatic. Bens gut burst open with butterflies as the double gatted door opened with sluggishness. Each second that the gate didn't reveal who was behind the doors, the butterflies within grew.

There he was…The most powerful man on the planet…King Polo. Ben's lungs shrunk and compressed. His mind perplexed and frightened. But with everything that just happened within him, in the last second, his butterflies remained.

This was his dream. That was his ideal and he wanted to be exactly like them. He didn't like the King because of his power but rather because of his peace he kept within.

" Ben. This is the King of Malema. King Polo". Dr.Gemm walks towards the entrance and gestured his hand for Ben to follow. Ben couldn't move he was frozen. He panicked with hesitation.

King Polo was a short three-foot panda bear. Dressed in an olive green robe with black decal swirls. Suited with a golden tree branch that he used as a staff. Although his eyes were expelling wisdom and power, his black and white fur pattern aged with him. King Polo raised his hand and motioned his pointer finger up. Ben started floating and flew to where Dr.Gemm was. Ben started stuttering," H-H-How d-d- did you"- "Magic young Ben". The King spoke with awareness and antiquity. He had a deepness to his words. A calmness to his tongue.

His words sent Ben's butterflies away." How are his words so powerful. My butterflies and nervousness disappeared with three simple words", Ben thinks. " Young Ben, please, Stand", King Polo commanded softly. Ben didn't realize he was flat on the pebbled ground. Once he heard the command he jumped.

"What's your reason for visiting, Doctor?", The King looks up at Dr.Gemm. The doctor took a second to respond." My son, his dream is to-" Ben takes control and speaks." I've chosen my path in life and would give every once of my blood to study under the greatest King this planet has ever seen!"

Dr. Gemm looks at Ben, concerned. Although he had the look of annoyance on his face, his eyes told a different story and King Polo could see it. " You want to study under me?" Ben nods quickly. " And I assume you want to study the Laws of Nature, as that is my life's work". Ben nods rapidly again.

King Polo looked into Bens's soul." But that's not all you seek. No. You wish for knowledge. You wish for peace. That's all and good, but your heart, your heart wants adventure". King Polo smirks. Ben failed to confirm the statement that The King had suggested." I will teach you the Laws of Nature. You will study under me and my colleagues and you'll become your greatest self".

Polo looks into Ben's eyes, once more. Ben does not stare back." You'll face every emotion head-on, good and bad. I sense this drive, this passion deep inside you. It will be unlocked. Unlocked by your hands". He pokes his staff into Bens's chest.

King Polo turns his back and walks towards the Kings Castle that lied fifty feet away. " You'll wish for knowledge and peace, but deep down you will accept the daring life of an adventurer…of a hero".