Located in the heart of the sky, the Black Forest Kingdom has four villages which focuses on one aspect of the forest. Earth, fire, water and air.
The stewards are the ones who manage their elementals and make sure that no abuses against it will be committed. Every village has a Head Steward that leads them.
But who leads among everyone? Who makes sure that every village does it part? It is the Supreme Steward. He or she is chosen by the nature gods themselves through the dream of the Oracle, a non-partisan hermit who lives alone in the middle of the forest.
The Oracle receives the prophetic dream without a particular timing. It is specifically about a person, and the fate of the chosen one.
It was one sunny afternoon when the said Oracle blew its horn, alerting all the stewards. They quickly traveled towards the Tree of the Ancestors, which serves as the Oracle's home.
Stewards of different elementals arrived in groups, greeting each other warmly.
"The time has now come. Our Oracle is now ready to reveal the successor of Sulano! Oh, poor man. He has been sick for quite a time now," remarked Pui, the Head steward of fire.
"Now, now, don't be such a sentimental lady, Pui," said Lorisa, the head steward of the air.
Sulano is the Supreme Steward, serving for almost fifty years after he was anointed when he was sixteen.
The demanding work took a toll on the old man's body, and he always prayed to the gods that they choose another Supreme Steward in his stead, for him to go back to his village and rest peacefully.
After long hours of traveling and waiting, the Oracle blew its horn once again – a signal of his upcoming appearance. Slowly, a man emerged from the dark spot between the large roots of the tree. The stewards folded their feet and knelt, bowing their heads, as a form of respect.
The oracle, a tall figure wearing a black cloak that covers all of his body, with his face unseen, spoke in a baritone voice that emanated across the forest.
"The path is unclear-
the road is blocked.
The leader will bear
all what the others lacked.
To thine is a girl of honor
a girl clad with valor.
She hath nothing but a sense of duty,
And she is worthy of the name Antigone."
Everyone was silent until the head steward of water, Damasto, stood in horror as he heard the name of his child being mentioned.
"Antigone is nothing but a child! She cannot rule the whole forest at such a young age!" he exclaimed. "You cannot take our daughter from us! Please, she is a young girl," begged Lorisa. Both of the parents of Antigone, the mentioned person, openly opposed the prophecy.
"I-it is not a-allowed t-to question, n-nor alter what the nature gods have imposed," laboriously said by Sulano.
The defeated parents, Lorisa and Damasto, hugged their daughter Antigone in despair. "Darling, everything will be alright. If you will be the Supreme Steward, Oh! Your father and I will stay by your side to help you," cried Lorisa.
Amidst all the commotion, the Oracle just stood where he was standing. No one can see his face, nor a tiny bit of his skin. However, there is a green light emanating from the top part of the hood of the cloak, which seems to be his eyes. It glows whenever he is speaking.
Everyone was prepared to leave when a green light flared, illuminating the dark forest at night. Everybody closed their eyes.
"To age we owe her knowledge- the forest forbids ignorance.
By the eighteenth moon that shines on her birthdate,
she becomes the one."
The green light then dissipated into thin air, and after everyone opened their eyes, the oracle is now nowhere to be seen. Everybody was aghast after all of the revelations of the night and they slowly marched towards their own villages.
Lorisa and Damasto were overjoyed after they heard this. They hugged their daughter so tight and they went home happily will the other villagers of the air and water. Antigone, not quite knowledgeable about all the happenings because of childish glee, fell asleep in the arms of her father.
*****************************************************
"Teddy, wake up!" shouted by Sylphonia Lin, Theodore's stepmother, as she shook his shoulder. Theodore grumbled and swatted her hand away from him.
"Phony, I am still very tired from the investigatory project that I made last night. Look at my table. I barely slept in order to finish all of that!" Theodore said as he pointed his finger angrily towards the desk which is full of scrap metal materials. Standing in the middle is a tall building which is intricately crafted to make it look like two ribbons intertwining.
"What a load of crap. C'mon, let us eat some breakfast to invigorate your mind for the useless defense later," said Sylphonia as she removed Theodore's blanket from him.
"Argh! Fine. I'll go to school without a sufficient amount of sleep for this insignificant project,"he muttered as he hastily got out of bed and followed Sylphonia to the the kitchen.
"Good morning Teddy!" beamed Charlie Lin, Theodore's adoptive father. "Mornin'." mused lazily by Theodore.
Theodore's biological parents have died due to an accident while they were on a hike leading to the peak of Mt. Everest. Their remains were left on the mountain, and has never been recovered.
Theodore's biological father owned a construction firm, which is now managed by his good friend, Charlie Lin. He adopted Theodore or "Teddy" at 3 years old after the gruesome accident of his parents on the mountain. When Teddy turned ten years old, Charlie married his gorgeous but impolite secretary, Sylphonia, and the three of them now live together.
"Dad, I'm being serious when I say that I'll help you manage the company when I turn eighteen," stated Theodore. "It would be a pleasure to me if you'll allow me to –" he finished mid-sentence as Sylphonia interrupted him.
"But Teddy, you have no knowledge about how the construction industry works. Oh c'mon, just sit idly there and watch Charlie do it for you," she countered firmly with a stern look on her face.
"Well I will assume the rights that I have because THAT IS MY LATE FATHER'S COMPANY," he slowly enunciated with sarcasm as he drew his fork towards the bread.
"Okay, okay, enough of this. Ted, let's go after you finish your meal. I'll head to the car first," announced by Charlie as he shuffled the contents of his pocket.
Theodore and Sylphonia both had hard looks on their faces. "Okay, go wash your plate if you're done, Mr. Entitled." Said Sylphonia as she collected Charlie's plate.
What an awful woman, Theodore thought to himself as he angrily stood up and brought his plate to the dishwasher. He recounted all the times Sylphonia acted nice when Charlie is present, and how she acted up when he's not around.
"When I turn eighteen, I will prove you wrong about my knowledge and abilities." Theodore declared as he grabbed his bag and carried his model towards Charlie's car.