The Chronicles of Alan Johns'son

Chapter one

Time is the Sum of the Past, the thoughts of the present and the dreams of the future. Time is something everyone has, but some people choose to spend it wisely, while others decide to waste it on frivolous pursuits.

In my previous occupation, I was nobody. I spent most of my time on what others thought were wastes of time. Little did I know that my "Time-wasters" would be vital to my future.

I am Alan Johns'son, and I am a Gamer. Not those hardcore gamers that spend hundreds of hours every month sitting in the same chair, rather, one who was delighted by the stories behind the games. I spent countless hours reading books, studying strategies, and perfecting plans. I spent all of my free time scouring libraries and game stores, looking for the perfect game story. I discovered many books that were NOT about video games in the process. Encyclopedias of fine arts forgotten to modern man...How to forge likeness into steel, how to chisel life into marble, how to carve a soul into a piece of wood, how to put your heart into music. I placed all my efforts into searching for more knowledge, and I was well rewarded. I found ways to purify water, ways to improvise weapons, ways to fight, and ways to live.

Though my life was uneventful, I thought it was wonderful.

Right up until I died.

You read correctly.

I died.

I was on my way home from another fruitful trip to the library, in which I studied archaic camouflage, when I held up by an armed gunman. He demanded all of my money, but I only had a dollar on me. He was rather upset when I showed him my mostly empty wallet, and he shot me in anger. It doesn't hurt, really, being shot in the head. It's over before you even know it happened. But something happened in my death, I don't really know how to explain it. I felt like I was being pulled apart, as if I were a toy two children were fighting over. As soon as it began, it started to wane, and then a new sensation occurred. I felt like someone was shaking me by the shoulders, and I opened my eyes. I saw what appeared to be a man clothed in white robes with a large golden sash as a belt. I thought he had similarities to the stereotypical 'God' that Christians expect, but there was some oddity to him that I could not quite identify.

I kneeled in his presence.

"Lord," I spoke quietly, not daring to raise my head. "Please… forgive me for being a horrible person in my childhood. I am not even worthy to look at your feet, let alone be in your presence." I began to cry wholeheartedly as I thought of all the horrible things I had done… things that I wish had never happened.

The man placed his hand upon my shoulder and I began to cry for a different reason… Joy. I could feel the endless kindness and forgiveness radiated from his touch. I knew that he loved me far beyond any form of measurement, and that now I was his again. I had but one regret pierce my mind. The fact that I never got to put my knowledge to use.

The man smiled, and patted me on the head, and I was filled with knowledge about my future fate. I somehow knew that I was to traverse every dimension in the games I loved, for their universes needed heroes. I was to assume the role of Hero in my most beloved of realms…Fantasy.

I now go by many names, monikers, and titles, but that matters little.

No matter what happens in my quest, no matter what tragedy befalls me, one thing shall never change.

My name is Alan Johns'son, and I am the Hero you seek.