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Prose Contest: Prologue

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Life was hard. In fact, it was much harder than it needed to be. My job was an especially challenging task, now that I didn't have the ring. What was my job, exactly? There's no way to describe it in detail without sounding like a rocket scientist, so I'll try to use small words.

I am what is known as a 'Wizard'. And no, not the kind you see in fairy tales who carry around staffs and wear pointy hats. In this day and age, Wizards are people who have the 'luxurious' task of protecting the 'Kingdom' – a giant network of virtual contacts. There are thousands of Kingdoms all over the world, all of them with their own personal Wizard who has to work day and night. Why do we have to work day and night? One word: witches.

Long ago, a witch was a woman who could apparently cast spells and conjure up all kinds of nasty stuff. Now, 'witch' is just another term for 'hacker', although the same principles apply – they still conjure up general nastiness and evil. But of course, none of them compare to the great and mighty Wizard of Kingdom Five, Daylen Kasovir!

Or at least, they never used to compare.

Unfortunately, after transferring from Kingdom Twenty-two to Kingdom Five, I lost my ring. To many people, my emerald-encrusted ring may not have been a big deal. For me, it was a major part of my job. It was the source of my power, the thing that got me to Kingdom Five in the first place. Without it, I'm useless. I'm not courageous enough to confront the witches, so I have to resort to using a bunch of crazy and convoluted schemes in order to catch them, most of which end up shutting part of Kingdom Five down anyway.

Luckily for me, I know where it is. Or, more specifically, where it was. Considering I've been away from Kingdom Twenty-two for just under three years, the ring could have been picked up by anyone. But I just need to search. There's no way it could have gone far, I mean there are only three-thousand-and-sixty-nine Kingdoms in the world...

Okay, so it could have gone far. Very far. But I have to find it. No, rephrase that – I need to find it. Not only do I have the King breathing down my neck, giving me one last chance at this whole Wizard shindig, but I also need it to get back my former glory. I used to be so brave...Lionheart, they used to call me. Good times.

But now look at me: I'm writing stupid monologues on WordPad whilst I sit on my backside, praying to every god in the sky that a witch doesn't appear on my Alerts. I'm more pathetic than that Wizard up in Kingdom Seven-hundred-and-two; poor guy can't get a break.

I guess the gods didn't hear me. 'Suspicious activity in G-Sector' is written in bold white letters on the top of my overview screen. Today is going to be a long, long day.

Description
Prose Contest: Prologue

Network

Life was hard. In fact, it was much harder than it needed to be. My job was an especially challenging task, now that I didn't have the ring. What was my job, exactly? There's no way to describe it in detail without sounding like a rocket scientist, so I'll try to use small words.

I am what is known as a 'Wizard'. And no, not the kind you see in fairy tales who carry around staffs and wear pointy hats. In this day and age, Wizards are people who have the 'luxurious' task of protecting the 'Kingdom' – a giant network of virtual contacts. There are thousands of Kingdoms all over the world, all of them with their own personal Wizard who has to work day and night. Why do we have to work day and night? One word: witches.

Long ago, a witch was a woman who could apparently cast spells and conjure up all kinds of nasty stuff. Now, 'witch' is just another term for 'hacker', although the same principles apply – they still conjure up general nastiness and evil. But of course, none of them compare to the great and mighty Wizard of Kingdom Five, Daylen Kasovir!

Or at least, they never used to compare.

Unfortunately, after transferring from Kingdom Twenty-two to Kingdom Five, I lost my ring. To many people, my emerald-encrusted ring may not have been a big deal. For me, it was a major part of my job. It was the source of my power, the thing that got me to Kingdom Five in the first place. Without it, I'm useless. I'm not courageous enough to confront the witches, so I have to resort to using a bunch of crazy and convoluted schemes in order to catch them, most of which end up shutting part of Kingdom Five down anyway.

Luckily for me, I know where it is. Or, more specifically, where it was. Considering I've been away from Kingdom Twenty-two for just under three years, the ring could have been picked up by anyone. But I just need to search. There's no way it could have gone far, I mean there are only three-thousand-and-sixty-nine Kingdoms in the world...

Okay, so it could have gone far. Very far. But I have to find it. No, rephrase that – I need to find it. Not only do I have the King breathing down my neck, giving me one last chance at this whole Wizard shindig, but I also need it to get back my former glory. I used to be so brave...Lionheart, they used to call me. Good times.

But now look at me: I'm writing stupid monologues on WordPad whilst I sit on my backside, praying to every god in the sky that a witch doesn't appear on my Alerts. I'm more pathetic than that Wizard up in Kingdom Seven-hundred-and-two; poor guy can't get a break.

I guess the gods didn't hear me. 'Suspicious activity in G-Sector' is written in bold white letters on the top of my overview screen. Today is going to be a long, long day.