Little note from me before I post: I tried four or five times with one character and something always happened to make it not work out. Then this idea hit me. I hope you like it, and hopefully nothing will happen 
All of the pictures for this post were taken in a separate game file from my actual Dynasty just so I could get the prologue done. Post Links:
PrologueThe BeginningHappily MarriedPitter-PatterPlaying with PepperAgnes HintingNooboosBirthdays!Even More Birthdays!Do the birthdays ever stop?Big News for Jamie and SageBabies becoming TeenagersThree Teens and a PromotionThe Big Bash [posted: 10Apr2011]Life as We Know It [posted: 10Apr2011]The Talk [posted: 10Apr2011]Pepper takes the Wheel [posted: 10Apr2011]Saving Shantel [posted:11Apr2011]Grim visits for First time [posted: 12Apr2011]Life Goes On [posted: 12Apr2011]The Next Step [posted: 12Apr2011]Honeymoon in China [posted: 12Apr2011]Birth of Generation 3 [posted: 12Apr2011]Hormones, Birthdays and a New Gallery [posted: 14Apr2011]Is Grim mean or nice? [posted: 14Apr2011]Children grow too fast [posted: 15Apr2011]Coriander's Childhood [posted: 18Apr2011]Party for Pepper's Boys [posted: 19Apr2011]Pepper-Mint Party [posted: 22Apr2011]Back to China [posted: 27Apr2011]Tastes like Fish [posted: 02May2011]The House Tour [posted: 02May2011finally!]Mike's Unexpected Surprise [posted: 06May2011]Getting Old [posted: 08May2011]Nooboos Come and Nooboos Go [posted: 09May2011]Second Honeymoon for Shantel [posted: 10May2011]Daily routine, Interrupted [posted: 16May2011]Who You Gonna Call? [posted: 19May2011]Shantel Goes to Egypt [posted: 25May2011]Pepper away, Cori does play [posted: 26May2011]Another Requirement down [posted: 28May2011]Coriander's Plan [posted: 30May2011]House Rebuild [posted: 07Jun2011]A Week of Sadness [posted: 07Jun2011]Cycle of Life [posted: 08Jun2011] Full House Again [posted: 13Jun2011]Toddler Thyme [posted: 29Jul2011]Coriander's Last Birthday [posted: 01Aug2011]Tastes Like JellO [posted: 04Aug2011]Unexpected Twist [posted: 05Aug2011]Let the Hormones Begin! [posted: 15Aug2011]Number 51 [posted:02Sep2011]Thyme's A-Changing [posted: 03Sep2011]Graduation Thymes Two [posted: 05Sep2011]First Thyme Trying [posted: 30Sep2011]Vacation Thyme [posted: 06Oct2011]Just a Matter of Thyme [posted: 08Oct2011]Unexpected Changes [posted: 02Dec2011]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prologue
A lot happened in that one week that not only changed my life, but the lives of many - some that I already knew, some I had just met, and some that I would come to know later. However, I get ahead of myself. I grew up in the sleepy town of Riverview where nothing out of the ordinary ever seemed to really happen. I come from your average family. There was my parents, two uncles, one aunt, a grandfather and two cousins plus myself all taking care of the family farm. My older cousin and I are only a few days apart in age so we've always been close. He graduated just before me and the day of his graduation, he slapped the family with the news he was leaving to start a new life in Sunset Valley. I couldn't believe it. I could understand it but I didn't want to all the same. Why couldn't he have told me himself before telling the rest of the family?
The day of my graduation we had a small affair. It just wasn't the same without my cousin there. My Uncle Dan came up to me during the party and pulled me to the side for a private word. He looked me dead in the eyes and told me to call his son and go visit him for a week. He said he wanted me to see what was out there, too. There would be plenty of time for settling down on the farm and the future. When I looked up and over towards the rest of the adults, I could tell they had all decided this and I had no choice. Neither did my cousin.
That night, my mother handed me a bag of home baked goodies and a bus ticket. They had already packed me a bag and was ready for me to leave. My eye caught that of the final child in the nest. Danielle had a look in her eye that said she was next. That made me feel less guilty for leaving her there with all the old people. I headed to the bus station with a light heart and heavy thoughts. Barely remembering to call and let my host know I was coming.
Two days later, I was standing in front of my cousin's house in Sunset Valley. I don't think I actually knew why I was really there but more on that in a second. Here's a picture of his house.
And here I am looking stunned to have finally arrived after two days by bus.
Oh and here is my cousin who never checks his messages.
That ok looking man in the teal shirt is my daredevil of a cousin, Christopher. And that handsome stranger he's talking to is, naturally, me. You can call me Sage. So I told him all about the plan that our parents had cooked up to get me to his house.
I also told him everything he had missed she he had left. Things seemed to be back to normal for us.
Then he proved things were back to normal by eating dirt.
Seriously dude, that's gross.
Afterwards we took my bag inside. His place wasn't yet setup for guests but we found a spot to put one of those beds you can get at a motel. I didn't mind, it was somewhere to sleep and I sure wasn't sleeping in the same bed as him. Chris, being Chris, he wouldn't let me sleep on the couch either which looked more comfortable than this thing.
I asked him why he had a painting easel and he told me that he felt that his future involved painting. Not just your run of the mill dabbling, either. He said some cosmic force was compelling him to paint a lot as fast as possible. He said it also helped with the ladies. At the mention of ladies, I prodded him into to taking me out to lunch since I had been eating nothing but snacks since the bus left Riverview. Maybe he could even show me some ladies.
This is the little diner he chose to eat at. I think I see ladies, too. However, first impressions are never good if you're stomach is louder than the words coming out of your mouth so I didn't hesitate to follow Christopher inside. The food wasn't bad at all. It was almost as good as Aunt Diane's. Christopher's mother taught us both how to cook since we were walking. It's no wonder I want to be a Chef and I'm fairly certain Chris is leaning towards cooking as a career as well. Of course, he always has his fishing to fall back on or you know, the painting thing. After we left the diner, I asked Chris where the ladies were because I wasn't seeing any. He said there were plenty of hot women in Sunset Valley. At the moment, I wasn't sure I believed him.
The next day we went down to the beach and lazed around all day. I did finally see some women but none of them put on their swimsuits so that was a bummer. We finished the day off with some fishing for dinner that night. Some say we have a strong family resemblance but I just don't see it.
I had to admit I was having a good time. In the morning, I would make Grandpa Owen's famous pancakes. They were both mine and Chris's favorites growing up. At night we would find things to do, Chris got a call about coming down to the bistro to handle some sort of business. Afterwards he came home and said we were going back to eat a free dinner there that they had given him in exchange for the work. I told him I hadn't brought the proper attire and he offered a suit for me to borrow. I must say, that suit looks much better on me.
The week was flying by so fast. Chris and I were having lots of fun together and I just didn't want to leave. I had been there four days and Chris decided to show me Central Park. He said lots of people from all over hung out by the fountain or having picnics at any given time. I also heard a mumble or two about good fishing and off we went. I met a few of the locals over by the picnic tables and it took me a long time to realize that Christopher was not nearby. It took me a moment to find him, but then my heart skipped a beat when I saw this temptress in the dark dress.
Hello gorgeous, where have you been all my life. I ran over to get Chris to introduce me. After being introduced, Agnes moved away and I caught up with her to say I wasn't trying to run her off. As she was accepting my apology, we both watched Chris do something that looked quite painful. He laughed it off and decided to fish where he was close enough to hear what we were saying.
Chris had to go to work the next day at the diner, so I called up Sweet Agnes and asked her out for dinner and a movie. She accepted and I think we had a good time. I couldn't stop thinking about her and I was glad that she had wanted to see me.
She told me she thought the movie was a great idea as we went to see the new Matthew Hamming flick. I talked about where we had grown up and what I wanted to do. She told me about her husband and the grief that she still felt every night when she got home. Meeting new friends and getting out is what her sister, Cornelia, had told her to do and she was glad that she had met me. I was glad I had met her, too. I just wish I had known then what I know now.
The morning after my date, Christopher and I were doing our new morning routine. That was when the call had come in. At first I had hoped it was Agnes or back home but I soon found out it wasn't. It was a woman on the phone. I knew her voice but I couldn't figure out where I had heard it from. She said she had known me my entire existence and that I had a destiny to fulfill. She said I would take the name Steel into a direction it hadn't been taken before, yet had been taken many times. She told me that I had been chosen to be the founder of an immortal Dynasty. There was something in her voice that told me this wasn't a prank call. I think it was the fact that I could feel the truth of it in my soul.
She told me the path to immortality would be a long and hard road. Eight generations of Steels would need to finish tasks set before them in order to be granted immortality. I was so young to think that this was a good thing. We were all young once. I was told I would need to find a wife to help bring about the next generation. Only one name really came to mind.
This Watcher as she called herself said she would call me back after she set up a few things. She asked where I wanted to live and without hesitation I said Sunset Valley. Now it was time to tell my cousin and I just knew that there was no way he was going to forgive me. So I made Grandpa Owen's pancakes once more and gave him the bad news. At first, he laughed. Then he almost choked when he realized I was serious.
He left the breakfast table and eventually the house in a hurry. He called out that he wanted some time to think. I didn't know if I could do this without my best friend. Starting a new life in such a manner was going to be hard enough but to do it without Christopher would be phenomenally worse. I cleaned up breakfast and waited for him to come back.
It was dark out before he finally returned to his house. He apologized for running out like that and being the friend he is, he hugged me.
Afterwards, we sat on the couch and went over everything that I had been told by the Watcher. Every detail I had been given was laid out on the table. Even that I planned to ask Agnes to be my wife. Christopher didn't seem to mind that fact as much as I thought he would. Maybe part of him just knew the truth as well.
So after all was said and done, we just took a moment to think on what had to be done. I think that was the last moment of quiet and stillness I ever experienced.
