Today I am excited to unveil my long lost childhood doodles I drew from about ages 7-14! Part 1 of this series covers the tales from the mythical land of Mybera.
First some introduction:
The Importance of Childhood Creativity
Did you have wild dreams as a child? You probably did. It’s healthy for children to have an imagination. Space cowboys, dinosaurs, killer robots, dragons – what we call idle fantasies today was the world of our childhood life.
Before long, you become an adult and unfiltered imagination takes a backseat to the reality of a career. But there’s something special about holding on to those pure wild thoughts. Perhaps they have some work application, but the best things in life don’t have a material connection. We should use our creative juices to fuel meaningful relationships, reflect on the metaphysical, and maybe a game or two of D&D.
You should have a job that you love, though our Western society has this emphasis on constant striving for some forward point, some vague life goal. Certainly, goals are important. But, I don’t think we achieve anything by blindly pushing forward – without looking back. If we only set our minds on the future, we’ll only be disappointed when circumstances don’t go as we plan.
Look Backwards and Rebel
Instead, we ought to slow down, stop, and reflect backward – back on our lives, back on human history, and back in the recesses our imagination. We did this as children because we had plenty of time. But now as adults, we feel pressured to fill our schedules.
Stop and empty yourself of all that junk for just a moment. Then, look at where you’ve been and see how you got here in life. You didn’t make it alone. You should thank someone. You didn’t make it without regrets and fears along the way. All the conflict has built you into a better person. You’ve learned. But part of learning is seeing your mistakes for what they are.
If you don’t develop a strong sense of creativity as a child, I think it would be more difficult to have a positive self-image later in life. Tragedies and chaos in the world can destroy our stability. You need some healthy imagination to think outside the box and reach for something greater than yourself. Wizards and vampire hunters aren’t just for kids. We all need heroes to inspire us and give us a world of our own to escape and believe in something positive.
Kids that have a thriving creativity play with action figures, Legos, Lincoln Logs, and tinker toys. It’s a shame that the entertainment world has shifted toward electronics. Video games have creative narratives (goodness knows I love Skyrim and Halo) as do books and anime. However, children would do well to imagine their own worlds from scratch.
To think of your own unique characters, setting, and story – that’s what it means to be human. It sets us apart from the beasts. Dictators historically have stripped away art, culture, and history to dominate and brainwash the common man. Imagination is a sign of individuality and thus rebellion.
And I say to you all: rebel.
The Tinu-Spring War of Mybera
Back when I was a wee youngin’, in my elementary and middle school years, I had this dream of being a writer. It took me a while, but I finally did it! As a copywriter, I write to persuade people about products and services. Yet, creative storytelling still plays a large part.
In those early days, I had this vision of a fantasy world called Mybera.
There’s this castle sim game called Stronghold. I used to spend hours creating replicas of different regions in it. If only the newest 3D iterations didn’t suck.
Anyway, Mybera looked something like this:
Mybera’s Warriors:
I dreamed up all kind of different creatures and monsters that I eventually incorporated into a complex story. Their backstories were played out in my action figures and comics.
Here all of the warriors my little mind could conjure:
Max + Joe
The two main protagonist were brothers Max and Joe, two humanoid frogs with ninja skills. There were other frog people in my story, yet these two were chosen as the special protectors of the royal family and resided in the Castle on the Sea.
If I had to guess, I’d say they are based on me and my best friend at the time. I liked the idea of going on adventures. Honestly, I have a phobia of frogs! They are super yucky and ugly. Like Batman, I took my childhood fears and made them my own face of justice.
Sgt. Cole
They teamed up with their friend Stg. Cole. I modeled him after some tinker toy figurines. He’s part of a cybernetic robot race called the Tinu. His signature move was shooting these grappling spikes from his hands, like a contraption from Nintendo’s Link. I thought him as a kind of Rambo robot killer. But, he had a soft spot for defending his amphibian friends.
I love him as the most geometrically pleasing of my drawings.
The Tinu Army
Sgt. Cole commanded a vast army of different warriors. Some used magic, other swords or explosives. I am not sure why I chose to only give him the rank of sergeant and not like general or commander. Probably, I liked the idea of the underdog working his way to the top from the measly rank of a grunt.
I wanted to show that the Tinu were diverse. Some classes of warriors were designed for stealth, while others tanking damage or providing support. This race was technologically modern and magically adept. I liked the idea of blending science and folk religion. They were robots sure, but they control of the elements.
Their existence begs the question: who created the Tinu? The inorganic machines must have a master. Someone is behind the curtain pulling the strings.
Sortin
Reluctantly, the team of heroes accepted help from a former enemy named Sortin, king of the winged Orid race. The race of scoundrels lived in the mountains of Adera. Any poor traveler that got lost in the Barren Desert fell victim to their thievery and even murder. Desperate times called for desperate measures, so they recruited him to help save the day against Mr. Spring Man (see: “Story”). Overall, I’d describe Sortin as a darker Aladdin only in the game for the money.
I think he was envisioned after my old cat Fred. Both shared narrow eyes and fluffy orange fur. As Sortin craved gold, Fred was greedy for his wet food.
Slumee Dragon
The comic relief jokester of the group was the crazy Slumee, “dragon” of Mybera (in fact, he’s just a knee-high gecko-like creature). He does have a deadly stinger filled with nasty poison. He joined the good guys out of necessity as Mr. Spring Man was creating some evil factory underground – thereby destroying Slumee’s home.
He’s inspired from the ’90s platform Gex. I’d like to believe Slumee is the more wild counterpart of the game’s lizard, much like Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy.
Mr. Spring Man
The main antagonist of the story is the menacing Mr. Spring Man! He was created in a secret lab by some mad scientist underground. Shortly after coming to life, he killed his creator and started replicating mini versions of himself in an effort to take over the world!
Mr. Spring Man acts like a computer virus whose only purpose is to replicate and destroy. However, he has a personality. The metal machine believes humans are inferior and a hindrance to the progress of science and magic. Humans, blinded by his eloquence, enlist as “technomancers” in his underground cult.
Mr. Spring Man’s ultimate goal is searching for a worthy soul to transfer to all robot kind. Then, they would finally have a place among the gods as the organic life does.
The Story
The narrative wasn’t exactly concrete. It evolved and grew more complex as I grew up. Some of this I am interpreting from what scattered old notes and memories remain.
Max and Joe began at the Castle on the Sea, when suddenly it was attacked by some rabid undead warriors! In fact, these invaders were the ancient Dark Guardians from deep within the Tower of Ages! For centuries, they lay asleep protecting the old kings’ secrets. Someone, or something, had awakened them! Now they roamed the world as a deadly curse to destroy all life and recreate a kingdom of evil…
For as it turned out, Mr. Spring Man had raided the tomb of a very wicked king to steal his power. He journey’s through the Tower of Ages and slips through a portal to the Centes Cube, which contains all the wealth imaginable! But Mr. Spring Man didn’t care for golden trinkets. He steals an object of immense power that grants him control of the wicked king’s soul and his undead army.
The fallen souls aren’t just for physical dominance. Our antagonist experiments on their spirits with his foul technology. He’s searching for a way to unlock the forbidden soul transference.
So, the Castle on the Sea sunk and the present king of Mybera died in the battle. Luckily, Max and Joe survived because they could swim, being amphibians and all.
They wander across the world on a quest to restore the kingdom by finding the long-lost heir. Along the way, they discover the cause of all the havoc and make a few friends to join the fight.
Eventually, the team retraces the steps of Mr. Spring Man into the Centes Cube to investigate what was stolen. Once they understand that the soul itself was hijacked by the crazy spring creation, they decide to split up. Sgt. Cole leads the defense against the undead dark guardians, Max and Joe head off to Bolan, a portal to the so-called Mirror World; and Sortin begins some covert operations into Mr. Spring Man’s underground factory (along the way meeting Slumee the Dragon), known as the Blue Graze Complex.
Max and Joe persuade Prophet Gordo to let them pass through the shimmering light fissure into the Mirror World. Much to their surprise, the other dimension is the exact same as their own only with no other beings and a strange purple mist.
They follow the enchanting haze and come to the Arena (spelled wrong on my childhood map). There they find they a gathering of the fallen heroes that demand they participate. It seemed the Mirror World was like an afterlife.
The brothers agree, but only if the winner gets an audience with the Element Keepers, whom they believed would have knowledge of how to save Mybera.
Meanwhile, Mr. Spring Man learned of their plan, killed the poor Prophet Gordo, and journeys into the Mirror World as well. The menacing machine was intent on gaining more power by absorbing the godly Keepers of the Elements! He began to explore and find his way to the Black Manor (again spelled wrong on the silly map), where the ugliest of monsters live. He fights his way through them and earns their trust to invade the Arena.
Back in the fighting tournament, Max and Joe defeated the other participants and battle each other. They are neck and neck in combat when Mr. Spring Man interrupts them with his new evil pals and their leader – the Goolk Beast. He’s like a weird crab guy.
The brothers defeat are overwhelmed by their foes and the spirit realm begins to crumble. The purple mist turns to a thick red fog. Finally, the three Keepers of the Elements appeared. Thunder, Fire, and Wind unite to vanquish Mr. Spring Man from the Mirror World. They succeed but at great costs! The Goolk Beast was set free and the world’s magic begins fading.
The Keepers pour their remaining strength into Max and Joe! But they found they couldn’t return home. The Mirror World was empty now of its power and the Bolan portal closed. They spent weeks meditating and learning to control the Keeper’s magic.
Back in Mybera… the war was lost. Sgt. Cole’s defense at the final battle of Horn Castle ended in mass slaughter. The world quickly became an apocalyptic wasteland! The Dark Guardians had destroyed the Tinu army and Mr. Spring Man sat on a throne in some rubble with the Goolk Beast as his dumb court adviser.
Sgt. Cole lived in hiding with what few free people remained. Sortin remained the mountain rogue, having stole the secret formula from the labs of the Blue Graze Complex. Using that vile coding, he modified his body with advanced utility and weaponry – He was somewhat of a Batman with Slumee the Dragon as his sidekick.
At last, the sneaky Orid infiltrated the base to find some unfinished research – the creation of Bubble Boy! He freed the strange creature and together they went to the bottom of the ocean where the Bubble King created a hole through the center of the sea floor. The dark chasm led to another dimension – the Mirror World! Turns out there was still magic hidden under the ocean.
They explained to Max and Joe the situation and they quickly journeyed back for a final showdown with Mr. Spring Man.
Sgt. Cole comes out of hiding with the resistance and heads against the rubble heap throne. They face off against the Goolk Beast.
Sortin and Slumee the Dragon with Bubble Boy vow to destroy the factory and the minions it produced.
And Max and Joe finally engage their nemesis!
Everyone wins in the end… and they live happily ever after. I think I was too young to conceive any real plot twists. I’d say I was heavily inspired by Lord of the Rings mixed with the random toys in my collection.
That’s the crux of the Tinu-Spring War! I may have embellished some parts to fill gaps in my memory.
If you enjoy reading this post, I dedicated my Wattpad account to fantasy writing.
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What childhood stories did you create when you were young?