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I'm a fan of nested puzzles, and especially puzzles that tell a story. I'm finding that I am quite good at them, so I'd like to post this one for the community. I wish you all the best of luck!

Once upon a time, inside a kingdom quite grand; a child was born, with fire in hand.

The name he was given, the King sealed away; keeping it from him, in a room full of rain.

His fire his will, his heart's desire; it must never go out, or he will expire.

The rain is a problem, as you will find; the poor boy needs help, from you and I.

The road we will travel, is rough indeed; from mountains that move, through fiery seas.

Ahead we will find, some tasks to complete; four of a kind, each quite unique.

The first is a triad, they have what we need; a room full of tridents, contains what we seek.

The battle will rage, for quite some time; but when we win, the first letter we'll find.

For now I must leave you, don't worry, don't cry; the rest, well...

Notes and Hints

The correct answer will have the first letter to the child's name, explains how they found it, and can explain how this story relates to it's title.

Hint #1: As the child grew older, he would often travel the roads near his home. One day, he encountered an old hermit who spoke of his wondrous travels. He had been nearly everywhere and had created a map of the world, though no one believed him. He told the child a tale of sorts in which he encountered a village of serpents that referred to themselves as the Taniwha. He stated that the Taniwha worshiped the King of Serpents who had been forced into servitude by the King of Men. They were unhappy with mankind due to this unholy fact, and enslaved the hermit for eighty days. They took the hermit to their King for trial and he permitted the hermit to live; under a single condition. Deliver a message to the boy with no name.

Where a line has been crossed, you'll find your name; the King of Serpents, should never be tamed. Search if you may, you'll have to fight; the King of Man takes all, especially in fright.

The child thanked the hermit for his message and continued back home for supper. He couldn't help but wonder, if no one else believed the hermit, why should he?

The Entire Story

I will update this section each time a new part to the story has been posted so that you can access each part quickly.

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    $\begingroup$ Why hasn't the boy died of dehydration? If rain quenches the fire, than drinking water should as well. $\endgroup$
    – Brendon Shaw
    Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 21:40
  • $\begingroup$ You'll have to read the rest of the story as it unfolds! $\endgroup$
    – Taco
    Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 21:42
  • $\begingroup$ Does the poem formatting have anything to do with it or is the line structure purely poetic? $\endgroup$
    – Brendon Shaw
    Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 21:47
  • $\begingroup$ The line structure is purely poetic. Part two will be posted today at some point, though it won't help with this one. :) $\endgroup$
    – Taco
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 14:38

2 Answers 2

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Is the first letter T? I was lead to think this at first by the use of triad, tridents, time all used when talking about the first challenge and how to get the first letter. The hint of "where a line has been crossed" really enforced my suspicion that t may be the letter since that is how you write a letter t. Upon more thought a capital T has three points or ends linking to the prefix tri- and a lowercase t has similar shape to a trident, but I can see how I might be just grasping at straws there. As stated by antonellashiavoni, the title relates to the last line of the story, basically saying we will get the rest of the hints for the other letters another time.

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  • $\begingroup$ Well done! That is indeed the first letter of the child's name. Part II has been posted if you'd like to take a crack at that one! $\endgroup$
    – Taco
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 17:43
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K. The hole story is a poker game. The story tells us how the game unfolds in each hand. "A child was born, with fire in hand" this means we've got luck on the first hand."The name he was given, the King sealed away" somehow I think this represent that we have a kk (pocket king) on the first hand. "In a room full of rain." represents that we have enemies that want to defeat us in the poker game, it's a metaphor the rain wants to extinguish the fire. "His fire his will, his heart's desire; it must never go out, or he will expire." this means that we have to hold our emotions so the other players don't discover our strategy."Ahead we will find, some tasks to complete; four of a kind, each quite unique." The goal is to gather two more k cards to get four of a kind (poker). "For now I must leave you, don't worry, don't cry; the rest, well... That's a story for another time".

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  • $\begingroup$ Great try for sure! I really enjoyed reading this answer but it is incorrect. I think you're diving too far into the story. There is only a single true hint in the entire story that relates to the answer you seek. Granted, once you find it, you'll see the answer everywhere. As for how the title relates to the story, you've got that spot on! $\endgroup$
    – Taco
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 14:41

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