Title: The Cantha Chronicles

Author: Timeoffire45

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Guild Wars is not mine. Credit to marintha for inspiring me to write this with her story Through the Eyes of Heroes: Prophecies. I only think the idea of a "Mage-Born" is mine... pretty sure that's original

Summary: The story of a young elementalist and her friend as they begin their journey through a Cantha beset by Afflicted, demons, and the Betrayer himself. Factions storyline written out in story format with a plot twist I came up with myself

A/N: To anyone who bothers to look, I'm SORRY that I haven't been updating Hope Today... it's on standby for now until my brain gets kicked back in gear -kicks it- -nothing happens- -sighs-... this is something written to stop my muse from screaming at me and beating me around the head with a stick.

A/N2: Okay, after letting a friend beta this for me and having her find gajillions of mistakes, I have decided to repost this chapter. ENJOY!

Chapter One: The Beginning

(A/N: what better place to start?)

Sylvia Aracantus stood completely still. She listened with rapt attention as she and 27 other students were introduced to the headmaster of Shing Jea Monastery: Master Togo. He greeted them all with a small welcoming speech, using the soft, clipped voice that one comes to expect from the highly educated.

"Greetings, students. Welcome to Shing Jea Monastery, Cantha's premiere training academy for young heroes. You have been invited here because you show great promise. While here, each and every one of you will be required to choose a profession to major in and another, different profession to minor in. While this may seem harsh and as if we are limiting you, let me assure you that you will have your hands full as it is with just two. Trying to master all eight is something that will take you most of, if not all of, your life."

The students shifted from one foot to another impatiently. They had already been told they needed a primary profession, and most had even picked one out already. At this point they were waiting for Master Togo to say something that they didn't know.

"I think I'm going to specialize as an assassin," whispered Adam, Sylvia's twin brother, out of the corner of his mouth, "I mean, what's better than getting to stalk in the shadows, using stealth, and striking to kill, not to wound, when the opportunity is perfect?"

Adam and Sylvia were both 18, both had dark-brown hair, both had the same light brown eyes, both had the same pointed, feline features with thin lips, and were within an inch of the other's height. Anyone who met them knew instantly they were twins, and some even mistakenly thought they might be identical twins. However, despite the similarities in appearance, the two could not possibly be any different.

For starters, Adam was always the friendly, outgoing type who could walk up to anyone and start a conversation in under a minute, and in five minutes or less would be able to get that person, now friend, to name him as one of their "best friends." He always rejoiced in physical activity, especially mock sword fights, which he always won. He boasted he could fight off four people at once while using two swords, one in each hand. He was not lying.

Sylvia, on the other hand, was almost the exact opposite. She was always the quite girl who sat underneath a tree or in her room reading a good book instead of playing with others while she was younger. While Adam's friends (although not Adam himself) teased her about this, she merely shrugged it off, calling them the "future unsuccessful morons". As she grew, so did her interest in books and magic. She had long ago decided her ambition was to become the most powerful elementalist in all of Cantha, Tyria, and beyond, and she would do whatever it took, short of sacrificing herself, her family, or anyone innocent for that matter, to reach her goal.

Sylvia made a quick throat-slashing gesture at Adam, which he knew meant one of two things: "Shut up now!" or "I'm going to kill you, you twit." Either way, he knew he could expect a good ear-lashing from her later. Both of them returned their attention to what Master Togo was saying.

"...and finally, this is Headmaster Quin, who will be your instructor on how to be a ritualist should you so choose to become over the course of the next few years. Now then, off to your studies." he finished, dismissing them.

As one the students, already standing, moved towards the large, red gates at the bottom of the hill. Up until now, they had all been standing on the top of a rather large hill with its sides gently curving down from behind them, while in front of them, at the top of the hill, was an ornately carved bridge made of granite with two dragons on both sides to ceremonially guard the temple from threats. Having them there made Sylvia feel that much safer; Adam just thought they were weird.

Walking down, everyone began to chat animatedly with each other. They were finally here! Shing Jea Monastery! It was a dream come true! Only the best, bravest, and/or smartest got into the Monastery to learn under the legendary Master Togo and his Headmaster Elite.

XxXxXxXxX

Coming to Shing Jea Monastery had not been the first choice of schooling Sylvia would have taken. In all honesty, she would have rather gone to the Ascalon Academy back home. The only trouble was, the Aracantus family had had a tradition of sending the third child to Cantha and Shing Jea. This plan was slightly upset when twins were born. The obvious solution: send them both to Shing Jea. The not-so-obvious solution: send whichever was born a few minutes ahead of the other to Cantha and the other to the Academy. The one Mom and Dad ended up picking: the obvious solution.

So here she was now, waiting in line to speak with Headmaster Vhang. As she had been distracted by Adam, she did not get to see what the man looked like, but someone had been kind enough to point out the line of students waiting for him. When, finally, the last person in front of her moved away, she got her first look at her new teacher. What she saw surprised her, to say the least.

He was young. Almost as young as she was. In fact, if she had to guess, she would say he was maybe 22. He was only about two inches taller than her, had flaming red hair (appropriate, really), and deep obsidian eyes. He wore the traditional garb of an elementalist graduate dyed red. With one look at him, her resolve firmed and she knew, she just knew, 'This is what I want to be...'

"Hello there," he greeted her cheerfully, "would you, perchance, happen to wish to become an elementalist? Judging from the look of you and your aura, I'm not sure you can handle it."

Sylvia was taken aback by this man's harsh words. Never before had she been judged so. 'Not sure I can handle it? How dare he?' Aloud she replied, "I think I do have what it takes... sir" she added as an afterthought. The infuriating man chuckled.

"Ah, so you have a spark of temper to you. Good, good, you'll need it to truly harness your powers. Now then, if you truly wish to learn under me, first go out and find my 'underling,' Ronsu. He'll be your instructor for a while. He'll be able to test whether or not you have any true aptitude."

Huffing in annoyance at both this man's condescending demeanor and being basically blown off, Sylvia looked over to her left. She saw Adam chatting animatedly with Headmaster Lee, the assassin instructor.

"Well, at least one of us is happy," she muttered under her breath, hoping Vhang would not hear her. It seemed he did not.

"Now then, Ronsu is usually out gallivanting somewhere in Sunqua Vale. Go see if you can find him. If he deems you suitable, you will then be able to train under me. Now then, please move along, as you are not the only one in your class interested in becoming an elementalist," he finished smugly, indicating another girl behind her, no more than 16 years old judging from her height (a mere 5' 4" compared to Sylvia's 5' 10").

She had flaming red hair, and her eyes were so blue they seemed almost black, yet they contained a far-off haunted expression. Her face was soft, yet she wore a hard expression: one that screamed, "touch me and die". She wore the garb of a water mage, tastefully decorated to look as though it had ice crystals on it, as opposed to the hideous uniforms they had been given already. Vhang seemed to be taking a particular interest in her, whereas the girl seemed completely emotionless, completely unfazed by the special treatment she seemed to be getting already.

"And what might your name be?" He asked her kindly, not using any of the condescending tone he had used on Sylvia.

"Janet, sir."

"And am I correct in assuming that you wish to become an elementalist, Janet? By the way, what is your last name?"

"I do, sir, and I don't have a last name."

"Oh, come now, everyone has a last name."

"Well I don't. Now then, what do you want me to do, sir?"

Vhang caught sight of Sylvia standing not five paces away.

"Why not accompany this other aspiring elementalist to go and find Ronsu? He'll begin both of your training."

"Very well, sir." the girl, supposedly named Janet, replied, seeming for all intents and purposes to be the perfect, obedient student. She turned on her heel towards Sylvia and marched up to her, grabbed her by the upper arm in a vise-like grip, and hauled her away with surprising strength.

Once they had escaped the courtyard and walked down the steps into the central courtyard, Janet continued to walk towards the far stone wall and the archway carved out of its surface. When they had walked the nearly 600 feet to the other side and now had a 10 foot thick stone wall between themselves and the Headmaster did Janet relax her rigid posture, releasing Sylvia's arm and letting out a huge sigh.

"GOD I hate that man," she exclaimed, "why wouldn't he just let me go? Oh, right, my name is Janet, and no I don't have a last name, what's your's? I figure we might as well get to know each other considering we're going to be study-buddies for the coming years."

Taken aback by this sudden shift in personality, Sylvia could merely stutter out, "I-I'm Sylvia... Sylvia Aracantus."

Janet inclined her head in an understanding gesture but said nothing and continued walking.

As they moved towards the gigantic, red gates that marked the exit of the Monastery, the girls had started up a conversation concerning their far away home: Tyria. Both knew the other was hiding something, but neither wanted to pry for fear of shattering what little bonding the two had accomplished. Eventually they both fell silent.

"So," Janet finally said after they had reached the gates, breaking the silence between them and holding out her hand, "friends? I mean, I understand if it seems a bit sudden and everything, so it's okay if you say no. In fact, who am I kidding? You probably hate me now. Gods, I'm just making this worse and-"

She was cut short when Sylvia put a hand over her mouth and gripped her extended hand in one of her own.

"Friends," Sylvia said with a smile coming to her face.

XxXxXxXxX

"So," Sylvia started to ask, wanting to get to know this person beside her better, "what magic can you do so far?"

Janet gave her a haunted look, before looking down at her toes as if they were the most interesting things in the world. Sylvia had the feeling she had hit a nerve.

"I mean, if you don't want to answer, that's okay," she tried to get out quickly so as to make Janet feel better.

"No, I suppose you're going to find out anyway, so I might as well tell you now. I was going to tell you when we found Ronsu because I would have had to tell him too, but I guess now is as good a time as any."

Sylvia gazed at her, a blank expression on her face that clearly said, "Huh?" Janet chuckled lightly.

"You see, I'm what's called a 'mage-born.' That is to say, I was fated to become an elementalist of some sort since my birth. Basically, I've had the ability to control the elements from day one. It wasn't a choice I made, it just happened. I came into my inheritance, if you will, the day of the Searing. You're an Aracantus, so I know you're Ascalonian as well, despite the fact that you look almost Canthan.

"Well, on the day of the Searing, I was in Ascalon City. My family and I lived there in a small house that barely fit all five of us; me, my mother, my father, and my two brothers who were three and six at the time. I was inside the house when the first fireballs came down from the sky and began to rip the city apart. One of the fireballs hit directly on my house. Then next thing I know, I'm encased in rock that's been blackened by the blast. My own magic acted on instinct and formed a stone defense for me. When I looked up from where I was, and saw these Charr ripping through people I had known, and I got, I don't know, the only way I can describe it is 'enraged', but it was more than that; I was anguished, furious, and just downright pissed all at once.

"I saw a stick laying on the ground beside me, I picked it up, and just charged at the Charr nearest me. It was stupid and I probably would have gotten myself killed if I hadn't, quite by accident, channeled my power through the stick, making a staff out of it. I burned every last Charr in the city into a heap of carbonized bone within minutes, and I made sure they suffered."

A strange expression had come to her tear-stained face, one resembling sadistic pleasure combined with smoldering hatred. Sylvia shuddered inwardly.

"That's why I don't have a last name. Saying my old one reminds me of everything that happened on that day, everything I felt, just... everything. I take as many steps as I can to hide that part of myself, so I don't use a last name... It just makes things easier."

Sylvia's heart clenched, realising that it was she who had brought back these horrors from Janet's past. Trying to change the subject, she quickly said, "So, like I said, what magic can you do?"

"Oh," Janet said, sniffling slightly and wiping the tear tracks off of her face, "well, no offense, but I've had loads more practice than you so I expect you can't do quite as much as I can, but I can do some basic fire magic, but I mainly specialize in earth and wind magics. I can teach you some fire, though."

Sylvia raised an eyebrow in her direction. Janet merely laughed.

"It's easy, here I'll show you." She moved over to where Sylvia was standing, firmly clasping the taller girl's hand in her own, lifting it to shoulder height (for Janet) and splaying her fingers, palm out.

"Now, what you do," Janet explained, "is feel the flow of power around you. Feel it flow around you and through you. This power is the basis of all magic, and is what anyone uses to weave a spell. The ability to use more powerful and complicated spells is simply using greater force of will in order to harness more power or to more finely control this power. Since you're trying to o an elemental spell, concentrate on the elemental forces around you. There should be some raw power there. Can you feel it?"

Sylvia was in awe. She had closed her eyes as soon as Janet had told her to start concentrating. After doing so, she began to see small ripples of various colors behind her eyelids; most, however, were pure white. Opening her eyes, she found she could still see the ripples and that they were moving in waves all around her.

"I see it... I feel it..." She breathed, slightly in awe. She had never experienced this before. Sure, she had cast a few simplistic spells in her time, but never before had she gotten this deep into the power surrounding her.

"Good, now take some of that raw power and focus on fire. Imagine a fireball forming in your hand, then imagine it flying away from you and striking a target." She indicated a nearby rock.

As Sylvia strained with effort, she did indeed manage to produce a small, flickering flame in her palm. She could feel herself shaking with the effort of just maintaining its existence. Pouring her last vestiges of strength into the spell, she forced it to fly out at the rock and strike dead center. She collapsed into a heap at Janet's feet, gasping.

"There there," Janet consoled, a slightly concerned look on her face, "It's always hardest the first time. Now it gets easy. In fact, all of that will eventually become subconscious..."

Sylvia could barely hear her; she was still trying to find the strength to stand up. She didn't know where it came from, but it came nonetheless and she stood. After approximately ten more tried, Janet was satisfied and the size of the fireball Sylvia could control had increased to something the size of her forearm. Janet lovingly called the spell a "flare".

"So then," Janet began with a broad smile on her face, feeling proud at having taught her friend something, "shall we go find this Ronsu? Maybe we should ask this guy over here," she finished, indicating to a man sitting idly on the edge of the hill that the monastery was perched on with a flock of animals around him.

The man was more than pleased to help them, introducing himself as Sahnlae the Tamer. He pointed out a shrine on the far side of the valley the hill overlooked, telling them they could find Ronsu there. From where they were standing, it seemed no bigger than a small cat. The girls thanked him and began their trek down the hill, a journey of about a mile and a half.

The hill was covered with rather sparse vegetation, mostly a tree here and there with grass covering the remainder. That didn't prevent a group of mantids from sneaking up on the two girls though. Without warning, one of the brown-colored, shoulder-high creatures took a flying leap at Sylvia, its deadly pincers flashing in the sunlight. Janet, without batting an eyelash, made a dagger of stone rise up from the earth, float next to her for a split second, and then fly straight into the skull of the ugly, insectoid creature with a wave of her hand in the direction of the offending thing.

Another three mantids popped out of the ground around them, with another five jumping out of trees. Eight insects all baying for their blood. Pincers flashed as the creatures babbled amongst themselves in a strange, screeching language. Sylvia didn't give them a chance to continue their conversation as she used the spell Janet had taught her not an hour previously. A small ball of fire formed in the palm of her hand, and she willed it to fly out at the mantid in front of her. It did so, colliding with the creature's exoskeleton and setting it on fire. It ran around in circles, still aflame, screeching loudly.

"Shut up before my ears start to bleed!" Sylvia roared, letting her temper fuel her magic and sending another flare at the still screeching creature. This time, it was completely consumed and rolled over onto its back, finally dead. The other mantids took on look at their fallen comrade and started screeching as well and launched, as one, at the pair.

"Hold them off for a second," Janet yelled above the din, "and I'll see if I can't keep us alive."

With that she started floating in midair, seemingly deep in concentration. Sylvia didn't have time to wonder what she was doing before the first mantids were upon her. They tried to dismember her with their pincers and claws, but she kept up a stream of pyrotechnics that wounded most of the mantids and killed a few. Behind her, Janet had finished at last and a ring of light appeared around the pair. Sylvia could feel her skin tingling with the raw power behind the spell.

Her momentary fascination with this new form of defense caused her to drop her guard for perhaps two seconds, but in that time a mantid had leapt from behind her and landed on her back, trying to rip her into tiny, bite-sized pieces. However, it couldn't seem to get its pincers into its prey; they seemed to be be deflected by some unseen force. Sylvia was startled our of her momentary reverie (a hundred-pound bug jumping on you will tend to do that) and fired off a series of flares at the hideous thing in such rapid succession that they seemed more like a stream of fire in an attempt to get it off of her. By the time she was done, she had punched a hole clear through its exoskeleton and body. Charred bug meat dripped out, sizzling in the grass. The acrid smell of fried cockroach was filling the air.

With the ward, which Janet yelled at Sylvia it was so named, they were able to quickly mop up the remaining three mantids. When they were done, pure and utter rage began to consume Sylvia.

"What the hell was that? This. Is. A. SCHOOL! How do they expect us to deal with something like that on our first day? We could have been killed! Do you hear me? KILLED!"

Her rant continued for about five minutes, and during the last minute a nearby tree burst spontaneously into flame and the ground around them had started to tremble. Janet, recognizing the danger signs, acted on impulse and breathed a quick spell. Sylvia, without warning, found her body from the waist down encased in ice. Needless to say, she shut up.

"Sorry Sylvia, but I needed to cool you off before you set the whole island on fire," Janet said with a apologetic look on her face, at the same time trying to prevent herself from laughing at the look of utter shock on Sylvia's face.

"However," she continued, "if you promise to be a good girl and keep your temper even when we find Ronsu, I'll let you out."

The ice started hissing, and with a loud BANG the whole thing exploded outward, sending steaming ice chunks flying everywhere.

"I'll keep it in check, I promise," Sylvia replied with a slightly miffed look, trying to massage some feeling back into her legs, "just never do that again. My legs are completely numb now," all this causing Janet to finally let out her pent up laughter. It was a good laugh, and sounded like a chorus of angels laughing all at once, or at least that was Sylvia's impression. Not even her mother had such a beautiful laugh. Well, used to have, but that was another story.

"Now then, let's go find this Ronsu before we get eaten or something," Janet said cheekily, and began running down the hill. Sylvia wondered idly how she could go that fast before Janet turned around, and with a quick "Sorry, forgot..." had whispered a quick spell. Sylvia could feel the currents of air around her swirling and lifting her slightly off the ground, making her seem to weigh less and pushing her forward. Laughing in sheer joy and giddiness at the new feelings of near-weightlessness, she raced down the hill, determined to beat her newfound friend to the bottom while said friend set off in hot pursuit with a broad grin on her face.

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A/N: And there you have it: Chapter One. I have no intention of writing about any "pairings" in this story; this is merely written to satisfy the little voice in my head screaming "WRITE! WRITE! WRITE!" at me... Also, I realise that Adam kind-of-sort-of disappeared from the story, but fear not! He shall return (later... significantly later). Now then, unless you want the two young girls to be lost forever in Sunqua Vale, trying to find Ronsu for the rest of their lives until they waste away, click the little purple button in the bottom-left of your screen . Flames will be read but ignored