Worlds Apart, Separate Ways

by KibaElunal

Everyone in Ionia knows the tales of the dreaded mage who lives in the looming Floating Fortress that hovers day and night over the island. Her name has become synonymous with the boogie man and other things that go bump in the night. But what if she were to reach out to the people of Ionia in hopes of joining them? Or even more startling, what if someone down below reached back?

1. Chapter 1

Worlds Apart, Separate Ways – Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hey everyone, if you are returning readers from my other works, I'd like to welcome you back and thank you for your continued support. To new readers, I am honored that you have decided to investigate into this work yourselves. So very often are people mislabeled or pushed away from society due to being outside of the social norm, and while these people often go on to live happy lives, sometimes their faces are masks that hide their pain away from the world. I hope that as you read this story, you'll find it in yourselves to think of the people you know who are special, and realize the value of their friendship. -Kiba Roberts

---

It is not often that I glance upon my childhood with joy. But on occasion, my thoughts have been known to wander back to that day. I can still feel the vague sensation of the wind blowing through my long hair that trailed behind me as I soared through the air. I had never felt such joy, such freedom before in my life, and yet there I was racing through the streets of my hometown in Ionia. It may have been because of my childish nature from being of the young age of eight years old, or perhaps it was simply the joy of being able to fly, but I couldn't remember a happier moment in my life than the day that I'd learned to manipulate my powers so.

I had to test my abilities, see just how fast I could move, how powerful my magic had become. With every second I moved faster and faster through the town, avoiding obstacles and weaving through crowds despite the angered shouting of the villagers. Unaware or uncaring of their insults I became so intoxicated by my freedom that I almost forgot the loneliness that seemed to engulf my life. I raced around the square, moving in graceful twirls and flips that made me feel as though I were one of the beautiful ballerinas at the show my parents used to take me to…before they found out I was different. Lost in the jubilee of my innocence I failed to see that I was headed directly for the large crystal sculpture that had been erected in the middle of town earlier that week to honor our Elder's birthday. As it began to topple, time seemed to slow down while my eyes followed it and no matter how fast I tried to fly to stop it the thing hit the ground, shattering into a million little pieces.

Almost immediately a crowd began to gather around me, angry eyes glaring at me from every direction. I suddenly felt small and meek as I gently landed on the ground. "I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean to. Honest." I offered to the crowd, begging for forgiveness. But despite my attempts to show my remorse cruel words were spit upon me.

"Freak!"

"Monster!"

"Demon!"

"Abomination!"

"Witch!"

"How dare you break the Elder's statue?!"

"You should never have been born!"

"Just die! No one wants you around here!"

I don't know when the first rotted piece of fruit was thrown from the crowd, but it didn't take long for the rest of the villagers to join in pelting me with their compost as I curled into a ball, crying out for my mother and father to come and save me. After hours of humiliation at the hands of the citizens they either began to grow tired of my abuse or simply ran out of things to throw at me, until one by one, they filtered back into their homes leaving only a sniveling weak and scared little girl covered with rubbish and smelling of compost.

By then night had fallen and the icy chill of its winds paled in comparison to the cold loneliness I felt in my heart. I wandered the streets for hours, having lost my way in the city, calling out for my mother and father to find me and bring me home. With every house I passed the people in the city would close their shutters and latch their windows. I even remember one house in particular where a girl not much younger than myself laid in bed as her mother smiled and read her a bed time story, the two of them giggling over their own little jokes. When the mother saw me however, she frowned, passing to the window and drawing her curtains closed so that she wouldn't have to gaze upon the freaky girl who was a menace that plagued their society. Continuing down the cold street my tears froze on my cheeks as I wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm.

That was when things went from bad to worse. Dark stormy clouds had formed overhead before a torrential rain began to pound down on top of me in waves that froze me to the bone, soaking my clothes and hair. The droplets stung my face as I continued trying to find my way home, my body shivering from the wintery blast. Just when I thought I would be lost forever, my eyes picked out the lantern that swayed softly in the window of my home, signaling warmth and shelter. I walked to the up the steps before anxiously banging on the door. "Mama! Papa!" I called out to them, until the angry face of my father appeared as he opened the door just a bit.

"Where have you been?!" He growled.

"I'm…I'm s-sorry P-p-papa." I said shivering on our doorstep. "I got lost…please…let me in…I'm cold…and hungry."

"Oh you want food? After what you did to shame our family?! Maybe you should sleep outside like the rest of the dogs where you belong. If you're hungry you should have gotten some food when it was being thrown at you in the square." He snapped before slamming the door shut in my face, causing me to sob softly. I began to knock on the door again, begging, pleading for my father to let me come in. After a few minutes of my cries for shelter the door opened this time my Papa's face full of rage. Reaching out he violently grabbed me by the arm and pulled me inside of the house.

"Papa?" I asked before his hand tightened painfully on my wrist. "Papa! Please stop…you're hurting me Papa." He said nothing, just let out a grunt of apathy as he dragged me through the house while I struggled to free my arm from his grip. As he turned the corner I realized where he was taking me and immediately I began struggling even harder. "Wait, no! Papa! Please don't…I'm so sorry Papa, I won't ever use my magic again…please!"

He turned around slapping me hard across the face before he tore open the small cupboard door and shoved me inside. "Now you listen hear witch!" He hissed, "I may be your Papa, but you are not my daughter! A freak like you could never hope to be my daughter!"

"Papa…" I whimpered as he slammed the small door shut trapping me inside of the darkness. The audible click of the lock followed by my father's heavy footsteps fading away signaled that I was now left alone in the small space where I was to reflect on my pitiful existence. I leaned against the wall, burying my head in my knees, grateful that at least I had managed to get out of the cold rain outside. I'm not entirely sure when I managed to finally cry myself to sleep that night, but soon my eyes had closed and I found myself dreaming of a world where I could fly however much I wanted and people wouldn't hate me for what I could do.

It wasn't long after that I was awoken from my dream by a gentle knocking on the door. "Syndra? Are you awake in there?" A soft and soothing voice called out to me and inching as close as I could I called out in the darkness.

"Mama?" I asked.

I heard the lock pull back as the door swung open to reveal the kind smile of my mother. "I heard your father say you were hungry." She whispered. "I brought you some soup." I eagerly accepted the warm bowl, sipping the broth and letting the hot liquid run down my throat.

"Mama…" I asked softly when I had finished, "does Papa hate me?"

My mother shook her head. "Oh sweety…of course he doesn't hate you…your Papa loves you very much…it's just that sometimes your powers can cause a lot of trouble for our village."

"Oh…" I whispered before sniffling. "Papa said that I wasn't his daughter. I thought he hated me…especially after what happened in the square." My mother frowned at the mention of the incident that had caused all the trouble in the first place. Just as she opened her mouth to speak my father roughly grabbed her by the hair pulling her to her feet as she winced.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he roared at her.

"She…she was hungry!" My Mama replied meekly before my father slapped her hard, causing her to collapse to her knees on the floor.

"So what?! You just decide to give the food I put on this table to the little freak whenever she asks for it?" He slapped my mother again causing her to cry out as I ran to him.

"Papa, please stop it!" I begged before he turned and shoved me hard into the wall before he went back to my mother and yanked her hair hard, pulling her head back.

"Say you're sorry! Say it you whore! Apologize for giving my food to that fucking monster of yours!" He screamed in her face as tears began to roll down my mother's cheeks.

"I'm sorry!" She cried. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have given her any food! I'm sorry!" My father slapped her again and again as she begged his forgiveness before I grabbed his arm trying to pull him away from her. Turning on me his hand went across my cheek with enough force to send me to the ground. As he raised his arm to slap me again I felt a dull throbbing pain in my forehead that caused a blast of magic to lift my father off the ground and fling him hard against the wall before sliding down the wall to the floor.

"Oh no…" my mother whimpered as she crawled to my father.

"Mama?" I asked softly. "It…it was an accident mama…I didn't…" When she put her fingers on the side of his neck I watched as she threw herself over him, weeping over my father's dead body. I tried to go to her to comfort her, hoping she'd forgive me when the glow of torches shined through the windows. "Mama…it's the villagers." I cried in fear. "Mama…what do we do?" When I turned back to look at her, her eyes stared in to mine and I could see them filled with hatred.

"Get out." She snarled.

"Mama…" I sniffled.

"I said 'GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, YOU WITCH!" She shouted at the top of my lungs just as the door was kicked in by the townsfolk.

"Look!" One of them cried.

"She even killed her own father!"

"Beast!"

"Grab her!" I tried to run, but one of the villagers managed to grab me, and they bound me with ropes and gagged me to stop my cries for help and mercy. As they dragged me from my home I watched my mother glaring at me as she cradled Papa. The angry mob dragged me across the rough cobble stones, causing patches and scrapes to form on my skin as I shouted through the gag for help until we reached the town square. Where the crystal statue had once been there was now a stake where people were placing tender at its base. Easily lifting my frail body off the ground they tied me to the stake. Cries and shouts filled the air as the townspeople began to chant "Burn the witch! Burn the witch! Burn the witch!" over and over again. Someone lit a torch and began to hold it close to the pyre while I tried to wriggle free of the ropes.

"STOP!" Someone called out to the crowd. "Let me do it!" My eyes followed the voice to see my mother, who had always been kind to me, taking the torch from one of the villagers as they cheered in excitement. My mother was going to burn me alive...she was going to kill me. My heart had never felt so broken before as I watched her lowering the fiery wood towards the timber. That was when once more another voice boomed throughout the square.

"That is enough!" The voice commanded causing all of the villagers to freeze and fall silent. There were hushed whispers as the crowd parted to reveal the elder, hobbling closer to where I hung bound to the post. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves!" The elder shouted. "Wanting to burn a child of all things?! We have been taught better than this!" She snatched the torch from my mother dowsing it in a puddle left by the rain. Walking to me she untied my gag, pulling it from my mouth.

"But Elder!" One of them cried. "She's a monster! She wrecked your statue and even killed her own father! She's a menace!"

"Yeah!" The crowd roared in agreement before the elder silenced them with another wave of her hand.

"I will not have the blood of a child stain our town!" She exclaimed, "Right now, only two things are certain." She turned back to where I was tied to the pole. "She is not to be killed, but she most certainly cannot stay here." My breath caught in my lungs as the crowd cheered at the notion of banishing me.

"The elder is right! Let's run her out of town! Make her someone else's problem!" Once more I found myself being dragged; though this time I was being taken to the city gates. I didn't want to leave my home, but I knew that it was either this or death. When we finally reached the gates I was untied and shoved out of the city roughly. I turned back around to look at the Elder and my mother who stood at the front of the town.

"Mama?" I asked, my voice shaking in fear. "Are…are you not coming with me?" I asked. She glared at me with an expression that screamed hatred and loathing. She needn't have even spoke for me to get the answer to my question.

"Syndra!" The elder declared in her booming voice. "You have been found guilty for crimes against this town and its people. As punishment for your crimes, you are henceforth banished! Leave this place and never return!"

"But…but where am I to go?" I asked as more tears began to fall from my eyes. "Where am I supposed to go? I'll die on my own." The Elder walked forward to me and pressed a small square of paper into my palm.

"That…" she said coldly, "is none of our concern. Now leave this place!" She bellowed turning back from me and walking to the village.

"W-wait!" I cried going after her only to be pelted by rocks from the villagers.

"Get out of here freak!" They yelled angrily as they continued to throw stones at me until I ran far enough away that they couldn't hit me anymore. Now I truly was alone…nowhere to call home…no friends…no family. No Mama…No Papa…no one. As I tried to fight the tears that wouldn't seem to stop I unfolded the small piece of paper the Elder had given me. It simply read, "North Gate, one hour." For a moment my heart skipped a beat. Did my mother really want me back? Was the Elder going to sneak me back into the village and hide me away? Full of hope I immediately went towards the Northern Gate, only to find myself alone in the lantern's light.

My heart sank like a stone in the river, broken in two. Was this some sort of trick? Some game that the Elder wanted to play with my emotions. How could anyone be so cruel? "Is something wrong little girl?" The voice startled me and as I turned around and looked up into the wrinkled old face of a man with a long grey beard.

"I…I…" As I tried to find the words I needed I stepped backwards from him, tripping on a loose cobblestone. As I fell backwards I was shocked when the man thrust out his palm, causing my body to hover in the air before he righted me again. "You…have magic?" I asked cautiously. The man chuckled heartily as he knelt next to me, pulling back his hood to reveal his long shaggy hair.

"You must be Syndra…the Elder of your village told me a lot about you."

"She…she did?" I stuttered as the man smiled holding up his hands.

"Worry not, all good things. She told me you were a very sweet and well-behaved young girl whose been having trouble controlling the use of her magic…is that so?" I nodded softly, intimidated by the size of the large man that stood before me. "Well…she knew that this sort of thing may happen one day…so she asked me for a favor. How would you like to come live with me in my home?" I looked around me, trying to see if this was some sort of trick. Was this man going to laugh in my face if I said yes? Again I nodded, slowly. I flinched as he stuck out his hand, but when I saw that he wasn't going to hit me or hurt me I cautiously took his hand in mine and the two of us began to walk down the dusty path that lead away from the town.

When we arrived there, I was thrilled to discover that his home was a castle, a place where he said I could learn to control my magic and grow stronger without having to worry about hurting anyone…or anyone hurting me. For the first time in a very long time, I'd found a place where I could be free and happy. A few years passed by and soon I had reached my teens. I can still remember the way he'd call my name when I'd managed to get myself into trouble.

"SYNNNDRAAA!" The booming voice of my master awoke me from my bed as I managed to levitate myself at the last second to stop from falling on to the ground. I knew that tone well…it meant he wanted me in his presence, and he wanted me now. In addition to being my teacher, he served as my foster parent as well, having raised me to be a young lady and the like.

As I reached the doorway to the lab I peered inside to see him reaching for a potion that was hovering just out of his reach. "Blast that girl…" he muttered, "SYNDRA!" He shouted once more as I slowly floated in.

"Here master." I said cheerfully as I slowly landed on my feet and folded my hands cutely in front of me. "Did you need something?" I asked innocently. He glared at me and for a moment a shiver went up my spine as I became rigid.

"Don't you play dumb with me girl." He growled, "Perhaps you'd care to explain to me why it is that my potions are floating around the room as though they were birds?" I bit my lip nervously as I looked down at my feet before putting my finger to my lips in thought.

"Well…I was mixing that potion for the customer you asked me to make yesterday…and I was busy stirring the linseed oil but couldn't reach the bottle of Camellia extract so I tried to float it to me…but I kind of missed and got the night shade by mistake, but since I couldn't very well just drop the deadly night shade I just tried again…and I just kept missing, over and over again until…"

"Stop!" He said holding up his hand. "I've heard enough." He groaned rubbing his temples. "Syndra, what have I told you about making excuses?"

"Not to…but it's not an excuse I really…" he silenced me by holding up his hand once more.

"You know that you can't be doing things like this Syndra…you've got a responsibility as a mage to use your powers responsibly. Magic is not a toy, it is a tool. And we are the master artisans that use it with great expertise."

"Yes master…" I retorted sarcastically. This wouldn't have been the first time I'd heard this lecture.

"Drop that sass girlie, or else I'll give you another knot on your head like I did last week. And don't think I didn't see you eyeing that young lad who came into the shop yesterday…" My cheeks turned a bright red as I shook my head.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I snorted. It was true that I had kind of taken an interest in that client. But, that was only natural wasn't it? I mean I was becoming a young woman, and I was always cooped up in this place without any other boys or girls my age. So what if I had flirted a little bit, I wasn't hurting anything.

My master frowned at me his eyes narrowing as another shiver ran through my body giving me goosebumps. Those eyes of his were always so intimidating. They felt as though they could pierce through your soul. "Listen to me carefully Syndra…you must learn to control yourself…you can't allow yourself to be tempted by anyone or anything. If you do, your magic will run rampant…and…I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"But, Master, I'm not going to get hurt. I've gotten better since I've gotten here, and I'm able to almost form one of those energy balls like you do see?" I held up my hand and began to conjure up the magic before he quickly grabbed my hand pushing it down.

"Are you mad girl?! You could blow us to smithereens. I promised I'd teach you that spell in due time, but for now you've got work to do. First things first, get my potions down from there…and don't you dare drop a single one of them or I'll have your hide. Once you're done here you can go to the library and dust the books. Consider that your punishment for being irresponsible yesterday."

I wanted to argue that making me dust the books in the library was unfair, especially since he was the one who asked me to brew the potion in the first place, but one glare from him made me shut my mouth again before muttering, "Yes Master."

"Good." He said as his lips curved into a smile. "I'll leave you to your work then." With that he walked past me towards the entrance of the lab but not before ruffling my hair affectionately. "You've come a long way Syndra. Don't turn back now."

"I won't." I promised before giving him a kiss on the cheek. As he left the lab, I could hear him whistling a cheerful tune that faded along with his footsteps. Turning back to the mess that was currently hovering in the air above me I pondered for a moment before immediately lowering the bottles to the ground. Gazing at the bottles scattered around the floor I smirked. "Done." I said turning back and leaving the laboratory before I went to go clean the books as he asked me. I sighed as I began to daydream about the boy I had met the other day. He seemed sweet, and the way he smiled at me was unexplainable. I dreamt of him taking me far away from this place, to some remote mountain cottage where the two of us would sit and talk about nothing for hours on end. The best part would be that there would be no one to bother us…no one to hurt us or call us monsters. We'd be happy and free. Just like birds. I hummed softly as I twirled through the air, imagining me in the arms of some handsome man when I bumped into the bookshelf, causing nearly a dozen tomes to fall to the ground with a loud clatter. I froze. Some of these books were centuries old. If any of them were damaged…I didn't want to think of what creative punishment Master could think up for me.

I lowered myself to the ground, scrambling quickly to scoop up the grimoires and place them back on the shelf until my hand rested upon one with a midnight black cover, bound with lavender ribbon. It was almost spooky really, but at the same time it was absolutely beautiful. I couldn't explain it but I felt like I was supposed to find this book. Staring deep into the leather bound object I opened its pages, my eyes scanning its contents as I began to analyze the magical sigils and runes that rested there. I could scarcely believe what I was reading, this book told of ways to form energy balls that were much simpler and more powerful than the ones master made. The secrets nestled within the tome's pages were jaw dropping, if I could master the spells inside of the book I'd be as powerful as Master, maybe even more!

Excitedly, I rushed back to my room, leaving the feather duster set to automatically continue cleaning while I worked to unlock the book's riddles. My eyes tore across the pages as I read the book over and over again, cover to cover. Despite having started in the morning I was surprised when I heard the dinner bell after having read the tome for the fourth time through that when I looked up I found that orbiting around me were three perfectly round black spheres that glowed with a soft purple light. Just like the book, I noted to myself. I couldn't wait to see Master's reaction when he saw how perfectly I'd made mine…even he had a hard time keeping their shape and I managed to do it without even trying. I hovered down the hallways towards the dining hall where Master most likely sat waiting for me. As I entered in to the room I said nothing, not wanting to draw attention to them so I could see his face when he saw them for the first time.

"Where have you been girl? Your food is getting cold." He said as he sipped his goblet, before looking up to see the spheres. Immediately he spit out the wine coughing up the liquid that he'd accidentally inhaled in shock.

"Master? Are you okay?" I asked.

"Gods Syndra! What have you done?!" He asked, his eyes wide.

I smiled brightly clapping my hands together. "Isn't it neat? I found a really cool book while I was dusting off the bookshelves and it taught me how to make the energy balls like this."

Master shook his head. "No Syndra! That sort of magic is too dangerous, you aren't able to control it! I can't even control it! When are you going to get it into that empty head of yours that Magic is not some game! You can't just play around with these forces that you don't understand."

I folded my arms across my chest. "Oh I understand, I understand that you just don't want me to have more power than you. Is that it? Worried that I might show you up hmmm?" Where did that come from? It wasn't like me to talk back to him. The book seemed to be making me more confident, and indeed I felt stronger, like a lioness.

"Watch your tongue lass, you'll remember that I am your Master, not the other way around. And of course I want you to become more powerful than me, every Master dreams of his apprentice surpassing him some day. But this isn't the way to do it Syndra. You can't take shortcuts with this sort of thing. If it worked the way you wanted it to you'd have surpassed me long ago had I not dampened your magic." Did he just say…dampened my magic?

"You what?!" I screamed. "How could you do that to me?!"

"Calm down Syndra it was for your own good."

"No!" I screamed stomping my foot on the ground angrily causing the entire castle to shake. "Don't tell me to calm down! I'm not going to, you can't make me!"

Master looked around himself as he came closer to me. "Damn it girl, if you don't calm down this instant, so help me I'll take your magic away for good! If you want to prove you're responsible then show me!" I grit my teeth as I shoved my hands forward the energy balls slamming into him hard as it drove him to the ground.

"Shut up!" I screeched as I slammed the balls down on him over and over again. "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" I looked down to see his eyes wide in horror, blood pouring from his mouth while his body lay in a crater, broken and beaten in. What had I done? "M-master?" I asked softly as I floated down towards him. "Master…are you alright?" My words began to catch in my throat. I watched the light fade from his eyes as I wrapped my arms around his frail old body. "Master? Master!" I sobbed clutching him tightly. I'd done it again, I killed another human being, again. As I looked up unsure of what to do I caught a glimpse of my reflection in one of the mirrors that was affixed to the wall. For a brief moment, I didn't see myself and Master…I saw Mama and Papa. Immediately I pushed his body away from me in revulsion. No…no this wasn't the same thing…was it?

He'd always held me back…he'd been blocking my magic since the very beginning. He always would punish me and make me do chores while he just relaxed and did whatever stupid thing he always did. Maybe he was like Papa…always locking me away in the temple and never allowing me to be myself or grasp my true power. He was scared of me, just like everyone else, and it was then I knew the truth of myself and my powers. Everything Master had told me was a lie…Magic wasn't a tool…it was power. It was made to be used however I saw fit to be used and to believe anything else was just absent-minded foolishness. I was a destroyer of life, a dangerous predator that no one could stand up to when it came down to it. I was practically a Goddess, living high above the weak and puny citizens that I once walked among. And why should I walk among them?! They don't deserve to walk the same Earth that I do. They should have to look up and know that I'm above them…a powerful Goddess able to destroy any one I pleased with but a thought.

I smirked as an idea began to formulate in my mind, and summoning all of the magic that had once been locked away from me the entire fortress began to shake violently. With a grunt of effort I felt the land break free from the Earth's surface, slowly rising into the air so that all of Ionia could see and look upon it in fear knowing that there was one among them so powerful. As my fortress floated closer I looked down at the body of my former Master, the last reminder that there was ever a time when I was inferior to another. With the grimoire at my side and full access to my powers I'd be unstoppable; I'd never have to answer to anyone ever again.

Raising my hand I lifted his limp corpse like a rag doll, manipulating it towards the front door of the fortress where the beautiful blue sky stood as a testament to the change to come. As the fortress floated over my old home I pulled a knife that I'd grabbed from the dining room and began to carve into my Master's chest. Finally I dropped his corpse from the sky, hurtling towards the Earth below.

As the old fool's body landed in the town square below he practically splattered against the hard stone like a bug on a windshield. A wicked smirk came to my lips as I watched the citizens stop their meaningless lives to investigate the strange human that was now lying in a pool of his own blood. When they finally came close enough, they'd see the message I left for them. Carved into the mage's chest was simply "Syndra." Sure enough they began to panic and scatter like cockroaches back to their homes, sealing their shutters and closing their doors as they all took cover.

Now I'd finally found my purpose, the place where I belonged. This was my rightful place, high above Ionia where I could ensure that no one would ever be above me again. Smiling to myself I wiped my hands of the blood from the old fogey before tossing the rag over the edge, letting it fall slowly to the ground. Now I was free…free to live my life however I desired. And for the longest time…I did. A year passed, then two, and then a decade…soon my name was passed around campfires like an evil hag in a fairy tale. My legacy became a story that parents told their children to frighten them into eating their vegetables and doing their chores lest I take them away to the fortress in the sky where I'd gobble them up for dinner. Such idle foolishness, crafted by the very same fools who had shunned me in the first place. Yet…there were times when I sat alone in my fortress, gazing into the fireplace that crackled and danced. Times when I'd realize that despite my power, despite everything, sometimes I wanted to go back to my old life. Occasionally I'd hoped to reach out to the people of my homeland…and maybe…just maybe, someone else would reach back.

To be continued…