The Fate of the First Hero of Light
I slowly wake, I feel very heavy.
My mind almost immediately recalls what has happened.
I think it is odd, normally you would be startled and confused. Up until I felt the paper placed upon my face, I remember everything vividly.
I look at the ceiling I am at my Grandmothers.
When I was younger. I would take much time following the lines of the intricate designs on the ceiling. I look to my left, a box full of toys and a desk. To the right, a large cabinet for clothes.
I do not want to look to my right arm.
I have read it takes many suncycles of study. To perfect the control of magical flames, so as to not scorch your hands or to not gravely injure yourself.
I had never even been able to conjure the smallest spark or any magic.
My mother would always comfort me by saying I am a late bloomer. She was lying to herself, to save face in front of her colleagues. Or so I think.
My mind seems to be able to understand things clearer.
I feel that I may have matured a bit.
Still I have to look sooner or later, I do not feel pain so my arm must have been removed. I want to turn, but I decide to lift instead. I see my right arm move, I reach to touch the air in front of me. It is still attached! I can move my fingers! My arm has been bandaged completely. There are papers attached, which have a magical rune sign on them, it means "to stop".
I hear the sounds of crashing glass wares and also my Grandmother's voice.
I think to myself, is she drinking again?
I laugh out loud, my jokes are funny! But she is screaming very loudly. I also hear my mother and father talking loudly.
I am not bound so I stand up. They are in the dining hall. As I am walking, the staff seem frightened. Those that do not run, hide behind even the most laughable objects like ferns and pots.
Only the head steward looks at me unperturbed.
"How are you doing master Claurilles? "
"I am unwell. But I thank you for your concern. Please I would like to listen in on my families feud if that is fine?"
The head steward starts smiling. He always enjoys my terrible sense of humor and I his.
"I understand master Claurilles. I will have the staff move to different posts immediately."
"Thank you. This is most certainly the last time we will meet. I thank you for taking caring of me when I was younger."
"I understand master Claurilles goodbye." The staff leave.
I am sitting on a tall chair, outside the dining hall door, to the side, my back is facing, towards the door directly into the dining room.
"I told you to keep studying the medallion."
"But he can be so difficult to talk to." My mother claims.
"He is out of control. Always disrespecting us." My father interjects.
I have been told.
My Grandmother who comes from a tribe that was so brutal in the north. That only after many years of war with the Kingdom were they almost destroyed. But finally rather chose to disband.
My Grandmother was so fierce a woman that no man ever dared approach her.
My parents know they are lying to save their lives.
This goes on and on.
My Grandmother after having met my Grandfather left her tribe. Then moved here to the Capital.
The first thing she did, was enroll into an academy.
Studied and completed many a fields mastery, they will not be able to lie to her.
"I see just like your father! You are also incompetent! Living on stolen valour and you my daughter inflating your own worth. While abandoning your son, I cut you off from my household. You will not receive any further assistance from my estate. Geir I know you are there, come out and say farewell to your parents."
Tears are rolling down my cheeks, I run and embrace my Grandmother.
In my heart, I feel as if a miracle has happened. I greet my parents goodbye as you would any stranger you meet. Their looks of disgust at me, forgotten as if it was mist in front of the sun.
"Come Geir." We enter the basement and into the storage room, my Grandmother removes a tarp from a long wooden box.
She opens the box inside it is an obsidian obelisk with runes carved into it .
"Touch the stone Geir."
As I touch it the ruins on my arm start to glow.
"Listen to me Geir. In my tribe fighting was our way of life. The strength to defeat your enemy was all that mattered. How you obtained that strength did not matter. Defeat your enemy by any means. An ancient Warchief was at a stale mate with a rival tribe none of them could make any headway. When they would use magic, the other one would counter with magic. So it went on for many suncycles. Finally our tribe had, had enough, they went to the other tribe to make a peace agreement. Making peace with another tribe was seen as the same as defeat. The Warchief would have to shoulder the blame for the tribes defeat, by being shamed forever in our afterlife.
He devised a plan, he would sacrifice his daughter to the only god who would agree to his proposal.
The god of chaos.
The deal was made and the maiden was sacrificed.
When he went to claim the power.
The god of chaos laughed and said "The power would be delivered, you did not specify the time".
He said it would be along your bloodline but did not disclose when.
The tribe was furious.
They killed the Warchief and then that was the end.
The moment you were born, I saw that marks on your arm. I knew you had inherited the power, that the war chief had sought."
"Is that why my parents treated me the way they have?"
"Only people of my tribe would be able to tell. Your parents would not have. Geir listen to me closely. When I met your grandfather, I had only known war.
But by battling him and talking to him. I opened my eyes to new possibilities.
In war and combat you only break, you can never build.
When I realized this it was as if my eyes had been opened for the first time.
After this revelation whenever I hold a sword, even though I had wielded it since I had learnt to walk. I could not grip it properly anymore.
My life had been changed completely and also how I thought about life. My way of thinking had evolved. I started valuing constraint and moderation and most importantly the value of life of things great and small."
"Grandmother what does this all mean, what are you saying?"
"Geir the power you possess is either a blessing or a curse.
If you want to follow my and now also your tribes way of life.
You will find it will give you great strength.
That you were able to wield it so intensely when you tried to kill your parents, proves that."
"How did you know?"
"I was the one that contained the ancient magics."
"I see, I am sorry."
"Do not apologize, if they were so weak, that a child could kill them. They don't deserve to be family of mine."
"WHAT?! But Grandmother you also said it could be a curse. What did you mean?"
"Geir the power you where given was originally meant for war.
It enhances all the senses and stirs the emotions. You wanted to kill your parents what did you feel?"
"I felt nothing. As if they did not mean anything to me."
"Geir do you see the power, it will suppress some emotions and enflame others. I also heard you became involved in a scuffle with a Dark Elf."
"Yes, I felt that I had been slighted. Even now looking back it was not something worth getting upset over."
"That feeling is pride. There is nothing more important to a warrior than pride."
"What should I do Grandmother?"
"You have the ancient power it's called ANARK."
"That sounds ridiculous."
BAM
I feel my Grandmother punch me in the face, my nose is bleeding.
"OW!" I grab my face.
"I know, I just made it up. It is going to be difficult to just to refer vaguely to your ability, so we shall call it that."
"Geir if you want to choose the path of war. I will teach you everything, you could possibly want to know. I am the proud daughter of the Warchief who died in the war. The tribe may have been disbanded. But they are living around us. They may have different jobs and families, but in their hearts they still beat with loyalty. That you have this power, proves you are worthy to lead the tribe."
"Most importantly Geir. I want you to find happiness, as I had found in my life as a mother and grandmother."
"What do you mean Grandmother?"
"That will wait for another time. First I have to seal the powers of Anark. Otherwise If you are at the academy and you start murdering the young ones. That would cause problems for me!"
I think in my head, maybe moving in here was a mistake.
I am inside an empty room.
I am naked there is only have a small cloth, covering my private parts.
My Grandmother has requested a Mage, from the Mages Guild, to help with the sealing ceremony.
A figure in a traditional dress enters, it is a white parka, it is my Grandmother!
She is wearing the head of a icebeast, on her head like a headdress.
"So this is our tribes traditional dress." I think to myself.
She looks years younger, she has a fierce look in her eyes.
If someone had to face her in combat, they would most definitely be intimidated.
She stands next to me and signals for me to be quiet.
I hear incantations a spell is being prepared outside of the room.
A figure enters the room...
It is a tall person with bandaged ears.
Finish.