The following is a lengthy letter that the author received in his mailbox. Several days later, after not returning calls from his partner and parents, his partner went to his apartment and found a bush on fire, but the fire was contained to the bush. She also found the original letter, this copy and a letter from the author explaining the disappearance. Here is the author's copy of the letter with as much rewritten correctly as possible.
Prologue:
You don't know who I am but if you have received this, it means that you or someone you know will be changed forever and they need to know everything that is on this letter. Before I go into too much detail, let me explain who I am. My name is Ethan Shaw. Several years ago (not too sure how many as I don't keep track of time here) I went to school, thinking the day was going to be normal as usual. Except it wasn't. During lunch time, I was cornered by bullies behind the classroom, where they started hitting me and calling me rude names. During this, I felt something build up inside me, something that was waiting for the time to burst. When they started laughing at me, I yelled to the point of screaming till all of a sudden, three zombies burst out of the ground. As they stood up, they burst into flames and rushed at the bullies. They had already shat their pants from the zombies coming out of the ground, but the zombies running at them, that made them bolt. For some reason, I felt safe around the zombies, so I kept them with me as I ran home. When I got home, I immediately ran to my mother who was in the lounge room. I was crying and blubbering by this point, so my mum got me to calm down first and explain everything. I told her about everything. Her face went dark as I told her about the zombies. "I think it's time I told you who your real mother is" she said, getting up and dragging me to the room that I was never allowed to go in. "Whatever you do, don't let go of my hand" she says, opening the door to reveal a portal. Scared, I swallowed and held on tight to my mother's hand as we stepped into the portal.
Chapter 1:
As I stepped out of the portal, I noticed I was in a dungeon of sorts. My mother immediately dragged me up the nearby stairs until we came to an ornate door. The first thing I noticed about the door is the symbol. There were five points up and one point down where the point down was connected by curves to the end points of the five. This symbol seemed odd, but I felt like I have seen it before, and then I remembered my birth mark. Each Planeswalker (that is what we are, Planeswalkers. I'll explain a bit more later) is born with this mark. Suddenly, the door opens, and I come face to face with a woman in a flowing black dress, escorted by two, armed zombie guards.
"So, you have finally arrived. Please, come in" She says, leaving the door open and inviting me and my "Mother" in. I look around the room and notice a wooden door and a throne on opposite sides of the room. We walk straight ahead to the large table in front of us. The woman sits on opposite side of the table and faces us.
"It has been a long time Liliana but now that his powers have come to light, my end of the deal is up" my 'mother' says, sitting down opposite the woman, Liliana.
"I'm sorry, can someone explain what is going on please and explain to me how I was able to summon zombies" I say, confused and standing behind the chair. They both look at me.
"I thought you would have at least taught him some manners" Liliana says, looking a little bit offended at my fake mother.
"You can't blame him, don't you remember when your powers awoken" my 'mother' says, pointing at Liliana.
"True. Well sit down, and I will tell you everything" Liliana says, gesturing to the chair in front of me. Cautious, I sit down, thinking something bad was going to happen to me.
"First of all, this woman is not your mother. I am. My name is Liliana Vess and I am a Planeswalker and a Necromancer" she says, making sure that she takes it slow enough for me to understand.
"What is a Planeswalker?" I ask, already having so many different questions spiralling through my mind. Liliana looks at me, almost offended that I had interrupted her.
"I was just about to explain. A Planeswalker is a rare occurrence when someone has the ability to summon and control different creatures and spells through the use of mana from parts of a plane. We get the name Planeswalker because we have the ability to travel to different planes of existence, like the portal you travelled through to get you. However, only us and anything that isn't natural can travel with us through the "Blind Eternities". Basically, a void where nothing living can exist. We can travel through it but can't stay within to long" she says, countering multiple questions from me.
"So, you're a necromancer. Does that mean I'm a necromancer as well or am I different because the zombies I summoned were on fire?" I ask, feeling my body change itself, feeling my blood boil yet die at the same time.
"Well…yes you are a necromancer, but from what you have said, I would say you're a pyromancer at the same time. So, you would be considered as an undead pyromancer. Come, let me show you something" Liliana says, getting up and walking over to the other door that I saw. I get up and follow her, my curiosity getting the better of me. She unlocks the door and opens it. Inside the room, on an altar, is a crown and a face mail veil mask, that looks like an upside-down version of the symbol. "This is a very dangerous artefact that lets me summon more than I normally could for less mana. Try it on" Liliana says, gesturing for me to put it on.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, he could die from it" my fake mother says, grabbing Liliana's arm.
"Not only is he my son, but if it accepts, he could do something I have seen only once" Liliana says, shrugging my fake mother off. I look at both of them then the veil again. I can feel the power flowing from it and its pull on me. I slowly walk up to it and pick it up. As I pick it up, I can feel its power flow through me. I turn to them and put it on. As soon as I put it on, I feel my body change. I look at my arm and its now on fire but it's purely bone. "Umm, is this supposed to happen?" I ask, my fear betraying me.
"Amazing, it seems what I thought is correct. Now do you understand what I meant as in an undead pyromancer?" Liliana says, fascinated by the change of my body.
"Yes, can I take it off now?" I ask, reaching for the veil.
"Not yet, once you change back to normal, then take it off. If you take it off before its finished sharing power, you could either lose all of your power or gain all of it, which would kill you" She says, walking to me and grabbing my arm, inspecting it. A minute later, my body goes back to normal and Liliana takes the veil off, placing it back on the altar. "Congratulations, you are now a fully-fledged Planeswalker. Do not explore your powers too much yet, otherwise you could burn yourself out and get so exhausted that you kill yourself. The mask may have sped up the process of becoming a Planeswalker but there is much for you to learn" She says, walking out and walking over to the throne.
"From now on, you follow my rules, or you will face my wrath and risk getting exiled from your new home" She says, sitting down on the throne. Confused as to what to do, I bow.
"Of course, mother" I say straightening up.
Chapter 2:
Days later, Jace Beleren shows up. He is my actual father, which is confusing as he is a mind mage and I am a pyromancer. Well, this was the day I found out why. Jace walks into the throne room and greets my mother, "Liliana, it has been a while" he says, smiling at my mother.
"It has. Why are you here, Jace?" she asks, sharply, almost displeased to see him.
"What? Am I not allowed to see my son? Where is he anyway?" Jace asks, looking around the room.
"Behind you" I say, appearing in the doorway, "Jace Beleren? Ethan Shaw" I say, holding out my hand. He takes it firmly and smiles.
"I see Liliana has taught you well, my son", he grins as he releases my hand, "Although, I must wonder, why does he use red magic instead of my blue magic? He should be a mind mage, not a pyromancer" he questions, moving towards my mother.
"I may have had feelings for one of our other allies, and I believe she is hear, now" my mother states, standing and looking behind me. I turn and see the most beautiful women that I have ever seen (besides my mother of course). She leaves a trail of fire where she walks and as she walks past me, she winks and walks up to my mother.
"Liliana, your looking more beautiful every time I see you" she says, hugging my mother and kissing her cheek. Jace's jaw dropped and his eyes widened.
"Chandra? You had feelings for CHANDRA?" Jace shouts in disbelief at my mother. My mother glares at Jace,
"Yes, I fell in love with Chandra. I have a thing for chaos and destruction" she chuckles, beckoning me over. I walk over with a smug yet excited expression on my face. Chandra turns and greets me properly with a hug. I smile and hug her back, feeling her flames cover me as she gives me a little taste of pyromancy.
"Hello son" she whispers, pulling back to look at my face. She has flowing red hair, like blood red, that flows even when there is no wind. I beam at her,
"Hello mother" I whisper back and hug her again. She chuckles and hugs me a second time before fully releasing me and turning to face Jace, who is now angry and barely containing that anger.
"YOU ARE NOT HIS MOTHER. YOU ARE NOT EVEN RELATED TO HIM" he shouts, about to send a psychokinetic wave at us.
"ENOUGH" mother Liliana yells, stopping Jace. "We will talk about this later, for now, would you kindly leave us for a proper family reunion" mother Liliana glares at Jace, stepping down off her throne and walking over to us. Jace makes the better choice and leaves, slamming the door closed as he walks past. Mother Liliana greets mother Chandra properly this time and smiles, giving mother Chandra a kiss. Mother Chandra turns to me, smiling.
"You have to tell me EVERYTHING about how your spark awakened" she beams, failing at keeping her excitement in her voice.
Chapter 3:
We sat down at the large dining table, and I told mother Chandra about how I got my spark. After I finished, she turned to mother Liliana and said
"Well at least he has both of our traits. I was hoping as much. I'm assuming you've tested the veil on him?" she spoke with concern, as if it was dangerous for me to use the veil.
"Yes, I tested the veil on him soon after we met for the second time" she said, looking down at her hands as they had started shaking. Mother Chandra put her hand on mother Liliana's back and started to rub, calming her down.
"Mother Chandra, how did I get your red magic instead of Jace's blue magic?" I ask, changing the subject for them. Mother Chandra smiled at me, probably knowing what I just did.
"Well, when Liliana was pregnant with you, and this was still very early at the time, I imprinted on you. It's a lengthy process, but long story short, I marked you and gave you a choice. The black magic, you had no choice in, due to being Liliana's child. But I gave you the choice between blue and red magic when I imprinted you. It seems you picked red over blue", she smiles, and I grin back at her. I grin back at her,
"well I saw this quote and it goes something along the lines of 'what's life without a little bit of chaos'. I think that kind of suits me well, seeing as I'm an undead pyromancer". Mother Chandra chuckles at my quote and mother Liliana smiles at me, almost as if she is approving me and what I said. I beam back at her, glad to get her approval.
Chapter 4:
Over the next several days, I ran errands for mother Liliana whilst being taught how to use my magic by mother Liliana and mother Chandra. I learnt pyromancy and how to control my fire, whilst at the same time, being taught how to raise armies of the undead. I was proficient in both, probably due to my powers being enhanced by the chain veil and by mother Chandra sharing her power with me. During one of my errands, I had my first encounter with a real challenge. After delivering one of mother Liliana's parcels to a local friend, I heard a bunch of bullies, about my age, bullying this girl. I had seen this group before on previous errands and thought nothing of it. This time, however, was different. The bullies had started to physically hurt this girl, and when they punched her and knocked her to the ground, something inside me snapped, like a rubber band. I realised I was looking at what happened to me and this time, I would do something about it. I walked over and stood in front of the girl.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?", the main bully snarls. I stand, defiant while the girl wonders who I am.
"I am Ethan Shaw Vess Nalaar. I am an undead pyromancer, and I do not take kindly to bullies" I snarl back, fire in one eye and death in the other. The bullies try to back away but my Warrior Eternals, that I take with me as bodyguards, blocked their way. As the Warrior Eternals were about to swing their swords, the girl cried out "Stop". I stopped them and turned to her.
"Please, don't kill them. They are children to one of the many rich merchants here. If you kill them, there will be an uproar" She says, holding my arm.
"Do you know who-" I start, before being cut off.
"Yes, I know who you are. You're the son of Liliana Vess and Chandra Nalaar. I've actually been wanting to meet you. I was watching you run your errands when these kids started picking on me", she smiles shyly at me. I smile back and turn to the bullies, who are now wide eyes with fear.
"Well, then. I won't kill you….", I smile, watching the hope enter their eyes, "But if you hurt this girl again, I will kill you, make you undead and send you back to your parents". I smile cruelly at them and give the eternals a hand signal. They pick up the bullies and carry them away. "What is your name, miss?" I ask, walking to my next destination with her alongside.
"My name is Haisley. Haisley Mason, at your service", she does a little bow while walking.
"Nice to meet you Haisley", I smile, doing a little bow myself. We continue walking in silence for a little bit, while I drop off another parcel. "So, what got you so interested in me? I mean, yes I am the son of Chandra and Liliana, but I'm nothing special" I ask her, now interested in this girl walking beside me.
"You may see yourself as nothing special, but to me? To me, you're one of the luckiest people of this plane! To have THE top necromancer and THE top pyromancer as parents, it must be thrilling!", she bounces about a little bit, obviously excited that she is talking to me.
"It's not all that exciting, trust me. When you have the best in their profession as parents, they can be a lot stricter because they want you to surpass them", I look out to the mansion, my home.
"Would it be alright if I meet them? I mean, if you want me to meet them….", she twirls her skirt, acting all flirty and shy. I smile and blush.
"Maybe not today. One, I have just met you, and two, I need to talk to my mothers about you", I smile and drop off your last parcel. She squeals and kisses my cheek before bouncing off into the crowd. I blush and rub my cheek, smiling. On the way home, I keep thinking about her and keep blushing. As I walk in the door, I turn to come face to face with mother Liliana.
"What took you so long? You should have been home an hour ago" she sneers, annoyed that I was home later than usual.
"Sorry, I got caught up. Had to deal with some bullies and made an acquaintance from it. Well, a couple actually, but the bullies are more scared of me than anything else" I reply, calmly, trying to make sure Haisley didn't enter my thoughts. Liliana glares and checks my face. As she gets to my cheek, she turns my face to her.
"You didn't just make an acquaintance. I think someone is in love with you", she smiles and hugs me.
"Did I hear that right? Does someone have a love interest?", mother Chandra pokes her head around the corner and grins at me.
"Yes, I have someone that has feelings for me. She even wants to meet you", I grin back at her as she rushes at me and hugs me.
"Alright, everybody at the dining table. I want to know EVERYTHING about her" she says, as she drags me to the dining room.
Chapter 5:
After telling my mothers about how I dealt with the bully, getting a nod of approval from both of my mothers, I start to talk about Haisley herself.
"She is energetic but shy. She has flowing brown hair, with hazel eyes. She is a bit shorter than me, but also a bit wider. I'm surprised she is like that, especially with the way she bounces about. Honestly, I think you would like her", I smile, blushing a little bit as I describe her.
"Well, let's see what happens tomorrow. If you see her, talk to her and you can bring her up tomorrow. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have dinner to make" mother Liliana says, getting up and walking out of the room.
"She sounds nice, but I'd still be wary of her. You don't want her to drag you in, only to use you or worse, stab you in the back and dump you like a dead body", mother Chandra leans forward a little bit, whilst also keeping an eye on the door.
"I was kind of thinking about that, and even I am still a bit wary of her" I say, thinking about today. The next day, whilst I ran some more errands, I did notice Haisley around, but when she saw me, she ducked back into the shadows. I didn't think nothing of it, until she ran out of one of the side streets and bumped into a seller. She looks up and makes eye contact with me. She immediately darts into the opposite side street and I start to chase after her, until I notice who else was chasing her. The bullies were back, and they had extra friends. They stop as they see me, and the lead bully has a smug look on his face.
"Well, well, well. Looks like we have found our target boys" the leader announces.
"And looks like I have found my next prey. I warned you what would happen, but you leave me no choice", I chuckle as I speak, drawing energy from the surroundings. Some of them look at me with fear, others with anger. But the lead bully thinks I am an easy target. He rushes at me, thinking I am defenceless. I smile and a magma jet comes out of the ground in front of me, stopping him in his tracks. I summon a cobblebrute out of the ground, behind him. It turns and starts swiping at the other bullies. I throw a lava axe at some of the bullies, hitting one square in the chest. He slumps to the ground. I summon a couple of tormented souls and they fly at some of the other bullies, controlling them and killing themselves. I finish the lead bully with another magma jet, before reanimating them and sending them off to their respective homes. I walk home, sending the cobblebrute back into the earth and my two eternal warriors following close behind. I arrive at my home to see mother Liliana and mother Chandra talking to Haisley, who has a verix bladewing behind her. As I walk up the hill, the dragon turns to me and walks to me. It greets me with a stare, before doing an action that looks as if it was bowing to me. Confused, I place my hand on its snout and it talks to me through telepathy.
"Thank you, for saving her and protecting her. It's not easy having so much responsibility on your shoulders, especially being the son of those two", it turns its head to my mothers, who are now walking towards us. I look at them, smiling.
"No, its not" I say, turning back towards the dragon and rubbing its snout. It bows it's head again and walks past my mothers to Haisley. Mother Chandra embraces me with a hug and beams at me. I turn to mother Liliana, who is now smiling.
"Alright, what did I do?" I ask, confused at their reactions.
"It seems that you have impressed someone" mother Liliana chuckles, turning to have Haisley walk up to me.
"Thank you, for saving me" she says, shyly.
"Hey, at least I kept my promise. It'll be interesting on what their parents do about this" I say, chuckling. We both smile and start giggling. I kiss her cheek and hug her.
"Shall we take a stroll through town?" I ask, poking my arm out for her.
"Are…...are you asking me on a date?" she stammers, blushing at me.
"Depends…..." I say, grinning at her.
"On what?" she asks, taking my arm.
"On if you're willing on putting up with me as your boyfriend" I casually say, starting to walk down the hill. She blushes and goes all shy again. I look back at my mothers and see them both smiling. Mother Liliana is slowly clapping her hands, congratulating me on what has happened. Mother Chandra is beaming at me, looking as if she is about to burst of excitement.
Chapter 6:
The rest of the day went reasonably quickly. I dropped off the last of the parcels and strolled along the streets of the local town, Haisley by my side, constantly blushing as she sees people start whispering about us. I smile and plonk a kiss on her cheek, making her hide her face. I chuckle at this and continue walking along. As we are walking, she lets go of me and bounces over to a jewellery stand. I smile and follow her, watching as she inspects the different necklaces and bracelets.
"Found something that-" the shop owner starts before seeing me.
"YOU. YOU'RE THE REASON MY SON IS A ZOMBIE", he screams and points at me.
"Your son was a bully and an asshole. He got what he deserved. Especially when he was bullying this fine lady here", I put my hand over Haisley's shoulder as I speak, calming her nerves.
"He was a fine lad. He would never even hurt a FLY", the owner's face now red with anger.
"Ethan lets go. Please, before anything else happens", Haisley tried moving me away and I glared at the owner before letting Haisley drag me away.
"Sorry, I don't like conflict, especially when your involved" Haisley mumbles, looking down as she walks.
"Let me guess, you grew up with fighting parents?" I ask casually, watching her reaction change to shock.
"H-how did you know?" she stammers, confused.
"It's easy, for two reasons. One: you go all shy when I protect you, suggesting that you've never had that kind of thing happen with your parents. You also see me as a way to feel safe and loved. Two: you dislike conflict. Now as I said before, having both parents being the TOP of their professions can be a bit conflicting sometimes. Sometimes my mothers get along, sometimes they don't. I know what its like to have neither of your parents cooperating and does hurt from time to time" I say, my gaze going to my house on the hill. Haisley looks up at me and hugs me.
"I'm glad someone understands me" she talks into my chest. I hug her back and kiss her forehead.
"Come on, lets get back to my place, we might even be having something nice for tea" I say, grinning at her, making her smile.
Chapter 7:
Over the course of a couple of years, my magic and love for Haisley had strengthened. I was able to hold my own reasonably well and very few people dared challenge me. That is…until the day Haisley went missing. We had travelled around a bit throughout the plane, visiting other villages and travelling to some of the larger settlements. One night, while we were in one of the village inns, we got attacked. I was knocked out before I could react and Haisley was taken from me. The innkeeper found me knocked out on the floor and woke me up. I looked around the room, my memories coming back to me. I asked the innkeeper a couple of questions about last night. He said he didn't have any memories of last night. But he does remember a group of strange looking men walking in. One of them walked up to him and then his mind went black. I sighed. Great, a mind mage, just what I need. I get up and walk out of the inn, my first stop, the shops. I ask around about items being stolen. Some tell me that stuff had been stolen. I ask about some of the visitors to their shop and they say the same exact thinking, a group of odd-looking men, with one walking up to them and their mind suddenly going blank. I thank them for their time and pay them. As I walk into one of the side streets, and as I walk down, a group of people surround me.
"Are you Ethan Shaw? THE Ethan Shaw? Son of Liliana Vess and Chandra Nalaar?" the lead man asks, stepping out of the shadows. He is stocky, but he is human. And he is wearing basic armour.
"Who's asking?" I ask smugly, having a look at the men surrounding me.
"You're looking for someone. Someone that is being held hostage by a group of mutineers. A group that I would personally like to DESTROY" the lead says, beckoning for me to follow him as he starts walking off. I follow him and he leads me to his hideout.
"So, I'm assuming you have information on these people and where I might find them?" I ask, looking around at the hideout.
"I do, but I would like something in return. I would like you to kill everyone in that hideout and burn it to the ground" the leader says, grinning at me with a cruel grin. I smile back at him,
"I was going to do that anyway. You just give me extra reason to" I say, putting my hand out for him to shake. He takes it firmly and gives me the information I need. I thank him and walk out. I head to the hideout and kill people as I go. I get to the prison cells and find Haisley, bruised and beaten. I rush over to her and she opens her eyes, just enough to see her beautiful hazel eyes.
"I….knew…knew you'd….come for me" she struggles to say, coughing and I notice that she has been stabbed.
"No, stay with me. Just stay with me" I say, tears streaming from my eyes. Her eyes slowly close and anger, no, HATRED starts to well up inside me. I get up and my eyes start to glow with power. As I walk, destruction surrounds me. As I walk out of the hideout, it crumbles behind me. I look back at the hideout and sigh. I walk out of town and head back to my mothers.
Chapter 8:
I arrive at my mothers place and knock on the door. Mother Chandra answers the door, bleary eyed, but as she sees me, as she looks into my eyes, she hugs me and gets me inside. She drags me over to the dining table and sits me down. I tell her about what happened, about the hideout, about Haisley. My eyes are cold, all life gone within them. Mother Liliana walks in on us and I turn to her. She sees my lifeless eyes and starts to tear up. She brings me up into a hug and holds me close. I hug her back, now crying, the tears streaming out of my eyes. Over the next couple of days, I spend most of my time in the presence of demons. Talking to them, understanding them. I very rarely go outside. I visit the fathers of the sons I turned into zombies, paying them large amounts. They ask me why I am doing this, and I simply reply with "I know what it feels like to lose someone you love". They stare at me as I walk off. As I spend more time with the demons, my mothers start to get worried. I'm not able to control my red magic as much and my black magic becomes extremely powerful. One day, my mothers send me out to meet a Planeswalker, a friend of theirs called Nissa Revane.
Chapter 9:
I planeswalk over to the plane of Zendikar, a plane of forests and oceans. The plane had recently been devastated by Eldrazi, but you couldn't tell with the amount of restoration that had been done. As I finish my planeswalk, I am greeted by a group of elves.
"Greetings Ethan, son of Liliana and Chandra. We have been expecting you" the lead elf says, as he bows with the rest of the elves following suit. I bow back as it is polite to do so. They straighten up and start walking into the forest, beckoning for me to follow. I follow them into the forest and we reach a clearing where I am greeted by three people: Nissa Revane, the leader of the elves and the protector of Zendikar, Jace Beleren, my actual father and mind mage, and a third man, which from what I've heard from my mother's stories, must be Gideon Jura, holy knight and leader of the Boros legion on Ravnica.
"Why is HE here?" Jace asks, sneering at me.
"Hello to you too. And I would also like to know why my mothers sent me here" I say, standing in front of the three Planeswalkers.
"We heard about what happened to Haisley, and how your reacting to it. We thought we might show you what it means to be a Planeswalker, and how to cope with the death of love ones. This is why Gideon is here. Do you know how Gideon's spark ignited?" Nissa asks, moving around me as she speaks, tapping her staff as she goes.
"No, I do not know how Gideon's spark ignited. Should I?" I ask, confused at what this is about.
"Yes, you should. Because it goes along the same lines of you losing Haisley. Jace, if you will" Nissa instructs Jace and on command, Jace touches my temple and Gideon's at the same time, allowing me to see Gideon, fighting a giant zombie lord. As Gideon uses his magic, his friends die and, in his anguish, his spark ignites, planeswalking him to Ravnica. I step back, dazed, my head hurting.
"So, you lost your friends? But, how did you cope? How did you cope with the pain of losing them?" I ask, confused and still a little dazed.
"I did not forget them. Everything I do, is for them and for others. So that they may not suffer the same fate" He replies, his voice thick.
"This is what it is to be a Planeswalker. You will lose loved ones, but others will appreciate what you have done to save them. Don't let others suffer the same fate as you. And, you never know, you might find somebody that reminds you of Haisley and appreciate them for it" Nissa says, sitting down on a nearby trunk. I look down at my hands, see the power that can course through them. I look back up at Nissa and smile.
"Thank you, for showing me this. I will make sure others do not suffer the same fate" I say, turning to get ready to planeswalk.
"I know you will" is the last words I hear from Nissa before I planeswalk back to my home plane of Dominaria.
Chapter 10:
I arrive back on my home plane to find the local village destroyed. I rush home to find a note from my mothers.
"There has been a recent attack on the village and people have been taken from their homes. We have gone to find Ajani and a couple of other Planeswalkers to help us attack the force that attacked the village. Stay safe" I read the last two words in my mother Liliana's voice. I turn to the village and back to the note. I immediately set out to find where the villagers have been taken. I head back to where Haisley was killed and find the city abandoned.
"Your back again, are you?" the leader that I helped asks, coming out of the shadows.
"Yes, I am. And I'm assuming you know why I am here?" I ask, turning to him.
"Yes. It seems you need to finish what you started. You didn't kill all of them when you went in there. There were still a few that survived that weren't there at the time. And now they have amassed an army, raiding villages and attacking larger settlements" the leader says, handing me a map. I thank him and start to head to the village.
"Are you sure about this? I don't want you hurting yourself" says the soul of Haisley, now walking beside me.
"I am sure. Some of them are my friends, others, enemies. but they are under my protection. And I will not fail them" I say to the soul, channelling the power within me as I prepare for the battle ahead.
"I know you won't" the soul says, smiling and disappearing. After a couple of days travel, I find the bandits camp.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? A lone wanderer travelling these lands that has stumbled upon our campsite. Get out of here, loser, before we kill you" one of the bandits patrolling the perimeter says, walking up to me. I smile and suddenly an ember swallower emerges from the ground behind me. I look up at the man, my eyes glowing with power.
"You should have never attacked the village under my protection" I sneer at the man, before the ember swallower swipes him, picking him up and swallowing him whole.
"WHO'S NEXT" I shout out to the bandits, and they all stand. I grin.
"Finally, a challenge and fight worth fighting for" I say to myself, before raising an army of undead gorgons, with a couple of bone dragons. The gorgons rush towards the bandit. Although they may not be able to turn others to stone, their snakes are still deadly. The bone dragons, although not being able to fly, were able to wipe out groups of enemies with the help of the ember swallower. The battle was finished in no time, with the bandits either dead or dying. I helped all the captured people just as my mothers arrived with help.
"Well, well, well, look who arrived late to the party" I say, cheerfully as I walk up to them. I hug my mothers as they look around.
"Did you seriously take on a bandit camp all by yourself?" mother Liliana ask, almost as if she was impressed.
"Not by myself, I did have a little help from some an elemental and some zombies, but the biggest help came from this lady right here" I say, as the spirit of Haisley appears next to me. Mother Liliana smiles and mother Chandra rushes and hugs me, excited about my accomplishments.
Chapter 11:
We all travel back to the village, helping those that can't walk or are too injured. Each night I would separate myself from the group, and just spend some alone time with the spirit of Haisley, looking at the stars. This took the interest of another girl, who had recently moved to this town to get away from her family and get away from the way she was living. One night, when I was separating myself from the group, this girl decided to follow me. As I stood out, looking among the stars, she comes up from behind me.
"Beautiful night isn't it?" she asks, looking at the stars with me.
"I'm surprised someone came to join me. Usually its just me and my girlfriend" I say, smiling as I look to her, Haisley appearing beside me.
"Sorry, where are my manners. My name is Rowan, Rowan Kenrith. I appreciate what you have done, and I thought I would like to meet you in person, especially since you are the son of Liliana and Chandra. I am a huge fan of Chandra and what she does, so I was hoping that I would get to meet her, but instead, I get something better, I get to meet you" she says, bursting with excitement. I chuckle and after looking at her confused face, I explain.
"Sorry, its not that your funny, but you remind me of this girl right here. She had the same expression as you and both of you were bursting with excitement" I say, laughing harder as Haisley flies around me and tries to hit me. I eventually stop and look back at her.
"Well, although it would be nice to have you along, I think I'm going to pass for now. At the moment, I kind of like travelling on my own" I tell her, starting to head down the hill.
"Wait" she calls out, making me turn. She looks down and sighs.
"I lost my younger brother, during a war on my home plane. At the moment, I've kind of settled down but I'm currently alone. I was hoping that I could call you mine, especially since you kind of remind me of him" she says, looking back up at the sky. I look at her in a new light, the same way I first looked at Haisley, the way she reminds me of Haisley makes me give in. I turn to Haisley for advice.
"Go on, you can't stay alone forever. I can tell you look at her the same way you looked at me. And don't worry, I'll still be here" Haisley tells me, putting her hands on my cheek. I smile,
"Thank you" I whisper to her before turning to Rowan. I walk up to her and kiss your cheek,
"You're lucky, you know that" I say, taking her hands and getting her to face me. She smiles at me and suddenly hugs me tightly.
"Thank you, Ethan" she whispers in my ear kissing my cheek as she releases me.
"Don't thank me, thank her" I say, indicating Haisley, who was watching us. Rowan turns and bows to Haisley,
"Thank you for letting me have him. I will take good care of him for you" Rowan says, smiling at Haisley.
"Your welcome, and try" Haisley says, eyeing me "to keep him out of trouble for me. I don't want him doing anything reckless" she says, smiling.
"I'll try. I hear he can be a handful" Rowan replies, looking at me. I grin at both of them and then turn back to the stars.
Chapter 12:
After we arrive back at the abandoned village, repairs started on the houses and shops, with the Planeswalkers helping with the heavy lifting. Repairs were quick and soon the village was back up to a bustling area with stalls selling their wares. I oversaw most of the protection of the villagers and making sure that no bandits or beasts attacked the village while repairs were underway. I learnt more about Rowan and her past, and the more I learned, the more I realised that I was in love with her. I had fallen for her, like I had fallen for Haisley. My mothers approved of my choice and were starting to take a liking to Rowan, especially because she is a Planeswalker. The best part about having her, was having someone that I could practice with, having someone that was at the same level as me, whilst also learning new tricks as I go along. After the village had finished being rebuilt, Rowan and I started travelling the multiverse and seeing the different planes that people live on. The first plane that we stopped at, was the second plane I ever travelled to: Zendikar. Forests and oceans, swamps and mountains. And just in time, too. The Eldrazi were back for round two.
Chapter 13:
The Eldrazi had gotten cocky. Even though they had no titans to defend or help claim the plane, Eldrazi were spewing out of a portal, not far from where we had planeswalked onto the plane. We could hear the sounds of battle ahead of us and I turned to Rowan. She looked at me and we both knew what to do. We rushed through the forest to find a group of Kor fighting a couple of Eldrazi, their tentacles wriggling around. I dart in, summoning a couple of returned centaurs and an earth elemental with some helper earth servants. Rowan backed me up with some fireballs and magma jets. The Kor were stunned at the sudden appearance of us and the Eldrazi reared as my undead and elementals attacked them. In no time, the Eldrazi were down and crumbling to dust. I sent the undead and elementals back into the earth to greet the Kor.
"Thank you for saving us. We didn't think we would be able to survive for long. Who are you?" the leader asks, shaking my hand.
"We are Planeswalkers. We decided to travel to each plane and see if there were problems to deal with. Zendikar was the first on our list, and it's a good idea that we came here first. So the Eldrazi are back?" I explain, looking around.
"Yes, they are back. Planeswalkers you say? Our commander is a Planeswalker, maybe you know him?" the leader asks, escorting us to their outpost. We arrive and the first person I see is Gideon.
"Gideon, nice to see you here" I say, walking up to him and shaking his hand.
"It is nice to see you too, Ethan. Why are you on Zendikar?" he asks, concerned.
"Rowan and I were planning on travelling the multiverse to see which planes needed help, Zendikar was first on our list. And lucky it was too, the Eldrazi are back and we thought we could help out" I reply, shaking my head in the direction of the portal.
"Yes, we could use the help of a couple of pyromancers and a necromancer. We have them contained so far, but one mistake and they get out. We believe that some of the titans still exist here and that they are drawn to their power" Gideon explains, pointing to the defensive barrier.