Rynu heard yelling from the main room of the cabin, sitting up in his bed in alarm, his mind racing with possibilities of his mother. He looked around in surprise at his surroundings and fell back against the pillows as he remembered his mother was already dead. There was no need to worry about her anymore.
Rynu looked toward the door as the shouts still sounded from downstairs, walking over to his door and opening it slightly.
"What do you mean? Who's coming?" Raoul shouted, watching the sorcerer pace nervously.
"Herron. He's coming, and we have to get out of here."
"We're not leaving our own home." Pheona's mother said firmly, her hands on her hips in stubbornness. "We welcomed you here because we thought you needed help."
"I did! I still do!" The sorcerer shouted widly. "I didn't know those kids lived here though, they have nothing to do with any of this! I can't figure the spell out that I need, and I can feel him coming toward here. So please, just get everyone out of here."
"I'm not leaving behind my phoenix." Raoul growled.
"They're just birds- are they worth risking your life?" The sorcerer stared at him in shock.
"Yes." Raoul said firmly. "If you had told us about this before we might have been able to prevent this, but since you did not, I'll have to ask you to leave."
The sorcerer stopped his pacing and stared at Raoul in shock. "You're kicking me out?"
"Yes- here's the door." Raoul walked over to the door, opening it for him and motioning for the sorcerer to walk out. "You have brought danger to my family, and so are no longer welcome."
"I brought danger to your family." The sorcerer scoffed in disbelief. "You don't know the meaning of the word danger." The sorcerer said, glowing purple and shattering the windows of the cabin as a sudden fierce wind blew through. "You can't kick me out- I'm a sorcerer! I could overtake you weakling magi with a flick of my finger."
Pheona's mother sighed and brought of her hands, a large red orb suddenly surrounding the sorcerer. He looked around at the odd sphere, putting her hand to its solid surface in confusion before glaring at the woman fiercely. He charged his powers more, making the woman strain, but otherwise keep the sphere intact.
"Time to take out the trash." She muttered, lifting one of her hands to raise the sorcerer into the air and bring him out the door, setting him outside. The bubble snapped with a 'pop' and left the sorcerer standing outside, looking shocked that he had been overpowered so easily.
Raoul laughed and walked over to his wife, wrapping an arm around her hip and bringing her closer, kissing her on the cheek sweetly. "Have I ever mentioned that I love you, Vitani?"
"Oh no, never." Vitani rolled her eyes sarcastically.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Raoul asked as the sorcerer fumed outside the door at being ignored.
"That's a secret." Vitani put a finger to her lips and winked teasingly.
"You'll regret this." The sorcerer snapped and turned around, staring up at the sky with wide eyes, his features contorting into a mask of terror.
"Pascile!" A man shouted in anger from the sky, making Raoul and Vitani run outside to see who else was there. A man floated in the sky, surrounded by a blue glow that burned from his eyes and the amulet around his neck. He glared down at the sorcerer on the ground, who was frozen with terror.
"And who are you who harbor this man?" The man yelled down at Raoul and Vitani.
"We're just magi, and have no idea what he's done." Raoul raised his hands, hoping to reason with the angry sorcerer.
"So you say." The man squinted his eyes suspiciously. "This man killed my wife. Therefore, you will all pay." The man shouted, holding out his hand, a stream of fire streaming from his palm, bursting one of the trees in the keep on fire. Raoul shouted in horror, looking back at his wife.
"Quickly- take the children and run." He said, running over to the rack at the side of the cabin and taking his red and golden, throwing it on.
"What about you?" Vitani said desperately.
"I'll take care of them as long as I can. Just get the kids out of here!" Raoul shouted as he ran out the door of the cabin, his red magic forming balls of flames in front of him before shooting it at the magi and repeating, trying to distract him.
Vitani ran up the stairs, relieved to see Pheona and Rynu already out in the hall, looking confused.
"Come children, we have to go quickly." She said, holding out her hands to the children and running down the stairs, back out the door behind Raoul as her husband distracted the magi, streams of fire lighting the sky around them as the cabin was embroiled in flames. Pheona yelled in terror as she looked back at her home burning, phoenix scattering in all directions in horror, the cries of creatures in pain ringing out through the forest.
Vitani stopped suddenly when the sorcerer Pascile stood in front of him, his eyes crazed.
"Now you'll pay for what you did for me." He growled, walking forward menacingly.
"Over my dead body." Rynu said, standing in front of Vitani with his arms out. The sorcerer glanced down at him for a moment, his hand glowing purple as he hit the child, sending Rynu flying and knocking into a tree, falling unconscious.
Rynu woke up with the smell of ash filling his senses. He stood up, his head throbbing with pain as he kept his eyes closed, feeling dizzy. He slowly opened his eyes, and immediately wished he hadn't.
Avalon was only ashes. Nothing was left, the forest eerily quiet as ash flecks flew through the air around him. He sat up, soot falling off his clothing as he looked around at the burning remains of the cabin, and a body lying by its entrance. He ran over quickly and saw the burned remains of Raoul lying on the ground, staring in anger toward the sky above.
"Oh Gods, no." Rynu gasped, falling to his knees beside his uncle. Raoul was gone- the only man that had ever showed him an ounce of love was dead. He looked around for Vitani and Pheona, but saw nothing but burned trees around him. He stood, looking around for them in all directions, deciding to try and find them. He looked down at the trail of footprints through the ash, walking back toward where he had seen them last. He looked further into the forest to see another body lying on the forest floor, labored breathing coming from it.
"Vitani!" Rynu screamed, running over and sliding to a stop on his knees beside her.
She looked up at him, smiling softly before coughing, a trail of blood coming from her mouth to trail down her cheek. "Hey sweetie. Look, I got him." Vitani held up a shaking hand, which held a black gem in a silver setting. The gem was cracked up the middle as it fell out of her loose hand onto the ash covered forest floor.
"Don't talk, you'll make things worse." Rynu said, tears streaming down his cheeks. He knew injuries though- and this wasn't something she could live through.
"I'm sorry this happened. We should never had let that sorcerer stay here." Vitani closed her eyes in pain. "Do you know where Pheona is?" she whispered.
"No, I don't." Rynu said, holding her shaking hand in his. "Please don't leave me."
Vitani looked at Rynu with her red eyes fiercely. "Listen to me, Rynu. Raoul and I will never leave you. We both love you, even though we may not be there for you later on. We will always love you and Pheona with all that we are." Vitani coughed, blood spurting from her mouth as she hissed in pain. "I'm sorry, Rynu." She said through her clenched teeth, and stilled.
Rynu froze, staring down at Vitani as she stopped breathing, sobbing against her hand. Everyone had left him- he was alone again. He stood and looked around, his vision cloudy with tears as he searched for a direction he should go in. He had never learned his way around this forest very well. He walked a short distance before seeing a body on the ground of the sorcerer that had brought all this trouble and caused Raoul and Vitani's deaths.
Rynu felt the anger well inside him until he couldn't take it anymore. He yelled and raised his hands over the corpse, the flesh disintegrating in a burst of black tendrils. Rynu huffed in anger as he tried to calm himself down, looking at his hands as they glowed black with his magic.
He didn't care. He trudged through the ash of the forest, not knowing where to go- lost, and vulnerable.