Touch of Heaven and Hell
A/N: This is kinda my first published fanfic so… yeah, I worked really hard on these two chapters and I hope it shows. I aim for this story to be very character focused while still having op characters. I don't want to fall into the trap of 2D powerhouses. With that, enjoy
X774 September 22
Lorent Village
'Am I dying?' The thought struck me like a slap. I lifted my arms. 'Is this what death is?' blood covered my hands. I looked to see my assailant, his sword spun through the air. Dark red blood flung to the wall above me from the silver blade. I had fallen after I'd gotten hit, crashing and then sliding down the wall. The moon shone brightly above us. 'This isn't right, none of this is right!' I felt his ego, his anger, his determination. He wanted me dead. I feel the power radiating off of him as if the air was a thick fog. I felt him move.
X774 September 4
Lorent Village
"Careon! Let's go!"
My sister pulled my hand. She dragged me away from the magic shop.
"You can look at dumb books later, I want to get to the bakers before they run out of sweet bread"
We tore off down the street, weaving our way through people and stalls. The market was busy, full of people buying food and on their way to work. We pulled up to the bakery, a stone building with a large display window. Cakes and pies and different assortments of treats sat behind the glass. Tinka pulled me inside the shop. The bell above our heads clanged and a portly man came out to greet us. He whipped his hands on his apron and peered down at us from behind the counter.
"What can I get for ya"
he said with a grin. Tinka dove for one of the glass cases and pointed at a small loaf of bread coated with butter and cinnamon sugar.
"Sweetbread, for Tinka"
he said as he wrapped up the bread in paper.
"And what will you be having Careon?"
I shook my head
"Nothing today Mr. Maoki," I said.
"He's saving up for a spellbook" Tinka chimed in.
"Is that so? Planning on becoming a mage then?" Maoki said, giving me an appraising look.
I nodded my head again, "I just want to see if I can cast a spell"
The thought of doing magic always excited me, I would always rush to see traveling mages do magic, it was always a sight to behold.
"Well then, you'll have to tell me how you manage. It'd be nice to finally have a permanent mage in town" he smiled at me.
I smiled back and placed seven hundred Jewel on the table. He took it and passed the sweet bread to Tinka.
"It's been good seeing you two"
We waved farewell as we left the store, Tinka was already unwrapping the bread.
"Make sure you save some for dad," I said as we walked down the road.
"I will, so now we can go to the magic shop"
"We could have gone earlier" I protested
"But then the bread would have been cold," she said as she took another mouthful.
I wasn't really upset of course. All summer I've been helping Dad sound the house just to save up enough jewels for this moment. The large columns of the magic shop greeted us.
I held my breath before stepping inside, I gasped at all that I saw. Magic items covered the walls and stood on display. Staff adorned a wall and underneath them sat wands in cushioned boxes. A barrel next to me held numerous umbrellas, they floated in the air, softly bumping into each other. A sign nailed into the barrel read 'Hands-Free Umbrellas: 10,000 Jewel'. We made our way deeper into the store and I kept my head on a swivel. Most magic shops sold everyday magic items, self-cleaning kitchenware, and lanterns that never go out, I was in awe of it all. I felt a slight push from behind me.
"Stop gawking. I want to get back to the house in time to meet up with Lily and the others."
I pushed forward trying to not be distracted from my goal, a small shelf full of books. While most magic shops sold only basic magical items for convenience this one also had a small selection of spellbooks. I ran my finger over one book in particular. It wasn't a spellbook per se, it was so much more. 'The Four Stages of Ethernano Meditation' This book wasn't rare, in fact, most mages have read books like it. Control over the ethernano that fills the world is crucial to casting spells. I picked the book up off the shelf. I don't know what I was expecting, a gust of wind, a weird feeling maybe. It just felt like a moderately heavy book. I looked over at Tinka who was staring at me intently. I shrugged and made my way to the counter
I placed the book on the counter in front of a nice-looking woman.
"All set sweetheart?" She picked up the book and glanced at the title
"Ethernano meditation huh? Well might as well start young, you've got a long journey ahead of you" she said as she placed the book in a bag.
"That will be nine thousand Jewel"
I placed the money on the counter and retrieved the book
"Thank you," I said without taking my eyes off the book.
"Sure thing kid, now get out there and show us what you can do.
Tinka and I left the shop and started our walk back home. The sun shone high in the sky
"You need to keep your nose out of that book, you're going to walk into something," Tinka said as she yanked on my sleeve. I stumbled off the path I was headed, narrowly avoiding a lamp post that I would have collided with.
"Sorry," I said sheepishly
"This book is very interesting, I can't wait to get started"
"Well don't forget our friends are coming over soon"
I blanched
"You can spend all the time you want with your book after they leave," she said with her mouth full of sweet bread.
"Yeah I know," I said
"Only you would be upset because you'd rather read books than hang out with friends," she said teasingly.
We walked down the dirt road to the outskirts of town, atop a hill sat a small house next to a weeping cherry tree. Pink petals fell and settled onto the thatched roof.
Tinka walked up the steps and pushed open the door.
"Dad, we're home!" Tinka shouted into the house.
"In the kitchen," we heard him call back.
As we entered the kitchen the smell of fresh fruit and vegetables wafted through the air. Dad was in the middle of preparing a large salad.
"I saved you some bread," Tinka said as she walked up to him and held the loaf up to him.
"Thank you" he smiled brightly and kissed her gently on the forehead. After placing the bread on the table he turned his attention to me.
"Did you get it?" he asked
I held the book up for him to see.
He moved closer and studied the cover.
"Yup that's the one," he said as he patted my shoulder.
"When I first met your mother she carried a book just like that. Always training she was," he paused for a moment.
"Anyways your friends should be arriving soon and I have lunch nearly done, why don't you two go and freshen up before they arrive?"
We both left the kitchen and entered our room.
"Do you want to be like mom?" Tinka asked me suddenly.
"What? No, I mean not really. Mom was a great mage and all but she was always gone. Even when she was here she was too busy," I looked over at her picture that I kept on my bedside table. Her long white hair had specks of gold, and her smile seemed to give life to the photo. I could almost hear her soothing voice and see the glint in her blue eyes.
"If I'm going to be a mage I want to be able to protect you and dad,"
We both sat in silence for a while.
"I miss her," Tinka said softly.
It had been a year since she died. Sometimes late at night, I can hear Tinka's soft cries from her bed. What hurt more was when I would see dad staring off into the distance, as if waiting for something that would never arrive.
"I miss her too," I said.
After washing up we heard a knock at the door.
"I got it!" Tinka shouted as she dashed to the front door.
Pulling it open revealed Lily, Giyn, and Torri. Lily jumped up and hugged Tinka, her small arms only coming up to Tinka's waist.
"Hey Lily," Tinka said as she hugged her back.
"Giyn said he found a cool spot by the creek that we can play in," Lily said as she looked up to meet Tinka's eyes.
"Yeah it's where it gets pretty shallow, there's a nice big clearing. I thought we could play dark versus light guild." Giyn said
"Is Careon coming?" Torri peeked her head from behind Giyn.
I stood up from where I was seated at the table.
"Yeah I guess so," I said while scratching the back of my head. I had really wanted time to spend meditating but that could be put off until later.
"Excellent," said Giyn. He stepped out of the doorway to allow us through.
"You guys are gonna love this spot, there's so much space," he exclaimed as he led us.
We walked together down the path leading out of the village. The green of the leaves around us are just starting to turn orange and yellow. Giyn led us further until we came across a nearly hidden dirt path that led deep into the forest.
"How did you find this place?" I asked.
"My dad found it when he was out hunting," Giyn said
We pushed our way through shrubbery and branches until the foliage opened into a large clearing. A stream ran through the middle over smooth rocks.
"Wow," Tinka whispered.
"This place is beautiful," she knelt down and ran her hand through the lush green grass.
Giyn led us to the center of the clearing, he climbed atop a boulder the size of a man.
"This is the guild," he said proudly as he reached the top.
"Light mages have to defend the guild while dark mages attack," He split us into groups. Tinka, Lily, and Himself on one team, Tori and myself on the other.
"The teams are odd," I pointed out.
"You can be a Wizard Saint," he said
"Yeah! And we'll be the dark guild!" Lily shouted as she too climbed the boulder.
"If I'm a dark mage I want to control shadows," Tinka said. She moved up behind Lily and stood on her tiptoes causing her shadow to cast over the smaller girl. Lily let out a small shriek causing all of us to laugh.
The five of us played for hours, we switched teams and members every so often to keep things interesting. Before we knew it the sun was shrinking behind the trees. Dirty and with a few new scrapes and bruises we all decided to get back to the village before the forest got dark.
"Careon, you want to learn magic right? Do you think you'll join a guild?" Tori had walked next to me and wasn't looking in my direction as we spoke. I placed my hands on the back of my head.
"I'm not sure," I said
"Of course that would be cool but I bet I'll need to practice really hard before anyone will take me,"
"I'm sure someone will. Guilds need janitors too you know," Tinka teased as she took off running down the road.
My cheeks flushed violently.
"Tinka! You take that back!" I shouted as I chased after her, the laughter of the others caused me to blush an even deeper red.
X774 September 12
Lorent Village
I sat in the clearing on top of the boulder, my fists were closed and rested on my knees. My eyes were closed as I focused. I tuned out the sounds around me and tried to focus on just one thing, the sound of the stream. Sounds around me dimmed and I could hear the stream grow louder in my ears. I felt pain in my chest but I tried to ignore it. The book said that in order to tap into ethernano I first needed to understand how it flowed through the world around me. It was a tough process since not many people could feel ethernano when it's not in large quantities. However, the world could feel it. The world acts upon ethernano and vice versa. The pain in my chest grew sharper. 'Just a little bit further' I thought to myself. My eyes shot open as I gasped and coughed. My lungs felt like they were on fire. I had forgotten to breathe, again.
"Damnit!" I banged my fist on the hard rock in frustration.
I get so close over and over again only to be pulled out at the last second. It's like I'm stopping myself for some reason. I ran my hand through my hair, pushing the black strands out of my eyes. A shadow of movement caught my eye and I spun around nearly falling off the boulder in the act. I scanned the trees for what I saw. Thought I saw?
"Okay, what the hell," I whispered to myself. I saw another flash of movement much closer to me. I locked onto the spot and instantly knew what I was looking at.
"A frog?" I asked myself in disbelief.
"Wait a second," I stood up from where I was sitting. That frog was at least thirty yards away. And I saw it move! As realization dawned on me I jumped up in the air and punched my fists toward the sky.
"I did it!" I shouted. Kinda, sorta, I did something. And something is certainly better than nothing. I climbed down from the boulder and laid on the soft grass. I was exhausted, I'd been here almost every day since Giyn brought us here a week ago. It was quiet and a nice place to meditate. Progress was slower than I'd hoped. All the fairy tales would really have you believe that the hero just became powerful overnight. Sweat ran down my forehead and I felt like I had been playing with the others all day rather than sitting on a rock. I sat up and took a second to slow my heart rate. Before long I was on my way back to the house. Even though it took a great deal of effort I focussed on critters along the path. I could see them as they moved through the forest floor, disturbing the ethernano around them. By the time I got back home I was drained of energy and drenched in sweat.
"Woah, you okay Corean?" my dad quickly got up from the table and steadied me as I stumbled through the door.
"I did it," I said breathlessly.
"I can sense the ethernano." my dad looked shocked.
"Already? It took your mom at least a month to get to that point." my dad looked into my eyes for a while before dropping to his knees to wrap me in a hug.
"I'm so proud of you," he whispered to me.
"Thanks dad." I smiled as he let go.
Later that night the three of us sat together to eat.
"What were you up to today?" Dad asked Tinka.
"I was in the market with the others," she said.
"Torri was asking about you by the way," she said as she looked at me.
"Oh? Does she need something?" I asked. Tinka looked at me incredulously. I glanced at dad only to find that he was pointedly not looking in my direction. A ghost of a smile was on his lips. I shrugged and went back to eating. If they want to be weird then it's not my problem. After dinner Tinka and I headed to our room.
"You should hang out with us soon," Tinka said.
"I know you've been training a lot but your friends miss you," I sat on my bed as I took in her words.
"I know, I should make more time for you guys but I just made a breakthrough. I promise I'll hang out with you guys soon." I laid down. I meant what I said, I still cared a lot about my friends but magic or ethernano, whatever it is I'm doing it feels so nice. It leaves me drained afterward but the heightened senses were intoxicating. I can see why people dedicate their lives to this.
X774 September 22
Lorent Village
"You better be ready," Tinka warned.
"Don't rush me," I said, as I grabbed my coat.
"Well If this wasn't the first time in weeks that you've seen everyone I wouldn't be bothered." Tinka stuck her nose up at me as she walked by me to put on her shoes.
I felt movement behind the door, I quickly pulled the door open to see Torri staring at me with her arm raised as if to knock. Her face quickly reddened as she lowered her arm.
"Uh- hi," she said looking down."
"Woah what was that?" asked Giyn looking a little shocked.
I chuckled and scratched the back of my head.
"Haha, just a result of the training."
Giyn looked at me with a blank expression.
"Playing light versus dark guild will definitely be more interesting from now on," he said with a smile. I cursed myself, I should think before I act. Obviously, it would look weird if I just always knew when people were coming.
"Are we leaving?" Tinka asked, she seemed to be bored with the whole situation.
"Yeah, let's go," I said. I just wanted to get this whole awkward situation behind us.
"Be careful," Dad called from inside. After shouting back that we would, we were on our way. It didn't take us long to return to our spot in the woods. We had all walked through the trail so much that it actually resembled a trail now.
We played for hours but it quickly became apparent that I had an unfair advantage. Whenever someone was sneaking up on me or out of view, once they were close enough I would just know. It wasn't just them either. I could feel bugs and rodents moving through the grass, even the grass itself. If it was living and within about thirty yards I could detect it. Lisa was behind the boulder ready to jump out at me when I got nearby, Tinka and Giyn were engaged in a mock duel, Torri was… Torri was not within my range. I stopped and looked around, I couldn't see her.
"Torri?" I called out. Hearing the tone of my voice the others stopped and looked around a bit confused.
"Did anyone see where she went?" I asked. The others shook their heads. Giyn frowned and peered into the trees. Lisa stood atop the boulder and did the same. Tinka was starting to look panicked. Just then I felt someone move within my range. I spun around to face him. What I saw wasn't what I was expecting. Four men stood at the edge of the clearing. They wore red robes with an odd white pattern, and each of them also wore a mask. The closest to me looked me dead in the eyes, he had paused in his step.
"Who are you? Where's Torri?" I shouted. My friends spun at my words.
"What are those outfits? I've never seen them in the village," said Tinka.
"They must be outsiders, they certainly aren't from around here." Said Giyn. Lisa stayed silent but I noticed her start to tremble.
"Who are you boy?" The lead robed man asked, they slowly started to walk closer.
"We made no sound during our approach. I made sure of that. So mind telling us how you saw us coming?" The robed men started to spread out, each of them were now within my sensory range. I glanced behind us, only the forest was there, the men had come from the path we'd made. I was confident I'd be able to find the village if we ran through the woods, but I needed to know where Torri was.
"What did you do with Torri?" I asked. I started to back away, if push came to shove I needed a clear line to the forest and these guys were trying to surround us. Looking around it seemed the others had the same idea.
"I don't believe you're in a position to be asking questions," The man said, then he raised his arms and like a vacuum I felt the ethernano rush into him. A magic circle appeared in front of him.
"Dark Whip." Purple tendrils shot out at breakneck speeds, I dove to the ground as one shot above me. I heard a scream and the blood drained from my face. I spun around to see Lisa struggling from within the tightly coiled tendrils.
"Answer my question brat or I'll just mark you all off as 'damaged on arrival'."
"Let her go!" Giyn screamed. He ran forward picking up a branch as he went.
"No! Don't!" I shouted, but Giyn was already in motion. In a flash one of the other robed men had drawn a sword. Giyn saw this and his eyes went wide. He tried to stop but his momentum carried him forward and he was already too close. The man's sword impaled Giyn. The branch fell from his hands. The sword had gone all the way through, blood spilled from the wound and stained his shirt an angry dark red. The man placed his boot on Giyn's chest and shoved him off the sword. Giyn's body fell crashing into the grass. I knew better than anyone else that he was dead. I could no longer sense him, where once there was a person there is now a void.
"Run!" I screamed at Tinka. I dashed up the side of the boulder and tugged against Lisa's bindings. No matter how hard I pulled they wouldn't come loose.
"Please, don't leave me!" Lisa cried, tears ran down her face as her struggles became frantic. I redoubled my efforts right as Tinka came up beside me. Glancing around I saw that the other robed men were still closing in. The magical binds would not give way no matter how hard we both pulled.
"Give up, all of you are coming with us," said the man with the magic. I grabbed Tinka's arm.
"We have to go, if we can get back to the village we can get help."
"I can't leave her," Tinka cried. I could sense our window of escape shrinking as the robed men circled around us. I yanked Tinka's arm, sending us both tumbling off the boulder. As soon as we hit the ground I grabbed her hand and we took off running through the forest. I could feel the robed men behind us but not the one with magic. We dipped and weaved through the dense foliage. We could hear the sounds of the men behind us grow feinter as we ran. We kept running, plants and branches cut into our skin, we tumbled down a few slopes but we never stopped running. Finally, after what felt like a frantic eternity we broke through the trees to be met with a horrific sight. The town was ablaze, Robed men were everywhere, they kicked in doors and dragged people out kicking and screaming. Those who put up too much of a fight were killed on the spot. The ground was stained red as were some of the walls. Bodies littered the ground and fires raged inside homes.
"We have to get the house, dad will know what to do." I started to run towards the hill our house sat on and I felt Tinka follow behind me. As we drew near I noticed the door was open. Worse, the door was off its hinges and lay on the ground. I held my finger to my lips. Tinka nodded and we quietly entered the house. Immediately I could feel someone alive and someone dead in the house. Slowly I crouched and moved towards the wall in front of me. I peaked my head around to peer into the kitchen. On the floor was one of the robed men, he lay face down on the kitchen floor. Blood pooled around him. Sitting on the floor and leaning against the sink was dad.
"Dad!" I was elated to see him. We would be safe if he could get us out of here. Dad met my eyes, his were bloodshot and I noticed that his hands were covered in blood.
"Corean? Tinka?" he asked. His voice was shallow and he took big gulps of air between words.
"What are you two still doing here. You have to get out of the village." he coughed violently, spitting blood onto the floor.
"We came back for you, and Torri is missing and Lisa was taken. And Giyn…" Tinka trailed off.
"Listen to me, you need to leave the village. Stay together, keep running, and don't look back." I frantically looked around for something we could use to stop the bleeding. I pulled a towel off of the drying rack, I pushed it hard against the wound across his chest. Dad groaned in pain.
"We can help you," I said through tears
"We can stop the bleeding and get you out of here." His hand closed around my wrist. He didn't squeeze or try to pull me away.
"You need to leave, even if I could stop the bleeding I won't make it far." I felt Tinka's hand on my shoulder. She refused to look me in the eye. Slowly I let my hands drop.
"Run through the woods, stay away from the roads, don't look back." I nodded but didn't move.
"Use your ability, keep Tinka safe. Now go, quickly before they find you." I rose and looked away. I took Tinka's hand and we ran. I knew that if I had stayed and told him how much I loved him and how much I didn't want to leave then I wouldn't. I had Tinka and I had to keep her safe. We ran out of the house to see the town in a raging inferno. The smoke rose high to the moon above. We weren't far from the house when I sensed movement coming from the woods.
"There's some, probably thought they could sneak away," A man with a gruff voice said.
"Come on, we won't hurt ya, at least not too much," The second man said and they both chuckled. We made a beeline away from them. Unfortunately, that meant running towards the town. I felt the men give chase behind us. We ran as fast as we could. Houses engulfed in flames flew by us, the air was thick with smoke, it burned my lungs and my eyes. I could sense people nearby, I could feel more than their presence, though fleeting I could feel their terror and it fueled mine.
"That's far enough kids!" A voice I recognized shouted from behind us. Black tendrils shot in front of us and impaled the stone walls around us. One wrapped itself around Tinka's arm.
"Get off!" she screamed as she pulled against the magic binding.
"Give it up honey, it's not gonna work," The man said in a mocking tone. This only seemed to cause Tinka to redouble her efforts. I too clawed at the strange rubber-like substance but to no avail.
"I said quit it!" The tendril flung my sister and myself into a wall. I saw her impact just before I was flung crashing through the door inside a burning building. I was thrown clear across the room. My back hit the wall and I let out a shallow gasp as all the air left my lungs. Blearily I looked through the haze. The building was on fire and the roof had caved in. That barely registered as a danger to me as the man walked through the broken doorway.
"You were quite the difficult one to catch, I had to track you all the way from the forest you know. I usually enjoy the chase but something about you." he leered at me, judging me as though I were some curious animal.
"You're a mage aren't you?" he said. I could feel his satisfaction.
"Oh this is perfect!" He clapped his hands together and I could tell he was smiling behind that mask.
"Well it's not good for you of course, we aren't in any need of mages, they cause too much rebellion which means I get to just kill you. I won't lie, it's a little personal." He drew his sword, its silver glinting off the moonlight above. Before I could even move he slashed me across the chest, I felt heat that didn't originate from the fire. My shirt grew heavy and wet. I didn't feel the pain yet, I guess that's a silver lining. I'll be dead before the pain sets in.
'Am I dying?' I certainly did not want to die. Was I just going to be a bystander in my own death? Helpless to the outcome yet experiencing it nonetheless? I raised my arms in front of me. Blood trickled down, my blood. Around me I could only feel that man. That man who had come here and taken everything from me. He brought these savages to my home and now everything is gone. Nothing will ever be the same. I struggled to climb to my feet, using the wall as support and holding my arm over the deep gash I looked at the man in the face. He paused for a second, a flash of his uncertainty briefly hit my senses.
"So you'd rather die on your feet? Tell you what, I'll give you the first hit." He opened his arms wide, glaring down at me. I could tell he was enjoying himself. I stumbled forward, my head felt so light I nearly tripped.
"Come on boy, I don't have all day."
"Where is my sister?" I growled. Again I felt a flash of uncertainty from him.
"By now, nowhere you'll ever see her again." he said in an even voice.
I need to find her. These men are clearly dangerous and I must find her.
"Tell me where she is!" I shouted. Burnt wood and embers fell around us.
"You have more pressing matters to worry about, now come at me before I get bored." This man was going to be no help, I'll have to find her myself. And he's in my way. I threw myself at him and hit him with all my strength. The punch wasn't strong, in my condition it barely had any force behind it. But when it connected, the feeling I got was indescribable. I felt his power transfer from his body to my fist, like a leech the punch had sucked it away. It wasn't much but enough for me to really feel it, and enough for him to notice. I felt so good after hitting him, a warmth spread around my body as his energy filled me. I regained some of my strength and the pain from my chest lessened slightly.
"What was that? What did you do?" he shouted. After stealing some of his energy I could tell that he wasn't feeling anger but panic. I didn't want to give him time to gather himself so I dove at him again. My fist was cocked back ready to strike again when his fist caught me in the chest, I heard my bones crack. By reflex I grabbed onto his arm and held it tightly. Again I could feel his power flow into me. Unlike before this time it came in a rush, I was absorbing lots of power really fast, too fast. My skin felt like it was on fire. With a strangled cry he shoved me off.
"What is this?" he cried out as he fell to one knee. I stood next to him, fists clenched. All the pain from my injuries were gone, replaced with the new pain of too much power coursing through my body.
"Where is my sister?" I was seething, the anger and the pain filled my head but I needed answers.
"She's ours now, and she along with the others will help bring back the black mage. I told you before, one way or another you'll never see her again." He tried to stand back up. I couldn't keep all the power and anger bottled up anymore. It needed to be released. I punched him again, this time with my full strength behind it. A blindingly blue light emitted from the impact, the force of it knocked me onto my back. My head was spinning from the sudden release of power. I sat up and looked around in a daze. The fire was gone and everything around me was black with rot. The man lay unmoving on the ground. I sensed the strange void from him. He was now a corpse just like all the others. I tried not to look at him, not wanting to come to terms with what I'd done. I left the now rotted half-burned house. The village was still on fire however and there was a ring around the house, all life inside that ring was dead and rotting. The ring extended about thirty yards away from where I was standing when I punched that man.
'I have to get out of here,' I thought. I ran through the village. I occasionally sensed the fading presence of people and far more voids than I cared to think about. Unbidden came the emotions of the injured and dying, tears blinded me as I ran. I couldn't detect any of the robed men, they all seemed to have gotten what they were after and left. I ran out of the village, I kept running until my legs couldn't hold me any longer. I collapsed in the dirt panting and sweating. I rolled over and stared up at the night sky. What was I to do now? I don't know where to go, I don't know where I am. Tinka is somewhere out there. I will find her.