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06:15 CET" } ], "pools": [], "description": "this only available to friends, critiques, ideas and comments are highly appreciated, pardon some grammar slip up as this is still in it's rough draft stages, once the book is complete i'll begin revision and intensive editing, some scenes may be written in that aren't in these current versions later on down the road", "description_bbcode_parsed": "this only available to friends, critiques, ideas and comments are highly appreciated, pardon some grammar slip up as this is still in it's rough draft stages, once the book is complete i'll begin revision and intensive editing, some scenes may be written in that aren't in these current versions later on down the road", "writing": "The tale of Athesia: heroes in the stars\n\nWe are makers of our own destiny, with fate by our side, it guides our hand through dark and troubled times, through the sacrifice of soul, of body and mind, we pave the way to a new tomorrow, the road to a world where the light will dawn once more, or to a world where even god would be lost, where life lives on in the rise of the sun, or dies, lost in the fog of obscurity, we are chosen by fate, may it be the light in our darkest hour.\n\n\n Athesia, a vast open world, with mountains reaching far into the skies, many lands ranging from swamps to great forests, to burning hot lands of magma and volcanoes, to mellow and open green plains, in this world, many things thrive on the magicks born deep within the world, giving birth to the many people that reside within it, such as the Alpherians, a draconic species, deeply connected to the magic of the world have adapted to living in the high valleys, their wings and bodies feathered for flight, adapt quickly to the needs of the person, when an Alpherian is born, it is born able to stand on two feet, but quickly lose this ability with age once they’ve settle down to a place they make home, though if they so choose a life of roaming they do not lose this ability. The Yukan people, similar to humans in appearance and bearing little or no magic, they make their way in the world creating advanced technologies to use and harvest magic to power their machines, although they create a great many machines they’ve as well created a great many ancient weapons of war, of which are all but abandoned centuries ago for the sake of peace, creating great cities in the habitable green lands north of the Alpherian valleys. Zeeks are brothers to the Alpherians, and have no wings, and are reptilian in features and nature, they’ve adapted to a life on the ground such as marshes, and green lands to the east of the Yukans. One people though not great in size or merits are the Darkwalkers, a people who are few in number are shied away from due to their connection with the dark magicks of the world, they are mysterious and reserved, how they are born, and what they look like is not known and not much is known about them aside from their foresight and connection to the world, mistaken for doom bringers and harbingers of misfortune they are labeled evil and bring misfortune with them when they solemnly travel.\n\n Though the world is at peace, a dark force brews under the surface, bringing imbalance in world, magick slowly growing unstable, it was an evil, black darkness that a certain Alpherian elder foresaw, a force that would one day grow to threaten the world\n\nIn valley of two mountains humbling in size a humble village make their home, an old female Alpherian elder sat within a cavernous room filled with a great many crystals of varying size and shape circled around the room, hanging from the ceiling and the floor, illuminating the room with their magicks, a low ceremonial throne in the middle of the room, here many Alpherians come to have their child read by an elder, when an Alpherian child is born into the world, they release a pure magic within them, and the elder meditates and reads the child’s new born magicks to give them a prophesy of the child’s path and of the child’s soul. Today two parents would enter with their egg, one was male, and was roughly several feet tall, the other female, only about 6 feet, sensing it was close to hatching, the elder which was shorter than them both was only 5 feet tall; her eyes slowly opened, looking ahead to them as them approached “ahhhh good, Theius, Alma, you are here, quickly now, bring the egg to the throne so I can begin” she spoke in an olden and soft grandmotherly tone “yes of course Elder Mira” the mother replied as she beckoned them forward, as they approached they carefully set the egg down and stepped back, they sat down and held each other’s claw as they patiently waited for the egg to shift, a movement, anything, sensing their uneasy spirit the elder smiled to them “calm your spirits, young ones, the child can feel your uneasiness, let it go, and calm your troubled hearts so the child can be born to certainty, you will have created a new life to this world, and it is wonderful” she whispered to them both and closed her eyes, the parents nodded giving a soft smirk as they leaned against each other.\n After a few moments the egg shifted, and there were sounds of cracking; already deep into meditation, the elder Alpherian was ready, the cave seemed to respond to the egg and dimmed and the magic waved gently, suddenly the egg surface cracked and split, the maroon egg began to break apart, and wispy light burst into the room and the elder opened her eyes with a soft gasp, the magic within the crystals seemed to shine brighter, and brighter, touching the wisp of the magic created from the new born she looked at it and closed her eyes with deep focus “this child is special, his body is of this world but his spirit…is reborn of another world, such a sad and lonely life he has led, but even now the threads of his past life slip away, leaving only a pure spirit, his memories, his past slip away to obscurity” she foretold, looking to a young baby that lay whining as he wiggled around, freeing himself from his egg, the elder placed a claw on a shell that obscured his belly, and gently peeled it away, revealing a birthmark in the shape of two cross wings and she nodded “understand young ones, many that leave our world are reborn into the world anew, or into the countless others that exist far beyond our own, of the many I feel return to the world an exceedingly rare few are born with this mark” she explained as the veil above the baby and elder swayed gently all around “what does this mean Elder Mira? Is this an omen?” Theius asked softly as to not disturb the baby as they approached the throne “no my dear Theius, I sense a pure, driven heart within this young one, seeking a family, a place to belong, no evil resides within his magic’s heart, this mark here” she placed a claw against it very gently, Alma began cleaning the baby, removing any remaining membrane or egg pieces “he has walked the crossroads of destiny, and even so…seems to have done it early within his life, it seems he was chosen to come to this world for a purpose” Theius and alma looked to each other with concern and deep confusion “why would a child choose such a path Elder Mira?” Mira quickly responded “I sensed great determination within this child’s heart…this past life has almost all but faded now and I can only sense its determination, and it will become this child’s” her eyes began to glow with magic as the child’s prophecy flashed before them “this child will face a strange destiny, it is tied with the darkness that grows within the lands beyond the mountains, I see…a young Yukan bearing strange…otherworldly garments and a nightwalker with him, the nightwalker is aware of his destiny even now, the Yukan may very well be ignorant of his destiny, a wonderful and pure pacifist soul I sense no evil within either of these ones” she paused as the images continued “…a most strange foresight…and a stranger gathering yet…a great evil looms, one that shall threaten not just our world but many, it desires only but the destruction of all that it sees as threats to its plans, it will try and destroy them, this nightwalker are a powerful people and it will be hard for this evil to reach him, the otherworldly Yukan will be in grave danger” Theius and alma gasped gently and hung over her child protectively “surely this cannot be true? What can we do to stop this?” They both asked, the elder touched her chin and thought deeply to herself for a moment as the final images of the newborn’s prophecy faded, then looked to them with a calm expression “for now the danger will not take shape until his 15th year in this world, raise this young child with great care and love, teach him of courage and strength of heart, of the power to believe in oneself… do not let your fear become his; he mustn’t be told of this prophecy until the time is right, you must swear to me here in this place of magic and purity that you shall not speak of this prophecy until he is of age Theius, Alma” she pressed in a serious tone, Both of them nodded in response “Yes we swear elder, we will not speak of this to our son until he is ready” Theius responded firmly, Mira looked into his eyes as he swore and she gave a slow nod in response and smiled “good, but before you take your little one, what shall be his name mh?” she inquired looking to both of them, getting up, holding her back with a soft groan “oh, that’s what you get once your past 800 years old, your back gives you the worst trouble I say” she lamented passively, both Alma and Theius looked to each other wondering “well…” alma looked to Mira with a bit of an embarrassed expression “we aren’t sure what exactly name him, we were thinking of girl names, since girls are common in both sides of our families” Mira looked at them with one eye open but squinted with a slight smirk “ohhh? I think the little one knows quite well what name he wants” they both looked at each other, then Mira in deep confusion “the little one? Was the past life again?” they asked in a low unsure tone, she nodded with the smirk on her face and walked to them and whispered the name, they looked at each other in surprise then smiled looking down to the little Alpherian “Korin, what a beautiful name” Alma commented “Korin Raziel Freewind, Theius dear I think your father’s surname goes very well with our little Korin don’t you think?” Alma asked winking, Theius chuckled and rubbed his neck “could have been Reginald from my mother’s side” he responded rubbing the playful hatchlings head gently, seeing Korin playing with his mother’s chest feathers.\nElder Mira looked to them both and bowed her head as she began to walk out “a cautious to this prophecy, if need be we may need to seek a way to bring either the nightwalker or the otherworld Yukan sooner, there’s no way that this evil will abide the time to let any of them grow up, we must pray it is unaware of these three or this prophecy yet, if he…it…discovers any of them, it will undoubtedly try to divert or kill any one of them as they grow up, if this prophecy is discovered, it may very well seek out the others instead, this otherworldly Yukan is particularly in danger, Yukans generally have little to no connection to magic, and are susceptibly weaker against it, though being from another world, he may very well be different from our Yukan…for now he is safe as long as it is unaware” she paused in thought, looking back to them “I will meditate on this and convene action with the others Elders, this is far greater then any one of us Theius, Alma, if this prophecy truly is tied with the darkness as I have foreseen, if any one of these chosen ones should die before they take up their destiny, we may face destruction, not just for our world, but this one and many others, as the elders we shall handle this as best we can” with that she left the room, leaving a concerned Theius and Alma looking to their hatchling which will one day be forced to take up a destiny that he been chosen without choice, how could they just let it go as something horrible and evil looms over their baby like a guillotine, threatening to claim his life before he’s truly lived his life, Alma picked up little Korin and held him with one arm as they hurried home to properly clean and care for their new born.\n\nMira parting ways with the star-crossed parents unfurled her wings and took flight, ascending quickly to her home much higher than the other that lived in their humble village, landing on a plateau her home in the middle, entering inside. Inside her home it was a cozy sight, the walls were covered in various artefacts and pictures of newborns and of many people she had met in many places, diamond shaped objects hung down from the ceiling like dream catcher, crystals in the center of them, glowing softly with magic, it had 3 rooms, one of which was her bedroom, the second was her bathroom, she went into the third room, which was filled with various magical objects and equipment, and in the center colorless crystals float in harmony around and around in a circle slowly around them a sphere of magic radiated, she walked up to it and sat down slowly, reaching her claws out to it and touched the sphere, looking deeply into it, the crystals began to spin clockwise and counter clockwise, faster and faster until they were a blur, images began to take shape within the spinning crystals, she blew gently and a wisp of the white magic from the newborn flowed into the sphere of spinning crystals, slowly, she whispered a chant and closed her eyes, pictures, colors, and shapes began flashing by, slowly, the pictures began to slow, and the crystals stopped immediately, and she opened her eyes, within the sphere she looked down into a room, it was a woman in labor, doctors all around taking care of her, giving her anesthetics, monitoring her as she was in labor, the crystals moved slowly, and the image sped up, blurring, after a minute they slowed down, time had passed by quicker, after the image cleared, she was in deep distress, the child had been born, a beautiful baby boy, born with a full head of hair, platinum blonde ringlets all across his head, the mother was slipping from the world, seeing the child was to lose his mother before she could hold her child Mira removed a claw from the orb and closed her eyes speaking in a strange tongue, her eyes opened sharply and a green essence from her maw, flowing into the orb, through the orb the essence had passed through and passed into the mother, she gasped and her eyes opened, and slowly closed, and her body slowing down, the babies cry filling the room as he could feel his mother’s distress, through the picture the sounds of rapid beeping slowly more and more, the beeping stopped for a moment, the doctors in panic began to prepare a strange machine Mira had never seen, readying everything to revive the mother, when she gasped and her eyes opened and her wounds began to seal and close fully, the damage within healing at a rate that seemed mythical, the doctors looked around the room as the monitor began to beep at a steady rate, seeing the deadly wounds sealing before their eyes, they quickly made work to do what they could, Mira looked into the orb and chuckled weakly, looking down for a moment then raising her head “it seems these Yukans fare no better at resisting magic than our own” once everything was finished and the doctors were finished with quick tests and blood work a nurse walked with the child to her and gave the mother her child, the mother looked down the crying baby and held him close a nurse looking to her “what’s his name miss?” she asked in a soft and sweet tone, she looked to him and leaned her head down to him “I’ll name him Colin, it was the name me and my husband had decided when the doctors told us it was a boy” she replied, the nurse had a clipboard with a parchment of sort on it, writing down a few things, the mother looked up to nurse “Colin Aelfric Freewind” the nurse nodded and wrote down the name, through the crystals Mira smirked “ohh it seems she subconsciously read my memory of the two parents through my magic fufufu” she laughed gently “where is your husband now? I’m certain he was informed of your-” beyond the door you could hear quick footsteps and voices, when a man came through quickly “Celia! I’m here, don’t worry you didn’t give birth yet did you?!” he exclaimed pausing, seeing the child in her arms and the nurse with a clipboard “don’t worry hun, you didn’t miss much” she replied in a soft and warm tone smiling “come here and meet your son you silly” he bit his lip and you could see his emotions ran high as he walked up to his son and wife, he reached down and picked him up, his lip quivered gently as he saw his son crying soft, he rocked him gently hushing him, tear trickled down and leaned his head down “my baby boy, it’s your papa, it’s daddy, your daddy’s here shh” he leaned next to Celia sniffing “he’s beautiful” Celia giggled a little “you haven’t asked what we named him yet” she replied “it’s Colin, Colin Aelfric Freewind ” he nodded and gave the child back to her “it’s a good name, where did you get Freewind?” she looked down “I’m…not sure, it just came to me, and I thought it was a good name for him, don’t you think so?” he nodded repeatedly “yes, yes of course sweetie, it’s just fine” he replied, the nurse smiled and walked to the exit door “I’ve got all I need, once everything is done we’ll give you the birth certificate, I’ll leave you three alone, ring if you need anything” the mother nodded “yes, of course” with that the nurse left the room and the two lay together, resting with their newborn” the images of the family sparked a warm and happy feelings in Mira, it was always a wonderful thing to witness the creation of a new life, the image faded from the orb and the crystals resumed their slow counter and clockwise rotation and Mira exhaled tiredly as she walked from the orb “what a sweet family” she commented as she walked out of the room and looked outside from a window, the sun beginning to set “it seems these children truly are destined for such a terrible fate” a soft gust of wind blew in and she sighed softly “even you are here” she turned and looked to a black cloaked and masked man, the mask similar to the plague doctor masks of ancient Europe, the eyes red, nothing seen beyond, he spoke in a disembodied yet silvery tone “you’ve foreseen our future, as I have myself, quite presumptuous to delve into the affairs of another’s world without consulting the other elders is it not” he replied, she chuckled “oh yes I agree, but I did so to assure a little one lives a normal life with its parents” she replied “as I, one day that life will be taken from us, and we will be set onto a journey filled with peril and danger, a great foe will stand before us” he paused “you have wishful thinking it would not know, but it does, it has for some time Elder Mira, but with more hope this world has the more devastation it will bring when it is taken, it may not act now, but as you have foreseen it will not wait forever” she quickly turn course in tone “yes I know this already! You needn’t tell me of what I already know, learn your place Nightwalker…” the figured looked away “I am sorry I spoke too freely, apologies Elder Mira, I did not mean to appear presumptuous” he responded, “as well, I have not spoken my given name as greetings, I am Silence, and I do not want such a horrible fate to befell our lands, we are all creatures that live within this world, and even if the world does not see, we love this world like all else that would wish to protect it” he looked back to Mira “and I would gladly take up any quest to save it” he spoke in a more confident tone, Mira walked to a window on the other side of the door, where a seemingly empty pot sit “we are much like flowers, we’re are born into this world as a seed, we’re born not knowing what the stars have in mind for us, as we grow we realize who we are and then before you know it, we bloom, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, it’s never known if a flower will bloom sooner, or later but when it does, it is beautiful” she looks to Silence “to cut a flower short before it has a chance to bloom is what I would want to avoid, even if they’re faced with a grim destiny, it is not the end, for you, for the newborns, you will all fight to protect that bloom, so that we all…can live to see another flower’s bloom, I know you are not all that old either Silence, your kind is born and nurtures pure and kind darkness, not the kind this…this…force uses for great evil, this I know, and even so, even if your voice may not speak your age, your essence, your magic speaks for you, it is bright, bright as the sun, even if it is not light, it is a fool’s idea darkness and light to represent good and evil, even in darkness, light accompanies it, in light darkness lies accompanies it, they are pure magicks that can be twisted like any else in the world…your magick is young, it may not be new to this world but I feel it is learning even in all your years, it is still new and young, yearning for a way to cleanse the nightwalker’s name, to be seen as a kind people whose desire is to bring good to the world in their own way” she paused for a moment, Silence looked down “it is true that the Alpherian elders rival nightwalkers in their understanding and connection to the magick in the world, but it seems it is no lie either that you are more deeply connected to world then even us, many of our kind think of you as a incarnation of the world itself, your wisdom and insight and kindness eons beyond your age” when he finished, Mira looked to Silence with a large grin “fufufu, is that a compliment I hear young nightwalker?” Silence quickly turned away as if blushing “n-not quite Elder Mira it was just…insight I was given” she laughed and walked to Silence and put a claw on his shoulder “it’s well alright, many here believe so too, am I? Much too presumptuous to say, I simply can feel the life, and magick in the world, it speaks stories to me, hopes, dreams, feelings, all of which speak loudest from here” she put a single claw to his chest “I will not live forever young nightwalker, even now I feel Athesia call to me, telling me my time comes soon, am I afraid? No…I have lived a good, fulfilling life, and if I can give a single child a life with its mother, then that fine…what is a full life to a Yukan is but a fraction to Alpherians, and I’ve helped ” she walked to counter in the living area that looked much like a kitchen, mixing herbs and other various greens together “Elder Mira…” he spoke softly, almost dumbfounded, he walked slowly to the door “oh? Are you leaving Silence? And here I was getting ready to prepare a meal for you too fufufu” he shook his head “sorry Elder Mira, it’s time I headed back while the night grows stronger, my-“ Mira looked to him and he stopped, seeing small tears trickling down from the olden Alpherian, a smile elderly smile showing “do come back now it’s always nice to have company over” she said, Silence looked to her and walked back over to her, being a little over a human’s nature size, he knelt down and gave her a hug “please do not cry Elder Mira, the future will be bright no matter what, it shall be so, I promise” Mira looked in surprise as the normally reserved and calm nightwalker comforted her, he raised a black hand as he took off his mask, and showed her his face “it’s told that you show your true face to the people you care most for and none else, in this little time together, I feel you are more than deserving…” Mira looked to Silence and smiled “you are quite the handsome one, is silver hair normal for nightwalkers?” he smiled and nodded, placing the mask back on and wiped her tears away, standing back up he walked to the door and raised a hand “until the next, Elder Mira” she waved to him and with a soft wind, the door opened, and closed, the nightwalker disappeared into the growing night, Mira looked to the seedling flower on the window sill warmly “I can only imagine how the little ones will be when they come here someday…fufufu, maybe I will treat them to my special leafy green surprise,” she gave a soft chuckle mixing the greens, the crystals within her home illuminating, lighting up her small home. It was a bright night out tonight as the stars shined gracefully; the sky was filled with various colors without the many cities like the human world, Athesia’s skies shined brilliantly across most of the world, looking into the sky was like looking through multi colored stained glass, the moon was far larger than our own and it was brilliantly shining, the nights in Athesia were never truly dark, nor were they ever lonely, with all those stars in the sky looking down, you were never truly alone.\n\nThrough the years the growing intensity of the instability of magic grew, more and more and many of the small nations grew restless, and the peace that had resided within the world grew more and more fragile by the years, the small Alpherian village grew becoming a large town, far more traveled then before, to make way for the travelers that went from one land to the next, it prospered and grew in a large village that spanned into the green plains outside, the Yukan city grew larger and larger as well, their presence within the world changing, the Zeeks growing restless with the quick expansion in return increased their grasp of their lands, growing from villages to cities, the lands of the Alpherians as well increased their size, populating the mountains, creating utopias, although for the years peace reined, it shuttered and on one fateful day a Nightwalker was called to the Yukan capital of Crestin, a great city in comparison left our technology to dust, it was run by a just and gracious king and queen, but dark forces were at work, corrupting the king’s mind, creating distrust between lands, sowing the seeds of war, this nightwalker came to each of the kingdoms warning of a darkness that loomed over the horizon, waiting to claim the world, that no matter the signs war must never return or else a darkness will claim all, seeing this as a threat the king immediately called for arms, to ready their armies , In a desperate attempt to dissuade the king, the nightwalker told the king of three that would come to defeat the evil that lay under the surface, and return balance to the magic of the world, refusing the darkwalker’s words he cast him out.\nSaddened by the king’s decision, the nightwalker made his way to each of the kingdoms, to avoid causing the flames of conflict from sparking, the first he would arrive to after, were the Alpherians, warning them of the king’s plans, of the evil that corrupts his mind and soul, and to never raise arms lest it feed the evil that grows, the high lord of the Alpherians accepted his proposal for the most part but rather then lay completely unready in case the king calls war, the high lord and his council called for preparations to be made, magical weapon, and armors to be readied, and for guardians to be trained to protect their lands, disconcerted by this the nightwalker pleaded that it would only sow more distrust amidst the lands to create weapons and armors of war, but the high lord and the council refused his pleas, and told him that their people are peaceful, but will not allow themselves to be forced under another’s flags out of madness or misguided ideas, seeing he could do no more he bid them farewell, and parted for the Zeekian lands, appealing to their council with great urgency, he met before them, speaking that a great evil works against the kingdoms, seeking to sow distrust and misguided ideas, that evil seeks to bring the lands to war, upon hearing this the council congregated, the nightwalker pleaded that they mustn’t ready themselves for war like the rest, and to seek to strengthen peace, unrest filled the chamber, the nightwalker implored that if more perpetrations for war were made it would spark a flame of conflict amongst the lands, and it would cause the magicks of the world to grow increasingly more unstable, though the Zeekian people were ones of honor and strength, believing only in strengthening one’s self and its people, seeking a reason the nightwalker implored that the evil will be defeated if they withhold from raising arms, once again the nightwalker met deaf ears, and the council agreed on counter measures in the cases of war, firmly explaining that their actions will flame the fuel of war, of death and hatred, the council warned the nightwalker further attempts to dissuade them will be considered acts of treason, not seeking to cause any more conflict the nightwalker accepted their warning and left.\nDefeated, the nightwalker returned to his people and told them of what is becoming of the land, ruled by a seraphim, she responded to his report with sadness, telling their people that they are to not contact other countries, or venture far from their lands, isolating themselves once more from the world, choosing to disallow themselves to be swept up in this evil’s plan. In a place sealed to the outside the nightwalker told the seraphim of a prophecy he was told years ago, by his son, after he explained, the seraphim would chose the only option to save lives and homes, only wait until the time was right to act. The future was uncertain, and the peaceful lands of Athesia now shuddered as the last leaves of peace began to fall, lands that were once united under a flag of peace now took up arms against a omnipotent foe, never seen, only felt in the heart, where would this world go? What could stop an evil history from repeating once more? Who could possibly reunite the hearts of a people divided by evil, when would hope come? Many of these questions lie in the hearts of many, but even the people slowly began to be consumed by blind hatred of others, what do those pompous lizards think they are? They’re no match for us! Those Yukans, think their high and might just because they got fancy technology, without it they are weak cowards who let machines do all their work, why do these foolish people believe this will solve anything are they so crazed that war will solve everything? Should it be our duty as protectors to cleanse the world of their madness? And all the nightwalkers could do…is watch…watch as their beautiful world slowly fell to hatred and clouded hearts which only saw their way as justice what was justice? Just what was right? What was truth in an obscure world manipulated by something that no one could see, could feel but not known. \nMira watched her people from afar, no longer willing to be an Elder to such efforts that would breed war, hatred and death, she was stripped of her title, of the respect she had rightly earned, this evil was to win, and nobody knew, only but the darkwalkers and Mira, powerless to act lest war be ignited, but even in their pacifism war was sure to come. She only watched now as the two children grew up. To her, and only her, she knew hope lay, just on the horizon.\n\nOne early morning, fog from the great lake, the sun began to rise on a young Alpherian, who stood on the side of a cliff, like most young Alpherians he stood on two legs, the winds blowing past his feathers as he watched the sun rise slowly “It’s a beautiful mornin’” he said gently opening his wings, stretching them out as far as he could and lowered down, stretching his legs then his arms, lowering down more he grinned as he quickly dashed off the cliff face falling downward toward jagged rocks and crystals, as he neared he thrust his wings forwards, stopping quickly, then thrusting them back, flying forward he soared through the rocks and crystals, rolling once through a stone arch, his a deep happy grin on his face as he flew through the valley, flying over the various settlements below, his eyes were a deep blue that twinkled with the sunlight, he had always loved flying, he did so every day since his wing feathers were strong enough to fly, an old Alpherian lady waving to him as she watered her garden peacefully “mornin’ miss hally! Beautiful mornin’ fer flying ain’t it?” he asked in his own slang way of saying things, she nodded “yes it is, and you’re shortening my name again, it’s Halluvias you silly young’un” he chuckled scratching his head “sorry ‘bout that!” he replied as he flew on the winds carrying him through the valley as he arrived to a great mountain who’s height could piece the heavens, stopping in midflight looking up and flying straight up, higher and higher he went, until an opening plateau was within view, flying up towards it and landing, where a modestly small home were, he folded his wings away and quickly ran towards the front door knocking vigorously, a shuffle came to the door as it opened “oooh, your knocking is loud enough to wake the dead young one” it was Mira, he chuckled and stuck his tongue out slightly with one eye closed “good to see you again Korin, oooh your so grown up now, I remember it like it was yesterday that you hatched from a little egg” she reminisced as she pinched his cheek, Korin broke away blushing “stoooop grandma Mira, your makin’ me blush” he replied lamenting slightly, she waved for him to come in, he walked in looking around and turning around “hey hey grandma Mira guess what today is?!” he asked excitedly, Mira touched her chin thinking deeply “hmm the day where you’ll eat my leafy green surprise?” his face turned green and he shook his head “ohoho your breaking an old lady’s heart” he shook his head” no no no! I’ll eat it but it’s my-” Mira chuckles as she rubs his head stopping him before he finished “your birthday, if I am not mistaken it is your 15th birthday, oh a special day indeed!” she said excitedly as she quickly turned and walked into her mystic room, rummaging through something, Korin sported a quizzical expression, tilting to the side to look into the room a little more, Mira pulled something out from a chest with excitement, walking back into the room she held an old, worn, sun bleach mailbag satchel who’s color was a faded color of forest green, Korin looked at it blankly, blinking once “what’s…that Grandma Mira?” he asked with a clearly puzzled expression, Mira smiled as she put it on him and she nodded “ah this is something I found in one of my journeys , it is a special satchel that chooses only those with a pure heart as its owner, it will protect you in the darkest of times” she replied Korin looked at it still puzzled, then looked to her “it looks like it’ll break apart if it catches a headwind” he replied dejectedly toward it, she waved it off as she walked to her mystic room once more “oh it looks that way but mark my word young one, it’s quite lively” furthering his confusion he decided to not dwell on it too much, Mira waved to him to come, Korin had never been in her mystic room as there were many magical items and tools that could cause quite a bit of mayhem if used incorrectly, she walked to a table that held the same rotating crystals she used often since that day years ago, she beckoned him to it, looking around and observing the items Korin accidentally bumped into the table, his wandering attention snapped to the table and Mira, who looked at him with a squint, apologizing Korin looked at the crystals that floated and rotated slowly with deeply curious eyes “w-whoa…grandma Mira, what’s this?” he asked touching the sphere, it was almost like shifting glass to the touch, she touched the sphere and looked to him “they are called looking crystals, a special type that use the magicks within its user as a way to across the world, and beyond it” he looked wide eyed to it “whoa, that’s amazing Grandma Mira, what do you mean beyond it? Like space or something?” he asked with an earnest tone, “it can, but when I speak of beyond child, I mean other worlds, but not without a connection to such a world, years ago when I read your prophecy, it led me to one such place” he furled his brow “what…do you mean?” she looked back to the looking crystals with a deep gaze “just as I say little one, it gazed upon a Yukan from another world far beyond our own, beyond our own time and space, to another realm, since that day of your birth I have kept close watch on the two of you, making sure you did not stray or lose the purity in your heart, this does not mean I couldn’t avoid you getting hurt, sometimes it was when you scraped your knee, or you got hurt when your father or mother scolded you for doing something reckless” \nKorin faced the looking glass but his eyes wandered to Mira “you watched over us so this…non Yukan, Yukan is who you watched over too?” Mira nodded “precisely, your parents swore to me on the day of your hatching that they would not tell you of your prophecy until it was time, that time was on your 15th birthday, which is today little one” Mira looked to Korin and smiled “and what a sweet boy you’ve become, you visit little old me almost every day, telling me about the things you saw, the things you did, telling me your troubles as if I was your real grandmother” her tone was melancholy as she spoke “even though I’ve had my title as Elder taken, no matter what terrible things people have said you came here, even though I never had any children of my own you let me feel what being a grandmother is like” Korin looked to the looking crystals with a somber look “well…it’s because you were always there for me, you helped raise me, you helped me when I sad, or confused, or…or lonely…we kept each other company” he smiled to her brightly and warm “I can’t help but think of you as my grandma, because blood doesn’t mean anything, the bond is what matters, that’s what you told me right?” she nodded her eyes watering a little “yes little, yes I did” they both returned their gaze to the looking crystals as they began to spin quicker now, images began to appear and clear, Korin’s eyes reflecting the image as his eyes widened, the crystals began to slow as they came to the image of a young human “today is his birthday as well, you two are of the same age, born the same day, he is a very nice young boy as you, but whereas you are fire hearted, he is gentle hearted child” peering into the looking crystals you could see a boy of 15 laying on his bed looking outside his window, he lived in a modest town, city life was rather dull, his mother was out most of the time, but whenever she came back, she was resting from work, his father would come home from work each day and instead of playing catch in the backyard or teaching him important things a boy his age would normally learn or be taught, he wasn’t, his father would sit day and night working on job projects, they were struggling to keep the house afloat and nobody suffered more than him, but regardless of what he had, or did not, he remained modest and thankful of what he did have, or what he received, nor was ungrateful of the home he had, many of his birthdays were spent just like any other day, he’d stay in his room for the day, doing nothing but toss a tennis ball up in the air, catching it as it fell “he doesn’t look very happy Mira” Korin commented “he’s spent many birthdays like this little one, in their world, there is no peace like ours, even in a world like that his heart is pure, reaching out subconsciously hoping for a dream to hold onto, even through the looking crystals I can feel what his heart cries out for” Korin looked to her “what’s that it’s cryin’ for?” as he looked back to the crystal he noticed him sit up and walk to the door and open it slightly, peeking through it, seeing his father sitting there working on a contraption meant for work, and frowned, seeing his hands raw and sores covering them from little nicks and cuts, sweat covering his brow he’d wipe off occasionally, he looked down and closed the door “for his mother and father to be happy, rather than suffering to keep what little they have young one” Korin frowned deeply as he watched him walk out from his room, his father looking to him immediately “hey son listen I need you to do me a favor-“ Colin looked to his father with a glare “go finish this project while you borrow more money?” Colin replied in answer for him, his father stood up, wearing a brow long sleeve and jeans, with worn and tearing boots, his face looked of guilt and anger “hey! Don’t go putting words in my mouth when I didn’t say anything!” he responded furiously “it’s the same every time dad…help me finish this project while I go turn in the work I finished, even though you make money to pay the bills, you suddenly come back with all this money treating me and mom out…” tears flowed from his eyes, his voice brittle “I’m…I’m sick of it dad…please…just stop...” his father looked to him seeing his upset, his expression softened up, then he closed his eyes and turned walking out of the front door, he wished he could say sorry, but he didn’t have the strength to face his son again, his heart heavy, and fragile. All Colin could do, was stand there as his father left once again, he knelt and slammed his fist down sobbing hard “please….someone…something…please make it stop…let my family be happy…I don’t care if it means I get hit by a car or something, if lets them be happy…let it happen…please” his voice faded he layed there sobbing till he eventually fell asleep, Korin looked away, his stomach wrenched, Mira looked into the looking crystals saddened “a world where dreams don’t matter…and even so…his heart remains pure, still hoping…still dreaming” Mira looked to Korin who was leaning against a wall tapping his foot “little one, I’m sorry that you had to witness such a thing…” he looked back to her “with all that pleading, all of his words were not about himself, even on his birthday, all he wished was for others to be happy, IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK FOR!?” he responded with a loud fiery anger, Mira walked to Korin and touched his shoulder looking to into his eyes with an understanding gaze, their eyes spoke for them rather than words and he looked off to the side, his eyes low “sorry…i…I just can’t stand to see someone hope so much, but get suffering in return...it’s like this father doesn’t care, it’s like his mother doesn’t even exist…without you, with my parents, the town, I dunno what I’d do…” he trailed off and walked back to the looking crystals, staring into it.\n\nColin drifted off into slumber while he laid on the ground, he only saw darkness while he was asleep, when he heard words from a voice that was not his own “don’t worry…it’ll be okay someday soon Colin” he looked around into the darkness and called back “who are you?” the sound of the human’s voice resonating within Korin’s head, Korin quickly let go stumbling back in shock as he huffed, his heart beginning to race “h…he heard me grandma Mira! How can he hear me I thought you could only see things!” she chuckled “I said they were the looking crystals, but I never said you could not speak or act through them, if it was not for my quick thinking his mother would have perished if not for my healing, to magick users it is possible to view it from their side, but to non-magick users it is invisible to see but not impossible to hear or act through” Korin sweat a little and stood up and he walked back to the looking crystals, touching the surface again “what…what should I do grandma Mira should I say something back?” she chuckled and pointed “you are, little one” he looked at his claw “who’s grandma Mira? I don’t have a grandma anymore, s-seriously who is this? Is this my subconscious? I’ve never…err….heard or felt a dream so clear and real sounding” he replied, Mira took his claw off the looking glasses and smirked shaking her head “the time to discuss such things will come later little one, if our hopes become true, you won’t need the looking glass to speak to him” Korin turned his head to her slowly “whatcha…mean…grandma Mira?” he asked slowly and hesitantly “I and the seraphim of the darkwalkers have created a plan to bring him here, to Athesia” Korin mouth opened “you can do that?! Wait why though grandma Mira?” she looked at him with a soft from as she sighed “ah yes, i can’t believe such a thing could slip my mind, what I wanted to discuss this with you, was your prophecy; on your 15th birthday, you, that otherworldly Yukan, and the nightwalker, three pure hearts will come together and face against a great evil that would seek to destroy all, only you three can do such a thing, anyone with any kind of evil in their heart can’t not face it, I do not fully know why it is it must be you three, but I do know one thing, that is his magic has no hold over you, nor the darkwalker nor the other, it is this reason we are willing to do whatever we must to assure you are all safe until the time comes” her head leans downward, closing her eyes “as a…grandmother, I would gladly take the places of you three, rather than to risk the safety of you little ones, I could not bear to see you get hurt little one ” Korin came to her and put his claw her shoulder, smiling “please don’t frown grandma Mira, even if we do get hurt, we’ll back each other up, it’s like you said we got worlds to protect, an’ by the skies, I’m shure we’ll do our best” she touched his claw and leaned against it, rubbing her cheek against it “forgive this old lady for seeming quite sad, I knew this day would come but…I fear it is a lot harder than it seemed to not be sorrowful” she opened her eyes and walked to the looking crystals touching the sphere “of Yukans, Zeeks, Alpherians, of all others affected by this force, to you, you sense nothing, as though there is no presence yes?” Korin nodded his head “that means this darkness cannot reach you, but I sense it very well, if it were not for the wards I have place before this magic took hold of the world, eventually even I would succumb one day to this madness that’s taken the hearts of Athesia, Korin, no matter what do not lose hope, never give up, even when fate bares down against you, or the others, you must remain strong of heart and fight to protect your family, your friends, everything, but even in knowing what you must do, do not feel as though it is your duty alone, you will never be alone” she touched his shoulders “your mother, your father, me, will be with you in your heart, and your friends will be right beside you” Korin stood there feeling the gravity of his duty sinking it, it was no mere chore or request, it was a serious duty that lay with him and the other two alone, only they could accomplish, he then looked to the looking crystals, then back to her “that’s a lot of responsibility but if it means we’re saving our family and world then I guess it’s decided!” he replied with an adventurous expression “how do y’plan on bringin’ him here Grandma Mira? You said somethin’ about a seraphim, what’s that all about?” Mira chuckled lightly “sorry dear we’ll talk soon” she said to Colin as the image changed and shifted “together using both my own and the seraphim’s magick we will force a small opening from his world to our own, it will be dangerous as the path is not opened by simple magic, in a way we are letting him into our heart, more precisely through our heart to pass through from his world to our, as that evil has seemed to reach him I sense it looking, and it is closing in quickly, it cannot wait another day, one more and he may be in grave danger that risks his life, we cannot allow this to happen, she then grips the orb and pushes her claw through it, magic being directly thrown into the looking crystals as the very rapidly, spinning around and around they finally stopped and she pulled her claw out, a steam of sort flowing from her claw as if put somewhere hot, waving it off, the image cleared and they looked into an ancient looking room, the detail of the walls to the pillars were intricate and like nothing Korin had seen before, though it was hard to see in the dim room, a figure clad in white approached the looking glass’s view, it was feminine in figure to be sure, nor exactly short, her face was masked in a white beak like mask, but unlike Silence’s mask it had no eyes, only designs in a way only described as ethnic in nature “Mira” she gave a nod “preparations are complete, when shall we begin?” she asked right to the point as though knowing prior what might have been said “yes Seraphim Besaria, it is time” Korin looked at them confusedly looking between them “err...you said how you planned to bring him through…but not very…detailed just brin’ him through your hearts” he noted, Besaria looked past Mira to the young Alpherian “oh, your grandson is as handsome as you say Mira” she said carrying a lightly seductive tone, Mira gave her a look and she chuckled lightly “it was a harmless compliment, this is our first time meeting in person, so to speak, when you are ready Mira, we must be in tune or the portal will be unstable” Korin looked to them both somewhat frantically “w-wait y’didn’t explain yet” Mira decided not to answer as she began focusing the crystals began to spin rapidly once more, but the image stayed, Besaria closed her eyes as did Mira, the sphere began to glow a rainbow color “let’s begin”.\n\n\nColin quickly woke up, and looked around, sweat dripping from his chin, panting softly “t-that dream…that was really…really weird, those voices were so clear…it was like there were right here next to me” he got up, looking in his vicinity, seeing the house was dark and no one to be seen, he flicked on some lights as he entered the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it with water, drinking generously, panting as he put the cup down, leaning against the counter “it was just a dream Colin…just a dream” he told to himself, though he was unsure if he could convince himself it was such a thing, the sounds and voices were so clear and audible he felt like as though they were real, but dreams are just simply images of things you’ve experienced in the past, this is what he was trying to convince himself, he took and deep breath and exhaled, calming down as his heart was pounding and his hand cold and clammy, he walked to the refrigerator, opening it up and looking inside, not much was to be found as groceries were scarcely bought, he saw an apple sitting in the middle “huh…did mom bring this home?” he took it and walked from the kitchen to hallway that connected the living room and stairs to his room, as he approached the stairs he felt an odd sense of vertigo, like something pulled him back, stepping back from the stairs he looked behind, nothing but a wall he thought to himself as he went to the stairs one more time once more he felt that pull as he took a single step upstairs and forcing himself to ignore it he pushed up, perhaps he was sick, he’d talk to his father when he got home, as he climbed the stairs the pull became stronger, he stumbled on the last few steps leaning against the wall for support as he took the final step to the second floor, as his foot touched the surface, the pull disappeared and he looked down the stairs with a perplexed expression, just like that is disappeared, he scratched his head, then as he settled down he felt a sinking feeling, a deep foreboding feeling as he leaned against the wall “u-ugh…what’s going on with me, has my sense of everything suddenly gone south?” he asked himself as he made his way to his room, reaching out to his door knob the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, his heart began to pound and the clamminess in his hands began to return, every nerve in his body telling him not to open that door, looking at door he thought to himself, just what exactly was past this door, a robber, a thief, a murderer even? Something, he reached to the knob nervously shaking as he quickly opened it up, silence ensued. Nothing was there, only the sound of the door opening as he look inside, his room was empty, the window closed, his lamp was off, walking inside his breath shuddered, glancing around he rubbed his eyes with his free hand, looking outside he old saw the fence that sat a little closely to his house, remembering he had the apple he decided to sit down, exhaled, his hands and arms shaking “what was that feeling just now, It felt like someone or something was there…I’m sure” he told himself, rubbing his face again he exhaled once more and looked around then lifted up the apple to take a bite, then stopped as it reached his mouth, lowering it “wait…mom hasn’t been home in over 3 days…that apple….it…it wasn’t there before, dad wouldn’t buy just an apple, he was always thrifty and bought in bulk to save money, he hasn’t been back home either…his keys are still gone…” his eyes gazed down to the apple with a growing anxiety, he dropped the apple quickly and got up looking at it and around, as the apple rolled onto the floor, it suddenly began to blacken and melt into a black pile that expanded, the pile began to bubble and grow upward, alarmed Colin yelled in fright as he quickly ran to the door, the door slammed shut and any method of opening melted away onto the floor as the dark matter grew more and more into a large foreboding figure, an incomplete face formed, within that figure an eye peered out “I’ve found you” it spoke in a deep and darkly tone as it still formed, Colin looked around desperately, seeing the window he recalled a movie with a man diving through a window to escape a bomb that had been realized short of its detonation time, he ran over to the window rather than foolishly diving into the window he reared his leg back, as he was to thrust it forward a sheer pulse of evil magic slammed into him and he broke through the window with his body, falling down, he was to be impaled on a jagged old wooden fence, turning his body the side of his face met with the side of the house grinding against it as he fell, he grunt loudly as he hit the hard dirt, wheezing as the wind was knocked out of him, he huffed and gasped for breath as blood ran down the side of his face, forcing himself up he stumbled from the area between the fence and home getting into the yard. As he caught his breath finally, he ran to the fence on the side of the house, rather than the back where movement was restricted and while he hopped over the fence he saw something flying his way, and he rolled off the fence, and not a second later a black spear flew just over head, impaling a garden gnome, the lawn decoration turned black and disintegrated to dust, he huffed holding his arm, pulling a piece of wood out as it broke rolling over, tear his shirt and piercing his arm as the splinter was forced into him by the fall, he grunted as it came out, his shirt turning red around the wound, he quickly ran out from the house to the main street, running as fast as he could, this ominous figure following behind luckily not very fast, but making up for this spears of black flew towards Colin, he spun dodging the first few and ducking as the rest came by the ground turning black and turning to dust as they landed, looking back in a panic he bolted as quick as he could, the spears landing behind him as he did, rather than passing him, running down the street he saw a church and opened the doors, a man was meditating with a great many candles that lay against a wall, lavish beautiful designs all across it, it wasn’t much of a church as it was a place to meditate or pray to gods of many, he ran towards him in panic “GET OUT! SOMETHING IS COMING! PLEASE HURRY IT WILL KILL YOU!” the man jumped up seeing the battered and bloodied child he stepped back and ran off in terror, glad to see the man running away rather than trying to help Colin continued as spear flew to the ground in front of it, the design crumbled all across the wall as did the candles as did it’s holders, all of it disintegrated to dust. \nColin saw stairs leading up and he ran and closed and locked the doors in a rush and flew up the stairs as best he could, he could hear the sounds of the doors break, Colin ran upstairs to an unfinished area still being painted and fixed, stained glass windows lined the walls on the left and right side, looking around he saw more stairs leading downstairs, while he ran, his feet tripped over each other and as he fell as luck would have it, spear that was to pierce his belly flew overhead and the doorway disintegrated and fell apart, collapsing entirely, along with a portion of the building, Colin picked himself him grunting, limping, turning around and walking back as the figure was fully formed, it was a strange dragon like figure but most of his body was black and covered in what looked like robes mixed with some type of armor meant for battle, Colin looked at him, still holding his arm wincing, drops of blood slowly dripping from his hand to the ground “wha- who are…you?” he asked a deep tremulous pain in his voice, the figure threw out a what looked to be a claw and a spear came out “The dead need no answers, the dead shall be silent” his voice upon hearing his voice more clearly, it sounded darkly and gruff “you, one without anyone shall be removed, these worlds have gone on long enough with their cycles of death and war…If they love it so much then they will war till they’re all DEAD, the dead do not war nor murder, with your death it will all end, war, death, they will bring the end of it all themselves” Colin continued back up as he looked in disbelief “i-i…I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it sounds like the wrong way to fix whatever it is your fighting against, but it’s just not right to make people fight, it’s…not okay to kill or murder for any justification, in the end you’ll end up alone” he paused looking to him seeing him not moving as he looked at him intently “in the end you’ll end up alone…nobody deserves to be alone, even you, you might be trying to take my life, but…I don’t hate you…I’m sorry you ended up this way, and I will not fight you, not because I wish for this plan to begin or don’t value my life, I won’t fight you because you’re hurt already, I…don’t know why, but I feel you’ve have honest wishes, a kind hope, you’re just going about it the wrong way” Colin continued, the figured lowered his head “you are a misguided fool, nothing is earned from peace and pacifism, only taken, time and time again, you have not lost what I have, nor felt the animosity I have felt, you’ve not experienced the cold dark evils of war, suffering and death, but as a gift…” he raised his spear up and it shape changed, and turned a deep crimson red that shifted and swayed with a black malice within its surface “I will let you experience death first hand” he quickly thrust his spear forward and avoiding it, despite being out of reach the area where Colin had stood was pierced and blown to pieces, but unlike the previous weapon it did not disintegrate “I will give you a most painful death if you continue to struggle” Colin huffed as the blood continued to fall down, taking its toll on his body “I will not fight you! Nor will I let you kill me, stop this!” he exclaimed in concern, but he did not stop, he slashed and thrust his spear, Colin dodged and ducked as best he could looking towards him, the figure’s movements began to grow more frustrated in pattern as Colin continued to dodge and avoid him, Colin looked at him with sad eyes “I’m sorry you feel this way but you can’t continue things this wa-“ he was quickly cut off as an invisible force met with his side, he flew across the room slamming against a wall, the feeling of impact like something made of great weight, Colin got up quivering and shaking one eye closed, he looked to him as he refused to charge against him, refused to curse or attack him, The figure quickly dashed up to him and gripped his throat and threw him across the ground skidding, he rolled and hit the wall, lifting up once more with a strong grip on his throat “I am to kill you, do not understand?! If you do not fight I WILL kill you child, fight back!” he growled in frustration as he then tossed him more aggressively with force and he slammed against the wall, Colin laid against the wall sliding down looking to him smiling “no, I…*cough* r-refuse” the figure let out a yell as he ran towards him, kicking him, Colin rolled across the floor to the center of the room.\n\n\n\nIn Athesia Mira and Besaria focused as hard as they could to form the portal Korin looked into the orb as the focused seeing Colin being battered and tossed, choked and thrashed brutally, continuing to get up “he’s is in danger Grandma Mira! H-hurry, someone is beating him senseless!” Korin exclaimed in panic “I know this little one, Stand back! The portal is opening, we don’t want you being pulled into his world with this thing” Korin stepped out of the room as the room began to glow with a bright rainbow color, winds blowing hard all around as the portal began to open “Mira! The portal is open!” Besaria exclaimed in hurry “yes I know! But with the little so injured I don’t know if he’ll make it!” she responded in upset and fright, Korin looked at the portal open up wider and wider and stabilized into a stable sphere “this is bad Mira, if he doesn’t enter the portal he will die” seeing their plight Korin opened his wings and he ran in and dove into the portal, flying through as he made his way to Earth “little one what are you doing?! It’s too dangerous!” Korin kept flying as he was almost there “I know! But I won’t let someone die if I can do anything about it!” he exited the portal and focused magic to his claws in the form of fire and threw his claws forward and blew hard when he parted them, the fire blast forth like dragon’s breath, the figure quickly jumped back as he flew to the human, picking him as the ground burned between them and the figure “Korin was it? If it were not for Mira’s wards and her power you would have died first” Korin grinned “well I ain’t and he won’t be dyin’ today either mister evil guy” Korin responded with confidence, the figured walked across the fire a deeply angered and dark looming glare in his eyes as the fire accentuated his features past the darkness, Korin’s eyes widened greatly as he stumbled “n-no…no way…that…that can’t be right…you’re…you’re an Alpherian this can’t be true, all Alpherians are peaceful we’d never do something like this!” he stepped back with Colin in his arms “you are an ignorant blind hatchling, the world is NOT kind as you’d wish to think, this so called peace was the result of a 210 year war that cost millions and millions their lives, Alpherians are just as guilty as all the rest, if not more so and I will judge Athesia and this world for its sins, and I will cleanse the worlds of their impurities, but then you, a child reborn of the crossroads created a destiny that would stand in my way, an otherworldly Yukan, a nightwalker, and a young Alpherian would come to the lands of Athesia to cleanse the land beset by evil with their pure hearts, they haven’t told you have they, what it will take to truly rid me of this world, it requires the sacrifice of three noble and pure hearts, it is a sacrificial journey you three are taking, and whether you defeat me or not, your deaths lie at the end of this road, so just stand there and allow me to pierce you with my spear, you and that boy there” Korin shook his head and rose up grunting as he took to the air slower than he was used to “y-your lying…Grandma Mira wouldn’t sacrifice us like that, you’re crazy! An’ we’ll stop you no matter what!” the figure stood there and looked at him with unmoved and serious blue eyes, Korin quickly dashed to the portal with great haste as he carried the heavily injured human through the gateway, the path closing behind them, Korin saw that the pathway was closing behind them, and he sped up, grunting as his wings strained and flapped faster and faster, harder and harder they went as he raced against time, behind them a great gnashing maw caved behind them, Korin looked ahead huffing as he saw the entrance he had entered before, the closing maw behind them was a toe claw away as he thrust his wings back as hard as possible with one last burst of magic he exhaled his fire and he flew out from the portal that closed behind them immediately after, Korin rammed the door grunting, sliding down it, it hurt quite a bit but he was otherwise okay, but the human was far from okay, his throat was red and his shirt was soaked in blood, his complexion was pale, his face was red and bleeding that had splattered across his face from the rolling and impacts, Mira walked over to them as Korin groaned, rubbing his red snout, Mira walked to them and exhaled “thank goodness you both made it, oh, oh dear” she looked to Colin and reached down and raised his shirt and gasped in shock, looking his condition over “little one bring him to my room he requires immediate attention, his wounds are very serious” Korin nodded as he carefully sat up, he was practically the same size as Korin if not slightly shorter, his consciousness was faint but he could make out dull sounds and voices as well as images “w-…where…am…i?” he asked in a weak and gravelly voice, seeing only figures and shapes “hush now little one you’re in no shape to be speaking” Korin grunt picking him up and getting up at the same time as carefully as possible, walking from the mystic room to Mira’s room, it was well decorated with flowers, and a window next to the bed, a barely blooming flower rested, it’s colors were of violet and blue, the disc of it, gently glowing white while the moonlight hit it, Korin laid Colin down against an average sized bed by human standards, Mira walked on the other side, removing his shirt and looking at his wounds, using her magic to sense the depth of his injuries; his body was bloodied and beaten, bruised and bones fractured from his ribs to his right leg was fractured slightly, his nose was broken and bloodied as well, a deep wound from where the fence piece had struck was open and bleeding continuously, Mira instructed Korin to get her, her medical kit, which Korin did, walking into the living room it rested behind an old and unused staff she had found in one of her travels, he took it and returned to Mira’s room with it, she took it and opened up with a ward she created, and took out an odd green crystal that was shaped like a heart, she closed her eyes and placed it between her two claws and it levitated and it disintegrated and became like a fine sand that flow where she waved her claws, bring it to his shoulder wound she waved her claws over it, circling slowly changing direction every once in a while, the green slowly disintegrating and flowing off in a while ash like manner, after a little while the wound was purged of any foreign material, and sealed, going to his chest, he grunt and winced hard, responding with greatly pain expressions and sounds, she looked to him and gave a gentle frown “damage was nerve intensive, it was intending to torture him to death rather than to kill him outright, poor boy…” she shifted all of the green to her right claw as she took out a cylindrical tube filled with a small amount of gaseous substance that she poured across Colin’s face, it then flowed into his nostrils and he stilled and his pained groaned ceased as he fell into a deep sleep, Mira resumed her healing as she restored his nerves to working order, then the muscle and bone damage, along with any organs that may have been damaged in the process, Mira stayed by Colin into the night as she used up one crystal heart and used another, Korin sat next to her, beginning to dose, slowly leaning against Mira leg while she healed Colin, her face shifted toward Korin and she chuckled, facing the human once more, through the night she heal all of the most extensive damage and life threatening injuries that he had sustained, all that was to be expected was some quite very sore injures, not having enough to fully heal the gash on the side of his head all the way, Mira wrapped bandages around his head, along with his wrists and placing a splint on his right leg and made sure to heal from front to back, finally, though the night was rough and there were many close calls, they succeeded in bring the otherworldly Yukan to Athesia, what was in store for Korin and him, nobody knew, only but them their selves.\n\nA new day was dawning, the sun rose slowly on the new day, Colin’s eyes slowly opened, blurry and unfocused he looked around and he blinked sitting up a little, rubbing his eyes yawning, as his sight came to focus he noticed he was bare and wearing only his boxers, his shirt, pants, shoes and socks were gone, or at least not on him anymore, his injuries were gone for the most part as well, touching his head he felt bandages, then looking down his eyes opened wide, he saw Mira and Korin sleeping by the bedside, images of last night flooded his memories as he more clearly recalled his dulled and barely conscious memories, he saw Korin flying in and using some type of magic fire to push that dark guy back, remembering Korin picking him up and carrying through the portal, he had a look of moderate surprise as he looked at them, these were definitely real, his wounds he received were real, the aches he felt were real. Carefully Colin removed the covers and gently slid off the bed and placed his bare feet against the cold ground, looking at all the strange new scenery around him, this was far past any dream, this was indeed real, he had so many questions running through his mind, what was this place, who were those two, what was he running from, just what did he get himself into, where were his clothes for that matter, did they patch him up? So many questions to be answered, not wanting to wake either of the strange dragon like people, he walked from the bedroom and into the living room looking around, all the objects were strange, they definitely were not human made, the object that hung from the ceiling all glowed independent of any electricity or power source of any kind from what he could see, walking to a shelf he looked at various picture seeing various people with either one of them, some of them were of the young dragon like person, some of the other older looking one with people he had never seen, he picked one up, it was of Korin on his 8th birthday smiling with two teeth missing both what seemed to be his canines, he scratched his head and put it down “this is…too weird to be a dream…where am I?” he asked himself, but no one was there to answer, walking away from the pictures he walked to a window by the front door, looking outside he saw he was on a plateau of some kind, the sun was rising to a new day, as he continued to look outside he noticed his clothes were hanging on some strange thread connected to wood, the thread was glowing unlike the wood as his clothes flowed with the wind “m-my clothes, that’s where they went, it was strange when I woke up without them, opening the door it creaked slightly, opening it he curled his toes and he face felt like puckering as he closed the door, it was FREEZING outside, without his clothes he wasn’t going anywhere that was for sure, he walked back and standing in the bedroom doorway was Mira “ahh you’re awake little one, I’m sure you have many questions to ask but first before anything else, how are you feeling, I see your up and walking, I’m surprised you’re already walking what with your right leg having been fractured from your encounter with the very mastermind of this whole ordeal” he looked to his shin which had splint on it “i-I’m fine, I uhm…where do I begin” she chuckled as she walked to the kitchen “you were attacked by Zekrin, I had not wished to have confirmed it, but sadly it seems fate is quite cruel, he sought you out to stop a prophecy that had been foretold on the day of both yours and the little one resting in there’s birth” he looked at her with deeper confusion “what prophecy? What’s this got to do with me? I-it’s not that I won’t try and help, I’m just confused is all, I don’t know where or when I am, or why I am here in the first place miss, uhm” Mira looked to him “Mira, you may call me Grandma Mira if you so like little one, quite a few littles ones have taken to calling me grandma “okay um, Grandma Mira, where am I? Why was I brought here?” she brought a green pie filled with various herbs and veggies to a table, cutting two pieces out “This world you are in is called Athesia, it is far different from the world you are from, it a magick rich world in which many magick users reside, such as myself, if it were not for magick your wound may not have healed within one night” he looked at her dumbfounded “one night?! But I’m sure I was banged up pretty good, you didn’t need to grandma Mira” she pat a chair as she slid it out for him “come little one, sit down, have some breakfast while I fetch your clothes” she took a plate and place it at his side, putting a piece of pie down “I could not stand by while you were in such dire straits, I could feel your pain and it hurt to know you felt such pain, I did what any grandmother would do for their grandchild, surely you understand little one?” he nodded his cheeks a little red “this is a lot for me to take it, a whole new world, Magic to boot…” she nodded “I’m sure it is little one, but you’ll come to understand in time, I’ll explain all your questions once you’ve had something to eat, even for a Yukan you are quite skinny” he tilted his head “oh my, the word slipped form my mouth, they are much like the people of your world, what do you call your people?” \n“Humans, Grandma Mira, are Yukans like humans from this world?”\n“So it would seem little one, are these humans non-magick users where you are from?” Colin nodded as he looked to his pie slice that steamed continuously as though freshly made “magic is considered fairy tale stuff, to be blunt, magic like this doesn’t exist in our…my world” Mira nodded as her suspicion was confirmed “ah very well little, enough questions for now, eat up, you’ll need nutrients, I can heal the wounds but the blood lost won’t come back so easily, I’ve prepared my special leafy surprise pie just for the occasion” \n“uhm, what occasion grandma Mira?” she chuckled “oh your birthdays of course, well of course for your health but your birthdays as well, here we do not celebrate on the day of birth but the day after as the next day is a new page of your life” she opened the door and Colin shivered while it was open, but it would help to cool down the rather hot pie, she took the clothes and walked back inside, closing the door behind her, he saw a fork with 5 prongs sitting by the plates, taking it and cutting a piece, blowing on it still to make sure it was cool, and he took a bite, it was surprisingly good, the flavors were smooth and the greens were cooked perfectly, spices added made it flavorful and full of juices, he smiled as he took a bite, chewing first of course “so, do you like it little one? It’s my own recipe” he nodded quickly “mhm! Its delicious grandma Mira, I haven’t tasted something this good before” she laughed softly “oho it seems humans have exquisite taste, if only the little one in there enjoyed it like you, whenever he eats it honest words it’s like I’m trying to make him eat cooked Jokin root” she walked to the bathroom and folded the clothes neatly “your clothes are dried and ready little one, when you’re finished they’ll be there” he nodded as he continued to eat, Mira smiled as she walked to the bedroom to find Korin sitting there looking out the window “ah your awake already little one” he was looking outside to the valleys “he seems kinna nice Grandma Mira, he’s even taken to calling you grandma as well, to be honest I’m surprised he’s not all that surprised by all of this” \n“well when you’ve been through what he was last night, it’s no surprise that he isn’t very shocked to be here” Korin chuckled as he stood up and stretched his wings and body groaning “oooh what an eventful night, is he alright? Sounds like it from what I could hear grandma Mira” she gave a happy nod “quite, even his leg has healed through the night” he turned and looked at her with a surprised expression “really? That’s a surprise; most magick users heal up from pretty bad scraps with a night of intensive healing, could he have some hidden magic in him Grandma Mira” \n“it’s much too soon to tell little one, but for now he needs to get acquainted with our world” Korin nodded as he looked ready to fly “where do you think you intend to go little one?”\n“W-well for my morning flight grandma Mira”\n“not this morning you’re not, you’re going to sit down and have a proper breakfast like all good little ones” Korin whined, his wings lowering “but grandma Miiiiira” she waved a finger shaking her head grabbing his right small horn which slicked back slightly, but due to his age, it was barely sprouting, he winced as she pulled him to the living room, Colin was snickering as she pulled him by the horn out, she walked over and pulled his ear “if you’ve got time to laugh at others then you’ve got time to eat little one” Colin winced raising up “ow ow ow, g-grandma Mira I finished already” she looked down at his plate seeing only crumbs left she left go smiling “oh that is very good little one! I’m proud of you” she pet Colin’s head smiling, but still having his horn pulled Korin wiggled a bit in struggle “Grandma Mira you’ve still got my horn” she let go afterwards “will you be good hatchling and each breakfast Grandma Mira spent last night making after healing the little one here?” he nodded as he sat down next to Colin snickering “you may go put on your clothes Colin dear” Colin looked at her in surprise “how’d you know my name grandma Mira?”\n“oh I know because I’ve watched over you while you both grew up, making sure Zekrin didn’t try anything before it was time, even when the time came I was almost too late to protect you if it were not for Korin leaping into the portal to rescue you” Korin turned to Colin and offered his claw “that’s me, Korin Raziel Freewind, at yer service!” Colin shook is claw smiling “wow your last name is Freewind too? I’m Colin Aelfric Freewind!” he looked at him in surprise “no way! That’s crazy, your name is Freewind? We’re born on the same day have the same last names even from different worlds, haw, it’s like we’re brothers!” he exclaimed in excitement “yeah! It feels like that too” Colin replied with equal excitement “even if we were brothers we both know that I got all the good looks, it’s okay, I’ll say your second handsomest” Colin laughed “Well if you think so, I guess I agree” he complied innocently laughing, Korin looked at him curiously “y’know someone would usually disagree” he commented, Colin shrugged “it’s a joke so I know you’re not serious” Korin placed his claw against his face and slid down “so it’s okay to disagree, cause yer just joking too”\n“Oh, really... Well, I’m not the best with jokes, I guess it sorta flew over my head” Korin looked at him maw quivering as he started laughing, Colin joining in “haw, yer alright Colin, y’seem a pretty cool guy”\n“Likewise Korin, your pretty outgoing” Mira looked at them smiling quietly as they seemed to hit it off pretty well “remember Korin to eat your breakfast I’ll be out in the front tending to flowers “make sure to eat every bit!” Mira insisted, Korin took his piece and put it on his plate, his face turning green as he looked down at his plate with an expression like was going to barf, Colin nudged him whispering “ you fly me around and I’ll eat your pie too” Korin quickly gave a nod of approval as he pushed it to Colin’s plate, hearing Mira approaching, Korin quickly took the piece and shoved it into Colin’s mouth in panic, his mouth bulged with pie as he sputtered and swallowed most of the pie whole, he exhaled looking a bit sick, looking to Korin leaning back into his chair looking like he was full, Mira opened the door slightly “Oh, Colin-“ she paused as she looked to Korin’s plate “…how wonderful little one you enjoyed it that much you ate it so quickly? Please have another slice you’re a growing boy like Colin, eat up” Korin grunted and nodded sweating slightly “y-yes grandma Mira! I’d be happy to have another piece” she smiled and looked to Colin “oh dear you don’t look so well, perhaps that slice I gave you was too much?” he shook his head and waved it off “n-no I- *Burp* just ate to fast a-ahaha” his laugh was rather nervous, seeming to not notice Mira went along with it “ah do be careful, you’ll get a tummy ache little one, that aside, i fixed your shirt and pants and enchanted them to handle the cold, many travelers come with cold resistant clothes, I took the liberty to enchant them for you, that’s all from me”\nMira closed the door as Korin placed another piece on his plate, looking to Colin expectantly smiling, Colin looked at him veered to him sighing “last…piece” he responded, burping softly, after eating yet another piece of pie Colin got up groaning, his stomach gurgling and full to the brim, he walked to the bathroom, looking at his clothes, if they were enchanted they’d glow or something right? Whenever he saw fantasy games the character would wear bulky armor coated in some thick magical glow, guess they were wrong, he put on his shirt then after removing his splint, checking his leg to see if was still okay, he put on his pants and socks, after slipping on and tightening his shoes he walked out from the bathroom, he felt warmth overtake his body, looking at his clothes he still saw nothing but it was as if the nipping cold he felt before was gone, it felt like a perfect sunny day “whoa…Grandma Mira wasn’t kidding, these really are enchanted, this. Is. So. COOL!” Korin slowly looked to Colin with a vacant expression “it’s just a basic level 1 enchantment” \n“Does that mean you can do enchantments like this too Korin?” Colin Inquired, Korin looked away with a puffed up cheek “i-I could…if I wanted”\nColin walked over and poked him “hey-hey can we get going? I’m kinna excited to see what your home looks like” Colin urged with jubilance, getting up from his chair Korin grabbed Colin’s hand as they walked outside in a hurry, making sure to close the door of course, Mira looked at them as they ran outside “do be careful little ones, and Korin be careful not to run into the high king when Colin is with you, Yukans have become taboo these days, and he may not look kindly upon Colin should they meet” warned Mira\n“Of course Grandma Mira, Don’t worry!” Korin persuaded confidently “oh and Colin please don’t do anything dangerous, I’m sure you’ll be a good boy” she continued, Korin opened his wings “so how will you be able to fly with me in tow?” Colin asked perplexedly, Korin lowered himself to all fours patting his back “just climb on, sit back and enjoy the ride, if your Curious what we are, We’re Alpherians, not dragons, though we have scales, we’re not really related at all” replied Korin assuring him, Colin climbed onto his back scratched his neck “w-well if you say so, let’s get going!” Colin replied, Korin quickly stepped forward and he looked over the edge, and grinned “hold on tight!” \nColin looked over the edge and he almost turned blue with nervousness, gripping Korin’s back feathers he plunged down and fell, yelling as he did, Korin opened his wings and descended downward in a glide flapping his wings to keep stable flight, looking around Colin saw the great valley and mountains all around his eyes wide “w- whoa! T-this, this is awesome Korin! Your home is beautiful!” he bellowed raising his arms as he cheered, the wind against his thick wavy dark ash blonde hair, sun shining and skies blue and untainted “I’m glad you like it! I think it’s pretty swell m’self! Besides all the war preparations, it’s a great place to call home” Korin added\n“There’s going to be a war?” Colin remarked in concern\n“No, it’s just preparation in case of war, things have become pretty unsettle these past few years from what my parent have said, the Yukan king and the neighboring lands have been saying and doing some pretty unsettling things, like sudden increases in claims of land, reactivation of war machines, that thing, thankfully they haven’t done anythin’ too rash, looks like they’re all just a nervous another 200 year war will happen again, I’ve read about it” Korin paused as he took a right shifting turn a village in view “A…200 year war? That’s horrible I can’t begin to imagine such a horrible thing” Colin replied \n“Neither can I, it’s pretty old history, it happened over eight hundred and twelve years ago, for 200 long years this war raged, many died as a result, millions…died in that war, and nothing was gained from it but pain and loss, not a single elder in our lands that doesn’t remember it, it took our previous high king to stop it, but not without cost, with every last ounce of his magical power he stopped the war in a single great display of power, taking all the evil that possessed Athesia with it and vanquished it once an’ for all, in the end it cost him his life, and the world grieved for a long time over the millions lost, talk about those times is considered taboo and isn’t talked about often, grandma Mira was born twelve years after the start of the war but in the final year of the war she was the one that convened with the high king about a prophecy she had seen one night, the prophecy told of a great evil that took possession of Athesia, and to vanquish it would be at the cost of the king’s life, taking up the task the high king did just that, and the war ended, it’s pretty heavy stuff” the Village was near while Korin recalled the story of a 200 year war, Colin having nothing to say merely listened to the story, lost in thought he looked forward with sudden realization “wait grandma Mira never told me why I’m here in the first place” he exclaimed in surprise “it’s because of some prophecy she read on my birthday, she said that me, you and some nightwalker are destined to face against some evil, probably that guy you fought against, I’m guessing when we hit fifteen it’d come for us, it went after you probably because there’s no magick in your world, thus it made you an easy target Colin” answered Korin “do you think…do you think that he’ll try and provoke the war?” Colin continued to question “it’s no good worrying about it, we’re here to try and stop this war, or at least beat this evil before war starts, either way, you, me and this other guy have got a duty, sorry if it seems sudden, it was pretty sudden for me too, one minute grandma Mira is telling me about my prophecy next moment she and some darkwalker seraphim lady are opening a portal I pulled you through, things have happened pretty quick, it’s difficult to tell how hard things might get on the roads ahead but we gotta tough through it, we’re brothers dontcha know?” joked Korin as he descended toward a home in the mountains, Colin tilted his head “wait I thought you joked about that” responded Colin perplexedly, Korin slapped his claw against his face “I was jooooking, yeesh, yer some kinna dense with joke aintcha?” Korin answered somewhat tight in tone, Colin laughed as they touched down and got off “yeah, I’m still not the best with jokes” Korin rolled his eyes and stood back up cracking his back and stretching “mom and dad are probably gonna strangle me fer being out all night with no notice, good thing the celebration stuff…is…TODAY!!??” he exclaimed loudly, echoing slightly through the valley, he looked to Colin putting a claw on his shoulder walking with him towards the front door “well lets head on in, I can’t believe I fergot the celebration was today” Colin patted his back smiling “hey it’s not the end of the world let’s celebrate your birthday, together!” Colin told Korin with a warm and kind tone, Korin smiled and nodded in agreement as they opened the door “Mom! Dad! I’m home!” Korin called aloud, for a moment you heard nothing, and then came loud heavy steps as a large male Alpherian stomped into sight running full steam towards them, it was Korin’s father “Korin, My son!” Colin sensing intense impending danger did what noble person would do, and stepped to the side; suddenly the large figure flew through the door and tackled Korin in a strong and from the looks of it, rather tight hug based on Korin’s expression “today is your celebration! Without the birthday boy it’s just another day! You had both your mother and I worried sick, where have you been son?” badgered his father still squeezing Korin tight, Colin raised his finger up meekly “u-um sir, I think you might be squeezing too tight for him to answer” he interjected, letting go not paying attention to the human, Theius looked to Korin who looked like a worn out teddy bear took a breath and got up “f-father It’s a bit complicated, I was at grandma Mira’s” Korin finally responded “a-and…don’t freak out but I brought someone home for you to meet” he continued “what? You were at El- err, Mira’s again, son, I’ve told you countless times if you keep going there she’ll keep feeding you…it” he responded darkly “anyway who is it you want your father to meet?” he inquired, Korin walked over to Colin and pat his chest “this is Colin he has the Freewind last name like us father” his father looked at him with widening eyes of disbelief, he was speechless and motionless as he looked to the human “h-hello sir it’s nice to meet you, I’m Colin Aelfric Freew-“ he bolted forward as he snarled lowly and picked him up and pinned him to the home’s wall between his claws “son get inside” he commanded angrily, Korin stood there defiantly “Father it’s not what yo-“ \n“ENOUGH, KORIN RAZIEL FREEWIND inside NOW” he demanded angrily “you’ve brought a Yukan into our home, our laws forbade the trespass of any non Alpherian, I will punish him now, as judicial lord of our people I deem him guilty of breaking our laws and shall be punished here and now!” he exclaimed, Alma quickly rushed outside as Korin grabbed his father’s arm pulling at him “let him go father he’s not a Yukan!” he pleaded, Theius’s tail reached around toss Korin away “I will decide your punishment later, now leave! Alma take Korin inside he refuses to listen” Alma walked over to Korin kneeling “Korin it was foolish of you to bring a Yukan here, all non-Alpherian visitors know the rules that is why we have the villages below, to bring one here is to ask for judgement” she scolded with concerned tone “mother, he’s not a Yukan, he’s the otherworldly Yukan Grandma Mira told me about, that’s him, can’t you tell?! Look at him, no Yukans wear things like that” Korin Explained in panic, his mother veered to Colin and she observed his clothes, and his very being, “K-Korin what Mira told you is nothing but a story, this is a Yukan no matter how you look at it” he got up and stepping away from his mother “father this is the otherworldly Yukan my prophecy told, this isn’t a story, this isn’t some Yukan, I know because I went into his world and brought him here look at his clothes, Yukans don’t wear things like that why can’t you understand this dad?!” Korin shouted, in response Korin received a whip from his father’s tail which sent him flying and rolling back, curled in pain “that is enough rabble from you, I am disappointed you’d feed into Mira’s lies so much you’d believe that her prophecies are real” he responded with a deeply seated anger and frustration “s-sir…don’t h-hurt him ughck!” as Colin spoke Theius’s claw pushed against him further “be silent Yukan, I will finish this quickly and send you to your family, Korin got up growling, his claws beginning to gather magick, when little tear drops dripped from Colin’s cheeks down to Theius’s claw, his expression lightened slightly as did his grip “I know you want to protect your family…but if you can’t believe your son, who can you believe? I’m here because I have no choice, if I don’t help him, then I’ll lose my family, I’m not asking for you understand, I-I…I’m asking you to believe sir! Believe in your son that I’m a human, not a Yukan, I’m from earth, where magic doesn’t exist, Alpherians, all of this just doesn’t exist, just the other night I watched as my father worked to the bone for petty change just to feed us, to keep a roof over our heads, a world where we struggle just to have a home…I know that you don’t like Yukans but with this hate…will breed more hate, I know it is your duty to punish law breakers, if I did, then I can only choose to accept punishment, Korin, if this is where it’s gotta end, then I’m certain there’s another human out there, there’s gotta be someone just like me out there, so please don’t do anything you’d regret for the rest of your life” Colin explained and pleaded with his whole heart, looking into Theius’s eyes as he said so, smiling “I’m ready sir” he closed his eyes and awaited punishment, Theius looked at his eyes the whole time and his claw quivered and he lowered his head and released him “it’s true I did say that law breakers need to be punished, and any non Alpherians are forbidden from entering our homes, but the law never said anything…” he exhaled as he picked Colin back up “about non Athesians” he looked to Colin with a just expression “in your eyes you spoke the truth, not one part of it was a lie, your intent was pure and kind, I cannot bear to harm someone as you with just reason, especially a pure heart just as Mira had predicted would come” Theius exhaled and turned to Korin “I am foolish to have doubted you my son, it took this much to convince me of your words, Colin, was it? You said your name was of the Freewind name as well?” he questioned sternly, Korin gawked to Colin sweating, putting a line across his neck if he said yes “y-…yes sir it is” Alma exhaled “I cannot doubt an honest heart as that, it appears as though Mira’s prediction has borne fruit my little one” Alma explained to Korin holding him as he calmed down, stroking his head gently “forgive us son for doubting you” Korin smiled red cheeked “of course I forgive you, your my mom and dad, and you’re the only ones I’ve got, we all make our mistakes” then sounds of cracking and strangled grunt were heard as Theius hugged Colin tightly, squeezing him like Korin, his face red as he felt all the air in his chest forced out, his cheeks puffed out as over the bridge of his nose and cheeks turned blue “ah! It seems we have another son Alma! It was one that we never knew of! Be not of blood you are Freewind Kin! Bearing our surname I make you my kin-oath child, I am such a proud father! When’s your birthday little one? How old are you?” he asked again and again jubilant as he swung Colin from side to side, Colin was light headed and faint as his whole face began to turn blue “mmmhbbll!” is all he manage to sputter in the death hold Theius had on him, Korin and Alma rushed over waving their arms “Father-Theius! You’re squeezing the day lights out of him!” they both exclaimed, Theius slowed as he looked to Colin who hung his head back making an airy exhale “heeeeeh” is all the sound he made, Theius hugged him once more “nooo! I’ve killed my Kin-oath son! But he just became kin, how could this have happened?!” he exclaimed while Alma and Korin pulled his arms apart and let Colin go, he dropped huffing deeply and sweating, catching his breath as color returned to his face once more “I warn you not to say it” Korin muttered smugly nudging his arm, Colin chuckled airily as he finally got back up after a minute, smiling to Theius and Alma “I accept Theius sir” Colin finally responded, Theius looked ready give him another hug and he jumped to Korin holding onto his shoulder, Theius chuckled “if that is so, then…call me dad, and Alma is your mother kin-oath son, you may not have been our hatchling but one can be a son without bearing blood” hearing this Colin couldn’t help but smile “oh! I was born the same day as Korin too uhm…d-dad” he said feeling strange as he had a mother and father but to decline an offer as kind as accepting him as their own is one he couldn’t decline and hurt their feelings, but he wasn’t adverse either, it was exciting and new to him, and as he got to know them in a short time he felt they were kind and fun parents, hearing this Theius almost looked like he was ready to cry “uhm…I’ll see you at grandma Mira’s brother” Korin informed Colin, he looked at Korin in curiosity as he suddenly was picked up and squeezed tighter than before, his back cracking, then you could hear a loud series of cracks and Colin head leaned back as he squeezed him and cried “ohoho! This is wonderful, my sons are twins, even born on the same day, it was like fate we were destined to find Korin’s twin! Oooh my son you make your father proud” he exclaimed hysterically happy and crying, Korin pointed to the human who was hunched backwards in his arms while he squeezed, if you could see spirits you would undoubtedly see his getting ready to escape, Theius looked at him in shock and before he hugged him again Alma took him from Theius, and she sighed “I’m on my way to Elder Mira’s son, I’ll bring him back when she’s finished healing whatever Theius broke, which may very well have been his back, ribs, err… anything that was within arm’s grip” She placed him on her back and took off, being quadruped and larger than Korin she easily took off and flew to Mira’s home, Theius sniffed “there, there dad, you didn’t know it’s-” Theius then proceeded to pick Korin up in mid-sentence and hugged him extremely tightly crying “I’m sorry my son! Can you forgive daddy?! He didn’t mean to squeeze you to death, dad was just happy to find his son’s twin!” Korin twitched as he followed suit, feeling quite a few bone crack in his grip not on purpose of course, but forgetting his size and strength difference can cause some…unneeded complications, Korin face soured as he felt the bones in both his back, wings and rib all crack and he fell back with an empty smile, Theius looked at Korin blinking and gasped “it is fate! I injured your twin and now you have received the same injuries, my son I am so sorry!!” he apologized sobbing profusely, opening his wings and flying after Alma with Korin in tow.\n\nMira was cleaning up peacefully, getting her next pie ready humming a joyful tune of sorts while she did, when she heard a few knocks on the door, it had been at least an hour since the boys left perhaps they were back, maybe for questions or perhaps to have some more of her leafy green surprise pie, she walked to the door a smile on her maw as she opened the door, seeing Alma at the door, Theius behind sobbing “oh dear what is it little one?” she inquired concernedly, Alma took Colin from her back and offer him to her “I’m sure grandma Mira why this has come about” Mira tilted her head looking to Theius “young man, what have I said about watching your strength!” she scolded, Theius sniffed and offered Korin “they’re twins, when I injured his twin Korin became injured as well” Mira exhaled “no, I assure you young man that you most definitely squeezed the daylights out of both little ones, come Alma bring them both to my room, I will tend to them both, this is not the first time I had to tend to one of them” she explained allowing them to enter, though Theius had a hard time getting in and had to duck on all fours to get inside initially “grandma Mira, this boy that is with Korin, he said he’s the otherworldly Yukan…I didn’t sense he was lying, is it truly….truly that time that has come? Must we let them go, to face this evil on their own?” Mira’s became shamefaced and looked away “I wish I could tell you it was longer, but it is already on the move, just last night, this force attempted to take the Human’s life, if it were not for your son that night, I fear it would have taken his life, this…human, healed exponentially from the grave wounds he had received last night, albeit, non-magick users are weaker against magick, but healing magick is where they’re truly in dire straits, as it take longer time to heal and many in a similar grave condition he was do not make it, but instead he’s healed at a rate I’ve never seen Yukans heal, even if he may not be from our world I feel it would not make a difference if it were another human or Yukan, it appears that destiny is taking form before our eyes Alma” she stroked their head as she pushed their backs into place with a precise chop, focusing her claws over their backs, and Korin’s wings with his back, beginning to heal with direct magical power “and they may have been chosen for reasons aside from their pure hearts, this Y- er, this child, may very well have innate magick power, I have not discovered what Korin’s potential is quite yet but when the three destined come together to set out on their journey they may very well discover what their potential is” Mira touched Alma’s cheek smiling “have faith” Alma looked away and to them “as a mother I will always worry when children do something dangerous, especially now” she remarked in concern, Theius touched her shoulder looking to them “when the Darkwalker comes, that is when their journey begins, right Mira?” he asked seriously, Mira nodded “yes, when the darkwalker begins, their journey shall start, they must reunite the kingdoms and stop a war from happening, or else many lives will be lost, and I fear history will be doomed to repeat” after Mira finished healing them, Theius leaned his head down between then closing his eyes “no matter what, you must be strong, hold your heart and courage high, and no matter how dark it may get, you three will see your way from it, and come home proud heroes with heads high, when you wake up, we’ll give you the best birthday parties you’ve ever had so when you’re here, or out there in the world you’ll remember us always, I know I judged you harshly Colin but within such a short time you helped me see my clouded judgement and that somethings need to be believed in…regardless if you understand it or not, and when you face down the cause of this chaos, you do so with all of us in your hearts, because we’re fighting with you even if you may not see it” with that Theius lifted his head and looked to Mira “I know this may sound outrageous but I must test him, if Korin is to go out there, I must bring out this magick power within him, if not in the least I will test him of his strength and resolve” Mira looked to them perplexed and in deep thought as she pondered his idea, and she nodded “yes, if we are to ensure this war is to be averted, and countless worlds safe then do what you must, if need be do with the intent to kill, I pains me to think that accepting this put him yet again in mortal danger but we have no choice, and it will be far more dangerous in a world that is on the edge of going to war the foes they will face will most definitely will attack with killing intent, here we can do what we can before the time comes to see them off, I will consult with Besaria on when Silence shall arrive, with that I will give you a time period of which you may train them, you’ve called this young one your kin-oath child, if you value your child you will train everything you can into bring out their potential, if we succeed, then we guarantee they will have means to protect themselves should danger seek them out once more” when Mira finished heal they both slowly began to stir and wake up, groaning, Korin rubbed his back as did Colin, looking around Korin gawked at Mira and his parents then to Colin once more “told you I’d see you at grandma Mira’s, looks like we both ended up here again” he chuckled slightly rubbing his neck, Colin exhaled and stretched “ack, I thought I was dead, I’ve gotten tight hugs before but I’ve never felt one so tight I’ve felt things break” he confessed, laughing nervously, Theius looked to them both with a straight and serious expression unchanging “my sons, good to see your awake, now that you both are, we’ve all decided we will celebrate both your birthdays today, following the celebration I will be training you both to hone magical ability and to bring out the potential in Colin, you both are young and inexperienced in magick combat and use, to send you on your journey now would be sending you to your deaths, this is sudden I know, but as a father I want to make sure my sons are prepared for whatever lies ahead, this darkwalker named Silence is undoubtedly a strong magic user and will have little need for the training I will give you” they looked at him in surprise as he suddenly told them of this sudden development “what brought up father?” Korin asked in a soft tone to his father stern tone “you have never strayed far from home so you do not know what Athesia can be truly like in time as these, magick grows unstable, and it affect not only us as Alpherians but many of the creatures who magick runs in their veins, normally docile creatures have been increasingly become aggressive, and so have the neighboring people, to make sure you can protect yourselves against these dangers we will make sure you are as ready as can be, but for now” he raised his head bumping it on the ceiling, he rubbed his head groaning slightly “for now it is your birthdays and come destiny or fate you’re going to have a celebration to remember us by when it comes time to see you off, now come, up and at it little ones it’s time to come home” he picked both Korin and Colin up and placed them on his back, Alma was quiet, trying to remain happy for them, it was a special day even if they faced an uncertain fate, she wouldn’t spoil their day by being sad, she sat down as Theius began to leave “I’ll be home soon love, I wish to talk to Grandma Mira for the time being, I won’t be long” she said in her usual soft and motherly voice, he nodded to her and walked out with the children “I can’t wait little ones you’ll have the greatest time, cake, drinks, party games I have it all set up just you wait!” Theius explain jubilantly leaving, once they left Alma looked to Mira “you’re sending them to their deaths Mira, you know what they will have to do, yet you give them hope they’ll return home!” she cried in anger and sadness, Mira looked away to the window, gazing outside “it is…fate Alma, if they were chosen by this prophecy then nothing we do can change it, it is better to give them hope and fulfill their destiny rather than fall to despair and lose all hope of saving worlds Alma” she jerked Mira around beset by grief and rage “but at what cost?! The death of three children is what Athesia calls for? If that is what it takes then I say let this world burn to the ground!” Mira quickly slapped Alma looking to her with a deeply serious expression, the look in her eyes suppressing a great sadness “do not think I would not take their place if I had the chance Alma, but as it stands none of us are match for him, Alma…Zekrin lives” she stepped back pale as though she’d seen a ghost “no…no this is wrong Mira, high king Zekrin died to end the 200 year war you were there! You should know he did!” Mira’s face lowered in guilt “no…he did not…in the years far past your own, when the war was to end, the part of the prophecy I had only but told the king and his son, were that he would give his life to stop the war, but while he succeeded in ending the war, the evil, black darkness that was have said to vanquish is incorrect, rather in exchange for his life he sealed the darkness away within him, and it was I who seal him away, the blackened darkness clung to his soul and gave him new life, even now he gains power from the magick he has sown into the world once more…these little ones are the cost of my failure to destroy him so many years ago, this is why things have come to be this way…destiny is fixing my mistake Alma, you may curse me for my choice but in the end…it is up to them to see this through or see the end of everything, they are our heralds of redemption…or destruction, as with all destinies they will split as time goes on, and I only see two paths before us Alma, and both will lead to great tragedy, in one way or another…it is punishment for the sins of your forefathers, sins that I hold upon my back, and now” Mira looked to Alma with a deeply grave expression “it’s come to this, Alma hate me if you must, but when I read Korin prophecy I couldn’t bring myself to tell you the true reality of his prophecy that day…” Alma bared her teeth as she was restraining herself from striking Mira “even if two these three are Athesians one of them has nothing to do with this Mira! You…no…Athesia has brought danger to his life, even though he has no place in this world it brings him here like a sheep to be slaughtered, I looked into that child’s eyes, he has a heart like my son, to think that this little one’s family would also loose a son and never know why, or how…Mira, is it always right to do what a prophecy tells you? Because I shall NOT allow either son to perish before I, and should I need face Zekrin myself then I shall!” she said loudly her voice echoing across the plateau her wings extended, her motherly instincts ablaze “Mira, I cannot forgive Zekrin or you for laying a destiny upon my blood and oath child, and upon a nightwalker who’s fate regardless is to die for Athesia, and should they truly perish…” she looked away then charged her full force magic blazing from her wings, claws and chest, flowing back across her body “I WILL kill you myself” she exclaimed in powerful blazing rage, her magic reacting to her emotions blazed with equal power, Mira looked into her eyes “I will gladly accept my judgement Alma, and by the one who is nurturer of children, no one is more fitting, but as the road winds down, the more they fulfill their destiny more forks in their path will begin to appear, down one of them I have faith…will bring them home, if not…should they truly perish with their born fate, I will not have right to live…while little ones perish for the sake of a prophecy I have read” she looked outside “the sun peaks…if you stay any further you will miss their celebration Alma” she said softly turning to the looking crystals, Alma’s magic faded away and she gave her a stern and still angered glare walked out of the room “pray old one…for evil begets evil…even should the evil be vanquished, evil will be born in its wake…as it seems there lies no happy ending for anyone”\n“….” Mira did not respond, and Alma continued looking forward, not moving for a moment, then began walking from the room leaving Mira and headed back home.\nBack at Korin’s home they all sat around, holding a cup of a strange reddish orange liquid, it was thin almost like water but it definitely did not look like it, Colin gawked into the cup and it glowed softly “is this…safe to drink s- uhm, dad?” Theius laughed and pat his back a little hard wincing “ha ha! Yes of course it’s what all Alpherians drink on the celebration of a decade of life!” he replied in his seem-to-be usual jubilant tone “but, uhm, dad…” Korin interjected “we’re only fifteen, not ten or twenty” he pointed out confusedly “well it’s two celebrations of my two sons turning fifteen add it up its thirty! Old enough to me” he responded feeling sound with his logic, Korin and Colin both look at each other confusedly “uuuh…daaaad” they both groaned placing their face to their palms, Theius blinked and looked at them puzzled “what? Is there something on my face?” he asked innocently, crossing his eyes, slowly the kept going until his eyes were white, laughing Colin looked to his face and yelled falling, keeping the cup upright, Theius’s eyes returned to normal and he laughed haughtily slapping the ground a bit, a crack formed and Korin scratched his cheek looking at it “moms going to kill you dad, you know how much she hates repairing cracks and holes in walls” he looked at the Colin and helped him up taking his cup “upsy daisy, time to drink up little ones! It’s special this year, i was saving for when you were turning twenty Korin, but with Colin showing up it seems we’ll be having the stronger stuff instead, normally this is a rather tame drink signifying a chapter in your life has passed but half aged, it’s gonna have quite the kick my sons! So drink up!” he lifted the cups to their mouths and they grunt as Theius made them drink it, finishing their graciously large cup they hiccupped and covered their mouths “oh man…I could barely take the fully aged stuff, this ain’t gonna end well *hic*” Korin’s magic began to flow out as his cheeks turned red and his movement sluggish, he chuckled looking quite drink, as he looked to his father, his body ablaze in azure and green magic, he laughed and his father picked him up and hugged him, Korin hugged back laughing drunk, his father grunt as Korin looked like he was choking his father with some unfounded new strength, Theius pulled Korin from his neck and grunt, exhaling “whew! You’ve got a stronger grip then your father! That’s what I like to see!” he looked to Colin who sat there blinking, looking around “uhm w-was I supposed to be like that too?” he got up pretending to act drunk, looking quite obvious, Theius grunt and took out a rather large barrel that he lifted onto his shoulder walking over and putting his claws on the nozzle “open wide little one, time to join your brother!” he exclaimed, Colin not wanting the drink to fall on the ground wasted he opened his mouth, when he had drank it before, it tasted oddly citrusy and sweet in taste, opening his mouth the liquid flow down and he began drinking as much as he could, gulping down a good large amount as he put a cup out sitting down letting it catch the extra pouring out “uuurp…I feel weird…” his cheeks began to turn red and he blinked in the same slow manner as Korin, Colin swayed his arms carefree and gently “hehe, I feel fuuuuunny~” he stated blissfully carefree, Theius gawked at him intensely, squinting, scratching his head “I was sure this’d bring out the magic inside him, maybe human heal really fast?” he pondered to himself, looking to Korin he was barrel float drinking more, Theius panicked and grunt trying to pull the barrel from Korin’s magical grip not doing very well, as it felt like he was trying to move a mountain, he groaned and plugged the hole with his claw tip groaning, looking back he saw Colin standing on a chair “I think if I try really hard I’ll fly with magic I can feel it paaaa-paaaa~” “h-hey! Careful, you’ll hurt yourself son!” he looked at the nozzle and squeezed it shut and he ran over to Colin as he jumped being caught exhaled with relief “I think I might have let them drink too much of it, Alma is going to kill me, and here I am the judicial lord, what irony” he lamented, Colin’s eyes were lowered and glazed as he had his arms and legs extended “heeeey brother, look I’m flyin’” cheered Colin, Korin raised an arm “yaaa! I knew ye got somefin’ in yah!” Theius walked over to Korin whose magick was growing stronger and stronger, pure, strong magick covered his chest and wings streaming across his arms to his back, Theius looked at him with surprise “this is…magick unity…so young, even if it’s because of magick elixir it’s very impressive to see it so cleanly sustained, looks likes this little one doesn’t have magic in him” he sighed, Korin was backstroking as his father snatched him by the ear grumbling “ow, ow, ow fatherrrr whatcha pullin’ mah horn fer?” he whined, not really feeling any pain from his father pulling his horn but it compulsive reaction “we’re going to getcha back to…your…senses” his sense of up and down switch and he stumbled into a wall and he groaned “what’s going on? Korin stop using your magick on your father this…instant” the ground began to shake as Colin and Korin shook, when suddenly Korin’s birthmark began to glow and Theius heard the sounds of a gate of a gate unlock and Colin grunt and then he began to float looking around the feeling of magick was intense, more then what Theius had ever felt before, Colin began to levitate and white magick flowed from the center of his head down to his heart that glowing next as it traveled down to his hands and down to his feet, a crown of magic forming, Korin next to him began to undergo a similar transformation as his wings turned from simple feathers to ones that’s colors glowed and flowed with green and blue, Colin chuckled and him and Korin held one of their hands and claws together and their magic glowed brightly and their eyes both blue glowed with magical sheen, the crystals within their hope glowing brightly, resonating with them both in harmony “haha look at me brother I’m really flying now and I look all glowy white and stuff” said Colin, white wings formed from the back and they flapped gently and gracefully, Theius looked to them both in awe, speechless at this almost fable like level of magic, his eyes star-struck by them, though they weren’t really aware of what they had achieve Theius certainly did, he looked outside and saw something lifting from the village below, almost invisible to the eye, it was malicious in nature “is that evil they expelled?” he uttered gently, looking back to them, he noticed they were sweating a little, it seems the magick was subconsciously fighting against the malice which had taken hold of the village without knowing, he walked to them and touched their shoulders, a sudden rush of energy flowed through his body and he felt an intense out of body sensation as a malice was circumcised from his body, it disappeared he panted softly, looking to them “my sons, please have a seat, stop using your magick or there will be no cake, they looked at him with frowns as their levitation faded and the gently landed on their feet, the magick that manifested slowly reverted back inside of them, looking to Colin Theius was dumbfounded “A Yukan...no, a child as his kind, that can wield such magick, even though he look Yukan, he wields magick that could rival…no…perhaps even surpass the darkwalker’s Seraphim, to think she send one of her own, a people who are more in tune with Athesia and magick then us Alpherians, I see now why it must be them…but the question is…just why does this Yukan like little one bear such powerful magick as well?” Theius pondered deeply as looked to them blissfully hugging and wrestling a bit, no possible answers came to mind as he spent his time thinking, when the sound of decent sized wings flapped down and someone made touch down walking inside “Theius dear! I felt an unreal amount of magic just a few minutes ago, is everything okay?” she questioned concernedly looking around she noticed the Magick Elixir barrel sitting there and she stomped around the corner “THEIUS! You’re in serious trouble!” she looked at him as he turned around, laughing nervously as the two sat in chair drunkenly playing with each other saying things in their bizarre language only they understood as the elixir took full blown hold on them, Alma squinted “you know that it’s still aging, and don’t give me any excuses, I’ve got two little ones here that most definitely look quite…you know what I intend to say, do you not Theius?” she asked her tone Scolding and firm, Theius chuckled finicking with his claws not making eye contact “n-nooo, of course not because they merely are…beside themselves with brotherhood , they’re just so happy to brothers that they appear drunken love” he explained, more so lying not getting past Alma’s strong maternal instinct “another cup father!” Korin suddenly exclaimed “yes please papa!” followed Colin, Theius smiled shyly as his rather poor excuse was foiled, Alma quickly reached out and pulled his horn and twisted his pinky claw, he raised up his eye twitching, pain escaping his maw “a-ah ow, ow, ow, A-Alma dear this hurts quite a lot” he whined painfully, her brow twitching she chuckled and quickly flipped the large male Alpherian head under rump, and onto his back with little effort “what are you thinking giving them half aged Elixir?! Half aged elixir is almost no different from a very intense intoxicating drink!” her face turned darkly and releasing all the frustration and anger she had pent up she flipped over and used her tail to pull one of his hind legs back and using one of her arms to pull his head back pulling quite hard, the white of his eyes growing stronger as his eye twitched “a-a-ahhh! Sorry my deaaaar! Forgive me, It won’t happen again!!” he cried out pleadingly, she chuckled and jerked back more, you could hear loud cracking and popping as she let go, Theius flopped onto the floor twitching with a half conscious smile on his face, Alma got off and walked to the boys as they were picking each other’s noses snickering “you cun pick your brothers nose but you err, can’t pick yer own” Korin muttered, Alma pulled their fingers out and sighed “come now boys time to come to your senses, father simply wasn’t thinking like usual” she grinned threateningly for a moment towards Theius as she finished, touching their cheeks she grunt and the same experience Theius had felt she went through, and she blinked looking to Colin in surprise “I…feel magick in you now, what’s going on here?” she looked to Theius and sighed “foolish old lizard, I knew that feeling of magick I sensed was coming from here, but to think these little ones are capable of such levels of magic, perhaps behind this adorable faces is quite the warrior” she giggled, focusing she then pulled the elixir from the bodies, it flowing out like as if it were in space, they grunt as it was extracted, but not entirely to allow them to come down from their drunken state safely, they pant and closed their eyes catching their breaths as the glazed eyes and rosy red cheeks faded, and they looked up at Alma blinking “w-wha…what happened mom?” They both asked together “oh your father was just pulling some funny jokes but don’t worry I made sure he saw that it was wrong to give a child excessive amounts of intoxicating beverages, the looked past her seeing Theius twitching half consciously on the floor, they looked at her blue in the face with fright, fathers can be scary but make a mother angry, and be prepared for godly judgement to be passed onto you “are you boys feeling better? I didn’t remove all of it but I did most of it but I left a little in so you could come down softly, they looked to each other nodding “mhm, yeah mom we’re feeling okay now” Korin replied, smiling a bit, Colin rubbed his head a bit whining “ugh…my head, it feels like it’s going to split in two, do you got any ibluproofen, Or tyrexinol? Oh wait…different world, of course you don’t have that stuff” he muttered whining, Alma placed a claw over his head and she closed her eyes as a green gently glowing magic formed over his head “I’ll make it feel better sweetie, don’t worry” as she healed she felt the strain it had on his body, the amount strain it had on his soul and body, although she could feel the magick residing within him deeply where all magic would lay, his body appeared to not be adept with using it, and strained itself greatly to release as much magic as it did, she placed both claws over him and pushed a great amount of effort into her healing, rejuvenating and relieving the strain placed on his mind and body, once she finished, she looked to him sweating slightly “feeling better little one?” she asked comfortingly and gently, Colin nodded softly “mhm, thanks m-mom” he replied smiling to her kindly, she leaned to him nuzzling his head, he chuckled and Korin looked away crossing his arms pouting a little, even at his age it seemed jealousy for mother’s attention wasn’t something he was used to, she looked to Korin, touching her maw giggling, leaning down to him, nuzzling his head “you know I love you my little one, but since your father I agreed, you must share my affection with your new oath-kin brother as well, be a good boy” she kissed his cheek, then kissed Colin’s cheek, his turning red and looking away shyly “come now, let’s go have some cake, sound good?” she asked joyfully, the both jumped up nodding “yeah!” they both exclaimed, Theius got up slowly rubbing his back looking at them chuckling.\n\nColin and Korin sat down in front of a table Alma walked out of the kitchen then came back with a two level cake covered in a a cloudy design, the blue sky being icing on it, the clouds made of a sweet confectionary paste, as she put it down, Colin and Korin looked at it curiously, the picture began to move, the cloud shifting, it had the picture of an Alpherian on it, she put a single claw digit to it and then popped in a character that looked like Colin, standing on grass as the young Alpherian flew above looking down and the one below looking up with bright smiles on them then the words formed ‘Happy Birthday Korin and Colin!’ it said, they both looked at the cake starry-eyed, especially Colin “this is magic?” he asked to Alma looking up, she smiled and nodded slowly “yes, do you both like it?” she asked gentle and caring, “ah course mom!” Korin said “mhm! It’s so amazing!” she giggled and rubbed both of their heads, then put a plate in front of them, twirling a single digit and 15 lights floated above it “now give a promise and a wish from your heart, since Colin is new to these birthdays, you will make a promise you tell, and then a wish you keep in your heart” she explained “now on three blow out the lights” they both nodded and closed their eyes and inhaled and with their breath the lights vanished, the first to speak was Colin “I promise to do my best to make sure everyone comes home after this is done, an’ I made my wish already!” he said cheery, Korin looked at him and then to the cake “I promise to eat every bit of the cake” Colin elbowed his side, he grunt and looked at him “what? I was just saying I would…” he muttered softly, looking to the picture “if I had a promise since what you said pretty much woulda been my first choice…I promise…mh…I promise as your brother to protect yah!” he stated with cheer, as fer my wish…hehe, i think I’ll go with w-” Colin covered up his mouth “hey! You’re not supposed to say what you’re gonna wish for or it won’t come true, mom just said so you dinkus” scolded Colin looking at him with a annoyed frown, he let go and Korin chuckled nervously “whoops I almost let it slip haha, thanks bro” he responded scratched his neck, Alma chuckled and took the cake cutter and cut out two pieces of the cake, placing them on their plates “you boys are silly, time for cake, there’s plenty to go around so don’t be afraid to ask for another piece” \n“Thanks mom!” they both exclaimed picking up forks and digging in, the cake was light and sweet, the icing tasted like blue berry and the paste clouds tasted a delicious light nut flavor of chestnut, they ate happy, Theius walked in smiling “aww my boys come here!” he said cheery arms out, both of them with mouths full of cake grunt as they were picked up and hugged, the grunt as their cheeks bulged and then while he hugged them cake spewed from their mouths all over his face, he grunt and looked at himself, Alma laughed “that’s what happens when you hug two boys too tightly with a mouth full of cake!” she said bright and cheerful, laughing, he loosened up and they exhaled, and looked at Theius laughing carefree and joyously, Theius looked surprised then he too joined in the laughter as he put them down, Alma wiped their mouths and Theius’s face, joining the boys, bringing cups of juice for everyone, raising his cup Colin swayed it around, singing a merry song “we’ll always be to-gether, hi-ho we’re a family and that’s how it’ll always be, singin’ song an’ dancin’ round a fire bright and me-rry! Together there ain’t nothin’ we can’t do cause when family sticks tah-gether the coldest nights’ll won’t matter b’cause fam-i-ly will always be tah-gether in the heart, In the soul in the darknest of night’ll you’ll always have ‘em by your si-i-i-ide! Cause when y’got family by yer side ain’t nothin’ to fe-e-e-ear~” Korin, Alma, and Theius chimed in singing together, raising their cups singing, and drinking their juice and earing their cake, despite all that had gone on, it was all out shadowed by the bond that grew between them, that’s right, family and friends are always there for you in the darkest times and now nothing could break this bond they had, Korin got up and Colin explained the Irish jig, teaching him how to do it, he always loved irish dancing it was so happy and lighthearted, he studied and learned each step part by part, after letting Korin get an understanding to do it Colin offered and he began to do a jig, spinning around Korin who slowly began to follow after him, eventually getting in sync they began to dance around each other happily, getting into the beat of their stepping Theius began clapping with it, dancing around they laughed and sung, clapping with Theius, Colin felt at home and his chest felt warm and fuzzy, all their worries melted away as the day went on, Alma gentle tapped her claws on the ground to the beat.\nAfter the day went on the party died down and Korin and Colin sat down in their chairs panting, sweating a little “that was fun Colin, what’d you call it, a jig right?” he asked looking over to him “yep that’s right” he exhaled wiping his brow “man, it takes a lot out of you haha” \n“yeah you got that right” Korin responded, catching his breath from the dancing, looking at the plate where the cake was sighing contently “that cake was great, we barely had any since dad ate most of it” he laughed, Colin looked over seeing him lying on the ground content, he smiled and leaned against his chair sighing gently “yeah, best birthday I had yet I never though this is what birthdays here were like” he said passively and relaxed, Korin looked to him, a curious look in his eye “what were birthdays like where you’re from, y’know, earth and all that” he inquired, Colin looked up reminiscing “they weren’t as great like these ones but my parents did their best to at least get a cake and a gift, just having my mom and dad there was all I wanted, it was nice to sit around a table like this and just blow out candles and have piece of cake do normal things families did” Korin looked at him pleasantly surprised “that sounds pretty nice, are your parents around a lot?” Colin chuckled shaking his head “not really, mom is usually off working, she works in planes as a foreign department inspector so she’s always going somewhere, dad works in a portable engine company it doesn’t pay much but it brings in food, all mom’s money goes to paying for the house” he put his arms behind his head thinking about it “we all lived a modest life, but even with both their hard work we’re still struggling to keep afloat, dad takes out loans so we can keep food in the house, buying scratchers in hope of making the money to pay back the money he owe” although some things he said were confusing, he understood for the most part “wow, that sounds pretty tough, we all make plenty of money here from all the business we make down below, and dad gets a commission from the high order as judicial lord, so far we haven’t really had any real cases that required his attention so life has been easy so far” he responded softly and contently “wow, sounds like you’ve got it good” admired Colin, Korin looked up thoughtfully, speaking optimistically “yeah, I guess we do, but what with all the talk of war recently business is slowing down, but that’s what were here for, to stop all this bad stuff going on so we can all co-exist peacefully again” \n“Yep, and maybe when we get back we can have cake again” Colin speculated optimistically “haw that’d be the best”\nAlma looked to them then back her claws shaking while she cleaned up, holding back her sadness, noticing her expression was a little sad, Colin looked to her asking her softly if she was alright, seeing he was picking up on her emotions she sighed and looked to them “oh nothing, it’s just so sad to see my children living home so soon is all, a mother can’t help but worry for your safety” although she didn’t like hiding her feelings from them, making them sad isn’t what she wanted, even if she had to lie a little, Colin looked at her intuitively but smiled still “don’t worry mom we’ll be fine, as long as we got each other, everything will be okay” he replied confidently and happy, she chuckled and sighed “yes that’s true little one” she walked over to him, rubbing his head gently, then returning to the sink, washing up dishes, the sun was still up and shining even after all of the dancing and eating, both Korin and Colin caught their second wind “so…mom, why are all the kingdoms so close to war?” asked Colin getting up once more, looking inquisitively, after she finished cleaning up she walked to them once she finished cleaning up “ever since the day of Mira’s prophecy was told, things began to….change, somewhere along the lines we all began to nurture a directionless fear, which has come to be paranoia and hatred, although we as a people are supposed to be kind and peaceful, we’ve become no better than anyone else swept up in this fear, we disallow others into our homes, restrict passage into our lands” she gave a deep sigh “I remember when we could go where we liked and no one would hold a grudge or hatred in their heart, we could all laugh together like a family, to us it was like yesterday” her eyes looked distant and nostalgic, Korin got up and stretched his arms and legs, then his wings as he walked next to Alma “when this is all over someday we will, we just gotta keep that hope in our heart and nothin’ will seem too far off mom” she touched his claw and smiled “yes, your right little one, you are most certainly right, without hope we’re all lost, just never stop being yourselves is all I could ask, always be the little ones I know” she responded warmly “oh Korin, show Colin the cave where you were hatched, even though it is not used anymore it is still quite a beautiful place I’m sure he’d love to see” \n“Well, I dun really see why not, do you wanna check it out Colin?” Korin inquired, turning to him “sure! I’d love to, what’s it like?”\n“Well, y’just gotta come and see to find out!” Korin replied walking quickly to the door, Colin followed after “it’s not too far from here so it’s a quick flight”\n“Alright, let’s get going then!” he responded excitedly, Korin lowered down looking back, Colin quickly hopped on, without another second Korin walk out and flew off with his new brother in tow, flying on towards the cave, Alma waved them off smiling and speaking happily “see you soon little ones! Remember to not cause trouble and be good, and don’t talk to strangers!” \n“We won’t mom, Be back soon!” with that they flew off out of ear shot, she looked to them and covered her maw closing her eyes crying, letting it all out, Theius walked beside her rubbing her back smiling gently “they’ll be okay Alma, I knew something was wrong once you stay behind, there’s something you haven’t told me…am I wrong?” he asked in a firm yet comforting tone, she looked up to them “yes, Theius dear, but you must promise me, no matter what I say…you mustn’t tell the little ones, you mustn’t show them anything that would break their little growing hearts” his expression became grim and concerned, then she began to tell him of what her and Mira spoke about hours before.\n\nKorin didn’t take long even with Colin in tow to arrive at the cave where he was born, after he hovered for a moment, he landed and Colin hopped off and looked at the large cave opening in awe, walking forward, Korin stood back up and followed after her him tapping his shoulder “you have seen anything yet, come on!” Korin waved his arm walking into the cave, Colin smiled and followed in after him, as they entered the cave’s entrance narrowed and darkened, the light faded and the walls smoothed and became more straight and carved cleanly, crystals in stone holders along the walls began to glow and the walls revealed pictures, Colin stopped and looked at them all looking at the pictures it showed various creatures and people together in a circle that had trees and skies outreaching to them all, their expressions looked happy, he slowly walked following the pictures along the walls, as he continued he saw that a great white figure looking down to them, their expressions looking in awe but none looked fearful, among them he could see what looked like Alpherians, and Yukans but a majority of them he had never heard of or seen, as the pictures changed, it show this figure sharing something with them all, their arms outreached, as it progressed it showed them doing amazing things like using fire, ice, electricity “is this…the history of Athesia?” he asked softly\n“Yeah, it’s about when magic came to Athesia a long, long time ago, long before the 200 year war” Korin pointed to the next picture, it showed a dark people looking up to the figure with unhappy expressions while the rest used their magick “those are darkwalkers, in this part the story goes; darkwalkers are pleading to become non magic folk, although many were happy with the gift of magic, they were not, they felt that these powers would lead to a path of suffering and war, believing in their words the magic giver offered them the gift of great magical power instead of stripping it away so that in the magic giver’s stead they could watch over the world and protect it when the time came, reluctantly they accepted this responsibility and moved forward, agreeing to this gift, which is believed why dark walkers are considered the most powerful magick wielder of all the races” walking from the picture they move onto a set of more, the picture showed a picture of the races standing divided angry expressions on them, following the picture a group of nightwalkers stood between them all expressions of guilt on their face” I learned most of what these pictures say from Grandma Mira, as time went on each of the races began to quarrel and fight over who’s magic was stronger, to show once and for all who was the strongest magick wielder of all they prepared to fight a cruel and pointless battle, seeing the division of the races and the jealousy in their hearts in a great display of power the darkwalkers stood between them all, telling them that no magick is greater than the other, that all magick is equal and no one race has greater place in this world, ashamed they all turned their anger to the darkwalkers, who refused to fight, their people were slaughtered and destroyed to the brink of total destruction” Korin continued pointing to the next picture showing Alpherians standing between the races and the darkwalkers “the battle raged on, seeing that the darkwalkers wish no harm to the others the Alpherian’s hearts cried out in guilt and they finally understood why they did not fight back, what their words truly meant, and to save the darkwalkers the Alpherians stood between them and the races, the Alpherians defended the darkwalkers from annihilation, refusing to fight back but not backing down wishing for the fighting to end that the fighting was meaningless, that the nightwalkers wished only for peace, as the fighting continued, the races began to lose heart and the guilt of what their actions had caused” walking onward they met with yet another picture, it showed the darkwalkers standing in front of bowing people, sad and guilt ridden expressions on them all, tears dripping, the darkwalkers smiling offering a hand seeing the errors of their ways and the wrongs that could never be undone the races bowed and pleaded with the darkwalkers for forgiveness, the darkwalkers who had suffered so much and last so many reached out in a sign of friendship, life and death are a part of life and they knew this well, and despite the wrong done, they forgave them and wished for peace to return, from then on peace reined in Athesia as once again the hearts of the people were together as one supporting each other” there was one last picture before the pathway ended showed a picture once more of a people with smiling expressions and darkwalkers amongst them but much fewer in numbers, all together smiling and using magick in harmony “as the fighting had ended the races joined together in friendship and harmony no longer seeing themselves greater or equal to each other, the races parted ways to make homes for their people, even in their division their hearts were always together, the beating heart of all Athesia rejoiced and sung across the land, that’s all there is to it” Colin looked at it curiously then turned to Korin “what happened to the magic giver?”\n“Oh well, grandma Mira says when he had given his gift to them he disappeared, she thinks the magick giver was the manifestation of Athesia itself and when the gift of magick was given he returned to Athesia” \nColin looked at him with deep thoughtful eyes, looking to the last picture in awe “that’s such a wonderful story, in the end all the races joined together in heart” he responded still looking at the final picture\n“Too bad that peace was broken once”\n“You mean the 200 year war”\n“Mhm, but in the end peace returned and all the land was reunited” Korin replied thoughtfully\n“Now it’s our turn to return the peace to Athesia, I wish this suffering would end…” Colin muttered softly, his tone sincere and kind, Korin looked to him with the same feelings he had, even though he wasn’t born in Athesia his heart still sincerely wished for the same thing as him, before he became lost in thought Korin beckoned him on walking past the pictures into a room that was dark, almost pitch black, they looked around for a moment then the room lit up to the sight of glowing crystals that changed from the murky rainbow like color to a bright pure white light, the magic inside flowed gently, they brightened the cave up, the color changing to a mix of sky blue, green and white, they looked around in surprise and wonder as the room seemed to dance with their presence, the smiled and laughed a little in excitement, going to them and touching them cause gentle glowing lights to flow off of them, hovering within the room, the lights dimming a little as the lights floated about slowly, Korin opened his claws as one floated nearby, going into the cusp of them, the light was serene and peaceful, Colin waved his hands around, the glowing fragments spun around him, as they went toward Korin they did the same, seeing this Korin touched a couple and more flew out and the light dimmed more but was replaced by the many flickering bright lights from the tiny fragments that floated and spun around them, they smiled and ran to each other, when the grasped their hands together the fragments flew around them like dandelions in a breeze looking up and around as they continued to spin they looked to each other chuckling with bright joyful expressions “this is the best day ever, thanks for showing me all this, and I’m glad…your parents made me your ‘official’ brother…I’ve never had one, and I got to admit, it’s awesome!” Colin exclaimed with excitement and joy “yeah, I have to admit being an only child had its perks but it was kinda lonely what with my father being a judicial lord, none of the other kids wanted to play with me when I was younger, I missed out on a lot, at least I could share something with someone…someone like you, Colin you make a great brother, even if we’re not the same kind, or the same blood, I think you’re my brother all the same, and when this is all over, we’ll both come home like super heroes me you and that third guy, I wonder what he’s gonna be like, is he going to be all mysterious and all I will work with you if I must, for the better of Athesia kinda guy” \n“Well we won’t know till we meet him, but if you think about it, if we’re all together, won’t that mean it’ll be time to leave home?” wondered Colin, Korin’s expression changed to surprise and shock “your right…there won’t be any reason to stick around…I hope he doesn’t come very soon…I just bare got to know you, we even had our celebrations together, you’ve bare just been accepted as mom and dad’s son…I still wanna have more fun” Korin lamented softly, Colin touched his shoulder giving him a hug “sometimes life just isn’t fair, but until he does lets have the most fun we can!” \nKorin sniffed a bit sadly then smiled “y-yeah, you’re right, no point getting sad now when things aren’t set in stone yet”\n“Let’s go head home; I think it’s getting dark” replied Colin changing the subject \n“yeah, your right, let’s get going” Korin turned and held Colin’s hand as they walked out together, going through the walls of pictures it was hard to see now, and when they walked outside, the sun was setting and the moon rising, it was vastly greater size then the moon from earth, seeing it peek out from one side was enough to catch his attention “wow…it’s barely peeking out but I can tell the moon is so big..” Colin said admiringly \n“yeah, nights here in Athesia are always so colorful, it’s like even when you think your alone, you look up and you suddenly don’t feel so alone anymore, but” Korin held Colin’s hand more firmly looking to him “whether I’m looking up or down, I’m not alone, cause I got you” \nHearing this Colin smiled happily and nodded “and I don’t feel so alone in this world because I’ve got you, mom, dad, and Mira”\nThey both smiled to each other kindly and then Korin lowered himself and Colin hopped on after, the two taking off from the wondrous cave back towards home, going into a slow glide as the returned, looking as the moon began to rise and the sun set.\nAs they arrived at the house, it was quiet, they walked in, the lights on but no one home to greet them “hello mom you home?” Korin called out looking around, but no one answered, they both scattered out to look around the house, but found no one, returning to the door they looked at each other curiously “where is everyone, I’m sure they’d home especially since it’s getting dark, where could have mom and dad gone?” wondered Korin\n“Maybe they had something they needed to attend to?” Colin offered looking around\n“they’d at least leave a note of some kind before leaving so close to night, mom hasn’t even gotten things for dinner out like she usual does”\n“Huh…that is strange Korin, what do you think happened?”\nKorin crossed his arms thinking deeply “I don’t know”\n“maybe we should wait for them, we could get in trouble if they come and we’re not here we could get in trouble”\nKorin looked outside determined “this is simply too suspicious to ignore Colin, we gotta go out and search for them something coulda happened to them and we didn’t know!” he exclaimed, Colin looked at him in a troubled expression “hm…you could be right, let’s go search for them”\n“Alright hop on my back we’ll go head out and look for them!” Korin lowered himself down and Colin looked down seeing deep claw marks in the ground, seeing them his worry deepened, Korin lifted his head up and magick flowed from his wings down to his chest he moved his head around as though looking around “I can feel a faint trail of dad’s magick it’s strong, so full of anger and frustration, a-and mom’s too it’s leading up towards grandma Mira’s home!” he opened his eyes looking to Colin, he nodded and Korin took off quickly his magick increasing the speed and strength of his flying, Colin gripped on tightly as he dashed off into the sky, he flew faster than ever determination in both of their hearts as they flew on into the night towards grandma Mira’s home, the wind rushing past their feathers and hair, up, higher and higher they went until they arrived at the plateau of where grandma Mira lived, they skid to a stop running towards the door, hearing voices they slowly down, Colin put an arm out and pulled Korin aside next to the door listening in on the conversation, they could hear grandma Mira, talking to Theius and Alma.\n“Theius, we cannot change what is to be, it is up to the little ones where their destiny takes them, as I can see there is no way around it! I can foretell prophecies but I cannot change them, you must see reason, if I had the choice I-” \n“BUT YOU DO NOT! IT IS THEIR’S AND THEIR’S ALONE, YOU FORESAW THIS PROPHECY AND KNEW WHAT IT WOULD TAKE IT FUFILL IT, YOU KNEW AND WITHHELD IT FROM US ALL THESE YEARS!” exclaimed a furious and almost belligerent Theius\n“YOU KNEW THAT THIS DESTINY WOULD COST THEM THEIR LIVES, THEY ARE BUT CHILDREN, ONE OF THEM IS AN OUTSIDER FROM ANOTHER WORLD, HE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS” he yelled In blazing rage \n“Theius cease speaking we ar-”\n“NO I SHALL NOT, NOT WHEN I KNOW MY LITTLE ONES ARE DESTINED TO DIE TO DESTROY THIS DARKNESS THAT POISONS THIS LAND, HOW IS A FATHER SUPPOSED TO REMAIN CALM WHEN DEATH LIES AT THE END OF THEIR ROAD NO MATTER THE CHOICE THEY MAKE!! TELL ME!!!” he screamed in anger and frustration, Korin and Colin stepped back from the door, their whole bodies sinking to the floor, dread, fear, upset and confusion flooding into their mind, as they stepped back the door creaked, both of them looked to each other\n“what that guy said that night…i-…it was true…are destiny…we…we…” they both teared up “we won’t come back home…we’ll never be welcomed back home…mom and dad…they…they knew...” Korin’s voice grew tight and wobbly, Colin touched his face his lip quivering “I won’t be able to come back here, or back to my other home…my mom and dad…they’ll never know what happened to me…” they ran away to the edge and Colin hopped onto Korin, his magick turned a greyish blue green as they looked back, the door rushed open as Theius, Alma and Mira came out \n“You are a FOOL …I tried to stop you from speaking…the little ones…they were listening…” Mira looked away, Theius looked to them with an out reached arm “K-Korin, Colin, please wait!” he exclaimed concernedly and fearful, his heart sinking into his chest as they looked at them with broken hearts “you lied and tricked us both…you only brought Colin here…raised me to be strong…to be…to be brave…JUST SO WE CAN DIE, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU ALL!” Korin jetted off, his wings blazing into the night, Colin held on tightly as they flew away, faster and faster they flew away, Theius was not a very fast flier due to his size, Mira’s old age made her a weak flier, Alma opened her wings, tearfully she flew off after them “please come back, momma and papa are sorry! Please don’t run away! We’ll make it better somehow!” she cried to them, but they refused to listen to her, onward they flew, the distance growing exponentially, Colin laid his head against Korin as he no longer used his wings to fly, his magick powering his flight, they kept flying toward the boundaries of the village, flying past them in a second they flew on and on “no, if they leave the village now the ward won’t be able to protect them! the boys aren’t able to control magick by will, they’re headed to the grand Forest the west!” Mira exclaimed, Theius looked at her with a grim and fearful expression “our guards have been trying to seal an arch flame tyrant there, it’s powerful dragon said to have been displaced from it home in the volcanic hotlands because of the increased imbalance of magick, if they go there now they’ll undoubtedly run into it, if they do…” he shook his head growling, his wings glowing bright red as his speed increased “HURRY! We have no time to waste Alma, we’ve gotta protect the boys!” he cried out as she followed suit, her magick flowing out and they both soared after them in haste, Mira opened her wings and grand purple wings flew out from hers and she took off at an unprecedented rate with them.\n\nKorin and Colin flew on, and on they kept going until a large forest filled with massive tall tree came into view they quickly dove into the tree, weaving through the branches, their tears flowing to the point their eyes couldn’t clean them away they kept flying, lower and lower they descended, the flight growing unstable, Korin swerved accidentally to the right and a tree clipped his wing, bending the wrong direction, he cried out and they both fell down crashing into the dirt, rolling in the, skidding and rolling until they flew into the air and landed hard one more time, they grunted as they laid there, their vision blurry and disoriented getting up, Korin yelled as he held his wing which the main bone connecting it had bent and broken from the impact, Colin got up stumbling walking to Korin “Korin are you okay?” he asked grunting after he asked, Korin winced holding his wing “unf…i…I think I broke my right wing…I can’t fly anymore with my wing the way it is…” he touched his face with his right claw tears dripping down “mom…dad…Mira…they all betrayed us…they lied to use, treated us so nicely…telling us we’d come home…it was all a lie…and they knew it…they knew but didn’t tell us!” he cried out slamming his fist against a tree in frustration, Colin walked over to him and hugged him frowning “i…I know…I know…I know but I don’t know what to do now all I can think about are their smiles…and it hurts…” he said softly leaning into Korin shoulder, and Korin into his “I know what we gotta do…I know how we can do! We can keep running, keep going and never look back, I know Athesia isn’t your real home b-but…as long as we got each other that’s all the family we need” he suggested, Colin looked to him worriedly but he nodded “yeah, as long as we got family, there’s nothing we can’t do!” he replied smiling, they both smiled kindly to each other, then they felt a pulse and Korin’s face went pale, as he sniffed and wiped away his tears “C-Colin can you feel that, T-that monstrously huge magick energy?” Colin look to him nodding slightly “i…I feel something…it’s almost like a warmth or some kinda feeling I can…sorta f-feel…I can’t explain it, turning their head to the tree they were next to, looking down they could see symbols on the ground that looked weak and wavered “t-…that’s a high level seal character…what’s it doing here?” he asked fearfully, they looked at the ground shake and quiver the tree’s leaves burning away and the tree blackening, the seals suddenly burst, one by one they sped up in a growing large circle, the last one shuddering and breaking, they held each other and backed away from the tree, the ground cracked and began to glow bright red from the cracks as they spread out more and more, the ground grew hot as they looked to each other “run!” Korin exclaimed, they took off running as the tree burst and shattered, the tree dissipating like it was made of paper or crystal of some kind, the ground was upheaved violently as a great and powerful roar burst into the sky that echoed across the sky, fire and searing hot red magick burst out from the ground as a large demonic like dragon burst forth from the ground in a powerful rage, his scales extremely thick and tough, the creases glowing with red magick, his maw strong and rigid, filled with razor sharp teeth and a bright hot magick, his eyes were closed with multiple slash like scars on them, he slammed his powerful claws to the ground, the sheer force of his magick repulsing the two back harshly the grunt and rolled away as the trees around it’s vicinity blew away instantly into ash, the tree further away turning charred and falling over and leaning at a steep angle, they got up slowly, groaning softly as they looked up at him with wide fearful eyes, every bone even broken quivered as he rose up, beginning to tower with the trees, he lowered his head and sniffed and raised his head, looking toward Korin and Colin’s direction “I smell an Alpherian…but this other one…it does not smell of any one race, it smells of someone from beyond” his voice was booming and deep, olden “prepare for mercy littles ones, for the reckoning has COME, flee now and plea your deaths are swift!” he looked to them closer as they backed away stumbling back “you two…i cannot restrain myself any further, run…RUN, RUN LITTLE ONES, an evil…it controls my mind…it demands…death…urr…URRRRAAAAAAAAH!!!” his cry was deafening and hard, they both quivered and ran away as he climbed from the ground he slammed his claws onto the ground as a black miasma flowed from his back and wings they flapped once and blew them into the air they cried out as they were thrown back, as he raised his head up and his chest moved outward, he laughed loudly “burn in hell!” he yelled as he burst forth a great burst of flame, Korin threw a wing forward and used every bit of magick he could muster to shield themselves from the massive inferno, he cried out in pain as it shredded his magic and burned his wings they flew back rolling into an open area, the stomping closing in Colin got up and stumbled huffing as he knelt in front of Korin looking as the dragon burst forth from the trees his body an inferno of magic and fire, and something…dark, evil, and black, he raised his head as he bared his teeth, he roared forth and a large wall of flame burst from the ground the forest around them blazing around them, there was no escape, he wouldn’t abandon Korin he stood up and faced the flames his body shaking and he looked to fire approaching, he looked back to Korin who was unable to move, he looked forward and he felt an energy flow from his body, a clouded white magick flowed from his body as the flames approached he huffed, and he focused as much as he could and he threw his hands forward a sphere of magick encircled them as the wall came it slammed down with a force comparable to mountain collapsing against it he grunt and cried out as he held the shield, the dragon laughed loud and spun around and slammed his tail against it, shattering the shield and Colin catching the brunt of it flew back, rolling hard against the ground, he slid gripping the ground running towards Korin, the Dragon’s powerful large claw raising up, he dash and picked Korin up and rolled out of the way as it slammed down, the ground caved in where he hit, reaving the ground into a chasm, he grunt as he fell down dropping Korin, he looked to the dragon Korin grunt his vision blurry, he got up and threw a fire ball at him, it struck his chest and nothing happened, he huffed collapsing onto one knee, holding his wing as Colin laid on the ground grunting “I can’t…move…” he uttered in pain, Korin winced and chuckled softly “n-neither can I…looks like…this might be the end…we ran away from home, trying to escape this destiny…looks like even if we can’t escape the part about…urk” he winced coughing “the part about our deaths…” he muttered softly as the dragon blazed wildly, he inhaled deeply raising his claws to his maw, exhaling into it, a mass of darkened red fiery magick intensifying, he raised a single claw up as a mass of burning mass almost like a sun expanded forth, he laughed deeply “you struggled admirably, but now you are broken and your magick clouded by doubt, fear, guilt and confusion is merely an insult to me, now die, die and pray for your past lives in the next!” he roared, looking down to them as they stayed there unable to move, he laughed, moving his claw, when a great dark figure burst from the flames and bit down hard against his neck forcefully throwing him down to his side.\n Theius, Alma and Mira looked in grave fear as they saw the great mass of dark fire raise, then Mira grabbed them pulling them back “go no further! It’s losing it stability! It’s going to explode with the caster’s control over it!” she yelled in a serious and frustrated tone “KORIN, COLIN!!!” Theius and Alma cried out\nBack in the forest Korin’s eye opened up widely as he saw a large black wolf strike at him, tendrils of black lashed out against him, striking his side, revealing a deep scar, the dragon got back up roaring towards the black wolf, the wolf roared back, black waves rising up, the dragon quickly retaliated slamming his claw down, the two magick powers struck against each other exploding with great force as they clashed canceling each other out “to think one of YOU would come, perhaps you will give a better show then this children” the wolf cried and snarled as tendrils flew out and struck his side, tearing open the old scar, dashing forward as his claw flew outward, slashing at him, in return the dragon threw his claws, the wolf rolled and dodged each claw, Korin knelt there in disbelief, was this the very same man who tried to kill them? no, it couldn’t be, he was definitely trying to kill them for his goal.\nThe wolf roared and dashed under the dragon using it’s dark extensions it gripped its hind legs and pulled them out, throwing his front up and it spun around, throwing the large dragon across the field into the chasm it created, it growled and roared as it’s magick flowed out and it raised up once more it’s magick fire now more black than anything, the wolf backed away as it flew towards the unstable sphere his roar resounding with an unnatural tone, it flew into the sphere, looking to the two that were battered and barely holding together it rushed to them forming into a cloaked man with a mask like that of a plague doctor, his eyes red “it’s gonna do some serious damage…ain’t it…” Korin muttered softly looking up, the man did too, “I was too late, I couldn’t stop it…” he said lowly, his voice silvery in nature but serious, Colin gripped Korin’s claw, grunting “we can’t let it all end l-like…this” he pleaded getting up shakily, kneeling next to him, holding his claw, the Dragon laughed haughtily, his voice was consumed by an evil dark distortion as his wings burst forth his head raising out from the mass laughing “I am the monster of your nightmare, cower before me, the god of DEATH, the madness that has taken hold of Athesia, bow down before the face of DEATH, your lives are forfeit, the end of all your lives, of this pathetic shred of peace comes!” it cried out, Colin grunt holding onto Korin’s claw, Korin looked to him huffing then looking to the cloaked man looked to them “who are you?” he asked hastily “I am the third fated one” he replied, Korin looked down as blood slowly fell over his eye and down his chin “I dun know if we can do anything but take mah claw, it’s…urk…all or nothin’!” he cried looking to the mass as he took his claw quickly, looking up the mass quivered and shuddered it wasn’t long before it would rupture and take Korin’s village and an untold amount of land with it, Colin grunt resisting the pain as he got to his feet, Korin doing the same “we gotta focus, we’re the three meant to face this evil, so that means there’s somethin’ we can do together…somethin’!” looking up they all thought of the same thing, to protect Athesia, protect their family, their homes, together they stood before a great mass of unreal power, wind blowing past them as if to flee itself, facing this they cast their fear and upset to the side, their doubts and looked up with burning determination facing death head on, Korin’s birthmark glowed brightly as it resonated with the magick in his chest, it flowed across his body, his arms and legs, his wings and the shape of a crown formed, Colin chest glowed bright white and followed Korin’s transformation, covering their bodies in magick, their eyes beginning to glow as well, Silence’s chest glowed black flowing across his body, dark wings forming, Colin’s back formed wings like Silence, his form taking on like that of a dark angel, looking up their magicks began to mix, and raised up, their wings flowing and they let go of each other and made a triangle around the sphere and together they threw their hands and claws together, a power magick bursting forth from them all, Colin and Korin huffing, grunting as they put aside their pain to form the sphere, bright heavenly lights flew out and encircling the sphere, countless wards and signs across it, the sphere surged and the magick exploded the sphere almost finishing a single hole in it allowing a part of it to burst forth, flowing out to the sky, the power unreal and powerful as the sphere spun around and it sealed away the power of the sphere “together now! Don’t hold back, purge the evil within him, we must save him, he tried to warn us before he lost his mind to the evil, he struggled in the end to warn us, we’ve got to save him” cried Korin\n“Very well, together now, Colin, Korin push forward, entrap the magick inside of him, and close it in until all of it is sealed within the sphere, from there the magick should purify it and nullify it” Silence roared out loud, not truly aware of what they were supposed to do, they just went with the flow of the magick, visors falling over their eyes, covering them, they flew forward together, the sphere shrunk and grew smaller and it massive size decreased rapidly, as they pushed further the dragons limbs began to show, his head showing and slowly his chest was visible, he wasn’t moving and it appeared his body unmoving, it shrunk down more and more until it reached his heart and then it stopped, looking to his chest the sphere grew clouded “keep your minds focused, put aside your fears, your sadness and frustration, let it all go, if you don’t, then we won’t be able to save him, we won’t be able to save ANYONE, your mother, father, our homes, our world, cast it all aside to protect something, something you hold dear, leave it and let your heart cry out to your dreams and hopes and make them real!” they looked towards silence and then to the sphere and threw back their arms yelling away all their frustration of facing an unfair destiny, yelled away their sadness felt from betrayal, yelled away their anger, their hate, the darkness within them and the sphere glowed bright white, shining like a star on its own, all three of them yelling aloud as they gave everything they had, finally the remaining darkness disappeared and brightness increased, and a light harmonious sound like that of a gentle harp cord resounded, and the light disappeared, each of the three huffed and lowered down slowly returning to each other, the dragon himself lowered gently as well, going to the ground slowly, Korin transformation disappeared almost instantly he touched the ground, as did Colin, collapsing unconsciously, Silence quickly grabbed them before they fell, his head looking to each of them “they weren’t conscious when they used the magick, their magick manifested their wishes, their determination…mmh…they are interesting pair…this other worldly Yukan, used magick just moments ago, now it Is like he never had magick to begin with” he chuckled a bit “ah, what destiny I have become stricken with” he joked in tone, laying them down, looking up “so that’s the power together we hold, to purify and stop things like this…I can see why it was us who were chosen…” he muttered gently, Theius, Alma and Mira rushed into the scene, Mira opening her wings, she let forth a great burst of blue magic that doused the fires in the tree, stopping it from spread, rushing to Korin and Colin, Theius and Alma quickly came to them looking in great concern “I…I don’t know what happened but thank you…I don’t know how you did it darkwalker but you stopped this disaster somehow” Alma said looking to them beginning to heal them “it wasn’t just me, it was all of us, Colin, Korin…they all helped, I couldn’t have stopped it without them” Silence interjected “I don’t care right now, my boys are safe…that’s all that matters to me right now” Theius said abruptly and short “what is your name darkwalker?” asked Alma\n“This is Silence, the third fated one” Mira stated as she flew down and landed, Theius and Alma looked to him in shock as they looked down to the boys in concern, Silence raised a hand “you needn’t worry, until you bring out their potential I will gladly wait” Mira looked to them with a guilty, saddened expression as they laid there, being treated for burns, bruises and fractures, she looked to the side “they fared no better than the night before, this time, they both suffered” Alma looked up to Mira with deep frustration, her eyes struggling to keep back tears “it’s our fault, if we hadn’t been careless…they wouldn’t have done this…we wouldn’t have put them in situation” she lowered her head down to them, struggling to keep her gaze on them “hush now, do not burden your hearts so harshly, as living creatures we all make mistakes, they were injured but they were not killed” she said softly, looking down to them “we should be thankful that they are safe now, let’s not linger further, they require a proper location to heal, the magick they exhausted in their battered state has caused strain of their bodies, especially the Human boy, he hold magick within him but his body is not used to having such power channeled so abruptly, Silence was not injured prior and is a naturally powerful magick wielder, so the strain is far less hard on him, the sooner we get them in the proper setting the better…I will tend to the dragon, Theius stood up and looked at her with a slight glare “why would you do that? He almost killed our sons, destroyed our village and damn near set the war in motion!” he exclaimed, Silence faced Theius “sir, if I might speak, I overhead the conversation between then before I intervened, although I would have acted sooner, evidence and reason to his behavior would avoid or allow for just actions to come about, he for the most part, was blood thirsty and cruel, but one part gives him pardon, he pleaded for them to run, and he warned them of an evil that had taken hold of him, I did not sense a lie within his words” he looked to them “that is all I have, the decision is yours Theius, you are the judicial lord” he continued walking to them as his shape changed back to a large black wolf like form over several feet tall, he lowered himself “I will carry them quickly where they need to go”\nTheius paused and pondered his options, then finally came to answer “we will not execute him, but we will make sure he is restrained within an area, most are fearful creatures with little thought for others, if he decides to discuss the reasoning of his displacement and the reasons for his actions this night, I will decide what will happen, if he is innocent nor means harm we will release him and see what we can do to accommodate him, if he is guilty…he will be executed for the crimes of attempted murder of minors, terrorism of global level, attempted act of mass destruction”\nSilence nodded once, looking to Alma “shall I carry them?” he asked softly, Alma seemed split and unsure of an answer then looked to Korin and Colin for a moment, then closed her eyes with a soft sigh “We will take them Mira’s home, she’s equipped far more than us for magical medicine and healing” \nSilence nodded once, acknowledging it but giving no words, Alma and Mira helped lift them up and placed them against Silence’s soft and warm jet black fur “take them to Mira’s she’s far better of healer then I am” Silence nodded quickly dashed off into the night, his shape disappearing in the darkness, Mira looked to Alma and nodded as she flew off after them.\n Alma watched as they faded away and looked down, Theius turned from the dragon walking to her, putting a claw on her shoulder “believe in them dear, right now that is all we can do…you saw what they could do, we can’t give into despair they’re our only hope to truly end this” \n“I just don’t know what to do Theius, this is just too much for me…I want to protect them, keep them safe, but it seems that I won’t be able to do even that anymore, what is the point in calling me their mother if I can’t save their lives from destruction?” she asked desperately \n“you are their mother, regardless of what Mira, said they’ll come out of this, nothing is set in stone, prophecies can be defied, they’re good boys and the path they choose to take may save them from their ill fate, that is what I choose to believe now, it is our only choice, to believe that they’ll come home, we’ll have to own up to our misjudgment, we all were wrong from withhold this from them, if we had confronted this before this had happened…maybe things would have been different, they ran away because we all lied to them about this, I shouldn’t have confronted Mira about this, and as a result, we hurt them, in the worse possible way” he looked down, his tone low and saddened\n“they are ill fated, but their lives are not forfeit” the dragon rose up slowly grunting, sitting up looking down to them, Theius turned and his magick manifested, the dragon raised his claw “I wish no harm, my actions were not my own, I had been possessed by powerful negative magicks, I came here believing I had escaped it, as my kind had fallen to it, I was wrong, and as a result I almost killed two little ones and caused untold amount of destruction, and I have shamed myself in doing so” he looked towards Silence and Mira’s direction, Theius eased back a little his magicks dying down as he calmed down “what do you mean ‘their lives are not forfeit’?” \n“it is exactly as I mean, this evil can be stopped, but it is how they chose to end this destiny is what decides the fate of countless lives, and the fate of this world, as I saw into them before I lost control, I saw three paths which they can choose to take, of one I foresaw their deaths, with it purifying Athesia forever of this evil, it seems this was the middle path, but of the three, lead down opposite ends, they are harbingers of salvation, and destruction, should lead down this path a greater evil will be born and there will be no future for Athesia, all will end, magicks good and evil will perish, and life along with it, they will destroy all”\nAlma stepped back for a moment as if shoved by the idea of the children they tended to becoming evil monstrous beings; she shook her head “that cannot truly be a path this could lead, they are good children, the darkwalker bears no evil within himself either, how could this be?” she questioned firmly\n“should they lose the closest ones to them, something far more dark than any force will be born within them, if they end this conflict the wrong way, this will lead to an empty, dead future, but there is light, should they chose a path above all, they will bring peace to Athesia, the war cannot be stopped, even if bring peace among the lands the forces working against them are more powerful than I, it will take hold and possess the people, sending them to war against their will, but a war unwilling to be fought, when freed will birth true peace in the resolution to this destiny, and they will wash away the sins of the past, their lives will be safe, but like many paths, as time goes on only more paths will open amidst these, but these all lead to one thing, the end, the conclusion of which decides the fate of Athesia, perhaps it follows the light one, of the three one may not make it, or two, it all begins here young ones, their paths are in front of them, there are too many path which this may go, but strive for them to return home, believe, hope, dream, wish for it with all your being for this and you needn’t worry of such ill fate, that is simply one path, do not batter yourselves for a choice you made, you are young still, perhaps not newborn as they are, but young still, do not live life full of regret, your children will feel it, deep in their hearts, even this otherworlder is now connected to you, the lines binding you grow stronger to him, work to fix the mistakes you made, and keep the connection strong, I pray you all live to see this day come true, where no one must die for the sake of destiny” he opened his wings and a sphere of magick encircled him\n“What in the world are you doing?!” Theius exclaimed\n“I have lived long enough, they absolved me of my sins and purified my soul, I do not wish to become one of the foes of which will be forced to fight, should I fight, many will die, I will destroy my body, and be reborn into my next life”\nTheius ran forward to break the circle but his claw rebounded and he slid back “why are you doing this?! You are strong surely you won’t fall to this magick again” he reasoned, the dragon chuckled softly\n“alas, it seems such a thing is beyond my power, if you are unsure of whom I am, I my given name is Shesha, I helped shape this world many years ago, to destroy something I helped to build, that I nurtured is something I do not wish, I want to leave this world without my sins to bear, or darkness in my heart” he raised his wings proudly and his head looking up as a pure ruby red magick enraptured him in a fire-like embrace “I leave you my wisdom and my hopes to you all, your generation just may be…no, they WILL be the ones to bring an end to the darkness within Athesia once…and for all as the darkwalkers of old once told us, ‘through an impure god, impure gifts are given, should we tread the path of magick carelessly, we will be consumed, or heroes must rise in our place to quell the tide of blackened hearts with hearts of pure’ their words ring true to this generation…even now, were it not for the carelessness of mer alike, a destiny like this wouldn’t have been come to be, take care young ones may the winds of change favor you eternal” after he had finished, Shesha growled, crying out in a proud powerful roar rising up, wings flapping his body beginning to glow brightly to the point where his body was just a shape, he flew up higher and higher, like a phoenix in the night the sphere glowed and conformed into his being shooting up like a shooting star of fiery light, after a moment, a great and strong burst of light almost like the sun radiated a warm pure white light into the sky like a star, Silence looked up seeing the bright light, he stopped momentarily as it flashed, wincing at first, his eyes quickly adjusted and he kept going looking up to it, it didn’t hurt to look at it, and he could feel an unbelievable amount of magick dissolving and returning to the earth, Mira seeing the light, stopped, she knew that an ancient dragon had ascended just then, much like phoenixes rise up in brilliant flames to be reborn in the ashes, ancient dragons whose lives have lasted millennia release all their magick back to the lands they were born, and are reborn into the next life, the greater and more grand the magick they had the brighter they shined and when the light faded, it was believed that they’ve returned the magick the world had given them and passed on into the next world, to be reborn into a new life, the last one to pass, \nTheius and Alma smirked lightly, admiring the last display of his long and old life “thank you…ancient one” they both said, bowing a bit in respect to his display, then opening their wings and flying after Silence and Mira.\n“Mira, I’ve never seen such a bright and brilliant display of magick, what is this?” \n“Silence this is something only a few in many generations experience, this light, is a sign that one of the few heavenly creators left that exist in our world, dragons whom shaped our world, is leaving our world, although many whom die in our world do not release light, those with spectacular levels of magick have the ability to do so at a small level, but not like this, this light is the magick that sustains his being, that he has kept retained, the magick is familiar, as was the dragon, it was Shesha, he was said to have been the most powerful magick ancients of old…to think even he was corrupted, and suppressed by you three is nothing short of awe inspiring, far greater than even I could produce, to see him pass on, is bittersweet to see, I’ve known him since I was a little girl, he was very sweet and gentle hearted flame tyrant, as opposed to his kin, oh, my parents would be so scared to death whenever they’d look for me, because one time I was playing on his claw, and I almost fell, but he caught, me” Mira laughed gently “ohoho, when my parents found me their faces were quite the sight to behold, they looked unsure whether to bow, run away or stand there so he tells them oh, did you come for your daughter? Such undutiful parents to allow their hatchling to fall into a dastardly flame tyrant’s clutches, perhaps I shall eat you instead mwahaha! Oh my parents bowed so hard their heads were in the ground, I hadn’t laughed so hard in all my life, he was like a grandfather to me…” her voice shifted as she spoke to a more melancholy tone looking to the light “farewell, may your next life be wonderful” she continued, her tone soft and peaceful, looking back to Mira Silence only listened, wishing only to understand, not knowing his peaceful side he only had thoughts or prayers for him safe passage into his next life, he wasn’t one to speak if he did not need to and now was the time to leave Mira to reminisce and remember the dragon that sounded quite a playful and kind dragon, he decided to look at Korin and Colin who were unconscious still, even if their eyes do not see, their magick will see for them, however weak he thought to himself, looking forward as the village was in view, it took quite some time to return, the speed at which they arrived is uncanny and unrivaled compared to even I he continued to think to himself, his mind was still reeling from the day’s events, without knowing it, he had faced against a heavenly creator, he had used a magick despite being unfamiliar suddenly was flooded with the knowledge needed to manifest it, knowledge that was now visible but clouded to his memory, dashing through the air using magick to dash off of, he recalled the path to Mira’s home, looking up he saw the plateau , and began to raise higher and higher gradually to avoid the two from rolling off, Mira who’s magick was still going on strong was behind slightly but keeping up, arriving on the plateau, silence walked forward to Mira’s home, tendrils of darkness came from his being holding them up and stable in his magick, laying them within as he turned to his cloaked form, walking into the house first then Colin, then Korin, moving them to her bedroom and laying them down side by side gently, the tendril dissipating to nothing, looking back, hearing Mira, he walked outside the room to meet her, she folded her wings and her magick disappeared, entering she made haste to the room and took out various tools to help with magick exhaustion, of the object were two syringe like crystals, she injected one into Colin and the other into Korin, their bodies glowed green and she placed her claw over them and a green magick flowed out from them and covered their bodies, unconscious their face looked pained\n“What was it you injected into them Mira?”\n“it’s a magick restoration serum, it will restore damaged vessels both magick and physical, based on the extent of their magick use their bodies weren’t adapted to such an immense power to be channeled from their bodies at once, restoring the magick passages as well as their physical bodies will be painful for them, especially Colin, he was born into a vessel that is not made to hold magick, it’s especially extensive to his body, their will to recover will decide how long their bodies will take to recover, you are a darkwalker, and thusly you were able to handle such large amounts of magick without such damage, when I’ve finished their treatment If you would allow me, I want to make sure you are okay as well”\nSilence nodded “very well”\nAfter about 15 minutes Alma and Theius arrived, walking in they entered Mira’s room, although not very much space was left they were able to enter and see them\n“Thank goodness they’re okay, how bad is it Mira will they recover?” Alma asked concernedly looking to their pained expression\n“Yes they will be fine, as long as their will to recover stays strong they will recover quite quickly, they are young, but the damage is extensive, especially in Colin, his body is not born with a natural capacity to hold magick, so the strain on his body may take longer than Korin, but in light of all this, it will help them to use greater extents of magick in the future, Colin may very well have created magick pathways in his body which may allow him to use magick, but that is in time, for now, I must mend their broken bodies, but the true battle, which cannot be healed with magick, are broken hearts” she explained softly her attention greatly focused on her healing, Theius looked to them sighing deeply “when they recover, we will tell them ourselves about the whole truth of this all we cannot lie anymore to them” he explained, their words before still weighting on them heavily, for a child to say they hate their parents, was a powerful and painful thing, and they all couldn’t help but feel they had the right to say so, how could a child not feel deep betrayal when their chosen path leads to death, to be given false hope and lied to for the sake of a greater purpose, they could only sit there and pray that they could forgive them for their mistakes, through the night all that was on their mind were their expression of pain and hurt in their eyes, each of them. Mira continued to heal them through the night, Alma rested against Theius who kept awake watching over them as Mira diligently healed them, restoring what she could, but as she had said, magick may heal the body but not the heart, no magick could heal such a wound, only the magick of the heart could do such a thing and they were both determined perhaps they all were to make things right, Silence was innocent and aware of what his destiny entailed, and he fully accepted his destiny, weighing the needs of the one or few, with the needs of many, but to learn of such an ill destiny in the way Korin and Colin did, it was sinful and unjust, perhaps if they had told them things would have been different, the words persisted in Theius’s mind over and over, but when the time came to confront them about their chosen destiny, it wouldn’t be easy, there’s no easy way to gain trust back that was lost in such a way but perhaps telling them, explaining why they did such a thing is the least they deserved. \nAfter a few hours Mira stopped healing and exhaled deeply, wiping away sweat gently “I’ve done all I can, for now, it’s up to them now” she said softly, looking to Theius who awake, just looking down to them, his eyes distant and lost in thought, she walked to him and touched his shoulder “you must get some rest too, you’ve been up through the night as I have”\nHe just kept looking to them, quiet for a minute “do you think they would forgive us? We’ve done them wrong, they were happy and so full of energy, smiling…” he paused for a moment “ and we destroyed that, it was short, but…meaningful for Colin, and it’s been a lifetime for Korin, it wasn’t until two night before they learned of their destiny and already they’ve been tossed into the fire, they’ve both already been hurt, both physically and in their hearts…they believed in us, with their whole hearts, could we have poisoned their hearts with hate and distrust?” he asked solemnly, his tone low and gravelly “as a father I only want what is best for my children, but I let my emotions control my actions, even when my wife had told me to hold it in, but damn it Mira…” his voice grew slightly frustrated “this is all too much, too fast, too difficult for me to just understand and hold in, children’s lives are at stake here, mine nonetheless…” he lowered his head slightly, eyes downcast, Mira looked to him with concern, but smiled gently rubbing his head “when you forgive someone, you expunge the darkness in your heart and give forgiveness for their actions, I have no doubt the boys are upset, but they are kind and sweet ones, as long as you are truthful and honest with them with all your heart, I have no doubt they will forgive not only you, but all of us” she replied with a soft confident tone\n“the heavenly creator, Shesha, told us that this path they’re destined to take is not just the one, but three of many paths, and I believe in his wisdom with all my heart, but…I am not sure the boys will believe me, we made them believe they were coming home before, and they learned that their original destiny was to die, now it suddenly not, I don’t know what they’ll believe” he said dejectedly \n“it is up to them to believe in your words, there is no magick for soul, perhaps the body and mind but your soul is where true faith, courage and determination lie, alongside love, all we can do is believe, believe that they will understand, I cannot do anymore but that Theius, as well as you, to do any less is to cast us further into darkness” Mira turned and looked to them, they were sleeping peacefully, facing each other their expressions neutral, they slept deeply but one spoke, Korin, only a phrase “we’re…sorry” he whispered gently, Theius lip quivered and for the first time in a long time true emotions bubbled up and his eyes waved “I’m sorry too…I’m sorry, we’re all so sorry” he lamented woefully as he wiped his eyes “when you wake we’ll tell you everything we won’t lie anymore, and believe in you with all our hearts” he cried, pouring out his emotions, though they slept the two deep down had forgiven them, they couldn’t bear to hate them, they did what they thought was best, even if they did it the wrong way, everyone makes mistakes and they couldn’t hate them for that, Theius laid his head down between them, closing his eyes, Alma next to him already asleep, Mira smiled softly and sat down closing her eyes, Silence amdist this stood outside listening, his arms crossed he looked up to the fading light who shined down its best towards the home, it’s light dulled and after a little while it disappeared, Silence looked down, his mask hiding his features, but inside, he was smiling happily hehe, quite the family I’ve come to meet, it’s like they’ve known each other for a long time, they treat even the otherworlder like their lifelong child…it’s very sweet, no darkness can break this family apart, no struggle too great, no wrongs can separate them he thought to himself as the night was beginning to end, and light rising over the horizon a bright new day, perhaps not for the day, but for them as well he continued thinking to himself, turning to his wolf form and laying down, going to sleep himself while admiring the light of the approaching dawn, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.\n\nDawn had broken over the land and the suns light gently began to creep upon the land, no one was up now, not even Mira, the whole party exhausted from last night, all of them using great amounts of magick in one way or another, sleeping peacefully as the sun rose finally from past the horizon and upward towards the sky, after 2 or so hours after dawn, Korin and Colin’s eyes twitched and they groaned softly, their eyes opening up gently as they awoke from their deep sleep before anyone else, getting up they rubbed their eyes, yawning softly, stretching they felt a painful twinge and pulled their arms down grunting softly, Korin touching his wing and Colin one of his left arm, after wincing they looked in the middle of the bed seeing Theius’s head resting between them, the feather around his jaw and cheeks looking wet and darker hue, tear soaked, they looked in surprise blinking, then looked around seeing them all around their bed as if up all night, they looked to each other “w-were they…up all night looking after us?” Korin wondered in a whisper\n“it…looks like they save us from the dragon, i…faintly remember a name but I can’t put my finger on it” Colin replied groaning “oooh…my arms and chest hurt…did we get thrashed that bad? So bad Mira couldn’t heal us?” he wondered himself, it seemed that they weren’t fully conscious of the powers they used or the words they said, they could not remember it, but whereas the mind may not remember, the magick soul they possessed remembered very well “I…don’t…I don’t think so, somethings telling me that…at least my whole body is…ouch” he moaned, his body feeling like it had been put through a wringer \n“Whatever it was, I feel like my whole body head to toe is sore” Colin complained, Theius stirred slightly, as did Alma and Mira, they looked to Alma and Theius, and remembered what had happened, and they looked down with a deep guilt, looking to each other they leaned forward, a twinge in Colin’s body shot up his back and through his arms and legs and he winced with a painful expression on his face, Korin wasn’t in quite as much pain and soreness but they were still quite sore even though they didn’t know why, he looked to Colin with a moment of concern but he pushed on, they got out of bed and hugged them both, feeling their hug, they stirred once more and woke up, seeing them against them in a tight hug, Theius looked to them as did Alma and shocked and surprised expressions on their face “b-boys, your awake, a-a-are you feeling well? Are you hurt still?” he asked still surprised greatly, they nodded, their eyes closed tight, Alma hugged them back, Theius turned around and returned their hug his mouth opening slightly a joy filled expression on his face\n“Yes mom, dad, we’re okay, we’re sorry for leaving…we endangered everyone ‘cause we did something wrong” Korin said first\n“and we’re sorry for the things we did and said, I know we did something really stupid, we…we didn’t-” Theius quickly hushed Colin and closed his eyes, littles tears streaking from both Alma and his eyes “we were afraid you wouldn’t forgive us…we lied and betrayed your trust, and we flew after you as soon as we could, all we care about is that you’re okay now…we don’t care what you said or did…you had every right” Theius explained, his voice emotional and tight “your our mom and dad, all of you are our family…and…and…” Korin’s voice trailed off struggling to speak\n“and we could never hate you, you’ve taken care of Korin his whole life, raised him and believed in him, you’ve known me only for a few days but…you accepted me as a son, treated me like I was your family too, you were kind and loving…you let me see what a family is meant to be…and even if it wasn’t like that, I can’t bring myself to hate anyone, everyone has a good and bad side…and everyone deserves a chance” explained Colin smiling to them “thanks mom, dad” he said warmly and his lip quivering, Alma went to him and gave him a warm endearing hug smiling softly “it’s not the matter of time or blood that makes family…it’s the love that connects them that makes a family…you’ll always be our son, our little Colin, whether you’re in this world or your own” Alma cooed, hugging him tightly, he grunted in pain as she hugged him and she let go, with deep concern “are you okay little one?!” Colin nodded wincing for a moment “y-yes mom, I’m okay, I just felt a sudden jolt of pain is all, what happened to us last night?” he asked gently\nTheius turned to him as he let go of Korin “you two fled into the forest last night and ran into a heavenly creator, from what Silence had told us-“ \n“Silence?!” Korin exclaimed “isn’t he the third fated one like us?” he asked hesitantly, Theius nodded “yes, when you two entered forest and met him, Silence had told us that an evil had possessed him, and that is why he attacked you, he came to the great forest to escape from it, it had taken over his kind and he fled in hopes of escaping, but he was already being controlled, the darkness took hold when you two came near, you did very well from what I was told, not many could resist so enduringly as you two did, when you were sure to perish Silence jumped into the fray and rescued you two, the reasons your bodies ached is when he was to destroy our village, the forest and cause mass destruction, you two did not seem conscious at the time, but you three used a power unseen before, and stopped him from unwillingly killing many and devastating Athesia, you purified the evil within him and set him free, rather than let the evil take hold of him again he ascended and passed on, to be reborn, giving us knowledge and wisdom before leaving us, he told us that this destiny you face has three roads rather than the one, you hold the key to destroying Athesia, and saving it and yourselves down these two paths, when he told of these paths we were elated to-”\n“Father wait…you’re telling us me, Colin and Silence stopped a heavenly creator? One of the most ancient and power figures in Athesia?”\n“Yes, and did so without killing him, in your hearts you chose to forgive and save him when you could have chosen to end his life with such power, of this, I am proud my children”\n“he said that we had three paths we could take rather than then one we’re fated to die to stop the war, how can we stop the war and save everyone and ourselves?” Colin asked \n“That…he did not say specifically, but I do know is that you mustn’t give in to evil, and strive to save as many lives as you can before then, believe in each other, and believe in yourselves that you can end this the right way, were nobody has to die for the sake of destiny or some prophecy, you follow your own path, reunite the lands before this evil takes hold over them all, only together can we all strive for a true happy ending, I know we lied to you telling you that this destiny you faced didn’t have such bad paths, but I know, we all know, that together you three can truly unite Athesia once more, and we can welcome you home as the kind and proud heroes you three are”\nColin smirked lightly “thanks…dad”\nTheius patted his shoulder softly and looked to them “you two were in bad shape last night, Korin’s wing was broken, his other had most of his feathers burned away, you had some bad scraps, a few fractures and a concussion, and because the amount of magick you both used last night, your bodies were heavily strained both physically and magically, thankfully Mira is gifted with healing magick as you two would haven’t had healed as quick, she held her diligence until you were both healed which took roughly 4 or 5 hours, she gave your bodies injection of magick stimulants as well, which restored the damaged magical and physical vessels in your bodies to a working capacity, but it doesn’t quite heal the extensive damage done by it, this is especially so with you Colin” he explained looking more focused towards Colin “your damage is more extensive than Korin’s, so you’ll need to take it easy for a little while, you may have a capacity for magick we suspected but on the level you used it, cause far more damage because your body was not naturally born with the ability to maintain and use magick, but fret not that does not mean the magick you have will not make it so with time”\n“you used magick in the heat of the battle with Shesha as well, though it is likely you weren’t wholly conscious of it the whole time” Silence walked into the room looking to them bowing gently to Mira who was awake now, but was silent, smiling contently, allowing them to make up and explain things \n“you subconsciously use magick in times of great duress as of now, but I sense your body is adapting well to the newfound presence of magick in your body, I can’t sense the magick in you very well as it seems only able to manifest slightly now, when you’ve fully unlocked the ability of magick, we will be able to sense a ‘magick heart’ in you, or the soul of your magick which manifests itself as the magick we all use” Silence explained raising his hand and form a shadowy ball that dark veils trailed up and dissipated “as so, this is the manifestation of my magick soul, although it is dark in appearance if you could see my magick soul it would appear white, it manifests itself outwardly in different colors depending on the magick, but your magick soul never changes, depending what you’ve been through, your magick soul can become clouded, things like doubt, anger, frustration, sadness, can cloud it, when it becomes clouded your magick will weaken, sins like murder and betrayal are different, they manifest themselves on your soul like thorned vines which can corrupt your magick soul, then ultimately your real soul” he lowers his hand and the magick disappears “sins are hard to cleanse, so keep it in mind, but is not impossible, when you two chose to forgive them for lying to you, I sensed the vines of sin purged from their magick souls” he reached to his mask and took it off, taking off his hood, looking to them, Korin’s eyes opened as he saw Silence’s face “whoa! I’ve never seen a darkwalker’s real face before” \nSilence chuckled “I am among friends, people I trust, so it’s alright for you to see, but once we leave here and set out on our journey i won’t be removing it again, not until our journey is complete” he explained, his hair was long and silvery, the light hitting it, it had a white sheen just the metal, his eyes red, his expression a gentle relaxed smirk “you two are very close, in such a short time you’ve all become closer than any I’ve met before, it’s like a work of fantasy, although being here is much so fantasy for you, is it not Colin?” he asked softly\nColin nodded looking towards him “yes, it’s something I couldn’t have imagined, so many would wish for this, to go to another world, a beautiful grand world with magic, with all these people we could only dream of, even if my reason for coming here is supposed to be one of sacrifice, many would rather take it then live in my world” he explained lowering his head a bit “even though we can’t change that, I still have my own things I want to protect, and that’s enough for me to protect my own world, if that darkness can reach there, then earth is in danger just like Athesia, it’s not a matter of…well just protecting Athesia, it’s about protecting families, their friends, their lives…my world might not be the best or the kindest but it’s something I gotta protect, Athesia is an amazing world too, and even if I wasn’t born here, it’s still something I want to protect, for Korin, and everyone’s sake too”\nKorin grinned and nudged him a bit “the feelin’ is mutual, I might have been born here but I wanna protect your blood family, Athesia ain’t perfect, just like any world but it’s worth protecting, and so is your world Colin, it’s the place you were born, call home too, so it’s up to us three to protect ‘em both!” he tapped his back, and looked to Theius and Alma “when can we start training dad?”\n“we can start tomorrow, you both need to recover from the excitement of last night, Colin especially, just walking looks painful to you two, this training is going to be hard on you, and your bodies, starting now would only reopen wounds, so to speak” Theius explained placing a claw on Korin’s and Colin’s shoulder “I know you might be eager to begin but for now while we have the time to rest, let’s take time to recuperate and prepare ourselves, you both have been going and going nonstop, so much in just two days, so let’s take it easy boys, Korin you especially, Mira had just mended your wing, you didn’t just fracture it, your wing was definitely broken, so no sneaking out and flying, Mira will be here to keep an eye on you two, I’ve got to head back Thiren to report this to the high king and council, no doubt they’ll be looking for a report after last night’s display, if we fly over mountain’s peak, I should be back by tomorrow afternoon, but if things go smoothly I should be back by morning” \nColin smiled and nodded, whereas Korin’s furled his brow in a brooding expression, no flying? Clip my wings now, I’ve flown every day, he thought to himself, Colin noticed his discontent and snickered softly “hey cheer up, it’s only a day, if it wasn’t for Silence saving our hides and grandma Mira for patching us up we’d be recovering for at least a few months, just be glad it’s a day, and not half a year or something”\nKorin rolled his eyes still pouting, Theius laughed and pat his back a little roughly, too good for his own strength, feeling the firm pats of his father’s claw pounding his back, he cringed, eye twitching as shocks of pain rippled through out his sore body “Theius, you’re patting Korin too hard, how many times do I have to tell you to watch your strength?” Alma scolded giving a stern motherly expression; Theius stopped, giving her an innocent expression in return “hm? I didn’t do anything; I was just patting my son a little is all”\nShe gave him a more stern expression and he smiled nervously and waved to them “welp! Take care little ones, take care Mira, Silence, dear wife!” he turned and quickly exited the room, Alma giving him the stare eased, Korin’s right eye still twitching, his body a little stiff, he grunt “ow…ow ow” he muttered, Colin laughed and rubbed his back, and he exhaled as he eased up “whew, thanks Colin, heh, that’s my dad for you, injured or recovering he doesn’t know the word gentle haha” his expression turned from a smile to a deeply puzzled one for a moment “I can only imagine what training is going to be like, yeesh” he paused imagining a scene where him and Colin were standing in a line and Theius was grinning alright little ones, lesson one, don’t get smashed to pieces! Seeing an image of them looking surprised and shocked, then his claw coming down impossibly fast, flattening them both, he hunched for a minute sweating in dread, looking to Colin with a doomed expression “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about some destiny, dad’s pound us into the mountain if he’s gonna let loose, he’s back breaking without effort, I don’t think we can do this, w-we can handle ourselves right?” he paused “Right Colin?” he asked urgently\nColin laughed a bit and slowly it trailed off, then his face turned straight, and looked to Korin, expressing no emotion, realizing this “……we’re so dead, dead is going to look at us and say man you guys do it better than me and quit his job” they both start sweating profusely, Silence chuckles and crosses his arms “you two will be fine, don’t sweat it, if you get flattened into paper Mira will just patch you up, until you…you know, stop…getting flattened into the dirt” \n“Not helping” Korin remarked a bit sharply\nAlma walked to them giggling “You boys will be fine; he’s trying to train you to use your magick at will rather than in the heat of things, not er…pound you to pieces, well, not if you let him, Father can get…carried away with things”\nShe showed slight concern for a moment before smiling brightly to them, they both looked to each other with a sickened face “urk…I think we’re not feeling good, I think the magick uh strain stuff was harder than we thought, we’ll just lay down and rest for a day…or two” Korin said, expressing overact his condition, nudging Colin to follow him, taking a second he began wincing and expressing the same sickened and pain expression, leaning forward, a sharp pain shot up his back and he grunt wincing, Alma looked at them seemingly worried and looked to Mira “grandma Mira, the boys look quite bad, I think they’ll need another injection” she worried in a feigning manner, Mira nodded touching her chin “yes yes, I can see they’re still hurting, perhaps one more wouldn’t hurt”\nHearing their excuse backfire hard, their faces turned blue and stomachs dropped to the ground, Silence looked at them smirking with a raised brow, his silvery eyes gleaming, almost as if telling them ‘that’s what you get for faking’ they grunt and waved, Colin winced again, eye twitching, although Korin was faking, Colin was dooming them to a most cruel fate “h-hey we were joking, r-r-right Colin? Haha, you know joke?” he nudged Colin, and he looked to Korin with a hopeless expression “we’re dead, we’re going to get stabbed to death” he despaired, Korin picked up Colin and quickly ran towards the door in a panic “ahh! No shots! I hate needles!” he cried, opening the door he felt his mother’s tail wrap around his waist and he let go of Colin as he pried his claws into the ground sliding slowly into the room “noooo, anything but needles!” he lamented, Colin got up and although he was aching quite bad he rushed away from the door, but not quite fast enough as he felt a soft yet firm claw grip his jeans, underwear and all, and he turned back, sweating profusely, Alma had a deceivingly warm smile on her face, holding Korin with her tail she pulled him back and he winced as his muscles tensed up, making his body ridged and stiff, once she had enough of a grip on his pants she picked him up by his belly very carefully and wrapped him up with Korin in her rather long tail\n“bring them to the bed, Silence if you could hold them down, I would surely not want to miss and require to give them a second injection” said Mira, instructing Silence, who nodded and he placed his mask back on and his arms began to flow with dark magick, black tendrils coming from the ground “understood” Alma carefully moved her tail carrying the squirming two and placed them on the bed, then Silence’s magick tendrils quickly shot over the bed, holding them down like straps\n“Just who’s side are you on here?!” Korin exclaimed looking to Silence, who removed his mask once more “it’s habit when using magick to wear my mask” his expression wasn’t lighthearted but somewhat straightforward “I’m on the side that allows you to heal faster, look at Colin next to you” he said, pointing to Colin, his expression was pained, eyes wincing closed, he had healed from the outer injuries, but the inner ones were still there, though not as severe as they would have been, but it was enough to cause enough pain that simply being held down was painful, Korin looked to him in realization, he was still recovering and his body ached of course, but to Colin who had received the same treatment was still in pain, he frowned slightly and looked to Silence\n“We’re born with the ability, the capacity for magick…he isn’t… even if this strain is not hard on you, it is for him, your only thinking of yourself right now…” he paused looking to him with a troubled expression “there’s more to worry about than a simple needle, that’s making sure we’re all okay, that he is, just let her give it to you both, and rest, for now that’s what you must do, for your sake and for his”\nKorin looked at him, not saying a word, his face was blank, he didn’t have anything he could say, nothing came into his mind, he was right, sure he was afraid of needles, and so was Colin, but seeing him pain, Korin looked down to his chest with submission “alright…” he said softly, Mira sighed gently, and retrieved the crystal injectors used for magical exhaustion treatment, and Korin closed his eyes, Mira quickly injected the serum into Korin’s arm, he winced for a moment and stayed quiet, then she injected Colin, who was breathing heavy, didn’t react to the injection to his leg, Korin opened his eyes, feeling a haze beginning to wash over him, his eyes slowly becoming unfocused, looked to Colin who’s face began to ease, then relaxed as he fell asleep, Korin fighting to stay awake for another few moments, was released from the tendrils and he raised his arm up sluggishly and failing to get it to his chest, fell to his hand and his eyes closed, and the darkness washed over him as he drifted away to sleep, Silence looked to them deep in thought, so many thought passed in his mind, they were young, and pure hearted, but to a degree, naïve, he knew they had strength in them, he could feel it lying deep inside them, he could feel the pacifism in the human’s heart, and a strong passion within the Alpherian, but when they were out in the world, could they handle it? Could they stand strong against the foes they were sure to meet? Mira wouldn’t be there to heal them time and time again if they became wounded, they were unexperienced, and their magick was young, underdeveloped more than he had hoped, all he could do, was hope, hope that Theius would do what’s necessary to bring out their magick, make them stronger, he made a resolve deep in his mind that he would protect them, they couldn’t do this on their own, and being a darkwalker he had the strength do it he believed, he had to, much was at stake and they couldn’t fail, he couldn’t fail the seraphim or his father, or his people, doing so would lead to the death of countless, the idea of failing weighted heavily on him, the force that worked against them strong enough to possess a heavenly creator, such a power is vast, and to him it was like a lake against an ocean, they both might be large, but an ocean is vast and overwhelming, how could we face such a force and expect to win? What is there 3 young individuals can do again such power? Were it not for the magick that they used that night many would have perished, none of us able to do a thing, do they understand the gravity of the situation, he was a darkwalker, he was strong in magick, but even he had his limits, there was only so much he could do, could they change the fate of Athesia, Of other worlds that might fall prey to this dark and evil presence?\n“You are concerned about them, aren’t you darkwalker?” Mira asked, noticing Silence’s troubled mind, his train of thought broke and as noticed Mira picking up on his feelings, he gave a soft sigh “quite, they are both young, I am young, we’re being thrown into a world beset by madness, I…have doubts I can protect them from everything, Theius may be able to train them to use magick, but the Human cannot bring out his magick at will, his body was not born with the capacity for magick, the Alpherian knows little of magick, surely he could not cast it without the incantations to manifest it, they’re both inexperienced…”\n“I believe in Theius, and I believe in you three will have the courage to stand against any foe, you must believe in yourself, and in your friends, without courage, without the will to believe you can overcome, your mind, your magick will become clouded, and brittle, do not trouble your heart and mind needlessly, you each hold great potential, even you do not seem aware of just what you are truly capable quite yet” she responded smiling gently “Seraphim Besaria believes in you, she would not send you here needlessly, you three are chosen because out of the millions, billions and more, you three were chosen to take up this destiny, and you have the ability to decide what path it goes, few are given a choice such as this, have courage Silence, you all have the strength in you to stand against any that seek chaos and evil, as long as you have the strength to believe nothing is impossible” Silence looked at Mira in surprise, her words were far more then wishful thinking, deep in her heart through and through, she believed with all her heart that they could succeed, that they do have what it takes to go whatever distance they need to go to save what’s precious to them, he looked down and chuckled slightly “perhaps you are right Mira, forgive me for my shortsightedness, I…faltered for a moment, but…” his gaze turned to Colin and Korin “If you and everyone else believes we have the potential, the strength to see this through then I must rise to the challenge, and face it with them together”\nMira nodded once, placing a claw on his shoulder “you should rest as well, you’ve been up the night, a young one like you needs his rest as well”\n“I will be fine Mira, for now…I will watch the sunrise while the morning is still young”\n“it would be well for you to rest with your companions, I know nightwalkers are a people who connect with others while they rest, perhaps rather than the sunrise, perhaps…getting to know your companions would allow you to bond better, they know so little about you, I’m sure in no time you can become wonderful friends” she implored, seeing she insist he, looked out through the window, seeing the sun beginning to break from the horizon, he decided to respect her suggestion and walked to their bedside and sat down in a meditative position, closing his eyes “very well, Mira, I will not doubt your wisdom, it is true we know little of each other, getting to know one another when we are closest is a wise choice”\n“Grandma knows best as they say fufufu”\nHe began focusing and through Mira’s eyes she could see the invisible strings that connected people reach out from Silence and connect to the two lying in bed, from there Silence drifted into slumber, his magick reaching out to them and connecting to them on a plain of sleep, Mira sat down and watched over them carefully, Alma had quietly left some time before, without notice, if they had need of her, should would be where they were always welcome…home. \nKorin and Colin floated in a dark fog their dreams obscure, they couldn’t remember what they saw, and ultimately it was just faint images they couldn’t make out, when their vision, their senses began to return, rather than in a dreamlike state they began feeling like the dream was becoming real that they had fallen into different reality, gawking about, Korin noticed Colin and blinked, rubbing his eyes “C-Colin? Is that you?” he turned and looked to Korin in surprise “h-huh, Korin? You’re in my dream too? Wait; is this a normal thing in Athesia too? O-or is this just some REALLY over real dream?” he asked curiously Korin continued looking at him in surprise “what in the…why are you in my dream? Get yer own!” he replied sharply, Colin blinked and crossed his arms “but I thought this was my dream, my sleep or whatever it is, if it isn’t a dream…where are we?”\n“You are within your dreams; it is my magick that connects us together on this sacred plain together where our hearts are closest” Silence suddenly appeared from the black, and the scenery changed to a grassy knoll, a tree appeared beside Korin, he look at it raising his claw as if to chop it, squinting then looked to silence in surprise “silence?! You did this? So, so this is a dream?” Korin asked with great surprise, Silence in return nodded \n“Wow…that’s cool you can do this kinda stuff Silence” Colin commented, looking around, kneeling and touching the grass “it’s like we’re really in a grassy knoll”\n“yes, in your dreams anything is possible, especially when magick is involved” he was still wearing his robes but his hood was lowered and his mask off “since you two are fast asleep, I took the opportunity to connect us together, so you can get to know me as you have each other” \nColin got up looking towards him “that’s a smart idea, it’s true, and we don’t know a thing about you aside from saving our hides with that dragon” Silence chuckled “indeed that is true, but it was only because he was focused on you I was able to do what I did, if he had been aware of me from the start things would have been a bit more grim”\nKorin turned his head toward Silence with a curious expression on his face “I have to ask, just how old are you? I know darkwalkers can live for thousands of years, and they don’t have children very often”\n“I’m only 100 years old” he replied, Colin looked at him in surprise “just 100 years old? That’s more than most people live back on earth!” Korin’s gaze glanced over towards Colin for a moment then returned to Silence “that’s very young compared to most of them, a lot of them are over at least 1000 years old” Korin responded quizzically “in comparison you’re like…er…” he paused, looking at his claws counting \n“Five years old, maybe 1 year old in my years” Colin replied, Silence nodded “in my people’s concept of age, I am still a newborn” \n“That’s pretty crazy they’d send someone so young in comparison, but it’s still 86 years older than us” Silence nodded “indeed it is, but don’t think of me as an adult, I’m merely a youth as you, even if it may be hard to see” he continued, smiling warmly “so why is your name Silence? Does it mean something?” Colin inquired curiously\n“Indeed, when darkwalkers are born, a sound or form materializes with them, much like how Alpherians release pure magick when they are born, when we are born something materializes with us, a form we create from our magick decides our names, when I was born, the room was quieted, the was not a sound that could be uttered, there was only Silence, and that is where I gained my name, in the name of the soundless symphony” he explained in a story like way, looking to them both “how did you turn into that shadow wolf thing?” Colin continued to ask, wanting to learn about Silence with great interest “I was trained in my years to use my magick, manifest it more and more, wield it like an extension of my being, thusly after the years passed I finally gained a change of form that materializes to a certain creature that resonates with you, some of my people manifest their second form as dragons, golems, angelic beings like angels, mine was the black wolf, wanderer of the night, in this form my ability to manipulate my magick is easier, to say, it does not make it more powerful, but increase its volume at which I may use it” he paused for a moment, Korin during this time was just looking at them back and forth, listening quietly but he cleared his throat and spoke up “so, how’d you end up finding out about this destiny we got, didn’t you feel shocked or surprised?”\nSilence crossed his arms looking up towards a now blue sky filled with passing white clouds “I was told 14 years ago, on the days of your births, in truth it did surprise me, I was told the whole truth of it all, but, if it was in truth a way to protect Athesia, protect worlds beyond our own, I accepted it without hesitation, because, in my eyes, it is a choice of the needs of the one, the few, against the needs of many, I decided that day that regardless of what I faced, I would do what I must to ensure the safety of our people and the people beyond, even if it is in the name of self-sacrifice, when I lunged into the fray last night the depth of how much larger it is then ourselves fully sunk in, and for a moment seeing your broken bodies, I faltered for a moment, but then Mira helped me to realize, that we, us three have the strength and courage to face this destiny, we simply need to look within ourselves for it, Shesha, the heavenly creator foresaw our destiny, and the three paths our destiny can take, knowing that this is not simply a single path, that we can do something to change fate to where none of us must perish is something I will fight for, not for the sake of violence, or for our own lives, but so that the seed of evil will not be born with us, or the people of this land, this future I will fight for” he looked to down to them “we will have only each other by our sides, Mira, Alma, Theius, your friends, my family, can only be there with us in heart, in their place we must protect each other, you two are good individuals and I believe we’ll do fine” Silence sat down, one leg out, which appeared to be wrapped in some sort of cloth, wearing what looked like sown leather wrap shoes with a flat sole with no design but a slight heel, looking to them both for a moment he paused, then finally spoke “I do not know much about your stories, would you care to share? I will gladly tell you of my life thus far if you so wish” he offered\nColin coughed, clearing his throat and spoke up “well, to be honest I’m…not all that good with words like you but, I’d gladly tell you a little about where I’m from and about my life a little”\nKorin hearing this walked over and sat down near Colin looking up to him, getting ready to talk about his life, he sat down, looking to Korin then Silence “well to start uhm, my full name is Colin Aelfric Freewind, which is the same as uhm, Korin’s last name, dunno how that happened but, I guess we’re just brothers and don’t know it or something but, I came from or kinda forcefully brought here from Earth, it’s world that doesn’t have magic like here, not at all, Mira probably said it and well…I think you did too, but we’re not born with any magic, or a magic soul you called it, it’s a pretty chaotic world in its own right, lots of stuff happening across the world, uhm…” he scratched his head thinking a bit “well it’s uhm, different from Athesia that’s for sure, the kinda peace that Athesia has, or had, I’m not sure, is only something you could dream of where I’m from”\nKorin’s face soured a little hearing this, Silence’s face shifted slightly from a relaxed nonchalant expression, to a puzzled slight straight forward expression “tis a terrible world if such a peace is only dream worthy”\nKorin nodded in agreement\n“well, it’s not all bad, there’s lots of good people they’re just…confused or troubled I’m sure, I come from a family that isn’t doing so good with money, and they do their very best to make sure we all have a home and roof over our heads” Colin’s expression turned melancholy looking slightly down “my mom is gone most of the time, off doing her job in international relationships department for plane parts, my dad works making portable generators, even when he…comes home he doesn’t stop working, taking in home contracts for extra money that doesn’t pay very well, I grew up moving from place to place, moving from school to school, I never had the chance to make a real friend, someone to open up to…an…I ended up being a lil shy and not very well…I dunno…I guess open to others or make friends, I always dreamed of being on a baseball team, the big league sports”\nSilence looked puzzled, as did Korin\n“What’s baseball?” Korin asked curiously\n“Yes, is this a…human sport that you partake in back on earth?” Silence inquired after Korin\n“well it’s a sport where you have a pitcher, holding a…fist sized ball, that throws it to a batter, who has a bat…a bat is uhm…a wooden rod that’s about my arm’s length that gets a little more broad towards the end, usually with a rounded top, and the batter hits the ball into a diamond shaped field of grass with chock to show where four bases are, on each edge of the diamond, when the batter hits the ball, he’s gotta run to each of the ‘bases’ or flat white plates before the other team catches the ball, or touches him with it, when he gets back to the base he scores a point for an inning, there are nine inning which each team strives to have more points, which ever teams has the most points at the end of the game wins, after someone strikes out or misses the ball three times, they’re ‘out’ and then the teams switch from pitching and catching, to batting and getting back to home base” Colin was very avid about baseball, although he didn’t have much when it came to it, he still had his favorite team, and kept up with them in their games, while he explained it, both Silence and Korin looked more and more puzzled and curious\n“Wow this baseball sounds interesting, is flying allowed? Or are there no flying humans either?” he asked\n“nope, we can’t fly by ourselves, or do magic or anything special like you guys can, from what grandma Mira told me, we’re like Yukans in your world”\nKorin crossed his arms trying to understand this baseball “wow…so what does the team get when they win?” \n“well, money, that much I know, uhm, fame and stuff, I just like it because it’s exciting, two teams working hard pushing their limits, cheering fans, excitement when they hit a ball out of the stadium, and boos when the balls is caught before landing, I dunno just is…something I like…uhm…I guess…a-anyway” he paused clearing his throat once more\n“u-uhm, when I was growing up she told me about how she was ill when she gave birth to me, and the doctors said she wasn’t gonna survive because of complications, when she felt a strange sensation overcome her, she told me the doctors were baffled beyond words, her wounds healed in front of their eyes, her bleeding stopped and she lost consciousness then woke up healthy, to this day she still doesn’t know how it happened, do you think there was someone watching over me?” he asked curiously, Silence put a finger to his chin in thought “it’s sounds very similar to healing magick, but from what you’ve told me, it sounds like it wasn’t ordinary magick, healing magick can hold heal non-fatal wounds, only soul transference magick can heal fatal wounding, but the cost is steep and in exchange for years of your life, you give those years to the receiver, and their body will mend even the most life threatening of wounds as long as the body is still alive and the soul is within the vessel, it may very well have been a foreign power that intervene in your mother’s delivery, perhaps they wanted you live a life with your mother, rather than to have been born with only fleeting memories of her, although she is gone often, she’s still in your life, you remember her face, and hold memories of your family in your heart”\nKorin was thinking deeply when the memory popped into his head and it clicked “grandma Mira! The only one who knew of you then was grandma Mira, she saved your earth mom’s life” he exclaimed in realization\nColin looked at him in surprise, then tapped his palm with his fist “Your right Korin, grandma Mira was watching over me my whole life, she saved my mom”\n“she saved her life, but do bear in mind, soul transference is a forbidden magick as it tamps with the natural process of life and death, in a way, it creates a paradox, a different you then what you were supposed to be, soul transference magick as well, heals the body but in the process, to Athesian people, Yukan or not, it also can transfer memories of words, phrases, situations and even names, mayhaps your surnames were chosen because your mother in some way was influenced by Mira’s memory, perhaps she recalled the memory of Korin’s naming, thusly you both were giving kin surnames, the pieces align quite well Colin” \nKorin and Colin looked to each other puzzledly then grinned “then it means we’re brothers in a sorta…magic-y sorta way, my dad always wondered why mom gave me that surname rather than my dad’s or hers” he responded grinning happily\nSilence chuckled looking to them both “you two do seem very close despite how little time has passed, without so much as a week passing you two have grown a very strong brother like bond, and even share the same family now, it’s puzzling and quite…heartwarming to see such bond grow in such a short time”\nColin grinned to Silence, looking to his eyes, Silence looked into his, as the saying goes the eyes are the door to soul, and in a place where they are closest was like looking into an open door, as a darkwalker, it’s the ultimate sign of trust, to let someone see into your soul, and understand their being, what lies within them, Korin looked to them both as they kept a steady gaze, somewhat confused, Silence looked into Colin’s soul and found many sincere, kind, heartwarming memories, no memories of misdeeds or wrong doing, looking into his soul he could feel the emotions he felt, he felt great happiness, joy, excitement and curiosity, a kindled courage lying deep within, aching to burst forth, but as there is good in one’s soul, there is always something to balance the good in the heart, looking deeper, he could feel deep sincere sadness for his family, his longing and frustration, his nervousness and shyness, what Silence felt was strong, yet fragile and passive heart, one that sincerely wished to do no harm, only to help, Colin looked into Silence’s eyes, he could feel strange new sensations, what were they? He could emotions that weren’t his own take shape within his heart, somewhere inside him, he felt Silence’s emotions; he felt great passion and courage, he could feel resolve and calm only describable as a quiet mellow morning, cool air filled with the scent of peaceful new day, he felt himself going deeper, he felt longing, he felt the need to prove himself, the burning frustration to get stronger, to be recognized by his people, the small feeling of conflict and confusion, he could feel a slight and harmless envy, so many emotions he could feel, all of which began to wash over him, Silence could feel him looking into his soul, as he did his, feeling the deep sorrow for his family’s struggle, the confusion in his heart became more obvious by the moment, Silence broke their gaze looking away, Korin looked at them thoroughly confused, one brow raised fully up, one lowered down “uh….guys…you…okay? You’ve been staring at each other for like…3 or 4 minutes now, something you uh…wanna tell me?” he asked in his thorough confusion, Colin looked at him with a blank stare for a moment then shook his head, and blinked, his focus returning slowly “u-uh…no…no I don’t think so, I was just…uh” he scratched his head, Korin gave him an unimpressed expression, leaning his head forward, arms crossed, one claw tapping against his arm, giving a clear as crystal ‘expectant’ face, Colin shook his head once more to get out of the haze, and he finally focused fully on Korin this time “I’m not sure, I looked into Silence’s eyes and then, I started feeling all these uh…emotions I guess…they didn’t feel like mine though” he explained, Silence sighed for a moment as he came out of his initial daze “that’s…making a spiritual connection, when one soul connects to another through their pathways, in essence, our eyes, which are both keys and doors, when we locked solid gazes, we unlocked and opened the doors to each other’s innermost feelings and emotions” he shook his head lightly “for truth, I have never done it before, it was…quite the surprise I must say, it’s exhausting even in a dream” he chuckled slightly at the last part “so…like we became uhm…like one or…something?” Colin asked softly, not being too forward, Silence shook his head “not quite Colin, although we were completely Intune and connected with each other, we didn’t merge our souls, it was more like…hm…what is a good way to say it…our minds connected, as did our souls, but we did not become one entity, we each remained ourselves, only feeling what the other’s deepest feelings are but not becoming them in the process” he explained as best he could “I might be close to a century old but tis only a child’s age in our kind, darkwalkers take their time training and honing themselves…needless to say I am refined to a degree in decision making and awareness, but…I am not quite as learned in mannerisms of communicating with others quite yet, it takes adjusting, speaking basic Alpherian and such, although I am quite surprised, how did you understand Mira and Korin when you first arrived, more than likely the dialects of human and Alpherian are different” Silence asked ponderously, Colin looked down touching his chin “huh….i’m…not sure, I was still battered through a loop and Mira spent all night mending my injuries, I just woke up and it was like she was speaking English to me, I didn’t notice” he replied thinking deeply about it, Korin blinked “It’d make sense why we understand each other here since we’re all connected so closely, but maybe when Mira heal your mother, she transfer knowledge of Alpherian language to you too, I hear Yukan children are born still connected to their mothers, if Humans are like them, then maybe since you’ve got some hidden potential in the tank it let you pick up a sorta…natural ability to understand Alpherian, so far that all you’ve heard so far, but…” Korin looked up towards the sky thinking deeply “that heavenly creator was speaking flame tyrant dialect, which is in essence, the oldest form of Alpherian tongue dating back countless years ago, although it was like he had a heavy accent to me, you seemed to understand him too, maybe even better than me” Korin speculated, confounded by this, Colin looked down to his jeans thinking deeply, then it clicked “can you enchant clothes to understand other languages?” he asked curiously, Silence looked at him in surprised from his suggestion “that’s quite an intuitive question, it’s believable the more wise or knowledged the caster is in dialects and languages, the stronger and better the enchantment, perhaps Mira enchanted something of yours, perhaps your clothes” Silence pondered a moment “it’s no doubt that he’ll be able to understand ancient and modern dialects of various races if it was her to have enchanted your garments” he pointed out “but to you it probably sounds like we’re speaking in your native language no doubt, and to us you’re speaking Alpherian, quite puzzling how things fall in place…”\n“I mean that’s nothing bad, it just means Colin won’t have trouble understanding us, and we won’t have trouble understanding him, not much to think about Silence” \n“Indeed, that is true Korin” Silence replied\nSomething nagged at the back of Colin’s mind when he thought about it, but he decided not to think much about it and dismissed the feeling, switching subjects “where do you come from Silence? I learn a little about the history of Athesia and about the 200 year war, but I’m still learning about Athesia, and I don’t know much about darkwalkers and all the other people that live here, so I’d love to hear about your people, and how you came to be wrapped up in all of this like Korin and I” \nSilence nodded “I come from Illiumia, it’s fairly large city located far to the west of Athesian lands, a city by the shores, disconnected from the world, hidden within great and perilous mountains, beyond the ruins of our ancestors, it’s a city unlike Alpherian or Yukan design, carved of white brilliant stone, it’s buildings reaching high into the skies and deep below the earth, the stone is craved to a level you could only imagine, all of which is handled by a select few crafters chosen at birth, even I do not know their secret, if that tells you anything”\nKorin’s eyes sparkled hearing tall buildings and imagined climbing to the top and jumping off in a graceful dive, opening his wings as a gently updraft catches his wings “w-wow…” he responded, his tone soft and amazed\n“That sound amazing, if you’re disconnected from Athesia, does that mean your people sustain themselves?” Colin asked\nSilenced nodded in response “yes, darkwalkers needn’t eat so often as most races, as our bodies age at such a slow rate, and our metabolism mirrors this, one meal would last two weeks before we would need to eat again, mind you it is one meal, much like if you were to eat dinner, the next day you would eat once more, to us, your day is our two weeks, we do not consume meat or feed on the plant life of our world, we fulfill our need for sustenance with magick, although the method of which we consume it, is in material shape, of which we give it form of flora, but does not have the same composition as flora”\n“So…it’s kinda like magic plants? It looks like a plant but it’s just pure magic?” Colin asked in turn\nSilence nodded once more “indeed, you’re correct Colin, and it is grown deep underground, where the caretakers reside, they are a people born blind to the world, seeing only magick, darkwalkers like us, they wear masks much like our own, but sport no opening for eyes, as they do not need them”\n“Can you eat food like us if you don’t have those plants?” this time is was Korin who asked\n“Yes, although since it is not pure magick manifestation, it does not sustain us as well as our own cultivation, thusly my metabolism will speed up, and with it my life will shorten, in essence it’s unhealthy for me to do so, but is viable in situations where I cannot find a viable source of sustenance”\nColin was surprised, and intrigued deeply as he listened, although Korin was still caught up in the idea of how tall their buildings were, since he loved flying, the idea set his imagination ablaze\n“I am certain you shall ask, so I will answer before needless works are spoke” he paused for a moment, Colin looking at him a bit oddly “I told you that I knew about my destiny on the days of your birth, in truth, I knew about it since even my earlier years, I had visions, as some do when there is a destiny they will find themselves needing to fulfil, I had told my father and mother of these visions, when I was but only 20, I was called to an audience with Seraphim Besaria, there are only…and only three reasons for such an audience, the first, is a telling of great change on the horizon, the second is the scribing of one’s impending death, the third is of a ‘Remael Hazeia’ ”\nColin tilted his head confusedly “A…what?” he asked in response \nSilence looked at him perplexedly to his confusion “you did not understand Remael Hazeia?” he asked\nColin shook his head, Korin looked at Silence with equal confusion, seeming to have stopped day dreaming for the moment “that’s the first time I’ve ever hear a word like that too Silence, what’s it mean?” \n“Remael Hazeia, it’s a phrase only spoken in the darkwalker tongue, in Alpherian is roughly translated as ‘fate born’ a foreseen birth with great importance to the future of Athesia, audiences with the seraphim are of only great importance, as Darkwalker kind is a individually governed people, we have no defining ‘head’ of our people as the Seraphim is only contacted in regards to situations of Athesia, you might say she’s a figure of our people, a white angel defined only as an oracle of fate, she has existed for millennia, divining fate and the future, around 80 years ago I was the first among elders to have seen her, she was a brilliant sight, robes the purest white, a mask so intricate it could not have been crafted by mortal hand, no eyes of which to be seen, her voice was tranquil, and alluring, speaking to her, it was as if I spoke not to a mortal being, but of some existence beyond our people taken form in the shape of a heavenly body”\nColin and Korin looked at Silence with a deep interest and wonder “wow…and you got to meet this Seraphim and it was about your destiny, years before we were born even?” Korin asked, his voice thoroughly filled with curiosity, Silence nodded as usual “indeed, it was foreseen many years ago by her, she foresaw the 200 year war and it’s result, she foresaw my birth, as well as yours, Colin, Korin, she knew something of incomparable importance was on the horizon, over watching my birth, my life as I lived it, when I came to meet her she told me a time would come I would be called to be a safe guard of the world, in its darkest hour, that I am one of three that were to take up a great and perilous path that would decide the fate of Athesia, and a great many worlds beyond it, at the time I did not understand, as Korin was yet to have been born, and you, Colin, your parents yet to have been born to create you, I was the first of us, slowly as time went on, I carried out my duties, tending to the gardens, our lands and training myself to wield the magick I do, even with the years I have I am not as experienced as many darkwalkers are, as many reach their peak of ability in a millennia, I have but a fraction of temperament and ability as many of my people do, but that goes without saying that the magic I have learn I need no incantations to cast, as you do Korin, as incantations are methods to channel magicks you do not quite have the experience to master, a warn Colin as you are not one with a vessel born to hold magic, with an unknown source of magick somehow founded in you despite an incompatible vessel, using magick to far above your ability, can incapacitate and if done too often, will kill you, keep that in mind, you will need to build your foundation which you’ve begun building when in your encounter with Shesha, I am unsure, but I believe your magick came forth responding to your burning desire to protect something, as magick fueled by emotion resonates with the user more, creating a stronger magick, even in your dreams magick can be used, so bear in mind that using it despite you’re physical body is not active your soul and magic are un-resting, such as now, your vision is clear, you can smell, see, taste, feel and hear as you normally would, as well our minds have connected in a single plain as a result of my magick, I reached out to both of your magicks and connected each of us, which is why we are here now”\nKorin and Colin both looked at each other again then back to Silence trying to understand as best they could \n“wow…that’s a lot to take in Silence” Colin commented, looking slightly lost but not completely dumbfounded “we know that Colin isn’t a natural born magick user and we know that it ain’t all that good when he exhausts him magick and all that” Korin said, pausing a moment to collect his thoughts on the information “So how does someone jus’ build a foundation for magick when they didn’t have it in the first place?” \n“by focus, by training the mind to connect with their magick, as it is now, the only way he can produce magick, Is by allowing the magick to come forth on its own, rather than say you or I call upon it, when I transform into my form I call upon my magick and meld it to my need, you call upon your magick to create the fire magick you use, Colin cannot do this with his foundation, what you must do Colin, is focus, focus your mind and reach out to the magick that's buried deep within you, reach deep within yourself and feel your magick, allow yourself to sink within your being and touch the magick you hold within you…let it come to you, do not force it out, as you will fail, think of magick…as a secondary being of its own, if you reach your hand out and let the magick come to you and take your hand, you will have successfully made the magick connection we all make at birth, woven into our being before we are aware of our very self, while we are here, let’s try to build one such foundation, Korin, I recommend you do so too, as it will help you to reach a deeper connection to your magick”\nColin Nodded eagerly, and Korin nodded too, a little less enthusiastic, he wasn’t the type who liked to be stationary, and like to be doing something “come on it’ll be fun Korin, I’ll be able to use magic and you’ll be able to use magic better, it’s a win-win” \nKorin sighed smirking a little “alriiiight I’ll do it with you” Korin replied earnestly, sitting in a cross-legged pose, with his claws cupped together\n“Take that pose Colin and let us begin” \nColin nodded and shifted to the same position as Korin \n“now close your eyes, focus, imagine yourself sinking, almost…falling, but do not struggle against it, let yourself sink, let yourself fall gently, expand your senses and imagine your mind expanding, the closed in feeling fade away…”\nColin and Korin both closed their eyes, following Silence’s guidance; Colin inhaled and let out a slow, deep exhale as he let his focus on his surroundings fade, let his mind empty and let himself slip away, he felt a small sensation of falling wash over himself, as did Korin, they felt themselves sinking, almost falling from their very bodies, Colin felt as though he was leaving his body behind and delving into an unknown, strange new existence, a weightless feeling he could only describe as being like a feather, falling slowly in the air, he could feel himself slipping away into a place he felt he had never been, a strange new place, despite having his eyes closed he could begin to see a color, a form in the blackness, he slowly felt himself move towards it, his body was immobile, as was Korin’s, he felt as though he was reaching out not with his hands but with himself, reaching out to this colored form, the feeling, he felt was very slowly being returned, he could feel himself reaching out, the form becoming more clear, he eventually let go of himself, of his physical being and he reached out and felt as though he touched a gentle warmth, it was gentle, and light, as he felt himself get closer, he stopped and the form did too, he stayed there, floating in a weightless, formless state, looking in front of a shape that began to resemble himself, he began to make out details In hazy form, he could see that this form was white, it smiled to him gently, and as though he felt himself reaching a hand out, the form, slowly, began to form arms and reach out to him, in what seemed like forever, it reached out and he felt a deep warmth fill his being as the figure touched his being, it looked to him and he could see it smiling to him, he made an attempt to smile back, feeling the sensation as though he were, the being reached out to him and in surprise he could feel…no…hear a voice echoing to him, he couldn’t quite make out words, but it indeed spoke, the words as time went on became more and more clear “I can hear your soul, I feel it calling to me, it is kind, and I hear it well, now you can feel me calling back, Colin, I hear your words well, your words can finally reach me, in your dreams I call out to you, but you do not hear, but now, you hear my words, and I, can finally hear yours…I am the magick within you, and I accept your call” the being seemed to say, the words just forming in his mind, without words, without sound but understanding “you…are my magick soul” Colin said, yet his mouth did not move either, his words reached out to this being which it seemed to understand, the being closed its eyes and Colin felt a rush of something, something welling up and flowing over his being, he felt himself filling with some feeling he could not explain soon after the being nodded to him, and he felt himself flowing up, almost falling into a aimless black sky, he felt his weight return, although it did not seem as heavy, it didn’t feel as much of a burden, he felt himself slowly returning to himself, and then a light began to return, he could hear the sounds of birds, of gently flowing grass across a peaceful sunny plain, the warmth of the sun touching his body, he could feel the wind against his skin, the smell of flowers, he slowly opened his eyes, wincing at first as his eyes slowly adjusted, blinking a few times, he opened them, Seeing Silence and Korin looking to him, Silence holding a warm pleased grin, Korin giving a proud and happy smile \n“I could feel you made the connect, Colin, I sense your magick soul now, far more than before, I can feel it’s presence within you as your soul, I am quite happy you did so well, it’s been around 2 hours since we began, though it will have felt longer, or shorter, though I cannot be sure, what I do know” he paused “is that your magick soul Is strong now, perhaps when you both awaken, you’ll be ready to train, but only time shall tell, here in the world where our minds our closest, I may speak my heart, but I am not quite as talkative outside of this dream, so for now, I will give you advice from deep in my heart”\nColin and Korin looked to each other in confusion, not sure of what Silence may say\n“I will protect you both, no matter the foe we face, I know you are not one to fight Colin, Korin you are strong willed, but lack combat experience, I may be not as experienced as some, but I know what i must do when the time comes, allow me to be your sword, that will strike out against our foes, I will fight for your sakes, I swear on my life that we will see this through, we SHALL return home…this is a promise to you two I shall keep, you both are younger than I, and you do not live as long as my kind, I will not see it cut any shorter”\nThe very words resounded to them, they were much more, it was an oath, a promise they knew was one that he intended to keep, without doubt or hesitation\n“Well fine, if you insist” Korin said, Colin looked at him sourly, then he smiled “then ah’ll just have to be the bow and armor” he continued winking\nColin and Silence both laughed heartily\n“Then I’ll be the shield, I dunno what I can do with my magic but I’ll do my best Silence, Korin, we’ll do it, we’ll return home…” he looked down for a moment in thought, remembering his original home which he came from not too long ago, he looked up, a twinkle of determination in his eyes “Together!” he said full of heart\nThey all cheered in their resolve to face this destiny head on regardless of what they might face, because in their heart, they all knew, as long as they had each other by their side, they’d see this through, through thick and thin, despite knowing each other for a fleeting amount of time, they all felt like they’d known each other for years, the kindled bond of friendship and brotherhood burning strong and deeply\n“I sense it’ll be time soon for you both to awaken, anything either of you would like to speak of while we are here?” Silence asked\n“Ya’huh I got somethin’!” Korin spoke up\n“Our job is to save lives, an’ from what I remember, we saved someone from somethin’ real bad…if we can save a heavenly creator, we can save anyone, i…dun want to kill anybody…it’s crazy I know…but…” he paused in reflection, thinking about what he had said, to not kill, even if the foes they faced intend to, and stop them, but not end their life, it was a difficult path to take to be sure\n“it ain’t somethin’ I wanna do…I know they’ll be tryin’ to hurt us, or kill us, but…ending someone’s life jus’ ain’t something I can see myself doing…so…let’s make another promise…to protect everyone’s lives, and not take any”\nSilence looked to him deeply, Colin was a bit more passively to the suggested promise and agreeing as he was a pacifist, and didn’t believe in killing, or harming others, Silence believed in the lives of the few against the lives of all, he wanted the outcome where no one has to die, but he would do so if it meant protecting others, protecting Korin or Colin, not putting forth his own safety into the idea, he gave a sigh, thinking deeply on his proposal “it will be difficult, and the future is not clear as what will transpire, I will do what I must to avoid a situation where we must choose one, for another, a situation in which one must die so another will live, but I agree, Korin, let us do everything we can to make sure we do not stain our hands, or…claws, in blood, or our destiny will be for naught”\nKorin smiled, hearing Silence agreeing, looking to Colin who nodded “I agree too, I don’t want to hurt anyone, much less take someone’s life in the process, I’m all for it Korin!” he said vigorously \nIt was agreed; that they would chose a path of peaceful resolve, to save friend and foe alike from bloodshed and death. But like most difficult paths, it’s not easy, and they will be faced with difficult choices \n\n-story progression to be continued-\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "The tale of Athesia:  heroes in the stars

We are makers of our own destiny, with fate by our side, it guides our hand through dark and troubled times, through the sacrifice of soul, of body and mind, we pave the way to a new tomorrow, the road to a world where the light will dawn once more, or to a world where even god would be lost, where life lives on in the rise of the sun, or dies, lost in the fog of obscurity, we are chosen by fate, may it be the light in our darkest hour.


 Athesia, a vast open world, with mountains reaching far into the skies, many lands ranging from swamps to great forests, to burning hot lands of magma and volcanoes, to mellow and open green plains, in this world, many things thrive on the magicks born deep within the world, giving birth to the many people that reside within it, such as the Alpherians, a draconic species, deeply connected to the magic of the world have adapted to living in the high valleys, their wings and bodies feathered for flight, adapt quickly to the needs of the person, when an Alpherian is born, it is born able to stand on two feet, but quickly lose this ability with age once they’ve settle down to a place they make home, though if they so choose a life of roaming they do not lose this ability. The Yukan people, similar to humans in appearance and bearing little or no magic, they make their way in the world creating advanced technologies to use and harvest magic to power their machines, although they create a great many machines they’ve as well created a great many ancient weapons of war, of which are all but abandoned centuries ago for the sake of peace, creating great cities in the habitable green lands north of the Alpherian valleys. Zeeks are brothers to the Alpherians, and have no wings, and are reptilian in features and nature, they’ve adapted to a life on the ground such as marshes, and green lands to the east of the Yukans.  One people though not great in size or merits are the Darkwalkers, a people who are few in number are shied away from due to their connection with the dark magicks of the world, they are mysterious and reserved, how they are born, and what they look like is not known and not much is known about them aside from their foresight and connection to the world, mistaken for doom bringers and harbingers of misfortune they are labeled evil and bring misfortune with them when they solemnly travel.

 Though the world is at peace, a dark force brews under the surface, bringing imbalance in world, magick slowly growing unstable, it was an evil, black darkness that a certain Alpherian elder foresaw, a force that would one day grow to threaten the world

In valley of two mountains humbling in size a humble village make their home, an old female Alpherian elder sat within a cavernous room filled with a great many crystals of varying size and shape circled around  the room, hanging from the ceiling and the floor, illuminating the room with their magicks, a low ceremonial throne in the middle of the room, here many Alpherians come to have their child read by an elder, when an Alpherian child is born into the world, they release a pure magic within them, and the elder meditates and reads the child’s new born magicks to give them a prophesy of the child’s path and of the child’s soul. Today two parents would enter with their egg, one was male, and was roughly several feet tall, the other female, only about 6 feet, sensing it was close to hatching, the elder which was shorter than them both was only 5 feet tall; her eyes slowly opened, looking ahead to them as them approached “ahhhh good, Theius, Alma, you are here, quickly now, bring the egg to the throne so I can begin” she spoke in an olden and soft grandmotherly tone “yes of course Elder Mira” the mother replied as she beckoned them forward, as they approached they carefully set the egg down and stepped back, they sat down and held each other’s claw as they patiently waited for the egg to shift, a movement, anything, sensing their uneasy spirit the elder smiled to them “calm your spirits, young ones, the child can feel your uneasiness, let it go, and calm your troubled hearts so the child can be born to certainty, you will have created a new life to this world, and it is wonderful” she whispered to them both and closed her eyes, the parents nodded giving a soft smirk as they leaned against each other.
 After a few moments the egg shifted, and there were sounds of cracking; already deep into meditation, the elder Alpherian was ready, the cave seemed to respond to the egg and dimmed and the magic waved gently, suddenly the egg  surface cracked and split, the maroon egg began to break apart, and wispy light burst into the room and the elder opened her eyes with a soft gasp, the magic within the crystals seemed to shine brighter, and brighter, touching the wisp of the magic created from the new born she looked at it and closed her eyes with deep focus “this child is special, his body is of this world but his spirit…is reborn of another world, such a sad and lonely life he has led, but even now the threads of his past life slip away, leaving only a pure spirit, his memories, his past slip away to obscurity” she foretold,  looking to a young baby  that lay whining as he wiggled around, freeing himself from his egg, the elder placed a claw on a shell that obscured his belly, and gently peeled it away, revealing a birthmark in the shape of two cross wings and she nodded “understand young ones, many that leave our world are reborn into the world anew, or into the countless others that exist far beyond our own, of the many I feel return to the world an exceedingly rare few are born with this mark” she explained as the veil above the baby and elder swayed gently all around “what does this mean Elder Mira? Is this an omen?” Theius asked softly as to not disturb the baby as they approached the throne “no my dear Theius, I sense a pure, driven heart within this young one, seeking a family, a place to belong, no evil resides within his magic’s heart, this mark here” she placed a claw against it very gently, Alma began cleaning the baby, removing any remaining membrane or egg pieces “he has walked the crossroads of destiny, and even so…seems to have done it early within his life, it seems he was chosen to come to this world for a purpose” Theius and alma looked to each other with concern and deep confusion “why would a child choose such a path Elder Mira?”  Mira quickly responded “I sensed great determination within this child’s heart…this past life has almost all but faded now and I can only sense its determination, and it will become this child’s” her eyes began to glow with magic as the child’s prophecy flashed before them  “this child will face a strange destiny, it is tied with the darkness that grows within the lands beyond the mountains, I see…a young Yukan bearing strange…otherworldly garments and a nightwalker with him, the nightwalker is aware of his destiny even now, the Yukan may very well be ignorant of his destiny, a wonderful and pure pacifist soul I sense no evil within either of these ones” she paused as the images continued “…a most strange foresight…and a stranger gathering yet…a great evil looms, one that shall threaten not just our world but many, it desires only but the destruction of all that it sees as threats to its plans, it will try and destroy them, this nightwalker are a powerful people and it will be hard for this evil to reach him, the otherworldly Yukan will be in grave danger” Theius and alma gasped gently and hung over her child protectively “surely this cannot be true? What can we do to stop this?” They both asked, the elder touched her chin and thought deeply to herself for a moment as the final images of the newborn’s prophecy faded, then looked to them with a calm expression “for now the danger will not take shape until his 15th year in this world, raise this young child with great care and love, teach him of courage and strength of  heart, of the power to believe in oneself… do not let your fear become his;  he mustn’t be told of this prophecy until the time is right, you must swear to me here in this place of magic and purity that you shall not speak of this prophecy until he is of age Theius, Alma” she pressed in a serious tone, Both of them nodded in response “Yes we swear elder, we will not speak of this to our son until he is ready” Theius responded firmly, Mira looked into his eyes as he swore and she gave a slow nod in response and smiled “good, but before you take your little one, what shall be his name mh?” she inquired looking to both of them, getting up, holding her back with a soft groan “oh, that’s what you get once your past 800 years old, your back gives you the worst trouble I say” she lamented passively, both Alma and Theius looked to each other wondering “well…” alma looked to Mira with a bit of an embarrassed expression “we aren’t sure what exactly name him, we were thinking of girl names, since girls are common in both sides of our families” Mira looked at them with one eye open but squinted with a slight smirk “ohhh? I think the little one knows quite well what name he wants” they both looked at each other, then Mira in deep confusion “the little one? Was the past life again?” they asked in a low unsure tone, she nodded with the smirk on her face and walked to them and whispered the name, they looked at each other in surprise then smiled looking down to the little Alpherian “Korin, what a beautiful name” Alma commented “Korin Raziel Freewind, Theius dear I think your father’s surname goes very well with our little Korin don’t you think?” Alma asked winking, Theius chuckled and rubbed his neck “could have been Reginald from my mother’s side” he responded rubbing the playful hatchlings head gently, seeing Korin playing with his mother’s chest feathers.
Elder Mira looked to them both and bowed her head as she began to walk out “a cautious to this prophecy, if need be we may need to seek a way to bring either the nightwalker or the otherworld Yukan sooner, there’s no way that this evil will abide the time to let any of them grow up, we must pray it is unaware of these three or this prophecy yet, if he…it…discovers any of them, it will undoubtedly try to divert or kill any one of them as they grow up, if this prophecy is discovered, it may very well seek out the others instead, this otherworldly Yukan is particularly in danger, Yukans generally have little to no connection to magic, and are susceptibly weaker against it, though being from another world, he may very well be different from our Yukan…for now he is safe as long as it is unaware” she paused in thought, looking back to them “I will meditate on this and convene action with the others Elders, this is far greater then any one of us Theius, Alma, if this prophecy truly is tied with the darkness as I have foreseen,  if any one of these chosen ones should die before they take up their destiny, we may face destruction, not just for our world, but this one and many others, as the elders we shall handle this as best we can” with that she left the room, leaving a concerned Theius and Alma looking to their hatchling which will one day be forced to take up a destiny that he been chosen without choice, how could they just let it go as something horrible and evil looms over their baby like a guillotine, threatening to claim his life before he’s truly lived his life, Alma picked up little Korin and held him with one arm as they hurried home to properly clean and  care for their new born.

Mira parting ways with the star-crossed parents unfurled her wings and took flight, ascending quickly to her home much higher than the other that lived in their humble village, landing on a plateau her home in the middle, entering inside. Inside her home it was a cozy sight, the walls were covered in various artefacts and pictures of newborns and of many people she had met in many places, diamond shaped objects hung down from the ceiling like dream catcher, crystals in the center of them, glowing softly with magic, it had 3 rooms, one of which was her bedroom, the second was her bathroom, she went into the third room, which was filled with various magical objects and equipment, and in the center  colorless crystals float in harmony around and around in a circle slowly around them a sphere of magic radiated, she walked up to it and sat down slowly, reaching her claws out to it and touched the sphere, looking deeply into it, the crystals began to spin clockwise and counter clockwise, faster and faster until they were a blur, images began to take shape within the spinning crystals, she blew gently and a wisp of the white magic from the newborn flowed into the sphere of spinning crystals, slowly, she whispered a chant and closed her eyes, pictures, colors, and shapes began flashing by, slowly, the pictures began to slow, and the crystals stopped immediately, and she opened her eyes, within the sphere she looked down into a room, it was a woman in labor, doctors all around taking care of her, giving her anesthetics, monitoring her as she was in labor, the crystals moved slowly, and the image sped up, blurring, after a minute they slowed down, time had passed by quicker, after the image cleared, she was in deep distress, the child had been born, a beautiful baby boy, born with a full head of hair, platinum blonde ringlets all across his head, the mother was slipping from the world, seeing the child was to lose his mother before she could hold her child Mira removed a claw from the orb and closed her eyes speaking in a strange tongue, her eyes opened sharply and a green essence from her maw, flowing into the orb, through the orb the essence had passed through and passed into the mother, she gasped and her eyes opened, and slowly closed, and her body slowing down, the babies cry filling the room as he could feel his mother’s distress, through the picture the sounds of rapid beeping slowly more and more, the beeping stopped for a moment, the doctors in panic began to prepare a strange machine Mira had never seen, readying everything to revive the mother, when she gasped and her eyes opened and her wounds began to seal and close fully, the damage within healing at a rate that seemed mythical, the doctors looked around the room as the monitor began to beep at a steady rate, seeing the deadly wounds sealing before their eyes, they quickly made work to do what they could, Mira looked into the orb and chuckled weakly, looking down for a moment then raising her head “it seems these Yukans fare no better at resisting magic than our own” once everything was finished and the doctors were finished with quick tests and blood work a nurse walked with the child to her and gave the mother her child, the mother looked down the crying baby and held him close a nurse looking to her “what’s his name miss?” she asked in a soft and sweet tone, she looked to him and leaned her head down to him “I’ll name him Colin, it was the name me and my husband had decided when the doctors told us it was a boy” she replied, the nurse had a clipboard with a parchment of sort on it, writing down a few things, the mother looked up to nurse “Colin Aelfric Freewind” the nurse nodded and wrote down the name, through the crystals Mira smirked “ohh it seems she subconsciously read my memory of the two parents through my magic fufufu” she laughed gently “where is your husband now? I’m certain he was informed of your-” beyond the door you could hear quick footsteps and voices, when a man came through quickly “Celia! I’m here, don’t worry you didn’t give birth yet did you?!” he exclaimed pausing, seeing the child in her arms and the nurse with a clipboard “don’t worry hun, you didn’t miss much” she replied in a soft and warm tone smiling “come here and meet your son you silly” he bit his lip and you could see his emotions ran high as he walked up to his son and wife, he reached down and picked him up, his lip quivered gently as he saw his son crying soft, he rocked him gently hushing him, tear trickled down and leaned his head down “my baby boy, it’s your papa, it’s daddy, your daddy’s here shh” he leaned next to Celia sniffing “he’s beautiful” Celia giggled a little “you haven’t asked what we named him yet” she replied “it’s Colin, Colin Aelfric Freewind ” he nodded and gave the child back to her “it’s a good name, where did you get Freewind?” she looked down “I’m…not sure, it just came to me, and I thought it was a good name for him, don’t you think so?” he nodded repeatedly “yes, yes of course sweetie, it’s just fine” he replied, the nurse smiled and walked to the exit door “I’ve got all I need, once everything is done we’ll give you the birth certificate, I’ll leave you three alone, ring if you need anything” the mother nodded “yes, of course” with that the nurse left the room and the two lay together, resting with their newborn” the images of the family sparked a warm and happy feelings in Mira, it was always a wonderful thing to witness the creation of a new life, the image faded from the orb and the crystals resumed their slow counter and clockwise rotation and Mira exhaled tiredly as she walked from the orb “what a sweet family” she commented as she walked out of the room and looked outside from a window, the sun beginning to set “it seems these children truly are destined for such a terrible fate” a soft gust of wind blew in and she sighed softly “even you are here” she turned and looked to a black cloaked and masked man, the mask similar to the plague doctor masks of ancient Europe, the eyes red, nothing seen beyond, he spoke in a disembodied yet silvery tone “you’ve foreseen our future, as I have myself, quite presumptuous to delve into the affairs of another’s world without consulting the other elders is it not” he replied, she chuckled “oh yes I agree, but I did so to assure a little one lives a normal life with its parents” she replied “as I, one day that life will be taken from us, and we will be set onto a journey filled with peril and danger, a great foe will stand before us” he paused “you have wishful thinking it would not know, but it does, it has for some time Elder Mira, but with more hope this world has the more devastation it will bring when it is taken, it may not act now, but as you have foreseen it will not wait forever” she quickly turn course in tone “yes I know this already! You needn’t tell me of what I already know, learn your place Nightwalker…” the figured looked away “I am sorry I spoke too freely, apologies Elder Mira, I did not mean to appear presumptuous” he responded, “as well, I have not spoken my given name as greetings, I am Silence, and I do not want such a horrible fate to befell our lands, we are all creatures that live within this world, and even if the world does not see, we love this world like all else that would wish to protect it” he looked back to Mira “and I would gladly take up any quest to save it” he spoke in a more confident tone, Mira walked to a window on the other side of the door, where a seemingly empty pot sit “we are much like flowers, we’re are born into this world as a seed, we’re born not knowing what the stars have in mind for us, as we grow we realize who we are and then before you know it, we bloom, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, it’s never known if a flower will bloom sooner, or later but when it does, it is beautiful” she looks to Silence “to cut a flower short before it has a chance to bloom is what I would want to avoid, even if they’re faced with a grim destiny, it is not the end, for you, for the newborns, you will all fight to protect that bloom, so that we all…can live to see another flower’s bloom, I know you are not all that old either Silence, your kind is born and nurtures pure and kind darkness, not the kind this…this…force uses for great evil, this I know, and even so, even if your voice may not speak your age, your essence, your magic speaks for you, it is bright, bright as the sun, even if it is not light, it is a fool’s idea darkness and light to represent good and evil, even in darkness, light accompanies it, in light darkness lies accompanies it, they are pure magicks that can be twisted like any else in the world…your magick is young, it may not be new to this world but I feel it is learning even in all your years, it is still new and young, yearning for a way to cleanse the nightwalker’s name, to be seen as a kind people whose desire is to bring good to the world in their own way” she paused for a moment, Silence looked down “it is true that the Alpherian elders rival nightwalkers in their understanding and connection to the magick in the world, but it seems it is no lie either that you are more deeply connected to world then even us, many of our kind think of you as a incarnation of the world itself, your wisdom and insight and kindness eons beyond your age” when he finished, Mira looked to Silence with a large grin “fufufu, is that a compliment I hear young nightwalker?” Silence quickly turned away as if blushing “n-not quite Elder Mira it was just…insight I was given” she laughed and walked to Silence and put a claw on his shoulder “it’s well alright, many here believe so too, am I? Much too presumptuous to say, I simply can feel the life, and magick in the world, it speaks stories to me, hopes, dreams, feelings, all of which speak loudest from here” she put a single claw to his chest “I will not live forever young nightwalker, even now I feel Athesia call to me, telling me my time comes soon, am I afraid? No…I have lived a good, fulfilling life, and if I can give a single child a life with its mother, then that fine…what is a full life to a Yukan is but a fraction to Alpherians, and I’ve helped ” she walked to counter in the living area that looked much like a kitchen, mixing herbs and other various greens together “Elder Mira…” he spoke softly, almost dumbfounded, he walked slowly to the door “oh? Are you leaving Silence? And here I was getting ready to prepare a meal for you too fufufu” he shook his head “sorry Elder Mira, it’s time I headed back while the night grows stronger, my-“ Mira looked to him and he stopped, seeing small tears trickling down from the olden Alpherian, a smile elderly smile showing “do come back now it’s always nice to have company over” she said, Silence looked to her and walked back over to her, being a little over a human’s nature size, he knelt down and gave her a hug “please do not cry Elder Mira, the future will be bright no matter what, it shall be so, I promise” Mira looked in surprise as the normally reserved and calm nightwalker comforted her, he raised a black hand as he took off his mask, and showed her his face “it’s told that you show your true face to the people you care most for and none else, in this little time together, I feel you are more than deserving…” Mira looked to Silence and smiled “you are quite the handsome one, is silver hair normal for nightwalkers?” he smiled and nodded, placing the mask back on and wiped her tears away, standing back up he walked to the door and raised a hand “until the next, Elder Mira” she waved to him and with a soft wind, the door opened, and closed, the nightwalker disappeared into the growing night, Mira looked to the seedling flower on the window sill warmly “I can only imagine how the little ones will be when they come here someday…fufufu, maybe I will treat them to my special leafy green surprise,” she gave a soft chuckle mixing the greens, the crystals within her home illuminating, lighting up her small home. It was a bright night out tonight as the stars shined gracefully; the sky was filled with various colors without the many cities like the human world, Athesia’s skies shined brilliantly across most of the world, looking into the sky was like looking through multi colored stained glass, the moon was far larger than our own and it was brilliantly shining, the nights in Athesia were never truly dark, nor were they ever lonely, with all those stars in the sky looking down, you were never truly alone.

Through the years the growing intensity of the instability of magic grew, more and more and many of the small nations grew restless, and the peace that had resided within the world grew more and more fragile by the years, the small Alpherian village grew becoming a large town, far more traveled then before, to make way for the travelers that went from one land to the next, it prospered and grew in a large village that spanned into the green plains outside,  the Yukan city grew larger and larger as well, their presence within the world changing, the Zeeks growing restless with the quick expansion in return increased their grasp of their lands, growing from villages to cities, the lands of the Alpherians as well increased their size, populating the mountains, creating utopias, although for the years peace reined, it shuttered and on one fateful day a Nightwalker was called to the Yukan capital of Crestin, a great city in comparison left our technology to dust, it was run by a just and gracious king and queen, but dark forces were at work, corrupting the king’s mind, creating distrust between lands, sowing the seeds of war, this nightwalker came to each of the kingdoms warning of a darkness that loomed over the horizon, waiting to claim the world, that no matter the signs war must never return or else a darkness will claim all, seeing this as a threat the king immediately called for arms, to ready their armies , In a desperate attempt to dissuade the king, the nightwalker told the king of three that would come to defeat the evil that lay under the surface, and return balance to the magic of the world, refusing the darkwalker’s words he cast him out.
Saddened by the king’s decision, the nightwalker made his way to each of the kingdoms, to avoid causing the flames of conflict from sparking, the first he would arrive to after, were the Alpherians, warning them of the king’s plans, of the evil that corrupts his mind and soul, and to never raise arms lest it feed the evil that grows, the high lord of the Alpherians accepted his proposal for the most part but rather then lay completely unready in case the king calls war, the high lord and his council called for preparations to be made,  magical weapon, and armors to be readied, and for guardians to be trained to protect their lands, disconcerted by this the nightwalker pleaded that it would only sow more distrust amidst the lands to create weapons and armors of war, but the high lord and the council refused his pleas, and told him that their people are peaceful, but will not allow themselves to be forced under another’s flags out of madness or misguided ideas, seeing he could do no more he bid them farewell, and parted for the Zeekian lands, appealing to their council with great urgency, he met before them, speaking that a great evil works against the kingdoms, seeking to sow distrust and misguided ideas, that evil seeks to bring the lands to war, upon hearing this the council congregated, the nightwalker pleaded that they mustn’t ready themselves for war like the rest, and to seek to strengthen peace, unrest filled the chamber, the nightwalker implored that if more perpetrations for war were made it would spark a flame of conflict amongst the lands, and it would cause the magicks of the world to grow increasingly more unstable, though the Zeekian people were ones of honor and strength, believing only in strengthening one’s self and its people, seeking a reason the nightwalker implored that the evil will be defeated if they withhold from raising arms, once again the nightwalker met deaf ears, and the council agreed on counter measures in the cases of war, firmly explaining that their actions will flame the fuel of war, of death and hatred, the council warned the nightwalker further attempts to dissuade them will be considered acts of treason, not seeking to cause any more conflict the nightwalker accepted their warning and left.
Defeated, the nightwalker returned to his people and told them of what is becoming of the land, ruled by a seraphim, she responded to his report with sadness, telling their people that they are to not contact other countries, or venture far from their lands, isolating themselves once more from the world, choosing to disallow themselves to be swept up in this evil’s plan. In a place sealed to the outside the nightwalker told the seraphim of a prophecy he was told years ago, by his son, after he explained, the seraphim would chose the only option to save lives and homes, only wait until the time was right to act. The future was uncertain, and the peaceful lands of Athesia now shuddered as the last leaves of peace began to fall, lands that were once united under a flag of peace now took up arms against a omnipotent foe, never seen, only felt in the heart, where would this world go? What could stop an evil history from repeating once more? Who could possibly reunite the hearts of a people divided by evil, when would hope come? Many of these questions lie in the hearts of many, but even the people slowly began to be consumed by blind hatred of others, what do those pompous lizards think they are? They’re no match for us! Those Yukans, think their high and might just because they got fancy technology, without it they are weak cowards who let machines do all their work, why do these foolish people believe this will solve anything are they so crazed that war will solve everything? Should it be our duty as protectors to cleanse the world of their madness? And all the nightwalkers could do…is watch…watch as their beautiful world slowly fell to hatred and clouded hearts which only saw their way as justice what was justice? Just what was right? What was truth in an obscure world manipulated by something that no one could see, could feel but not known.
Mira watched her people from afar, no longer willing to be an Elder to such efforts that would breed war, hatred and death, she was stripped of her title, of the respect she had rightly earned, this evil was to win, and nobody knew, only but the darkwalkers and Mira, powerless to act lest war be ignited, but even in their pacifism war was sure to come. She only watched now as the two children grew up. To her, and only her, she knew hope lay, just on the horizon.

One early morning, fog from the great lake, the sun began to rise on a young Alpherian, who stood on the side of a cliff, like most young Alpherians he stood on two legs, the winds blowing past his feathers as he watched the sun rise slowly “It’s a beautiful mornin’” he said gently  opening his wings, stretching them out as far as he could and lowered down, stretching his legs  then his arms, lowering down more he grinned as he quickly dashed off the cliff face falling downward toward jagged rocks and crystals, as he neared he thrust his wings forwards, stopping quickly, then thrusting them back, flying forward he soared through the rocks and crystals, rolling once through a stone arch, his a deep happy grin on his face as he flew through the valley, flying over the various settlements below, his eyes were a deep blue that twinkled with the sunlight, he had always loved flying, he did so every day since his wing feathers were strong enough to fly, an old Alpherian lady waving to him as she watered her garden peacefully “mornin’ miss hally! Beautiful mornin’ fer flying ain’t it?” he asked in his own slang way of saying things, she nodded “yes it is, and you’re shortening my name again, it’s Halluvias you silly young’un” he chuckled scratching his head “sorry ‘bout that!” he replied as he flew on  the winds carrying him through the valley as he arrived to a great mountain who’s height could piece the heavens,  stopping in midflight looking up and flying straight up, higher and higher he went, until an opening plateau was within view, flying up towards it and landing, where a modestly small home were, he folded his wings away and quickly ran towards the front door knocking vigorously, a shuffle came to the door as it opened “oooh, your knocking is loud enough to wake the dead young one” it was Mira, he chuckled and stuck his tongue out slightly with one eye closed “good to see you again Korin, oooh your so grown up now, I remember it like it was yesterday that you hatched from a little egg” she reminisced as she pinched his cheek, Korin broke away blushing “stoooop grandma Mira, your makin’ me blush” he replied lamenting slightly, she waved for him to come in, he walked in looking around and turning around “hey hey grandma Mira guess what today is?!” he asked excitedly, Mira touched her chin thinking deeply “hmm the day where you’ll eat my leafy green surprise?” his face turned green and he shook his head “ohoho your breaking an old lady’s heart” he shook his head” no no no! I’ll eat it but it’s my-” Mira chuckles as she rubs his head stopping him before he finished “your birthday, if I am not mistaken it is your 15th birthday, oh a special day indeed!” she said excitedly as she quickly turned and walked into her mystic room, rummaging through something, Korin sported a quizzical expression, tilting to the side to look into the room a little more, Mira pulled something out from a chest with excitement, walking back into the room she held an old, worn, sun bleach mailbag satchel who’s color was a faded color of forest green, Korin looked at it blankly, blinking once “what’s…that Grandma Mira?” he asked with a clearly puzzled expression, Mira smiled as she put it on him and she nodded “ah this is something I found in one of my journeys , it is a special satchel that chooses only those with a pure heart as its owner, it will protect you in the darkest of times” she replied Korin looked at it still puzzled, then looked to her “it looks like it’ll break apart if it catches a headwind” he replied dejectedly toward it, she waved it off as she walked to her mystic room once more “oh it looks that way but mark my word young one, it’s quite lively” furthering his confusion he decided to not dwell on it too much, Mira waved to him to come, Korin had never been in her mystic room as there were many magical items and tools that could cause quite a bit of mayhem if used incorrectly, she walked to a table that held the same rotating crystals she used often since that day years ago, she beckoned him to it, looking around and observing the items Korin accidentally bumped into the table, his wandering attention snapped to the table and Mira, who looked at him with a squint, apologizing Korin looked at the crystals that floated and rotated slowly with deeply curious eyes “w-whoa…grandma Mira, what’s this?” he asked touching the sphere, it was almost like shifting glass to the touch, she touched the sphere and looked to him “they are called looking crystals, a special type that use the magicks within its user as a way to across the world, and beyond it” he looked wide eyed to it “whoa, that’s amazing Grandma Mira, what do you mean beyond it? Like space or something?” he asked with an earnest tone, “it can, but when I speak of beyond child, I mean other worlds, but not without a connection to such a world, years ago when I read your prophecy, it led me to one such place” he furled his brow “what…do you mean?” she looked back to the looking crystals with a deep gaze “just as I say little one, it gazed upon a Yukan from another world far beyond our own, beyond our own time and space, to another realm, since that day of your birth I have kept close watch on the two of you, making sure you did not stray or lose the purity in your heart, this does not mean I couldn’t avoid you getting hurt, sometimes it was when you scraped your knee, or you got hurt when your father or mother scolded you for doing something reckless”
Korin faced the looking glass but his eyes wandered to Mira “you watched over us so this…non Yukan, Yukan is who you watched over too?” Mira nodded “precisely, your parents swore to me on the day of your hatching that they would not tell you of your prophecy until it was time, that time was on your 15th birthday, which is today little one” Mira looked to Korin and smiled “and what a sweet boy you’ve become, you visit little old me almost every day, telling me about the things you saw, the things you did, telling me your troubles as if I was your real grandmother” her tone was melancholy as she spoke “even though I’ve had my title as Elder taken, no matter what terrible things people have said you came here, even though I never had any children of my own you let me feel what being a grandmother is like” Korin looked to the looking crystals with a somber look “well…it’s because you were always there for me, you helped raise me, you helped me when I sad, or confused, or…or lonely…we kept each other company” he smiled to her brightly and warm “I can’t help but think of you as my grandma, because blood doesn’t mean anything, the bond is what matters, that’s what you told me right?” she nodded her eyes watering a little “yes little, yes I did” they both returned their gaze to the looking crystals as they began to spin quicker now, images began to appear and clear, Korin’s eyes reflecting the image as his eyes widened, the crystals began to slow as they came to the image of a young human “today is his birthday as well, you two are of the same age, born the same day, he is a very nice young boy as you, but whereas you are fire hearted, he is gentle hearted child” peering into the looking crystals you could see a boy of 15 laying on his bed looking outside his window, he lived in a modest town, city life was rather dull, his mother was out most of the time, but whenever she came back, she was resting from work, his father would come home from work each day and instead of playing catch in the backyard or teaching him important things a boy his age would normally learn or be taught, he wasn’t, his father would sit day and night working on job projects, they were struggling to keep the house afloat and nobody suffered more than him, but regardless of what he had, or did not, he remained modest and thankful of what he did have, or what he received, nor was ungrateful of the home he had, many of his birthdays were spent just like any other day, he’d stay in his room for the day, doing nothing but toss a tennis ball up in the air, catching it as it fell “he doesn’t look very happy Mira” Korin commented “he’s spent many birthdays like this little one, in their world, there is no peace like ours, even in a world like that his heart is pure, reaching out subconsciously hoping for a dream to hold onto, even through the looking crystals I can feel what his heart cries out for” Korin looked to her “what’s that it’s cryin’ for?” as he looked back to the crystal he noticed him sit up and walk to the door and open it slightly, peeking through it, seeing his father sitting there working on a contraption meant for work, and frowned, seeing his hands raw and sores covering them from little nicks and cuts, sweat covering his brow he’d wipe off occasionally, he looked down and closed the door “for his mother and father to be happy, rather than suffering to keep what little they have young one” Korin frowned deeply as he watched him walk out from his room, his father looking to him immediately “hey son listen I need you to do me a favor-“ Colin looked to his father with a glare “go finish this project while you borrow more money?” Colin replied in answer for him, his father stood up, wearing a brow long sleeve and jeans, with worn and tearing boots, his face looked of guilt and anger “hey! Don’t go putting words in my mouth when I didn’t say anything!” he responded furiously “it’s the same every time dad…help me finish this project while I go turn in the work I finished, even though you make money to pay the bills, you suddenly come back with all this money treating me and mom out…” tears flowed from his eyes, his voice brittle “I’m…I’m sick of it dad…please…just stop...” his father looked to him seeing his upset, his expression softened up, then he closed his eyes and turned walking out of the front door, he wished he could say sorry, but he didn’t have the strength to face his son again, his heart heavy, and fragile. All Colin could do, was stand there as his father left once again, he knelt and slammed his fist down sobbing hard “please….someone…something…please make it stop…let my family be happy…I don’t care if it means I get hit by a car or something, if lets them be happy…let it happen…please” his voice faded he layed there sobbing till he eventually fell asleep, Korin looked away, his stomach wrenched, Mira looked into the looking crystals saddened “a world where dreams don’t matter…and even so…his heart remains pure, still hoping…still dreaming” Mira looked to Korin who was leaning against a wall tapping his foot “little one, I’m sorry that you had to witness such a thing…” he looked back to her “with all that pleading, all of his words were not about himself, even on his birthday, all he wished was for others to be happy, IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK FOR!?” he responded with a loud fiery anger, Mira walked to Korin and touched his shoulder looking to into his eyes with an understanding gaze, their eyes spoke for them rather than words and he looked off to the side, his eyes low “sorry…i…I just can’t stand to see someone hope so much, but get suffering in return...it’s like this father doesn’t care, it’s like his mother doesn’t even exist…without you, with my parents, the town,  I dunno what I’d do…” he trailed off and walked back to the looking crystals, staring into it.

Colin drifted off into slumber while he laid on the ground, he only saw darkness while he was asleep, when he heard words from a voice that was not his own “don’t worry…it’ll be okay someday soon Colin” he looked around into the darkness and called back “who are you?” the sound of the human’s voice resonating within Korin’s head, Korin quickly let go stumbling back in shock as he huffed, his heart beginning to race “h…he heard me grandma Mira! How can he hear me I thought you could only see things!” she chuckled “I said they were the looking crystals, but I never said you could not speak or act through them, if it was not for my quick thinking his mother would have perished if not for my healing, to magick users it is possible to view it from their side, but to non-magick users it is invisible to see but not impossible to hear or act through” Korin sweat a little and stood up and he walked back to the looking crystals, touching the surface again “what…what should I do grandma Mira should I say something back?” she chuckled and pointed “you are, little one” he looked at his claw “who’s grandma Mira? I don’t have a grandma anymore, s-seriously who is this? Is this my subconscious? I’ve never…err….heard or felt a dream so clear and real sounding” he replied, Mira took his claw off the looking glasses and smirked shaking her head “the time to discuss such things will come later little one, if our hopes become true, you won’t need the looking glass to speak to him” Korin turned his head to her slowly “whatcha…mean…grandma Mira?” he asked slowly and hesitantly “I and the seraphim of the darkwalkers have created a plan to bring him here, to Athesia” Korin mouth opened “you can do that?! Wait why though grandma Mira?” she looked at him with a soft from as she sighed “ah yes, i can’t believe such a thing could slip my mind, what I wanted to discuss this with you, was your prophecy; on your 15th birthday, you, that otherworldly Yukan, and the nightwalker, three pure hearts will come together and face against a great evil that would seek to destroy all, only you three can do such a thing, anyone with any kind of evil in their heart can’t not face it, I do not fully know why it is it must be you three, but I do know one thing, that is his magic has no hold over you, nor the darkwalker nor the other, it is this reason we are willing to do whatever we must to assure you are all safe until the time comes” her head leans downward, closing her eyes “as a…grandmother, I would gladly take the places of you three, rather than to risk the safety of you little ones, I could not bear to see you get hurt little one ” Korin came to her and put his claw her shoulder, smiling “please don’t frown grandma Mira, even if we do get hurt, we’ll back each other up, it’s like you said we got worlds to protect, an’ by the skies, I’m shure we’ll do our best” she touched his claw and leaned against it, rubbing her cheek against it “forgive this old lady for seeming quite sad, I knew this day would come but…I fear it is a lot harder than it seemed to not be sorrowful” she opened her eyes and walked to the looking crystals touching the sphere  “of Yukans, Zeeks, Alpherians, of all others affected by this force, to you, you sense nothing, as though there is no presence yes?” Korin nodded his head “that means this darkness cannot reach you, but I sense it very well, if it were not for the wards I have place before this magic took hold of the  world, eventually even I would succumb one day to this madness that’s taken the hearts of Athesia, Korin, no matter what do not lose hope, never give up, even when fate bares down against you, or the others, you must remain strong of heart and fight to protect your family, your friends, everything, but even in knowing what you must do, do not feel as though it is your duty alone, you will never be alone” she touched his shoulders “your mother, your father, me, will be with you in your heart, and your friends will be right beside you” Korin stood there feeling the gravity of his duty sinking it, it was no mere chore or request, it was a serious duty that lay with him and the other two alone, only they could accomplish,  he then looked to the looking crystals, then back to her “that’s a lot of responsibility but if it means we’re saving our family and world then I guess it’s decided!” he replied with an adventurous expression “how do y’plan on bringin’ him here Grandma Mira? You said somethin’ about a seraphim, what’s that all about?” Mira  chuckled lightly “sorry dear we’ll talk soon” she said to Colin as the image changed and shifted “together using both my own and the seraphim’s magick we will force a small opening from his world to our own, it will be dangerous as the path is not opened by simple magic, in a way we are letting him into our heart, more precisely through our heart to pass through from his world to our, as that evil has seemed to reach him I sense it looking, and it is closing in quickly, it cannot wait another day, one more and he may be in grave danger that risks his life, we cannot allow this to happen, she then grips the orb and pushes her claw through it, magic being directly thrown into the looking crystals as the very rapidly, spinning around and around they finally stopped and she pulled her claw out, a steam of sort flowing from her claw as if put somewhere hot, waving it off, the image cleared and they looked into an ancient looking room, the detail of the walls to the pillars were intricate and like nothing Korin had seen before, though it was hard to see in the dim room, a figure clad in white approached the looking glass’s view, it was feminine in figure to be sure, nor exactly short, her face was masked in a white beak like mask, but unlike Silence’s mask it had no eyes, only designs in a way only described as ethnic in nature “Mira” she gave a nod “preparations are complete, when shall we begin?” she asked right to the point as though knowing prior what might have been said “yes Seraphim Besaria, it is time” Korin looked at them confusedly looking between them “err...you said how you planned to bring him through…but not very…detailed just brin’ him through your hearts” he noted, Besaria looked past Mira to the young Alpherian “oh, your grandson is as handsome as you say Mira” she said carrying a lightly seductive tone, Mira gave her a look and she chuckled lightly “it was a harmless compliment, this is our first time meeting in person, so to speak, when you are ready Mira, we must be in tune or the portal will be unstable” Korin looked to them both somewhat frantically “w-wait y’didn’t explain yet” Mira decided not to answer as she began focusing the crystals began to spin rapidly once more, but the image stayed, Besaria closed her eyes as did Mira, the sphere began to glow a rainbow color “let’s begin”.


Colin quickly woke up, and looked around, sweat dripping from his chin, panting softly “t-that dream…that was really…really weird, those voices were so clear…it was like there were right here next to me” he got up, looking in his vicinity, seeing the house was dark and no one to be seen, he flicked on some lights as he entered the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it with water, drinking generously, panting as he put the cup down, leaning against the counter “it was just a dream Colin…just a dream” he told to himself, though he was unsure if he could convince himself it was such a thing, the sounds and voices were so clear and audible he felt like as though they were real, but dreams are just simply images of things you’ve experienced in the past, this is what he was trying to convince himself, he took and deep breath and exhaled, calming down as his heart was pounding and his hand cold and clammy, he walked to the refrigerator, opening it up and looking inside, not much was to be found as groceries were scarcely bought, he saw an apple sitting in the  middle “huh…did mom bring this home?” he took it and walked from the kitchen to hallway that connected the living room and stairs to his room, as he approached the stairs he felt an odd sense of vertigo, like something pulled him back, stepping back from the stairs he looked behind, nothing but a wall he thought to himself as he went to the stairs one more time once more he felt that pull as he took a single step upstairs and forcing himself to ignore it he pushed up, perhaps he was sick, he’d talk to his father when he got home, as he climbed the stairs the pull became stronger, he stumbled on the last few steps leaning against the wall for support as he took the final step to the second floor, as his foot touched the surface, the pull disappeared and he looked down the stairs with a perplexed expression, just like that is disappeared, he scratched his head, then as he settled down he felt a sinking feeling, a deep foreboding feeling as he leaned against the wall “u-ugh…what’s going on with me, has my sense of everything suddenly gone south?” he asked himself as he made his way to his room, reaching out to his door knob the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, his heart began to pound and the clamminess in his hands began to return, every nerve in his body telling him not to open that door, looking at door he thought to himself, just what exactly was past this door, a robber, a thief, a murderer even?  Something, he reached to the knob nervously shaking as he quickly opened it up, silence ensued. Nothing was there, only the sound of the door opening as he look inside, his room was empty, the window closed, his lamp was off, walking inside his breath shuddered, glancing around he rubbed his eyes with his free hand, looking outside he old saw the fence that sat a little closely to his house, remembering he had the apple he decided to sit down, exhaled, his hands and arms shaking “what was that feeling just now, It felt like someone or something was there…I’m sure” he told himself, rubbing his face again he exhaled once more and looked around then lifted up the apple to take a bite, then stopped as it reached his mouth, lowering it “wait…mom hasn’t been home in over 3 days…that apple….it…it wasn’t there before, dad wouldn’t buy just an apple, he was always thrifty  and bought in bulk to save money, he hasn’t been back home either…his keys are still gone…” his eyes gazed down to the apple with a growing anxiety, he dropped the apple quickly and got up looking at it and around, as the apple rolled onto the floor, it suddenly began to blacken and melt into a black pile that expanded, the pile began to bubble and grow upward, alarmed Colin yelled in fright as he quickly ran to the door, the door slammed shut and any method of opening melted away onto the floor as the dark matter grew more and more into a large foreboding figure, an incomplete face formed, within that figure an eye peered out “I’ve found you” it spoke in a deep and darkly tone as it still formed, Colin looked around desperately, seeing the window he recalled a movie with a man diving through a window to escape a bomb that had been realized short of its detonation time, he ran over to the window rather than foolishly diving into the window he reared his leg back, as he was to thrust it forward a sheer pulse of evil magic slammed into him and he broke through the window with his body,  falling down, he was to be impaled on a jagged old wooden fence, turning his body the side of his face met with the side of the house grinding against it as he fell, he grunt loudly as he hit the hard dirt, wheezing as the wind was knocked out of him, he huffed and gasped for breath as blood ran down the side of his face, forcing himself up he stumbled from the area between the fence and home getting into the yard.  As he caught his breath finally, he ran to the fence  on the side of the house, rather than the back where movement was restricted and  while he hopped over the fence he saw something flying his way, and he rolled off the fence, and not a second later a black spear flew just over head, impaling a garden gnome, the lawn decoration turned black and disintegrated to dust, he huffed holding his arm, pulling a piece of wood out as it broke rolling over, tear his shirt and piercing his arm as the splinter was forced into him by the fall, he grunted as it came out, his shirt turning red around the wound, he quickly ran out from the house to the main street, running as fast as he could, this ominous figure following behind luckily not very fast, but making up for this spears of black flew towards Colin, he spun dodging the first few and ducking as the rest came by the ground turning black and turning to dust as they landed, looking back in a panic he bolted as quick as he could, the spears landing behind him as he did, rather than passing him, running down the street he saw a church and opened the doors, a man was meditating with a great many candles  that lay against a wall, lavish beautiful designs all across it, it wasn’t much of a church as it was a place to meditate or pray to gods of many, he ran towards him in panic “GET OUT! SOMETHING IS COMING! PLEASE HURRY IT WILL KILL YOU!” the man jumped up seeing the battered and bloodied child he stepped back and ran off in terror, glad to see the man running away rather than trying to help Colin continued as spear flew to the ground in front of it, the design crumbled all across the wall as did the candles as did it’s holders, all of it disintegrated to dust.
Colin saw stairs leading up and he ran and closed and locked the doors in a rush and flew up the stairs as best he could, he could hear the sounds of the doors break, Colin ran upstairs to an unfinished area still being painted and fixed, stained glass windows lined the walls on the left and right side, looking around he saw more stairs leading downstairs, while he ran, his feet tripped over each other and as he fell as luck would have it,  spear that was to pierce his belly flew overhead and the doorway disintegrated and fell apart, collapsing entirely, along with a portion of the building, Colin picked himself him grunting, limping, turning around and walking back as the figure was fully formed, it was a strange dragon like figure but most of his body was black and  covered in what looked like robes mixed with some type of armor meant for battle, Colin looked at him, still holding his arm wincing, drops of blood slowly dripping from his hand to the ground “wha- who are…you?” he asked a deep tremulous pain in his voice, the figure threw out a what looked to be a claw and a spear came out “The dead need no answers, the dead shall be silent” his voice upon hearing his voice more clearly, it sounded darkly and gruff “you, one without anyone shall be removed, these worlds have gone on long enough with their cycles of death and war…If they love it so much then they will war till they’re all DEAD, the dead do not war nor murder, with your death it will all end, war, death, they will bring the end of it all themselves”  Colin continued back up as he looked in disbelief “i-i…I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it sounds like the wrong way to fix whatever it is your fighting against, but it’s just not right to make people fight, it’s…not okay to kill or murder for any justification, in the end you’ll end up alone” he paused looking to him seeing him not moving as he looked at him intently “in the end you’ll end up alone…nobody deserves to be alone, even you, you might be trying to take my life, but…I don’t hate you…I’m sorry you ended up this way, and I will not fight you, not because I wish for this plan to begin or don’t value my life, I won’t fight you because you’re hurt already, I…don’t know why, but I feel you’ve have honest wishes, a kind hope, you’re just going about it the wrong way” Colin continued, the figured lowered his head “you are a misguided fool, nothing is earned from peace and pacifism, only taken, time and time again, you have not lost what I have, nor felt the animosity I have felt, you’ve not experienced the cold dark evils of war, suffering and death, but as a gift…” he raised his spear up and it shape changed, and turned a deep crimson red that shifted and swayed with a black malice within its surface “I will let you experience death first hand” he quickly thrust his spear forward and  avoiding it, despite being out of reach the area where Colin had stood was  pierced and blown to pieces, but unlike the previous weapon it did not disintegrate “I will give you a most painful death if you continue to struggle” Colin huffed as the blood continued to fall down, taking its toll on his body “I will not fight you! Nor will I let you kill me, stop this!” he exclaimed in concern, but he did not stop, he slashed and thrust his spear, Colin dodged and ducked as best he could looking towards him, the figure’s movements began to grow more frustrated in pattern as Colin continued to dodge and avoid him, Colin looked at him with sad eyes “I’m sorry you feel this way but you can’t continue things this wa-“ he was quickly cut off as an invisible force met with his side, he flew across the room slamming against a wall, the feeling of impact like something made of great weight, Colin got up quivering and shaking one eye closed, he looked to him as he refused to charge against him, refused to curse or attack him, The figure quickly dashed up to him and gripped his throat and threw him across the ground skidding, he rolled and hit the wall, lifting up once more with a strong grip on his throat “I am to kill you, do not understand?! If you do not fight I WILL kill you child, fight back!” he growled in frustration as he then tossed him more aggressively with force and he slammed against the wall, Colin laid against the wall sliding down looking to him smiling “no, I…*cough* r-refuse” the figure let out a yell as he ran towards him, kicking him, Colin rolled across the floor to the center of the room.



In Athesia Mira and Besaria focused as hard as they could to form the portal Korin looked into the orb as the focused seeing Colin being battered and tossed, choked and thrashed brutally, continuing to get up  “he’s is in danger Grandma Mira! H-hurry, someone is beating him senseless!” Korin exclaimed in panic “I know this little one, Stand back! The portal is opening, we don’t want you being pulled into his world with this thing” Korin stepped out of the room as the room began to glow with a bright rainbow color, winds blowing hard all around as the portal began to open “Mira! The portal is open!” Besaria exclaimed in hurry “yes I know! But with the little so injured I don’t know if he’ll make it!” she responded in upset and fright, Korin looked at the portal open up wider and wider and stabilized into a stable sphere “this is bad Mira, if he doesn’t enter the portal he will die” seeing their plight Korin opened his wings and he ran in and dove into the portal, flying through as he made his way to Earth “little one what are you doing?! It’s too dangerous!” Korin kept flying as he was almost there “I know! But I won’t let someone die if I can do anything about it!” he exited the portal and focused magic to his claws in the form of fire and threw his claws forward and blew hard when he parted them, the fire blast forth like dragon’s breath, the figure quickly jumped back as he flew to the human, picking him as the ground burned between them and the figure “Korin was it? If it were not for Mira’s wards and her power you would have died first” Korin grinned “well I ain’t and he won’t be dyin’ today either mister evil guy” Korin responded with confidence, the figured walked across the fire a deeply angered and dark looming glare in his eyes as the fire accentuated his features past the darkness, Korin’s eyes widened greatly as he stumbled “n-no…no way…that…that can’t be right…you’re…you’re an Alpherian this can’t be true, all Alpherians are peaceful we’d never do something like this!” he stepped back with Colin in his arms “you are an ignorant blind hatchling, the world is NOT kind as you’d wish to think, this so called peace was the result of a 210 year war that cost millions and millions their lives, Alpherians are just as guilty as all the rest, if not more so and I will judge Athesia and this world for its sins, and I will cleanse the worlds of their impurities, but then you, a child reborn of the crossroads created a destiny that would stand in my way, an otherworldly Yukan, a nightwalker, and a young Alpherian would come to the lands of Athesia to cleanse the land beset by evil with their pure hearts, they haven’t told you have they, what it will take to truly rid me of this world, it requires the sacrifice of three noble and pure hearts, it is a sacrificial journey you three are taking, and whether you defeat me or not, your deaths lie at the end of this road, so just stand there and allow me to pierce you with my spear, you and that boy there” Korin shook his head and rose up grunting as he took to the air slower than he was used to “y-your lying…Grandma Mira wouldn’t sacrifice us like that, you’re crazy! An’ we’ll stop you no matter what!” the figure stood there and looked at him with unmoved and serious blue eyes, Korin quickly dashed to the portal with great haste as he carried the heavily injured human through the gateway, the path closing behind them, Korin saw that the pathway was closing behind them, and he sped up, grunting as his wings strained and flapped faster and faster, harder and harder they went as he raced against time, behind them a great gnashing maw caved behind them, Korin looked ahead huffing as he saw the entrance he had entered before,  the closing maw behind them was a toe claw away as he thrust his wings back as hard as possible with one last burst of magic he exhaled his fire and he flew out from the portal that closed behind them immediately after, Korin rammed the door grunting, sliding down it, it hurt quite a bit but he was otherwise okay, but the human was far from okay, his throat was red and his shirt was soaked in blood, his complexion was pale, his face was red and bleeding that had splattered across his face from the rolling and impacts, Mira walked over to them as  Korin groaned, rubbing his red snout, Mira walked to them and exhaled “thank goodness you both made it, oh, oh dear” she looked to Colin and reached down and raised his shirt and gasped in shock, looking his condition over “little one bring him to my room he requires immediate attention, his wounds are very serious” Korin nodded as he carefully sat up, he was practically the same size as Korin if not slightly shorter, his consciousness was faint but he could make out dull sounds and voices as well as images “w-…where…am…i?” he asked in a weak and gravelly voice, seeing only figures and shapes “hush now little one you’re in no shape to be speaking” Korin grunt picking him up and getting up at the same time as carefully as possible, walking from the mystic room to Mira’s room, it was well decorated with flowers, and a window next to the bed, a barely blooming flower rested, it’s colors were of violet and blue, the disc of it, gently glowing white while the moonlight hit it, Korin laid Colin down against an average sized bed by human standards, Mira walked on the other side, removing his shirt and looking at his wounds, using her magic to sense the depth of his injuries; his body was bloodied and beaten, bruised and bones fractured from his ribs to his right leg was fractured slightly, his nose was broken and bloodied as well, a deep wound from where the fence piece had struck was open and bleeding continuously, Mira instructed Korin to get her, her medical kit, which Korin did, walking into the living room it rested behind an old and unused staff she had found in one of her travels, he took it and returned to Mira’s room with it, she took it and opened up with a ward she created, and took out an odd green crystal that was shaped like a heart, she closed her eyes and placed it between her two claws and it levitated and it disintegrated and became like a fine sand that flow where she waved her claws, bring it to his shoulder wound she waved her claws over it, circling slowly changing direction every once in a while, the green slowly disintegrating and flowing off in a while ash like manner, after a little while the wound was purged of any foreign material, and sealed, going to his chest, he grunt and winced hard, responding with greatly pain expressions and sounds, she looked to him and gave a gentle frown “damage was nerve intensive, it was intending to torture him to death rather than to kill him outright, poor boy…” she shifted all of the green to her right claw as she took out a cylindrical tube filled with a small amount of gaseous substance that she poured across Colin’s face, it then flowed into his nostrils and he stilled and his pained groaned ceased as he fell into a deep sleep, Mira resumed her healing as she restored his nerves to working order, then the muscle and bone damage, along with any organs that may have been damaged in the process, Mira stayed by Colin into the night as she used up one crystal heart and used another, Korin sat next to her, beginning to dose, slowly leaning against Mira leg while she healed Colin, her face shifted toward Korin and she chuckled, facing the human once more, through the night she heal all of the most extensive damage and life threatening injuries that he had sustained, all that was to be expected was some quite very sore injures, not having enough to fully heal the gash on the side of his head all the way, Mira wrapped bandages around his head, along with his wrists and placing a splint on his right leg and made sure to heal from front to back, finally, though the night was rough and there were many close calls, they succeeded in bring the otherworldly Yukan to Athesia, what was in store for Korin and him, nobody knew, only but them their selves.

A new day was dawning, the sun rose slowly on the new day, Colin’s eyes slowly opened, blurry and unfocused he looked around and he blinked sitting up a little, rubbing his eyes yawning, as his sight came to focus he noticed he was bare and wearing only his boxers, his shirt, pants, shoes and socks were gone, or at least not on him anymore, his injuries were gone for the most part as well, touching his head he felt bandages, then looking down his eyes opened wide, he saw Mira and Korin sleeping by the bedside, images of last night flooded his memories as he more clearly recalled his dulled and barely conscious memories, he saw Korin flying in and using some type of magic fire to push that dark guy back, remembering Korin picking him up and carrying through the portal, he had a look of moderate surprise as he looked at them, these were definitely real, his wounds he received were real, the aches he felt were real. Carefully Colin removed the covers and gently slid off the bed and placed his bare feet against the cold ground, looking at all the strange new scenery around him, this was far past any dream, this was indeed real, he had so many questions running through his mind, what was this place, who were those two, what was he running from, just what did he get himself into, where were his clothes for that matter, did they patch him up? So many questions to be answered, not wanting to wake either of the strange dragon like people, he walked from the bedroom and into the living room looking around, all the objects were strange, they definitely were not human made, the object that hung from the ceiling all glowed independent of any electricity or power source of any kind from what he could see, walking to a shelf he looked at various picture seeing various people with either one of them, some of them were of the young dragon like person, some of the other older looking one with people he had never seen, he picked one up, it was of Korin on his 8th birthday smiling with two teeth missing both what seemed to be his canines, he scratched his head and put it down “this is…too weird to be a dream…where am I?” he asked himself, but no one was there to answer, walking away from the pictures he walked to a window by the front door, looking outside he saw he was on a plateau of some kind, the sun was rising to a new day, as he continued to look outside he noticed his clothes were hanging on some strange thread connected to wood, the thread was glowing unlike the wood as his clothes flowed with the wind “m-my clothes, that’s where they went, it was strange when I woke up without them, opening the door it creaked slightly, opening it he curled his toes and he face felt like puckering as he closed the door, it was FREEZING outside, without his clothes he wasn’t going anywhere that was for sure, he walked back and standing in the bedroom doorway was Mira “ahh you’re awake little one, I’m sure you have many questions to ask but first before anything else, how are you feeling, I see your up and walking, I’m surprised you’re already walking what with your right leg having been fractured from your encounter with the very mastermind of this whole ordeal” he looked to his shin which had  splint on it “i-I’m fine, I uhm…where do I begin” she chuckled as she walked to the kitchen “you were attacked by Zekrin, I had not wished to have confirmed it, but sadly it seems fate is quite cruel, he sought you out to stop a prophecy that had been foretold on the day of both yours and the little one resting in there’s birth” he looked at her with deeper confusion “what prophecy? What’s this got to do with me? I-it’s not that I won’t try and help, I’m just confused is all, I don’t know where or when I am, or why I am here in the first place miss, uhm” Mira looked to him “Mira, you may call me Grandma Mira if you so like little one, quite a few littles ones have taken to calling me grandma “okay um, Grandma Mira, where am I? Why was I brought here?” she brought a green pie filled with various herbs and veggies to a table, cutting two pieces out “This world you are in is called Athesia, it is far different from the world you are from, it a magick rich world in which many magick users reside, such as myself, if it were not for magick your wound may not have healed within one night” he looked at her dumbfounded “one night?! But I’m sure I was banged up pretty good, you didn’t need to grandma Mira” she pat a chair as she slid it out for him “come little one, sit down, have some breakfast while I fetch your clothes” she took a plate and place it at his side, putting a piece of pie down  “I could not stand by while you were in such dire straits, I could feel your pain and it hurt to know you felt such pain, I did what any grandmother would do for their grandchild, surely you understand little one?” he nodded his cheeks a little red “this is a lot for me to take it, a whole new world, Magic to boot…” she nodded “I’m sure it is little one, but you’ll come to understand in time, I’ll explain all your questions once you’ve had something to eat, even for a Yukan you are quite skinny” he tilted his head “oh my, the word slipped form my mouth, they are much like the people of your world, what do you call your people?”
“Humans, Grandma Mira, are Yukans like humans from this world?”
“So it would seem little one, are these humans non-magick users where you are from?” Colin nodded as he looked to his pie slice that steamed continuously as though freshly made “magic is considered fairy tale stuff, to be blunt, magic like this doesn’t exist in our…my world” Mira nodded as her suspicion was confirmed “ah very well little, enough questions for now, eat up, you’ll need nutrients, I can heal the wounds but the blood lost won’t come back so easily, I’ve prepared my special leafy surprise pie just for the occasion”
“uhm, what occasion grandma Mira?” she chuckled “oh your birthdays of course, well of course for your health but your birthdays as well, here we do not celebrate on the day of birth but the day after as the next day is a new page of your life” she opened the door and Colin shivered while it was open, but it would help to cool down the rather hot pie, she took the clothes and walked back inside, closing the door behind her, he saw a fork with 5 prongs sitting by the plates, taking it and cutting a piece, blowing on it still to make sure it was cool, and he took a bite, it was surprisingly good, the flavors were smooth and the greens were cooked perfectly, spices added made it flavorful and full of juices, he smiled as he took a bite, chewing first of course “so, do you like it little one? It’s my own recipe” he nodded quickly “mhm! Its delicious grandma Mira, I haven’t tasted something this good before” she laughed softly “oho it seems humans have exquisite taste, if only the little one in there enjoyed it like you, whenever he eats it honest words it’s like I’m trying to make him eat cooked Jokin root” she walked to the bathroom and folded the clothes neatly “your clothes are dried and ready little one, when you’re finished they’ll be there” he nodded as he continued to eat, Mira smiled as she walked to the bedroom to find Korin sitting there looking out the window “ah your awake already little one” he was looking outside to the valleys “he seems kinna nice Grandma Mira, he’s even taken to calling you grandma as well, to be honest I’m surprised he’s not all that surprised by all of this”
“well when you’ve been through what he was last night, it’s no surprise that he isn’t very shocked to be here” Korin chuckled as he stood up and stretched his wings and body groaning “oooh what an eventful night, is he alright? Sounds like it from what I could hear grandma Mira” she gave a happy nod “quite, even his leg has healed through the night” he turned and looked at her with a surprised expression “really? That’s a surprise; most magick users heal up from pretty bad scraps with a night of intensive healing, could he have some hidden magic in him Grandma Mira”
“it’s much too soon to tell little one, but for now he needs to get acquainted with our world” Korin nodded as he looked ready to fly “where do you think you intend to go little one?”
“W-well for my morning flight grandma Mira”
“not this morning you’re not, you’re going to sit down and have a proper breakfast like all good little ones” Korin whined, his wings lowering “but grandma Miiiiira”  she waved a finger shaking her head grabbing his right small horn which slicked back slightly, but due to his age, it was barely sprouting, he winced as she pulled him to the living room, Colin was snickering as she pulled him by the horn out, she walked over and pulled his ear “if you’ve got time to laugh at others then you’ve got time to eat little one” Colin winced raising up “ow ow ow, g-grandma Mira I finished already” she looked down at his plate seeing only crumbs left she left go smiling “oh that is very good little one! I’m proud of you” she pet Colin’s head smiling, but still having his horn pulled Korin wiggled a bit in struggle “Grandma Mira you’ve still got my horn” she let go afterwards “will you be good hatchling and each breakfast Grandma Mira spent last night making after healing the little one here?” he nodded as he sat down next to Colin snickering “you may go put on your clothes Colin dear” Colin looked at her in surprise “how’d you know my name grandma Mira?”
“oh I know because I’ve watched over you while you both grew up, making sure Zekrin didn’t try anything before it was time, even when the time came I was almost too late to protect you if it were not for Korin leaping into the portal to rescue you” Korin turned to Colin and offered his claw “that’s me, Korin Raziel Freewind, at yer service!” Colin shook is claw smiling “wow your last name is Freewind too? I’m Colin Aelfric Freewind!” he looked at him in surprise “no way! That’s crazy, your name is Freewind? We’re born on the same day have the same last names even from different worlds, haw, it’s like we’re brothers!” he exclaimed in excitement “yeah! It feels like that too” Colin replied with equal excitement “even if we were brothers we both know that I got all the good looks, it’s okay, I’ll say your second handsomest” Colin laughed “Well if you think so, I guess I agree” he complied innocently laughing, Korin looked at him curiously “y’know someone would usually disagree” he commented, Colin shrugged “it’s a joke so I know you’re not serious” Korin placed his claw against his face and slid down “so it’s okay to disagree, cause yer just joking too”
“Oh, really... Well, I’m not the best with jokes, I guess it sorta flew over my head” Korin looked at him maw quivering as he started laughing, Colin joining in “haw, yer alright Colin, y’seem a pretty cool guy”
“Likewise Korin, your pretty outgoing” Mira looked at them smiling quietly as they seemed to hit it off pretty well “remember Korin to eat your breakfast I’ll be out in the front tending to flowers “make sure to eat every bit!” Mira insisted, Korin took his piece and put it on his plate, his face turning green as he looked down at his plate with an expression like was going to barf, Colin nudged him whispering “ you fly me around and I’ll eat your pie too” Korin quickly gave a nod of approval as he pushed it to Colin’s plate, hearing Mira approaching, Korin quickly took the piece and shoved it into Colin’s mouth in panic, his mouth bulged with pie as he sputtered and swallowed most of the pie whole, he exhaled looking a bit sick, looking to Korin leaning back into his chair looking like he was full, Mira opened the door slightly “Oh, Colin-“ she paused as she looked to Korin’s plate “…how wonderful little one you enjoyed it that much you ate it so quickly? Please have another slice you’re a growing boy like Colin, eat up” Korin grunted and nodded sweating slightly “y-yes grandma Mira! I’d be happy to have another piece” she smiled and looked to Colin “oh dear you don’t look so well, perhaps that slice I gave you was too much?” he shook his head and waved it off “n-no I- *Burp* just ate to fast a-ahaha” his laugh was rather nervous, seeming to not notice Mira went along with it “ah do be careful, you’ll get a tummy ache little one, that aside, i fixed your shirt and pants and enchanted them to handle the cold, many travelers come with cold resistant clothes, I took the liberty to enchant them for you, that’s all from me”
Mira closed the door as Korin placed another piece on his plate, looking to Colin expectantly smiling, Colin looked at him veered to him sighing “last…piece” he responded, burping softly, after eating yet another piece of pie Colin got up groaning, his stomach gurgling and full to the brim, he walked to the bathroom, looking at his clothes, if they were enchanted they’d glow or something right? Whenever he saw fantasy games the character would wear bulky armor coated in some thick magical glow, guess they were wrong, he put on his shirt then after removing his splint, checking his leg to see if was still okay, he put on his pants and socks, after slipping on and tightening his shoes he walked out from the bathroom, he felt warmth overtake his body, looking at his clothes he still saw nothing but it was as if the nipping cold he felt before was gone, it felt like a perfect sunny day “whoa…Grandma Mira wasn’t kidding, these really are enchanted, this. Is. So. COOL!” Korin slowly looked to Colin with a vacant expression “it’s just a basic level 1 enchantment”
“Does that mean you can do enchantments like this too Korin?” Colin Inquired, Korin looked away with a puffed up cheek “i-I could…if I wanted”
Colin walked over and poked him “hey-hey can we get going? I’m kinna excited to see what your home looks like” Colin urged with jubilance, getting up from his chair Korin grabbed Colin’s hand as they walked outside in a hurry, making sure to close the door of course, Mira looked at them as they ran outside “do be careful little ones, and Korin be careful not to run into the high king when Colin is with you, Yukans have become taboo these days, and he may not look kindly upon Colin should they meet” warned Mira
“Of course Grandma Mira, Don’t worry!” Korin persuaded confidently “oh and Colin please don’t do anything dangerous, I’m sure you’ll be a good boy” she continued, Korin opened his wings “so how will you be able to fly with me in tow?” Colin asked perplexedly, Korin lowered himself to all fours patting his back “just climb on, sit back and enjoy the ride, if your Curious what we are, We’re Alpherians, not dragons, though we have scales, we’re not really related at all” replied Korin assuring him, Colin climbed onto his back scratched his neck “w-well if you say so, let’s get going!” Colin replied, Korin quickly stepped forward and he looked over the edge, and grinned “hold on tight!”
Colin looked over the edge and he almost turned blue with nervousness, gripping Korin’s back feathers he plunged down and fell, yelling as he did, Korin opened his wings and descended downward in a glide flapping his wings to keep stable flight, looking around Colin saw the great valley and mountains all around his eyes wide “w- whoa! T-this, this is awesome Korin! Your home is beautiful!” he bellowed raising his arms as he cheered, the wind against his thick wavy dark ash blonde hair, sun shining and skies blue and untainted “I’m glad you like it! I think it’s pretty swell m’self! Besides all the war preparations, it’s a great place to call home” Korin added
“There’s going to be a war?” Colin remarked in concern
“No, it’s just preparation in case of war, things have become pretty unsettle these past few years from what my parent have said, the Yukan king and the neighboring lands have been saying and doing some pretty unsettling things, like sudden increases in claims of land, reactivation of war machines, that thing, thankfully they haven’t done anythin’ too rash, looks like they’re all just a nervous another 200 year war will happen again, I’ve read about it” Korin paused as he took a right shifting turn a village in view “A…200 year war? That’s horrible I can’t begin to imagine such a horrible thing” Colin replied
“Neither can I, it’s pretty old history, it happened over eight hundred and twelve years ago, for 200 long years this war raged, many died as a result, millions…died in that war, and nothing was gained from it but pain and loss, not a single elder in our lands that doesn’t remember it, it took our previous high king to stop it, but not without cost, with every last ounce of his magical power he stopped the war in a single great display of power, taking all the evil that possessed Athesia with it and vanquished it once an’ for all, in the end it cost him his life, and the world grieved for a long time over the millions lost, talk about those times is considered taboo and isn’t talked about often, grandma Mira  was born twelve years after the start of the war but in the final year of the war she was the one that convened with the high king about a prophecy she had seen one night, the prophecy told of a great evil that took possession of Athesia, and to vanquish it would be at the cost of the king’s life, taking up the task the high king did just that, and the war ended, it’s pretty heavy stuff” the Village was near while Korin recalled the story of a 200 year war, Colin having nothing to say merely listened to the story, lost in thought he looked forward with sudden realization “wait grandma Mira never told me why I’m here in the first place” he exclaimed in surprise “it’s because of some prophecy she read on my birthday, she said that me, you and some nightwalker are destined to face against some evil, probably that guy you fought against, I’m guessing when we hit fifteen it’d come for us, it went after you probably because there’s no magick in your world, thus it made you an easy target Colin” answered Korin “do you think…do you think that he’ll try and provoke the war?” Colin continued to question “it’s no good worrying about it, we’re here to try and stop this war, or at least beat this evil before war starts, either way, you, me and this other guy have got a duty, sorry if it seems sudden, it was pretty sudden for me too, one minute grandma Mira is telling me about my prophecy next moment she and some darkwalker seraphim lady are opening a portal I pulled you through, things have happened pretty quick, it’s difficult to tell how hard things might get on the roads ahead but we gotta tough through it, we’re brothers dontcha know?” joked Korin as he descended toward a home in the mountains, Colin tilted his head “wait I thought you joked about that” responded Colin perplexedly, Korin slapped his claw against his face “I was jooooking, yeesh, yer some kinna dense with joke aintcha?” Korin answered somewhat tight in tone, Colin laughed as they touched down and got off “yeah, I’m still not the best with jokes” Korin rolled his eyes and stood back up cracking his back and stretching “mom and dad are probably gonna strangle me fer being out all night with no notice, good thing the celebration stuff…is…TODAY!!??” he exclaimed loudly, echoing slightly through the valley, he looked to Colin putting a claw on his shoulder walking with him towards the front door “well lets head on in, I can’t believe I fergot the celebration was today” Colin patted his back smiling “hey it’s not the end of the world let’s celebrate your birthday, together!” Colin told Korin with a warm and kind tone, Korin smiled and nodded in agreement as they opened the door “Mom! Dad! I’m home!” Korin called aloud, for a moment you heard nothing, and then came loud heavy steps as a large male Alpherian stomped into sight running full steam towards them, it was Korin’s father “Korin, My son!” Colin sensing intense impending danger did what noble person would do, and stepped to the side; suddenly the large figure flew through the door and tackled Korin in a strong and from the looks of it, rather tight hug based on Korin’s expression “today is your celebration! Without the birthday boy it’s just another day! You had both your mother and I worried sick, where have you been son?” badgered his father still squeezing Korin tight, Colin raised his finger up meekly “u-um sir, I think you might be squeezing too tight for him to answer” he interjected, letting go not paying attention to the human, Theius looked to Korin who looked like a worn out teddy bear took a breath and got up “f-father It’s a bit complicated, I was at grandma Mira’s” Korin finally responded “a-and…don’t freak out but I brought someone home for you to meet” he continued “what? You were at El- err, Mira’s again, son, I’ve told you countless times if you keep going there she’ll keep feeding you…it” he responded darkly “anyway who is it you want your father to meet?” he inquired, Korin walked over to Colin and pat his chest “this is Colin he has the Freewind last name like us father” his father looked at him with widening eyes of disbelief, he was speechless and motionless as he looked to the human “h-hello sir it’s nice to meet you, I’m Colin Aelfric Freew-“ he bolted forward as he snarled lowly and picked him up and pinned him to the home’s wall between his claws “son get inside” he commanded angrily, Korin stood there defiantly “Father it’s not what yo-“
“ENOUGH, KORIN RAZIEL FREEWIND inside NOW” he demanded angrily “you’ve brought a Yukan into our home, our laws forbade the trespass of any non Alpherian, I will punish him now, as judicial lord of our people I deem him guilty of breaking our laws and shall be punished here and now!” he exclaimed, Alma quickly rushed outside as Korin grabbed his father’s arm pulling at him “let him go father he’s not a Yukan!” he pleaded, Theius’s tail reached around toss Korin away “I will decide your punishment later, now leave! Alma take Korin inside he refuses to listen” Alma walked over to Korin kneeling “Korin it was foolish of you to bring a Yukan here, all non-Alpherian visitors know the rules that is why we have the villages below, to bring one here is to ask for judgement” she scolded with concerned tone “mother, he’s not a Yukan, he’s the otherworldly Yukan Grandma Mira told me about, that’s him, can’t you tell?! Look at him, no Yukans wear things like that” Korin Explained in panic, his mother veered to Colin and she observed his clothes, and his very being, “K-Korin what Mira told you is nothing but a story, this is a Yukan no matter how you look at it” he got up and stepping away from his mother “father this is the otherworldly Yukan my prophecy told, this isn’t a story, this isn’t some Yukan, I know because I went into his world and brought him here look at his clothes, Yukans don’t wear things like that why can’t you understand this dad?!” Korin shouted, in response Korin received a whip from his father’s tail which sent him flying and rolling back, curled in pain “that is enough rabble from you, I am disappointed you’d feed into Mira’s lies so much you’d believe that her prophecies are real” he responded with a deeply seated anger and frustration “s-sir…don’t h-hurt him ughck!” as Colin spoke Theius’s claw pushed against him further “be silent Yukan, I will finish this quickly and send you to your family, Korin got up growling, his claws beginning to gather magick, when little tear drops dripped from Colin’s cheeks down to Theius’s claw, his expression lightened slightly as did his grip “I know you want to protect your family…but if you can’t believe your son, who can you believe? I’m here because I have no choice, if I don’t help him, then I’ll lose my family, I’m not asking for you understand, I-I…I’m asking you to believe sir! Believe in your son that I’m a human, not a Yukan, I’m from earth, where magic doesn’t exist, Alpherians, all of this just doesn’t exist, just the other night I watched as my father worked to the bone for petty change just to feed us, to keep a roof over our heads, a world where we struggle just to have a home…I know that you don’t like Yukans but with this hate…will breed more hate, I know it is your duty to punish law breakers, if I did, then I can only choose to accept punishment, Korin, if this is where it’s gotta end, then I’m certain there’s another human out there, there’s gotta be someone just like me out there, so please don’t do anything you’d regret for the rest of your life” Colin explained and pleaded with his whole heart, looking into Theius’s eyes as he said so, smiling “I’m ready sir” he closed his eyes and awaited punishment, Theius looked at his eyes the whole time and his claw quivered and he lowered his head and released him “it’s true I did say that law breakers need to be punished, and any non Alpherians are forbidden from entering our homes, but the law never said anything…” he exhaled as he picked Colin back up  “about non Athesians” he  looked to Colin with a just expression “in your eyes you spoke the truth, not one part of it was a lie, your intent was pure and kind, I cannot bear to harm someone as you with just reason, especially a pure heart just as Mira had predicted would come” Theius exhaled and turned to Korin “I am foolish to have doubted you my son, it took this much to convince me of your words, Colin, was it? You said your name was of the Freewind name as well?” he questioned sternly, Korin gawked to Colin sweating, putting a line across his neck if he said yes “y-…yes sir it is” Alma exhaled “I cannot doubt an honest heart as that, it appears as though Mira’s prediction has borne fruit my little one” Alma explained to Korin holding him as he calmed down, stroking his head gently “forgive us son for doubting you” Korin smiled red cheeked “of course I forgive you, your my mom and dad, and you’re the only ones I’ve got, we all make our mistakes” then sounds of cracking and strangled grunt were heard as Theius hugged Colin tightly, squeezing him like Korin,  his face red as he felt all the air in his chest forced out, his cheeks puffed out as over the bridge of his nose and cheeks turned blue “ah! It seems we have another son Alma! It was one that we never knew of! Be not of blood you are Freewind Kin! Bearing our surname I make you my kin-oath child, I am such a proud father! When’s your birthday little one? How old are you?” he asked again and again jubilant as he swung Colin from side to side, Colin was light headed and faint as his whole face began to turn blue “mmmhbbll!” is all he manage to sputter in the death hold Theius had on him, Korin and Alma rushed over waving their arms “Father-Theius! You’re squeezing the day lights out of him!” they both exclaimed, Theius slowed as he looked to Colin who hung his head back making an airy exhale “heeeeeh” is all the sound he made, Theius hugged him once more “nooo! I’ve killed my Kin-oath son! But he just became kin, how could this have happened?!” he exclaimed while Alma and Korin pulled his arms apart and let Colin go, he dropped huffing deeply and sweating, catching his breath as color returned to his face once more “I warn you not to say it” Korin muttered smugly nudging his arm, Colin chuckled airily as he finally got back up after a minute, smiling to Theius and Alma “I accept Theius sir” Colin finally responded, Theius looked ready give him another hug and he jumped to Korin holding onto his shoulder, Theius chuckled “if that is so, then…call me dad, and Alma is your mother kin-oath son, you may not have been our hatchling but one can be a son without bearing blood” hearing this Colin couldn’t help but smile “oh! I was born the same day as Korin too uhm…d-dad” he said feeling strange as he had a mother and father but to decline an offer as kind as accepting him as their own is one he couldn’t decline and hurt their feelings, but he wasn’t adverse either, it was exciting and new to him, and as he got to know them in a short time he felt they were kind and fun parents, hearing this Theius almost looked like he was ready to cry “uhm…I’ll see you at grandma Mira’s brother” Korin informed Colin, he looked at Korin in curiosity as he suddenly was picked up and squeezed tighter than before, his back cracking, then you could hear a loud series of cracks and Colin head leaned back as he squeezed him and cried “ohoho! This is wonderful, my sons are twins, even born on the same day, it was like fate we were destined to find Korin’s twin! Oooh my son you make your father proud” he exclaimed hysterically happy and crying, Korin pointed to the human who was hunched backwards in his arms while he squeezed, if you could see spirits you would undoubtedly see his getting ready to escape, Theius looked at him in shock and before he hugged him again Alma took him from Theius, and she sighed “I’m on my way to Elder Mira’s son, I’ll bring him back when she’s finished healing whatever Theius broke, which may very well have been his back, ribs, err… anything that was within arm’s grip” She placed him on her back and took off, being quadruped and larger than Korin she easily took off and flew to Mira’s home, Theius sniffed “there, there dad, you didn’t know it’s-” Theius then proceeded to pick Korin up in mid-sentence and hugged him extremely tightly crying “I’m sorry my son! Can you forgive daddy?! He didn’t mean to squeeze you to death, dad was just happy to find his son’s twin!” Korin twitched as he followed suit, feeling quite a few bone crack in his grip not on purpose of course, but forgetting his size and strength difference can cause some…unneeded complications, Korin face soured as he felt the bones in both his back, wings and rib all crack and he fell back with an empty smile, Theius looked at Korin blinking and gasped “it is fate! I injured your twin and now you have received the same injuries, my son I am so sorry!!” he apologized sobbing profusely, opening his wings and flying after Alma with Korin in tow.

Mira was cleaning up peacefully, getting her next pie ready humming a joyful tune of sorts while she did, when she heard a few knocks on the door, it had been at least an hour since the boys left perhaps they were back, maybe for questions or perhaps to have some more of her leafy green surprise pie, she walked to the door a smile on her maw as she opened the door, seeing Alma at the door, Theius behind sobbing “oh dear what is it little one?” she inquired concernedly, Alma took Colin from her back and offer him to her “I’m sure grandma Mira why this has come about” Mira tilted her head looking to Theius “young man, what have I said about watching your strength!” she scolded, Theius sniffed and offered Korin “they’re twins, when I injured his twin Korin became injured as well” Mira exhaled “no, I assure you young man that you most definitely squeezed the daylights out of both little ones, come Alma bring them both to my room, I will tend to them both, this is not the first time I had to tend to one of them” she explained allowing them to enter, though Theius had a hard time getting in and had to duck on all fours to get inside initially “grandma Mira, this boy that is with Korin, he said he’s the otherworldly Yukan…I didn’t sense he was lying, is it truly….truly that time that has come? Must we let them go, to face this evil on their own?” Mira’s became shamefaced and looked away “I wish I could tell you it was longer, but it is already on the move, just last night, this force attempted to take the Human’s life, if it were not for your son that night, I fear it would have taken his life, this…human, healed exponentially from the grave wounds he had received last night, albeit, non-magick users are weaker against magick, but healing magick is where they’re truly in dire straits, as it take longer time to heal and many in a similar grave condition he was do not make it, but instead he’s healed at a rate I’ve never seen Yukans heal, even if he may not be from our world I feel it would not make a difference if it were another human or Yukan, it appears that destiny is taking form before our eyes Alma” she stroked their head as she pushed their backs into place with a precise chop, focusing her claws over their backs, and Korin’s wings with his back, beginning to heal with direct magical power “and they may have been chosen for reasons aside from their pure hearts, this Y- er, this child, may very well have innate magick power, I have not discovered what Korin’s potential is quite yet but when the three destined come together to set out on their journey they may very well discover what their potential is” Mira touched Alma’s cheek smiling “have faith” Alma looked away and to them “as a mother I will always worry when children do something dangerous, especially now” she remarked in concern, Theius touched her shoulder looking to them “when the Darkwalker comes, that is when their journey begins, right Mira?” he asked seriously, Mira nodded “yes, when the darkwalker begins, their journey shall start, they must reunite the kingdoms and stop a war from happening, or else many lives will be lost, and I fear history will be doomed to repeat” after Mira finished healing them, Theius leaned his head down between then closing his eyes “no matter what, you must be strong, hold your heart and courage high, and no matter how dark it may get, you three will see your way from it, and come home proud heroes with heads high, when you wake up, we’ll give you the best birthday parties you’ve ever had so when you’re here, or out there in the world you’ll remember us always, I know I judged you harshly Colin but within such a short time you helped me see my clouded judgement and that somethings need to be believed in…regardless if you understand it or not, and when you face down the cause of this chaos, you do so with all of us in your hearts, because we’re fighting with you even if you may not see it” with that Theius lifted his head and looked to Mira “I know this may sound outrageous but I must test him, if Korin is to go out there, I must bring out this magick power within him, if not in the least I will test him of his strength and resolve” Mira looked to them perplexed and in deep thought as she pondered his idea, and she nodded “yes, if we are to ensure this war is to be averted, and countless worlds safe then do what you must, if need be do with the intent to kill, I pains me to think that accepting this put him yet again in mortal danger but we have no choice, and it will be far more dangerous in a world that is on the edge of going to war the foes they will face will most definitely will attack with killing intent, here we can do what we can before the time comes to see them off, I will consult with Besaria on when Silence shall arrive, with that I will give you a time period of which you may train them, you’ve called this young one your kin-oath child, if you value your child you will train everything you can into bring out their potential, if we succeed, then we guarantee they will have means to protect themselves should danger seek them out once more” when Mira finished heal they both slowly began to stir and wake up, groaning, Korin rubbed his back as did Colin, looking around Korin gawked at Mira and his parents then to Colin once more “told you I’d see you at grandma Mira’s, looks like we both ended up here again” he chuckled slightly rubbing his neck, Colin exhaled and stretched “ack, I thought I was dead, I’ve gotten tight hugs before but I’ve never felt one so tight I’ve felt things break” he confessed, laughing nervously, Theius looked to them both with a straight and serious expression unchanging “my sons, good to see your awake, now that you both are, we’ve all decided we will celebrate both your birthdays today, following the celebration I will be training you both to hone magical ability and to bring out the potential in Colin, you both are young and inexperienced in magick combat and use, to send you on your journey now would be sending you to your deaths, this is sudden I know, but as a father I want to make sure my sons are prepared for whatever lies ahead, this darkwalker named Silence is undoubtedly a strong magic user and will have little need for the training I will give you” they looked at him in surprise as he suddenly told them of this sudden development “what brought up father?” Korin asked in a soft tone to his father stern tone “you have never strayed far from home so you do not know what Athesia can be truly like in time as these, magick grows unstable, and it affect not only us as Alpherians but many of the creatures who magick runs in their veins, normally docile creatures have been increasingly become aggressive, and so have the neighboring people, to make sure you can protect yourselves against these dangers we will make sure you are as ready as can be, but for now” he raised his head bumping it on the ceiling, he rubbed his head groaning slightly “for now it is your birthdays and come destiny or fate you’re going to have a celebration to remember us by when it comes time to see you off, now come, up and at it little ones it’s time to come home” he picked both Korin and Colin up and placed them on his back, Alma was quiet, trying to remain happy for them, it was a special day even if they faced an uncertain fate, she wouldn’t spoil their day by being sad, she sat down as Theius began to leave “I’ll be home soon love, I wish to talk to Grandma Mira for the time being, I won’t be long” she said in her usual soft and motherly voice, he nodded to her and walked out with the children “I can’t wait little ones you’ll have the greatest time, cake, drinks, party games I have it all set up just you wait!” Theius explain jubilantly leaving, once they left Alma looked to Mira “you’re sending them to their deaths Mira, you know what they will have to do, yet you give them hope they’ll return home!” she cried in anger and sadness, Mira looked away to the window, gazing outside “it is…fate Alma, if they were chosen by this prophecy then nothing we do can change it, it is better to give them hope and fulfill their destiny rather than fall to despair and lose all hope of saving worlds Alma” she jerked Mira around beset by grief and rage “but at what cost?! The death of three children is what Athesia calls for? If that is what it takes then I say let this world burn to the ground!” Mira quickly slapped Alma looking to her with a deeply serious expression, the look in her eyes suppressing a great sadness “do not think I would not take their place if I had the chance Alma, but as it stands none of us are match for him, Alma…Zekrin lives” she stepped back pale as though she’d seen a ghost “no…no this is wrong Mira, high king Zekrin died to end the 200 year war you were there! You should know he did!” Mira’s face lowered in guilt “no…he did not…in the years far past your own, when the war was to end, the part of the prophecy I had only but told the king and his son, were that he would give his life to stop the war, but while he succeeded in ending the war, the evil, black darkness that was have said to vanquish is incorrect, rather in exchange for his life he sealed the darkness away within him, and it was I who seal him away, the blackened darkness clung to his soul and gave him new life, even now he gains power from the magick he has sown into the world once more…these little ones are the cost of my failure to destroy him so many years ago, this is why things have come to be this way…destiny is fixing my mistake Alma, you may curse me for my choice but in the end…it is up to them to see this through or see the end of everything, they are our heralds of redemption…or destruction, as with all destinies they will split as time goes on, and I only see two paths before us Alma, and both will lead to great tragedy, in one way or another…it is punishment for the sins of your forefathers, sins that I hold upon my back, and now” Mira looked to Alma with a deeply grave expression “it’s come to this, Alma hate me if you must, but when I read Korin prophecy I couldn’t bring myself to tell you the true reality of his prophecy that day…” Alma bared her teeth as she was restraining herself from striking Mira “even if two these three are Athesians one of them has nothing to do with this Mira! You…no…Athesia has brought danger to his life, even though he has no place in this world it brings him here like a sheep to be slaughtered, I looked into that child’s eyes, he has a heart like my son, to think that this little one’s family would also loose a son and never know why, or how…Mira, is it always right to do what a prophecy tells you? Because I shall NOT allow either son to perish before I, and should I need face Zekrin myself then I shall!” she said loudly her voice echoing across the plateau her wings extended, her motherly instincts ablaze “Mira, I cannot forgive Zekrin or you for laying a destiny upon my blood and oath child, and upon a nightwalker who’s fate regardless is to die for Athesia, and should they truly perish…” she looked away then charged her full force magic blazing from her wings, claws and chest, flowing back across her body “I WILL kill you myself” she exclaimed in powerful blazing rage, her magic reacting to her emotions blazed with equal power, Mira looked into her eyes “I will gladly accept my judgement Alma, and by the one who is nurturer of children, no one is more fitting, but as the road winds down, the more they fulfill their destiny more forks in their path will begin to appear, down one of them I have faith…will bring them home, if not…should they truly perish with their born fate, I will not have right to live…while little ones perish for the sake of a prophecy I have read” she looked outside “the sun peaks…if you stay any further you will miss their celebration Alma” she said softly turning to the looking crystals, Alma’s magic faded away and she gave her a stern and still angered glare walked out of the room “pray old one…for evil begets evil…even should the evil be vanquished, evil will be born in its wake…as it seems there lies no happy ending for anyone”
“….” Mira did not respond, and Alma continued looking forward, not moving for a moment, then began walking from the room leaving Mira and headed back home.
Back at Korin’s home they all sat around, holding a cup of a strange reddish orange liquid, it was thin almost like water but it definitely did not look like it, Colin gawked into the cup and it glowed softly “is this…safe to drink s- uhm, dad?” Theius laughed and pat his back a little hard wincing “ha ha! Yes of course it’s what all Alpherians drink on the celebration of a decade of life!” he replied in his seem-to-be usual jubilant tone “but, uhm, dad…” Korin interjected “we’re only fifteen, not ten or twenty” he pointed out confusedly “well it’s two celebrations of my two sons turning fifteen add it up its thirty! Old enough to me” he responded feeling sound with his logic, Korin and Colin both look at each other confusedly “uuuh…daaaad” they both groaned placing their face to their palms, Theius blinked and looked at them puzzled “what? Is there something on my face?” he asked innocently, crossing his eyes, slowly the kept going until his eyes were white, laughing Colin looked to his face and yelled falling, keeping the cup upright, Theius’s eyes returned to normal and he laughed haughtily  slapping the ground a bit, a crack formed and Korin scratched his cheek looking at it “moms going to kill you dad, you know how much she hates repairing cracks and holes in walls” he looked at the Colin and helped him up taking his cup “upsy daisy, time to drink up little ones! It’s special this year, i was saving for when you were turning twenty Korin, but with Colin showing up it seems we’ll be having the stronger stuff instead, normally this is a rather tame drink signifying a chapter in your life has passed but half aged, it’s gonna have quite the kick my sons! So drink up!” he lifted the cups to their mouths and they grunt as Theius made them drink it, finishing their graciously large cup they hiccupped and covered their mouths “oh man…I could barely take the fully aged stuff, this ain’t gonna end well *hic*” Korin’s magic began to flow out as his cheeks turned red and his movement sluggish, he chuckled looking quite drink, as he looked to his father, his body ablaze in azure and green magic, he laughed and his father picked him up and hugged him, Korin hugged back laughing drunk, his father grunt as Korin looked like he was choking his father with some unfounded new strength, Theius pulled Korin from his neck and grunt, exhaling “whew! You’ve got a stronger grip then your father! That’s what I like to see!” he looked to Colin who sat there blinking, looking around “uhm w-was I supposed to be like that too?” he got up pretending to act drunk, looking quite obvious, Theius grunt and took out a rather large barrel that he lifted onto his shoulder walking over and putting his claws on the nozzle “open wide little one, time to join your brother!” he exclaimed, Colin not wanting the drink to fall on the ground wasted he opened his mouth, when he had drank it before, it tasted oddly citrusy and sweet in taste, opening his mouth the liquid flow down and he began drinking as much as he could, gulping down a good large amount as he put a cup out sitting down letting it catch the extra  pouring out “uuurp…I feel weird…” his cheeks began to turn red and he blinked in the same slow manner as Korin, Colin swayed his arms carefree and gently “hehe, I feel fuuuuunny~” he stated blissfully carefree, Theius gawked at him intensely, squinting, scratching his head “I was sure this’d bring out the magic inside him, maybe human heal really fast?” he pondered to himself, looking to Korin he was barrel float drinking more, Theius panicked and grunt trying to pull the barrel from Korin’s magical grip not doing very well, as it felt like he was trying to move a mountain, he groaned and plugged the hole with his claw tip groaning, looking back he saw Colin standing on a chair “I think if I try really hard I’ll fly with magic I can feel it paaaa-paaaa~”  “h-hey! Careful, you’ll hurt yourself son!” he looked at the nozzle and squeezed it shut and he ran over to Colin as he jumped being caught exhaled with relief “I think I might have let them drink too much of it, Alma is going to kill me, and here I am the judicial lord, what irony” he lamented, Colin’s eyes were lowered and glazed as he had his arms and legs extended “heeeey brother, look I’m flyin’” cheered Colin, Korin raised an arm “yaaa! I knew ye got somefin’ in yah!” Theius walked over to Korin whose magick was growing stronger and stronger, pure, strong magick covered his chest and wings streaming across his arms to his back, Theius looked at him with surprise “this is…magick unity…so young, even if it’s because of magick elixir it’s very impressive to see it so cleanly sustained, looks likes this little one doesn’t have magic in him” he sighed, Korin was backstroking as his father snatched him by the ear grumbling “ow, ow, ow fatherrrr whatcha pullin’ mah horn fer?” he whined, not really feeling any pain from his father pulling his horn but it compulsive reaction “we’re going to getcha back to…your…senses” his sense of up and down switch and he stumbled into a wall and he groaned “what’s going on? Korin stop using your magick on your father this…instant” the ground began to shake as Colin and Korin shook, when suddenly Korin’s birthmark began to glow and Theius heard the sounds of a gate of a gate unlock and Colin grunt and then he began to float looking around the feeling of magick was intense, more then what Theius had ever felt before, Colin began to levitate and white magick flowed from the center of his head down to his heart that glowing next as it traveled down to his hands and down to his feet, a crown of magic forming, Korin next to him began to undergo a similar transformation as his wings turned from simple feathers to ones that’s colors glowed and flowed with green and blue, Colin chuckled and him and Korin held one of their hands and claws together and their magic glowed brightly and their eyes both blue glowed with magical sheen, the crystals within their hope glowing brightly, resonating with them both in harmony “haha look at me brother I’m really flying now and I look all glowy white and stuff” said Colin, white wings formed from the back  and they flapped gently and gracefully, Theius looked to them both in awe, speechless at this almost fable like level of magic, his eyes star-struck by them, though they weren’t really aware of what they had achieve Theius certainly did, he looked outside and saw something lifting from the village below, almost invisible to the eye, it was malicious in nature “is that evil they expelled?” he uttered gently, looking back to them, he noticed they were sweating a little, it seems the magick was subconsciously fighting against the malice which had taken hold of the village without knowing, he walked to them and touched their shoulders, a sudden rush of energy flowed through his body and he felt an intense out of body sensation as a malice was circumcised from his body, it disappeared he panted softly, looking to them “my sons, please have a seat, stop using your magick or there will be no cake, they looked at him with frowns as their levitation faded and the gently landed on their feet, the magick that manifested slowly reverted back inside of them, looking to Colin Theius was dumbfounded “A Yukan...no, a child as his kind, that can wield such magick, even though he look Yukan, he wields magick that could rival…no…perhaps even surpass the darkwalker’s Seraphim, to think she send one of her own, a people who are more in tune with Athesia and magick then us Alpherians, I see now why it must be them…but the question is…just why does this Yukan like little one bear such powerful magick as well?” Theius pondered deeply as looked to them blissfully hugging and wrestling a bit, no possible answers came to mind as he spent his time thinking, when the sound of decent sized wings flapped down and someone made touch down walking inside “Theius dear! I felt an unreal amount of magic just a few minutes ago, is everything okay?” she questioned concernedly looking around she noticed the Magick Elixir barrel sitting there and she stomped around the corner “THEIUS! You’re in serious trouble!” she looked at him as he turned around, laughing nervously as the two sat in chair drunkenly playing with each other saying things in their bizarre language only they understood as the elixir took full blown hold on them, Alma squinted “you know that it’s still aging, and don’t give me any excuses, I’ve got two little ones here that most definitely look quite…you know what I intend to say, do you not Theius?” she asked her tone Scolding and firm, Theius chuckled finicking with his claws not making eye contact “n-nooo, of course not because they merely are…beside themselves with brotherhood , they’re just so happy to brothers that they appear drunken love” he explained, more so lying not getting past Alma’s strong maternal instinct “another cup father!” Korin suddenly exclaimed “yes please papa!” followed Colin, Theius smiled shyly as his rather poor excuse was foiled, Alma quickly reached out and pulled his horn and twisted his pinky claw, he raised up his eye twitching, pain escaping his maw “a-ah ow, ow, ow, A-Alma dear this hurts quite a lot” he whined painfully, her brow twitching she chuckled and quickly flipped the large male Alpherian head under rump, and onto his back with little effort “what are you thinking giving them half aged Elixir?! Half aged elixir is almost no different from a very intense intoxicating drink!” her face turned darkly and releasing all the frustration and anger she had pent up she flipped over and used her tail to pull one of his hind legs back and using one of her arms to pull his head back pulling quite hard, the white of his eyes growing stronger as his eye twitched “a-a-ahhh! Sorry my deaaaar! Forgive me,  It won’t happen again!!” he cried out pleadingly, she chuckled and jerked back more, you could hear loud cracking and popping as she let go, Theius flopped onto the floor twitching with a half conscious smile on his face, Alma got off and walked to the boys  as they were picking each other’s noses snickering “you cun pick your brothers nose but you err, can’t pick yer own” Korin muttered, Alma pulled their fingers out and sighed “come now boys time to come to your senses, father simply wasn’t thinking like usual” she grinned threateningly for a moment towards Theius as she finished, touching their cheeks she grunt and the same experience Theius had felt she went through, and she blinked looking to Colin in surprise “I…feel magick in you now, what’s going on here?” she looked to Theius and sighed “foolish old lizard, I knew that feeling of magick I sensed was coming from here, but to think these little ones are capable of such levels of magic, perhaps behind this adorable faces is quite the warrior” she giggled, focusing she then pulled the elixir from the bodies, it flowing out like as if it were in space, they grunt as it was extracted, but not entirely to allow them to come down from their drunken state safely, they pant and closed their eyes catching their breaths as the glazed eyes and rosy red cheeks faded, and they looked up at Alma blinking “w-wha…what happened mom?”  They both asked together “oh your father was just pulling some funny jokes but don’t worry I made sure he saw that it was wrong to give a child excessive amounts of intoxicating beverages, the looked past her seeing Theius twitching half consciously on the floor, they looked at her blue in the face with fright, fathers can be scary but make a mother angry, and be prepared for godly judgement to be passed onto you “are you boys feeling better? I didn’t remove all of it but I did most of it but I left a little in so you could come down softly, they looked to each other nodding “mhm, yeah mom we’re feeling okay now” Korin replied, smiling a bit, Colin rubbed his head a bit whining “ugh…my head, it feels like it’s going to split in two, do you got any ibluproofen, Or tyrexinol? Oh wait…different world, of course you don’t have that stuff” he muttered whining, Alma placed a claw over his head and she closed her eyes as a green gently glowing magic formed over his head “I’ll make it feel better sweetie, don’t worry” as she healed she felt the strain it had on his body, the amount strain it had on his soul and body, although she could feel the magick residing within him deeply where all magic would lay, his body appeared to not be adept with using it, and strained itself greatly to release as much magic as it did, she placed both claws over him and pushed a great amount of effort into her healing, rejuvenating and relieving the strain placed on his mind and body, once she finished, she looked to him sweating slightly “feeling better little one?” she asked comfortingly and gently, Colin nodded softly “mhm, thanks m-mom” he replied smiling to her kindly, she leaned to him nuzzling his head, he chuckled and Korin looked away crossing his arms pouting a little, even at his age it seemed jealousy for mother’s attention wasn’t something he was used to, she looked to Korin, touching her maw giggling, leaning down to him, nuzzling his head “you know I love you my little one, but since your father I agreed, you must share my affection with your new oath-kin brother as well, be a good boy” she kissed his cheek, then kissed Colin’s cheek, his turning red and looking away shyly “come now, let’s go have some cake, sound good?” she asked joyfully, the both jumped up nodding “yeah!” they both exclaimed, Theius got up slowly rubbing his back looking at them chuckling.

Colin and Korin sat down in front of a table Alma walked out of the kitchen then came back with a two level cake covered in a a cloudy design, the blue sky being icing on it, the clouds made of a sweet confectionary paste, as she put it down, Colin and Korin looked at it curiously, the picture began to move, the cloud shifting, it had the picture of an Alpherian on it, she put a single claw digit to it and then popped in a character that looked like Colin, standing on grass as the young Alpherian flew above looking down and the one below looking up with bright smiles on them then the words formed ‘Happy Birthday Korin and Colin!’ it said, they both looked at the cake starry-eyed, especially Colin “this is magic?” he asked to Alma looking up, she smiled and nodded slowly “yes, do you both like it?” she asked gentle and caring, “ah course mom!” Korin said “mhm! It’s so amazing!” she giggled and rubbed both of their heads, then put a plate in front of them, twirling a single digit and 15 lights floated above it “now give a promise and a wish from your heart, since Colin is new to these birthdays, you will make a promise you tell, and then a wish you keep in your heart” she explained “now on three blow out the lights” they both nodded and closed their eyes and inhaled and with their breath the lights vanished, the first to speak was Colin “I promise to do my best to make sure everyone comes home after this is done, an’ I made my wish already!” he said cheery, Korin looked at him and  then to the cake “I promise to eat every bit of the cake” Colin elbowed his side, he grunt and looked at him “what? I was just saying I would…” he muttered softly, looking to the picture “if I had a promise since what you said pretty much woulda been my first choice…I promise…mh…I promise as your brother to protect yah!” he stated with cheer, as fer my wish…hehe, i think I’ll go with w-” Colin covered up his mouth “hey! You’re not supposed to say what you’re gonna wish for or it won’t come true, mom just said so you dinkus” scolded Colin looking at him with a annoyed frown, he let go and Korin chuckled nervously “whoops I almost let it slip haha, thanks bro” he responded scratched his neck, Alma chuckled and took the cake cutter and cut out two pieces of the cake, placing them on their plates “you boys are silly, time for cake, there’s plenty to go around so don’t be afraid to ask for another piece”
“Thanks mom!” they both exclaimed picking up forks and digging in, the cake was light and sweet, the icing tasted like blue berry and the paste clouds tasted a delicious light nut flavor of chestnut, they ate happy, Theius walked in smiling “aww my boys come here!” he said cheery arms out, both of them with mouths full of cake  grunt as they  were picked up and hugged, the grunt as their cheeks bulged and then while he hugged them cake spewed from their mouths all over his face, he grunt and looked at himself, Alma laughed “that’s what happens when you hug two boys too tightly with a mouth full of cake!” she said bright and cheerful, laughing, he loosened up and they exhaled, and looked at Theius laughing carefree and joyously, Theius looked surprised then he too joined in the laughter as he put them down, Alma wiped their mouths and Theius’s face, joining the boys, bringing cups of juice for everyone, raising his cup Colin swayed it around, singing a merry song “we’ll always be to-gether, hi-ho we’re a family and that’s how it’ll always be, singin’ song an’ dancin’ round a fire bright and me-rry! Together there ain’t nothin’ we can’t do cause when family sticks tah-gether the coldest nights’ll won’t matter b’cause fam-i-ly will always be tah-gether in the heart, In the soul in the darknest of night’ll you’ll always have ‘em by your si-i-i-ide! Cause when y’got family by yer side ain’t nothin’ to fe-e-e-ear~” Korin, Alma, and Theius chimed in singing together, raising their cups singing, and drinking their juice and earing their cake, despite all that had gone on, it was all out shadowed by the bond that grew between them, that’s right, family and friends are always there for you in the darkest times and now nothing could break this bond they had, Korin got up and Colin explained the Irish jig, teaching him how to do it, he always loved irish dancing it was so happy and lighthearted, he studied and learned each step part by part, after letting Korin get an understanding to do it Colin offered and he began to do a jig, spinning around Korin who slowly began to follow after him, eventually getting in sync they began to dance around each other happily, getting into the beat of their stepping Theius began clapping with it, dancing around they laughed and sung, clapping with Theius, Colin felt at home and his chest felt warm and fuzzy, all their worries melted away as the day went on, Alma gentle tapped her claws on the ground to the beat.
After the day went on the party died down and Korin and Colin sat down in their chairs panting, sweating a little “that was fun Colin, what’d you call it, a jig right?” he asked looking over to him “yep that’s right” he exhaled wiping his brow “man, it takes a lot out of you haha”
“yeah you got that right” Korin responded, catching his breath from the dancing, looking at the plate where the cake was sighing contently “that cake was great, we barely had any since dad ate most of it” he laughed, Colin looked over seeing  him lying on the ground content, he smiled and leaned against his chair sighing gently “yeah, best birthday I had yet I never though this is what birthdays here were like” he said passively and relaxed, Korin looked to him, a curious look in his eye “what were birthdays like where you’re from, y’know, earth and all that” he inquired, Colin looked up reminiscing “they weren’t as great like these ones but my parents did their best to at least get a cake and a gift, just having my mom and dad there was all I wanted, it was nice to sit around a table like this and just blow out candles and have piece of cake do normal things families did” Korin looked at him pleasantly surprised “that sounds pretty nice, are your parents around a lot?” Colin chuckled shaking his head “not really, mom is usually off working, she works in planes as a foreign department inspector so she’s always going somewhere, dad works in a portable engine company it doesn’t pay much but it brings in food, all mom’s money goes to paying for the house” he put his arms behind his head thinking about it “we all lived a modest life, but even with both their hard work we’re still struggling to keep afloat, dad takes out loans so we can keep food in the house, buying scratchers in hope of making the money to pay back the money he owe” although some things  he said were confusing, he understood for the most part “wow, that sounds pretty tough, we all make plenty of money here from all the business we make down below, and dad gets a commission from the high order as judicial lord, so far we haven’t really had any real cases that required his attention so life has been easy so far” he responded softly and contently “wow, sounds like you’ve got it good” admired Colin, Korin looked up thoughtfully, speaking optimistically “yeah, I guess we do, but what with all the talk of war recently business is slowing down, but that’s what were here for, to stop all this bad stuff going on so we can all co-exist peacefully again”
“Yep, and maybe when we get back we can have cake again” Colin speculated optimistically “haw that’d be the best”
Alma looked to them then back her claws shaking while she cleaned up, holding back her sadness, noticing her expression was a little sad, Colin looked to her asking her softly if she was alright, seeing he was picking up on her emotions she sighed and looked to them “oh nothing, it’s just so sad to see my children living home so soon is all, a mother can’t help but worry for your safety” although she didn’t like hiding her feelings from them, making them sad isn’t what she wanted, even if she had to lie a little, Colin looked at her intuitively but smiled still “don’t worry mom we’ll be fine, as long as we got each other, everything will be okay” he replied confidently and happy, she chuckled and sighed “yes that’s true little one” she walked over to him, rubbing his head gently, then returning to the sink, washing up dishes, the sun was still up and shining even after all of the dancing and eating, both Korin and Colin caught their second wind “so…mom, why are all the kingdoms so close to war?” asked Colin getting up once more, looking inquisitively, after she finished cleaning up she walked to them once she finished cleaning up “ever since the day of Mira’s prophecy was told, things began to….change, somewhere along the lines we all began to nurture a directionless fear, which has come to be paranoia and hatred, although we as a people are supposed to be kind and peaceful, we’ve become no better than anyone else swept up in this fear, we disallow others into our homes, restrict passage into our lands” she gave a deep sigh “I remember when we could go where we liked and no one would hold a grudge or hatred in their heart, we could all laugh together like a family, to us it was like yesterday” her eyes looked distant and nostalgic, Korin got up and stretched his arms and legs, then his wings as he walked next to Alma “when this is all over someday we will, we just gotta keep that hope in our heart and nothin’ will seem too far off mom” she touched his claw and smiled “yes, your right little one, you are most certainly right, without hope we’re all lost, just never stop being yourselves is all I could ask, always be the little ones I know” she responded warmly “oh Korin, show Colin the cave where you were hatched, even though it is not used anymore it is still quite a beautiful place I’m sure he’d love to see”
“Well, I dun really see why not, do you wanna check it out Colin?” Korin inquired, turning to him “sure! I’d love to, what’s it like?”
“Well, y’just gotta come and see to find out!” Korin replied walking quickly to the door, Colin followed after “it’s not too far from here so it’s a quick flight”
“Alright, let’s get going then!” he responded excitedly, Korin lowered down looking back, Colin quickly hopped on, without another second Korin walk out and flew off with his new brother in tow, flying on towards the cave, Alma waved them off smiling and speaking happily “see you soon little ones! Remember to not cause trouble and be good, and don’t talk to strangers!”
“We won’t mom, Be back soon!” with that they flew off out of ear shot, she looked to them and covered her maw closing her eyes crying, letting it all out, Theius walked beside her rubbing her back smiling gently “they’ll be okay Alma, I knew something was wrong once you stay behind, there’s something you haven’t told me…am I wrong?” he asked  in a firm yet comforting tone, she looked up to them “yes, Theius dear, but you must promise me, no matter what I say…you mustn’t tell the little ones, you mustn’t show them anything that would break their little growing hearts” his expression became grim and concerned, then she began to tell him of what her and Mira spoke about hours before.

Korin didn’t take long even with Colin in tow to arrive at the cave where he was born, after he hovered for a moment, he landed and Colin hopped off and looked at the large cave opening in awe, walking forward, Korin stood back up and followed after her him tapping his shoulder “you have seen anything yet, come on!” Korin waved his arm walking into the cave, Colin smiled and followed in after him, as they entered the cave’s entrance narrowed and darkened, the light faded and the walls smoothed and became more straight and carved cleanly, crystals in stone holders along the walls began to glow and the walls revealed pictures, Colin stopped and looked at them all looking at the pictures it showed various creatures and people together in a circle that had trees and skies outreaching to them all, their expressions looked happy, he slowly walked following the pictures along the walls, as he continued he saw that  a great white figure looking down to them, their expressions looking in awe but none looked fearful, among them he could see what looked like Alpherians, and Yukans but a majority of them he had never heard of or seen, as the pictures changed, it show this figure sharing something with them all, their arms outreached, as it progressed it showed them doing amazing things like using fire, ice, electricity “is this…the history of Athesia?” he asked softly
“Yeah, it’s about when magic came to Athesia a long, long time ago, long before the 200 year war” Korin pointed to the next picture, it showed a dark people looking up to the figure with unhappy expressions while the rest used their magick “those are darkwalkers, in this part the story goes; darkwalkers are pleading to become non magic folk, although many were happy with the gift of magic, they were not, they felt that these powers would lead to a path of suffering and war, believing in their words the magic giver offered them the gift of great magical power instead of stripping it away so that in the magic giver’s stead they could watch over the world and protect it when the time came, reluctantly they accepted this responsibility and moved forward, agreeing to this gift, which is believed why dark walkers are considered the most powerful magick wielder of all the races” walking from the picture they move onto a set of more, the picture showed a picture of the races standing divided angry expressions on them, following the picture a group of nightwalkers stood between them all expressions of guilt on their face” I learned most of what these pictures say from Grandma Mira, as time went on each of the races began to quarrel and fight over who’s magic was stronger, to show once and for all who was the strongest magick wielder of all they prepared to fight a cruel and pointless battle, seeing the division of the races and the jealousy in their hearts in a great display of power the darkwalkers stood between them all, telling them that no magick is greater than the other, that all magick is equal and no one race has greater place in this world, ashamed they all turned their anger to the darkwalkers, who refused to fight, their people were slaughtered and destroyed to the brink of total destruction” Korin continued pointing to the next picture showing Alpherians standing between the races and the darkwalkers “the battle raged on, seeing that the darkwalkers wish no harm to the others the Alpherian’s hearts cried out in guilt and they finally understood why they did not fight back, what their words truly meant, and to save the darkwalkers the Alpherians stood between them and the races, the Alpherians defended the darkwalkers from annihilation, refusing to fight back but not backing down wishing for the fighting to end that the fighting was meaningless, that the nightwalkers wished only for peace, as the fighting continued, the races began to lose heart and the guilt of what their actions had caused” walking onward they met with yet another picture, it showed the darkwalkers standing in front of bowing people, sad and guilt ridden expressions on them all, tears dripping, the darkwalkers smiling offering a hand seeing the errors of their ways and the wrongs that could never be undone the races bowed and pleaded with the darkwalkers for forgiveness, the darkwalkers who had suffered so much and last so many reached out in a sign of friendship, life and death are a part of life and they knew this well, and despite the wrong done, they forgave them and wished for peace to return, from then on peace reined in Athesia as once again the hearts of the people were together as one supporting each other”  there was one last picture before the pathway ended showed a picture once more of a people with smiling expressions and darkwalkers amongst them but much fewer in numbers, all together smiling and using magick in harmony “as the fighting had ended the races joined together in friendship and harmony no longer seeing themselves greater or equal to each other, the races parted ways to make homes for their people, even in their division their hearts were always together, the beating heart of all Athesia rejoiced and sung across the land, that’s all there is to it” Colin looked at it curiously then turned to Korin “what happened to the magic giver?”
“Oh well, grandma Mira says when he had given his gift to them he disappeared, she thinks the magick giver was the manifestation of Athesia itself and when the gift of magick was given he returned to Athesia”
Colin looked at him with deep thoughtful eyes, looking to the last picture in awe “that’s such a wonderful story, in the end all the races joined together in heart” he responded still looking at the final picture
“Too bad that peace was broken once”
“You mean the 200 year war”
“Mhm, but in the end peace returned and all the land was reunited” Korin replied thoughtfully
“Now it’s our turn to return the peace to Athesia, I wish this suffering would end…” Colin muttered softly, his tone sincere and kind, Korin looked to him with the same feelings he had, even though he wasn’t born in Athesia his heart still sincerely wished for the same thing as him, before he became lost in thought Korin beckoned him on walking past the pictures into a room that was dark, almost pitch black, they looked around for a moment then the room lit up to the sight of glowing crystals that changed from the murky rainbow like color to a bright pure white light, the magic inside flowed gently, they brightened the cave up, the color changing to a mix of sky blue, green and white, they looked around in surprise and wonder as the room seemed to dance with their presence, the smiled and laughed a little in excitement, going to them and touching them cause gentle glowing lights to flow off of them, hovering within the room, the lights dimming a little as the lights floated about slowly, Korin opened his claws as one floated nearby, going into the cusp of them, the light was serene and peaceful, Colin waved his hands around, the glowing fragments spun around him, as they went toward Korin they did the same, seeing this Korin touched a couple and more flew out and the light dimmed more but was replaced by the many flickering bright lights from the tiny fragments that floated and spun around them, they smiled and ran to each other, when the grasped their hands together the fragments flew around them like dandelions in a breeze looking up and around as they continued to spin they looked to each other chuckling with bright joyful expressions “this is the best day ever, thanks for showing me all this, and I’m glad…your parents made me your ‘official’ brother…I’ve never had one, and I got to admit, it’s awesome!” Colin exclaimed with excitement and joy “yeah, I have to admit being an only child had its perks but it was kinda lonely what with my father being a judicial lord, none of the other kids wanted to play with me when I was younger, I missed out on a lot, at least I could share something with someone…someone like you, Colin you make a great brother, even if we’re not the same kind, or the same blood, I think you’re my brother all the same, and when this is all over, we’ll both come home like super heroes me you and that third guy, I wonder what he’s gonna be like, is he going to be all mysterious and all I will work with you if I must, for the better of Athesia kinda guy”
“Well we won’t know till we meet him, but if you think about it, if we’re all together, won’t that mean it’ll be time to leave home?” wondered Colin, Korin’s expression changed to surprise and shock “your right…there won’t be any reason to stick around…I hope he doesn’t come very soon…I just bare got to know you, we even had our celebrations together, you’ve bare just been accepted as mom and dad’s son…I still wanna have more fun” Korin lamented softly, Colin touched his shoulder giving him a hug “sometimes life just isn’t fair, but until he does lets have the most fun we can!”
Korin sniffed a bit sadly then smiled “y-yeah, you’re right, no point getting sad now when things aren’t set in stone yet”
“Let’s go head home; I think it’s getting dark” replied Colin changing the subject
“yeah, your right, let’s get going” Korin turned and held Colin’s hand as they walked out together, going through the walls of pictures it was hard to see now, and when they walked outside, the sun was setting and the moon rising, it was vastly greater size then the moon from earth, seeing it peek out from one side was enough to catch his attention “wow…it’s barely peeking out but I can tell the moon is so big..” Colin said admiringly
“yeah, nights here in Athesia are always so colorful, it’s like even when you think your alone, you look up and you suddenly don’t feel so alone anymore, but” Korin held Colin’s hand more firmly looking to him “whether I’m looking up or down, I’m not alone, cause I got you”
Hearing this Colin smiled happily and nodded “and I don’t feel so alone in this world because I’ve got you, mom, dad, and Mira”
They both smiled to each other kindly and then Korin lowered himself and Colin hopped on after, the two taking off from the wondrous cave back towards home, going into a slow glide as the returned, looking as the moon began to rise and the sun set.
As they arrived at the house, it was quiet, they walked in, the lights on but no one home to greet them “hello mom you home?”  Korin called out looking around, but no one answered, they both scattered out to look around the house, but found no one, returning to the door they looked at each other curiously “where is everyone, I’m sure they’d home especially since it’s getting dark, where could have mom and dad gone?” wondered Korin
“Maybe they had something they needed to attend to?” Colin offered looking around
“they’d at least leave a note of some kind before leaving so close to night, mom hasn’t even gotten things for dinner out like she usual does”
“Huh…that is strange Korin, what do you think happened?”
Korin crossed his arms thinking deeply “I don’t know”
“maybe we should wait for them, we could get in trouble if they come and we’re not here we could get in trouble”
Korin looked outside determined “this is simply too suspicious to ignore Colin, we gotta go out and search for them something coulda happened to them and we didn’t know!” he exclaimed, Colin looked at him in a troubled expression “hm…you could be right, let’s go search for them”
“Alright hop on my back we’ll go head out and look for them!” Korin lowered himself down and Colin looked down seeing deep claw marks in the ground, seeing them his worry deepened, Korin lifted his head up and magick flowed from his wings down to his chest he moved his head around as though looking around “I can feel a faint trail of dad’s magick it’s strong, so full of anger and frustration, a-and mom’s too it’s leading up towards grandma Mira’s home!” he opened his eyes looking to Colin, he nodded and Korin took off quickly his magick increasing the speed and strength of his flying, Colin gripped on tightly as he dashed off into the sky, he flew faster than ever determination in both of their hearts as they flew on into the night towards grandma Mira’s home, the wind rushing past their feathers and hair, up, higher and higher they went until they arrived at the plateau of where grandma Mira lived, they skid to a stop running towards the door, hearing voices they slowly down, Colin put an arm out and pulled Korin aside next to the door listening in on the conversation, they could hear grandma Mira, talking to Theius and Alma.
“Theius, we cannot change what is to be, it is up to the little ones where their destiny takes them, as I can see there is no way around it! I can foretell prophecies but I cannot change them, you must see reason, if I had the choice I-”
“BUT YOU DO NOT! IT IS THEIR’S AND THEIR’S ALONE, YOU FORESAW THIS PROPHECY AND KNEW WHAT IT WOULD TAKE IT FUFILL IT, YOU KNEW AND WITHHELD IT FROM US ALL THESE YEARS!” exclaimed a furious and almost belligerent Theius
“YOU KNEW THAT THIS DESTINY WOULD COST THEM THEIR LIVES, THEY ARE BUT CHILDREN, ONE OF THEM IS AN OUTSIDER FROM ANOTHER WORLD, HE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS” he yelled In blazing rage
“Theius cease speaking we ar-”
“NO I SHALL NOT, NOT WHEN I KNOW MY LITTLE ONES ARE DESTINED TO DIE TO DESTROY THIS DARKNESS THAT POISONS THIS LAND, HOW IS A FATHER SUPPOSED TO REMAIN CALM WHEN DEATH LIES AT THE END OF THEIR ROAD NO MATTER THE CHOICE THEY MAKE!! TELL ME!!!”  he screamed in anger and frustration, Korin and Colin stepped back from the door, their whole bodies sinking to the floor, dread, fear, upset and confusion flooding into their mind, as they stepped back the door creaked, both of them looked to each other
“what that guy said that night…i-…it was true…are destiny…we…we…” they both teared up “we won’t come back home…we’ll never be welcomed back home…mom and dad…they…they knew...” Korin’s voice grew tight and wobbly, Colin touched his face his lip quivering “I won’t be able to come back here, or back to my other home…my mom and dad…they’ll never know what happened to me…” they ran away to the edge and Colin hopped onto Korin, his magick turned a greyish blue green as they looked back, the door rushed open as Theius, Alma and Mira came out
“You are a FOOL …I tried to stop you from speaking…the little ones…they were listening…” Mira looked away, Theius looked to them with an out reached arm “K-Korin, Colin, please wait!” he exclaimed concernedly and fearful, his heart sinking into his chest as they looked at them with broken hearts “you lied and tricked us both…you only brought Colin here…raised me to be strong…to be…to be brave…JUST SO WE CAN DIE, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU ALL!” Korin jetted off, his wings blazing into the night, Colin held on tightly as they flew away, faster and faster they flew away, Theius was not a very fast flier due to his size, Mira’s old age made her a weak flier, Alma opened her wings, tearfully she flew off after them “please come back, momma and papa are sorry! Please don’t run away! We’ll make it better somehow!” she cried to them, but they refused to listen to her, onward they flew, the distance growing exponentially, Colin laid his head against Korin as he no longer used his wings to fly, his magick powering his flight, they kept flying toward the boundaries of the village, flying past them in a second they flew on and on “no, if they leave the village now the ward won’t be able to protect them! the boys aren’t able to control magick by will, they’re headed to the grand Forest the west!” Mira exclaimed, Theius looked at her with a grim and fearful expression “our guards have been trying to seal an arch flame tyrant there, it’s powerful dragon said to have been displaced from it home in the volcanic hotlands because of the increased imbalance of magick, if they go there now they’ll undoubtedly run into it, if they do…” he shook his head growling, his wings glowing bright red as his speed increased “HURRY! We have no time to waste Alma, we’ve gotta protect the boys!” he cried out as she followed suit, her magick flowing out and they both soared after them in haste, Mira opened her wings and grand purple wings flew out from hers and she took off at an unprecedented rate with them.

Korin and Colin flew on, and on they kept going until a large forest filled with massive tall tree came into view they quickly dove into the tree, weaving through the branches, their tears flowing to the point their eyes couldn’t clean them away they kept flying, lower and lower they descended, the flight growing unstable, Korin swerved accidentally to the right and a tree clipped his wing, bending the wrong direction, he cried out and they both fell down crashing into the dirt, rolling in the, skidding and rolling until they flew into the air and landed hard one more time, they grunted as they laid there, their vision blurry and  disoriented getting up, Korin yelled as he held his wing which the main bone connecting it had bent and broken from the impact, Colin got up stumbling walking to Korin “Korin are you okay?” he asked grunting after he asked, Korin winced holding his wing “unf…i…I think I broke my right wing…I can’t fly anymore with my wing the way it is…” he touched his face with his right claw tears dripping down “mom…dad…Mira…they all betrayed us…they lied to use, treated us so nicely…telling us we’d come home…it was all a lie…and they knew it…they knew but didn’t tell us!” he cried out slamming his fist against a tree in frustration, Colin walked over to him and hugged him frowning “i…I know…I know…I know but I don’t know what to do now all I can think about are their smiles…and it hurts…” he said softly leaning into Korin shoulder, and Korin into his “I know what we gotta do…I know how we can do! We can keep running, keep going and never look back, I know Athesia isn’t your real home b-but…as long as we got each other that’s all the family we need” he suggested, Colin looked to him worriedly but he nodded “yeah, as long as we got family, there’s nothing we can’t do!” he replied smiling, they both smiled kindly to each other, then they felt a pulse and Korin’s face went pale, as he sniffed and wiped away his tears “C-Colin can you feel that, T-that monstrously huge magick energy?” Colin look to him nodding slightly “i…I feel something…it’s almost like a warmth or some kinda feeling I can…sorta f-feel…I can’t explain it, turning their head to the tree they were next to, looking down they could see symbols on the ground that looked weak and wavered “t-…that’s a high level seal character…what’s it doing here?” he asked fearfully, they looked at the ground shake and quiver the tree’s leaves burning away and the tree blackening, the seals suddenly burst, one by one they sped up in a growing large circle, the last one shuddering and breaking, they held each other and backed away from the tree, the ground cracked and began to glow bright red from the cracks as they spread out more and more, the ground grew hot as they looked to each other “run!” Korin exclaimed, they took off running as the tree burst and shattered, the tree dissipating like it was made of paper or crystal of some kind, the ground was upheaved violently as a great and powerful roar burst into the sky that echoed across the sky, fire and searing hot red magick burst out from the ground as a large demonic like dragon burst forth from the ground in a powerful rage, his scales extremely thick and tough, the creases glowing with red magick, his maw strong and rigid, filled with razor sharp teeth and a bright hot magick, his eyes were closed with multiple slash like scars on them, he slammed his powerful claws to the ground, the sheer force of his magick repulsing the two back harshly the grunt and rolled away as the trees around it’s vicinity blew away instantly into ash, the tree further away turning charred and falling over and leaning at a steep angle, they got up slowly, groaning softly as they looked up at him with wide fearful eyes, every bone even broken quivered as he rose up,  beginning to tower with the trees, he lowered his head and sniffed and raised his head, looking toward Korin and Colin’s direction “I smell an Alpherian…but this other one…it does not smell of any one race, it smells of someone from beyond” his voice was booming and deep, olden “prepare for mercy littles ones, for the reckoning has COME, flee now and plea your deaths are swift!” he looked to them closer as they backed away stumbling back “you two…i cannot restrain myself any further, run…RUN, RUN LITTLE ONES, an evil…it controls my mind…it demands…death…urr…URRRRAAAAAAAAH!!!” his cry was deafening and hard, they both quivered and ran away as he climbed from the ground he slammed his claws onto the ground as a black miasma flowed from his back and wings they flapped once and blew them into the air they cried out as they were thrown back, as he raised his head up and his chest moved outward, he laughed loudly “burn in hell!” he yelled as he burst forth a great burst of flame, Korin threw a wing forward and used every bit of magick he could muster to shield themselves from the massive inferno, he cried out in pain as it shredded his magic and burned his wings they flew back rolling into an open area, the stomping closing in Colin got up and stumbled huffing as he knelt in front of Korin looking as the dragon burst forth from the trees his body an inferno of magic and fire, and something…dark, evil, and black, he raised his head as he bared his teeth, he roared forth and a large wall of flame burst from the ground the forest around them blazing around them, there was no escape, he wouldn’t abandon Korin he stood up and faced the flames his body shaking and he looked to fire approaching, he looked back to Korin who was unable to move, he looked forward and he felt an energy flow from his body, a clouded white magick flowed from his body as the flames approached he huffed, and he focused as much as he could and he threw his hands forward a sphere of magick encircled them as the wall came it slammed down with a force comparable to mountain collapsing against it he grunt and cried out as he held the shield, the dragon laughed loud and spun around and slammed his tail against it, shattering the shield and Colin catching the brunt of it flew back, rolling hard against the ground, he slid gripping the ground running towards Korin, the Dragon’s powerful large claw raising up, he dash and picked Korin up and rolled out of the way as it slammed down, the ground caved in where he hit, reaving the ground into a chasm, he grunt as he fell down dropping Korin, he looked to the dragon Korin grunt his vision blurry, he got up and threw a fire ball at him, it struck his chest and nothing happened, he huffed collapsing onto one knee, holding his wing as Colin laid on the ground grunting “I can’t…move…” he uttered in pain, Korin winced and chuckled softly “n-neither can I…looks like…this might be the end…we ran away from home, trying to escape this destiny…looks like even if we can’t escape the part about…urk” he winced coughing “the part about our deaths…” he muttered softly as the dragon  blazed wildly, he inhaled deeply raising his claws to his maw, exhaling into it, a mass of darkened red fiery magick intensifying, he raised a single claw up as a mass of burning mass almost like a sun expanded forth, he laughed deeply “you struggled admirably, but now you are broken and your magick clouded by doubt, fear, guilt and confusion is merely an insult to me, now die, die and pray for your past lives in the next!” he roared, looking down to them as they stayed there unable to move, he laughed, moving his claw, when a great dark figure burst from the flames and bit down hard against his neck forcefully throwing him down to his side.
 Theius, Alma and Mira looked in grave fear as they saw the great mass of dark fire raise, then Mira grabbed them pulling them back “go no further! It’s losing it stability! It’s going to explode with the caster’s control over it!” she yelled in a serious and frustrated tone “KORIN, COLIN!!!” Theius and Alma cried out
Back in the forest Korin’s eye opened up widely as he saw a large black wolf strike at him, tendrils of black lashed out against him, striking his side, revealing a deep scar, the dragon got back up roaring towards the black wolf, the wolf roared back, black waves rising up, the dragon quickly retaliated slamming his claw down, the two magick powers struck against each other exploding with great force as they clashed canceling each other out “to think one of YOU would come, perhaps you will give a better show then this children” the wolf cried and snarled as tendrils flew out and struck his side, tearing open the old scar, dashing forward as his claw flew outward, slashing at him, in return the dragon threw his claws, the wolf rolled and dodged each claw, Korin knelt there in disbelief, was this the very same man who tried to kill them? no, it couldn’t be, he was definitely trying to kill them for his goal.
The wolf roared and dashed under the dragon using it’s dark extensions it gripped its hind legs and pulled them out, throwing his front up and it spun around, throwing the large dragon across the field into the chasm it created, it growled and roared as it’s magick flowed out and it raised up once more it’s magick fire now more black than anything, the wolf backed away as it flew towards the unstable sphere his roar resounding with an unnatural tone, it flew into the sphere, looking to the two that were battered and barely holding together it rushed to them forming into a cloaked man with a mask like that of a plague doctor, his eyes red “it’s gonna do some serious damage…ain’t it…” Korin muttered softly looking up, the man did too, “I was too late, I couldn’t stop it…” he said lowly, his voice silvery in nature but serious, Colin gripped Korin’s claw, grunting “we can’t let it all end l-like…this” he pleaded getting up shakily, kneeling next to him, holding his claw, the Dragon laughed haughtily, his voice was consumed by an evil dark distortion as his wings burst forth his head raising out from the mass laughing “I am the monster of your nightmare, cower before me, the god of DEATH, the madness that has taken hold of Athesia, bow down before the face of DEATH, your lives are forfeit, the end of all your lives, of this pathetic shred of peace comes!” it cried out, Colin grunt holding onto Korin’s claw, Korin looked to him huffing then looking to the cloaked man looked to them “who are you?” he asked hastily “I am the third fated one” he replied, Korin looked down as blood slowly fell over his eye and down his chin “I dun know if we can do anything but take mah claw, it’s…urk…all or nothin’!” he cried looking to the mass as he took his claw quickly, looking up the mass quivered and shuddered it wasn’t long before it would rupture and take Korin’s village and an untold amount of land with it, Colin grunt resisting the pain as he got to his feet, Korin doing the same “we gotta focus, we’re the three meant to face this evil, so that means there’s somethin’ we can do together…somethin’!” looking up they all thought of the same thing, to protect Athesia, protect their family, their homes, together they stood before a great mass of unreal power, wind blowing past them as if to flee itself, facing this they cast their fear and upset to the side, their doubts and looked up with burning determination facing death head on, Korin’s birthmark glowed brightly as it resonated with the magick in his chest, it flowed across his body, his arms and legs, his wings and the shape of a crown formed, Colin chest glowed bright white and followed Korin’s transformation, covering their bodies in magick, their eyes beginning to glow as well, Silence’s chest glowed black flowing across his body, dark wings forming, Colin’s back formed wings like Silence, his form taking on like that of a dark angel, looking up their magicks began to mix, and raised up, their wings flowing and they let go of each other and made a triangle around the sphere and together they threw their hands and claws together, a power magick bursting forth from them all, Colin and Korin huffing, grunting as they put aside their pain to form the sphere, bright heavenly lights flew out and encircling the sphere, countless wards and signs across it, the sphere surged and the magick exploded the sphere almost finishing  a single hole in it allowing a part of it to burst forth, flowing out to the sky, the power unreal and powerful as the sphere spun around and it sealed away the power of the sphere “together now! Don’t hold back, purge the evil within him, we must save him, he tried to warn us before he lost his mind to the evil, he struggled in the end to warn us, we’ve got to save him” cried Korin
“Very well, together now, Colin, Korin push forward, entrap the magick inside of him,  and close it in until all of it is sealed within the sphere, from there the magick should purify it and nullify it” Silence roared out loud, not truly aware of what they were supposed to do, they just went with the flow of the magick, visors falling over their eyes, covering them, they flew forward together, the sphere shrunk and grew smaller and it massive size decreased rapidly, as they pushed further the dragons limbs began to show, his head showing and slowly his chest was visible, he wasn’t moving and it appeared his body unmoving, it shrunk down more and more until it reached his heart and then it stopped, looking to his chest the sphere grew clouded “keep your minds focused, put aside your fears, your sadness and frustration, let it all go, if you don’t, then we won’t be able to save him, we won’t be able to save ANYONE, your mother, father, our homes, our world, cast it all aside to protect something, something you hold dear, leave it and let your heart cry out to your dreams and hopes and make them real!” they looked towards silence and then to the sphere and threw back their arms yelling away all their frustration of facing an unfair destiny, yelled away their sadness felt from betrayal, yelled away their anger, their hate, the darkness within them and the sphere glowed bright white, shining like a star on its own, all three of them yelling aloud as they gave everything they had, finally the remaining darkness disappeared and brightness increased, and a light harmonious sound like that of a gentle harp cord resounded, and the light disappeared, each of the three huffed and lowered down slowly returning to each other, the dragon himself lowered gently as well, going to the ground slowly, Korin transformation disappeared almost instantly he touched the ground, as did Colin, collapsing unconsciously, Silence quickly grabbed them before they fell, his head looking to each of them “they weren’t conscious when they used the magick, their magick manifested their wishes, their determination…mmh…they are interesting pair…this other worldly Yukan, used magick just moments ago, now it Is like he never had magick to begin with” he chuckled a bit “ah, what destiny I have become stricken with” he joked in tone, laying them down, looking up “so that’s the power together we hold, to purify and stop things like this…I can see why it was us who were chosen…” he muttered gently, Theius, Alma and Mira rushed into the scene, Mira opening her wings, she let forth a great burst of blue magic that doused the fires in the tree, stopping it from spread, rushing to Korin and Colin, Theius and Alma quickly came to them looking in great concern “I…I don’t know what happened but thank you…I don’t know how you did it darkwalker but you stopped this disaster somehow” Alma said looking to them beginning to heal them “it wasn’t just me, it was all of us, Colin, Korin…they all helped, I couldn’t have stopped it without them” Silence interjected “I don’t care right now, my boys are safe…that’s all that matters to me right now” Theius said abruptly and short “what is your name darkwalker?” asked Alma
“This is Silence, the third fated one” Mira stated as she flew down and landed, Theius and Alma looked to him in shock as they looked down to the boys in concern, Silence raised a hand “you needn’t worry, until you bring out their potential I will gladly wait”  Mira looked to them with a guilty, saddened expression as they laid there, being treated for burns, bruises and fractures, she looked to the side “they fared no better than the night before, this time, they both suffered” Alma looked up to Mira with deep frustration, her eyes struggling to keep back tears “it’s our fault, if we hadn’t been careless…they wouldn’t have done this…we wouldn’t have put them in situation” she lowered her head down to them, struggling to keep her gaze on them “hush now, do not burden your hearts so harshly, as living creatures we all make mistakes, they were injured but they were not killed” she said softly, looking down to them “we should be thankful that they are safe now, let’s not linger further, they require a proper location to heal, the magick they exhausted in their battered state has caused strain of their bodies, especially the Human boy, he hold magick within him but his body is not used to having such power channeled so abruptly, Silence was not injured prior and is a naturally powerful magick wielder, so the strain is far less hard on him, the sooner we get them in the proper setting the better…I will tend to the dragon, Theius stood up and looked at her with a slight glare “why would you do that? He almost killed our sons, destroyed our village and damn near set the war in motion!” he exclaimed, Silence faced Theius “sir, if I might speak, I overhead the conversation between then before I intervened, although I would have acted sooner, evidence and reason to his behavior would avoid or allow for just actions to come about, he for the most part, was blood thirsty and cruel, but one part gives him pardon, he pleaded for them to run, and he warned them of an evil that had taken hold of him, I did not sense a lie within his words” he looked to them “that is all I have, the decision is yours Theius, you are the judicial lord” he continued walking to them as his shape changed back to a large black wolf like form over several feet tall, he lowered himself “I will carry them quickly where they need to go”
Theius paused and pondered his options, then finally came to answer “we will not execute him, but we will make sure he is restrained within an area, most are fearful creatures with little thought for others, if he decides to discuss the reasoning of his displacement and the reasons for his actions this night, I will decide what will happen, if he is innocent nor means harm we will release him and see what we can do to accommodate him, if he is guilty…he will be executed for the crimes of attempted murder of minors, terrorism of global level, attempted act of mass destruction”
Silence nodded once, looking to Alma “shall I carry them?” he asked softly, Alma seemed split and unsure of an answer then looked to Korin and Colin for a moment, then closed her eyes with a soft sigh “We will take them Mira’s home, she’s equipped far more than us for magical medicine and healing”
Silence nodded once, acknowledging it but giving no words, Alma and Mira helped lift them up and placed them against Silence’s soft and warm jet black fur “take them to Mira’s she’s far better of healer then I am” Silence nodded quickly dashed off into the night, his shape disappearing in the darkness, Mira looked to Alma and nodded as she flew off after them.
 Alma watched as they faded away and looked down, Theius turned from the dragon walking to her, putting a claw on her shoulder “believe in them dear, right now that is all we can do…you saw what they could do, we can’t give into despair they’re our only hope to truly end this”
“I just don’t know what to do Theius, this is just too much for me…I want to protect them, keep them safe, but it seems that I won’t be able to do even that anymore, what is the point in calling me their mother if I can’t save their lives from destruction?” she asked desperately
“you are their mother, regardless of what Mira, said they’ll come out of this, nothing is set in stone, prophecies can be defied, they’re good boys and the path they choose to take may save them from their ill fate, that is what I choose to believe now, it is our only choice, to believe that they’ll come home, we’ll have to own up to our misjudgment, we all were wrong from withhold this from them, if we had confronted this before this had happened…maybe things would have been different, they ran away because we all lied to them about this, I shouldn’t have confronted Mira about this, and as a result, we hurt them, in the worse possible way” he looked down, his tone low and saddened
“they are ill fated, but their lives are not forfeit” the dragon rose up slowly grunting, sitting up looking down to them, Theius turned  and his magick manifested, the dragon raised his claw “I wish no harm, my actions were not my own, I had been possessed by powerful negative magicks, I came here believing I had escaped it, as my kind had fallen to it, I was wrong, and as a result I almost killed two little ones and caused untold amount of destruction, and I have shamed myself in doing so”  he looked towards Silence and Mira’s direction, Theius eased back a little his magicks dying down as he calmed down “what do you mean ‘their lives are not forfeit’?”
“it is exactly as I mean, this evil can be stopped, but it is how they chose to end this destiny is what decides the fate of countless lives, and the fate of this world, as I saw into them before I lost control, I saw three paths which they can choose to take, of one I foresaw their deaths, with it purifying Athesia forever of this evil, it seems this was the middle path, but of the three, lead down opposite ends, they are harbingers of salvation, and destruction, should lead down this path a greater evil will be born and there will be no future for Athesia, all will end, magicks good and evil will perish, and life along with it, they will destroy all”
Alma stepped back for a moment as if shoved by the idea of the children they tended to becoming evil monstrous beings; she shook her head “that cannot truly be a path this could lead, they are good children, the darkwalker bears no evil within himself either, how could this be?” she questioned firmly
“should they lose the closest ones to them, something far more dark than any force will be born within them, if they end this conflict the wrong way, this will lead to an empty, dead future, but there is light, should they chose a path above all, they will bring peace to Athesia, the war cannot be stopped, even if bring peace among the lands the forces working against them are more powerful than I, it will take hold and possess the people, sending them to war against their will, but a war unwilling to be fought, when freed will birth true peace in the resolution to this destiny, and they will wash away the sins of the past,  their lives will be safe, but like many paths, as time goes on only more paths will open amidst these, but these all lead to one thing, the end, the conclusion of which decides the fate of Athesia, perhaps it follows the light one, of the three one may not make it, or two, it all begins here young ones, their paths are in front of them, there are too many path which this may go, but strive for them to return home, believe, hope, dream, wish for it with all your being for this and you needn’t worry of such ill fate, that is simply one path, do not batter yourselves for a choice you made, you are young still, perhaps not newborn as they are, but young still, do not live life full of regret, your children will feel it, deep in their hearts, even this otherworlder is now connected to you, the lines binding you grow stronger to him, work to fix the mistakes you made, and keep the connection strong, I pray you all live to see this day come true, where no one must die for the sake of destiny” he opened his wings and a sphere of magick encircled him
“What in the world are you doing?!” Theius exclaimed
“I have lived long enough, they absolved me of my sins and purified my soul, I do not wish to become one of the foes of which will be forced to fight, should I fight, many will die, I will destroy my body, and be reborn into my next life”
Theius ran forward to break the circle but his claw rebounded and he slid back “why are you doing this?! You are strong surely you won’t fall to this magick again” he reasoned, the dragon chuckled softly
“alas, it seems such a thing is beyond my power, if you are unsure of whom I am, I my given name is Shesha, I helped shape this world many years ago, to destroy something I helped to build, that I nurtured is something I do not wish, I want to leave this world without my sins to bear, or darkness in my heart” he raised his wings proudly and his head looking up as a pure ruby red magick enraptured him in a fire-like embrace “I leave you my wisdom and my hopes to you all, your generation just may be…no, they WILL be the ones to bring an end to the darkness within Athesia once…and for all as the darkwalkers of old once told us, ‘through an impure god, impure gifts are given, should we tread the path of magick carelessly, we will be consumed, or heroes must rise in our place to quell the tide of blackened hearts with hearts of pure’ their words ring true to this generation…even now, were it not for the carelessness of mer alike, a destiny like this wouldn’t have been come to be, take care young ones may the winds of change favor you eternal” after he had finished, Shesha growled, crying out in a proud powerful roar rising up, wings flapping his body beginning to glow brightly to the point where his body was just a shape, he flew up higher and higher, like a phoenix in the night the sphere glowed and conformed into his being shooting up like a shooting star of fiery light, after a moment, a great and strong burst of light almost like the sun radiated a warm pure white light into the sky like a star, Silence looked up seeing the bright light, he stopped momentarily as it flashed, wincing at first, his eyes quickly adjusted and he kept going looking up to it, it didn’t hurt to look at it, and he could feel an unbelievable amount of magick dissolving and returning to the earth, Mira seeing the light, stopped, she knew that an ancient dragon had ascended just then, much like phoenixes rise up in brilliant flames to be reborn in the ashes, ancient dragons whose lives have lasted millennia release all their magick back to the lands they were born, and are reborn into the next life, the greater and more grand the magick they had the brighter they shined and when the light faded, it was believed that they’ve returned the magick the world had given them and passed on into the next world, to be reborn into a new life, the last one to pass,
Theius and Alma smirked lightly, admiring the last display of his long and old life “thank you…ancient one” they both said, bowing a bit in respect to his display, then opening their wings and flying after Silence and Mira.
“Mira, I’ve never seen such a bright and brilliant display of magick, what is this?”
“Silence this is something only a few in many generations experience, this light, is a sign that one of the few heavenly creators left that exist in our world, dragons whom shaped our world, is leaving our world, although many whom die in our world do not release light, those with spectacular levels of magick have the ability to do so at a small level, but not like this, this light is the magick that sustains his being, that he has kept retained, the magick is familiar, as was the dragon, it was Shesha, he was said to have been the most powerful magick ancients of old…to think even he was corrupted, and suppressed by you three is nothing short of awe inspiring, far greater than even I could produce, to see him pass on, is bittersweet to see, I’ve known him since I was a little girl, he was very sweet and gentle hearted flame tyrant, as opposed to his kin, oh, my parents would be so scared to death whenever they’d look for me, because one time I was playing on his claw, and I almost fell, but he caught, me” Mira laughed gently “ohoho, when my parents found me their faces were quite the sight to behold, they looked unsure whether to bow, run away or stand there so he tells them oh, did you come for your daughter? Such undutiful parents to allow their hatchling to fall into a dastardly flame tyrant’s clutches, perhaps I shall eat you instead mwahaha! Oh my parents bowed so hard their heads were in the ground, I hadn’t laughed so hard in all my life, he was like a grandfather to me…” her voice shifted as she spoke to a more melancholy tone looking to the light “farewell, may your next life be wonderful” she continued, her tone soft and peaceful, looking back to Mira Silence only listened, wishing only to understand, not knowing his peaceful side he only had thoughts or prayers for him safe passage into his next life, he wasn’t one to speak if he did not need to and now was the time to leave Mira to reminisce and remember the dragon that sounded quite a playful and kind dragon, he decided to look at Korin and Colin who were unconscious still, even if their eyes do not see, their magick will see for them, however weak he thought to himself, looking forward as the village was in view, it took quite some time to return, the speed at which they arrived is uncanny and unrivaled compared to even I he continued to think to himself, his mind was still reeling from the day’s events, without knowing it, he had faced against a heavenly creator, he had used a magick despite being unfamiliar suddenly was flooded with the knowledge needed to manifest it, knowledge that was now visible but clouded to his memory, dashing through the air using magick to dash off of, he recalled the path to Mira’s home, looking up he saw the plateau , and began to raise higher and higher gradually to avoid the two from rolling off, Mira who’s magick was still going on strong was behind slightly but keeping up, arriving on the plateau, silence walked forward to Mira’s home, tendrils of darkness came from his being holding them up and stable in his magick, laying them within as he turned to his cloaked form, walking into the house first then Colin, then Korin, moving them to her bedroom and laying them down side by side gently, the tendril dissipating to nothing, looking back, hearing Mira, he walked outside the room to meet her, she folded her wings and her magick disappeared, entering she made haste to the room and took out various tools to help with magick exhaustion, of the object were two syringe like crystals, she injected one into Colin and the other into Korin, their bodies glowed green and she placed her claw over them and a green magick flowed out from them and covered their bodies, unconscious their face looked pained
“What was it you injected into them Mira?”
“it’s a magick restoration serum, it will restore damaged vessels both magick and physical, based on the extent of their magick use their bodies weren’t adapted to such an immense power to be channeled from their bodies at once, restoring the magick passages as well as their physical bodies will be painful for them, especially Colin, he was born into a vessel that is not made to hold magick, it’s especially extensive to his body, their will to recover will decide how long their bodies will take to recover, you are a darkwalker, and thusly you were able to handle such large amounts of magick without such damage, when I’ve finished their treatment If you would allow me, I want to make sure you are okay as well”
Silence nodded “very well”
After about 15 minutes Alma and Theius arrived, walking in they entered Mira’s room, although not very much space was left they were able to enter and see them
“Thank goodness they’re okay, how bad is it Mira will they recover?” Alma asked concernedly looking to their pained expression
“Yes they will be fine, as long as their will to recover stays strong they will recover quite quickly, they are young, but the damage is extensive, especially in Colin, his body is not born with a natural capacity to hold magick, so the strain on his body may take longer than Korin, but in light of all this, it will help them to use greater extents of magick in the future, Colin may very well have created magick pathways in his body which may allow him to use magick, but that is in time, for now, I must mend their broken bodies, but the true battle, which cannot be healed with magick, are broken hearts” she explained softly her attention greatly focused on her healing, Theius looked to them sighing deeply “when they recover, we will tell them ourselves about the whole truth of this all we cannot lie anymore to them” he explained, their words before still weighting  on them heavily, for a child to say they hate their parents, was a powerful and painful thing, and they all couldn’t help but feel they had the right to say so, how could a child not feel deep betrayal when their chosen path leads to death, to be given false hope and lied to for the sake of a greater purpose, they could only sit there and pray that they could forgive them for their mistakes, through the night all that was on their mind were their expression of pain and hurt in their eyes, each of them. Mira continued to heal them through the night, Alma rested against Theius who kept awake watching over them as Mira diligently healed them, restoring what she could, but as she had said, magick may heal the body but not the heart, no magick could heal such a wound, only the magick of the heart could do such a thing and they were both determined perhaps they all were to make things right, Silence was innocent and aware of what his destiny entailed, and he fully accepted his destiny, weighing the needs of the one or few, with the needs of many, but to learn of such an ill destiny in the way Korin and Colin did, it was sinful and unjust, perhaps if they had told them things would have been different, the words persisted in Theius’s mind over and over, but when the time came to confront them about their chosen destiny, it wouldn’t be easy, there’s no easy way to gain trust back that was lost in such a way but perhaps telling them, explaining why they did such a thing is the least they deserved.
After a few hours Mira stopped healing and exhaled deeply, wiping away sweat gently “I’ve done all I can, for now, it’s up to them now” she said softly, looking to Theius who awake, just looking down to them, his eyes distant and lost in thought, she walked to him and touched his shoulder “you must get some rest too, you’ve been up through the night as I have”
He just kept looking to them, quiet for a minute “do you think they would forgive us? We’ve done them wrong, they were happy and so full of energy, smiling…” he paused for a moment “ and we destroyed that, it was short, but…meaningful for Colin, and it’s been a lifetime for Korin,  it wasn’t until two night before they learned of their destiny and already they’ve been tossed into the fire, they’ve both already been hurt, both physically and in their hearts…they believed in us, with their whole hearts, could we have poisoned their hearts with hate and distrust?” he asked solemnly, his tone low and gravelly “as a father I only want what is best for my children, but I let my emotions control my actions, even when my wife had told me to hold it in, but damn it Mira…” his voice grew slightly frustrated “this is all too much, too fast, too difficult for me to just understand and hold in, children’s lives are at stake here, mine nonetheless…” he lowered his head slightly, eyes downcast, Mira looked to him with concern, but smiled gently rubbing his head “when you forgive someone, you expunge the darkness in your heart and give forgiveness for their actions, I have no doubt the boys are upset, but they are kind and sweet ones, as long as you are truthful and honest with them with all your heart, I have no doubt they will forgive not only you, but all of us” she replied with a soft confident tone
“the heavenly creator, Shesha, told us that this path they’re destined to take is not just the one, but three of many paths, and I believe in his wisdom with all my heart, but…I am not sure the boys will believe me, we made them believe they were coming home before, and they learned that their original destiny was to die, now it suddenly not, I don’t know what they’ll believe” he said dejectedly
“it is up to them to believe in your words, there is no magick for soul, perhaps the body and mind but your soul is where true faith, courage and determination lie, alongside love, all we can do is believe, believe that they will understand, I cannot do anymore but that Theius, as well as you, to do any less is to cast us further into darkness” Mira turned and looked to them, they were sleeping peacefully, facing each other their expressions neutral, they slept deeply but one spoke, Korin, only a phrase “we’re…sorry” he whispered gently, Theius lip quivered and for the first time in a long time true emotions bubbled up and his eyes waved “I’m sorry too…I’m sorry, we’re all so sorry” he lamented woefully as he wiped his eyes “when you wake we’ll tell you everything we won’t lie anymore, and believe in you with all our hearts” he cried, pouring out his emotions, though they slept the two deep down had forgiven them, they couldn’t bear to hate them, they did what they thought was best, even if they did it the wrong way, everyone makes mistakes and they couldn’t hate them for that, Theius laid his head down between them, closing his eyes, Alma next to him already asleep, Mira smiled softly and sat down closing her eyes, Silence amdist this stood outside listening, his arms crossed he looked up to the fading light who shined down its best towards the home, it’s light dulled and after a little while it disappeared, Silence looked down, his mask hiding his features, but inside, he was smiling happily hehe, quite the family I’ve come to meet, it’s like they’ve known each other for a long time, they treat even the otherworlder like their lifelong child…it’s very sweet, no darkness can break this family apart, no struggle too great, no wrongs can separate them he thought to himself as the night was beginning to end, and light rising over the horizon a bright new day, perhaps not for the day, but for them as well he continued thinking to himself, turning to his wolf form and laying down, going to sleep himself while admiring the light of the approaching dawn, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Dawn had broken over the land and the suns light gently began to creep upon the land, no one was up now, not even Mira, the whole party exhausted from last night, all of them using great amounts of magick in one way or another, sleeping peacefully as the sun rose finally from past the horizon and upward towards the sky, after 2 or so hours after dawn, Korin and Colin’s eyes twitched and they groaned softly, their eyes opening up gently as they awoke from their deep sleep before anyone else,  getting up they rubbed their eyes, yawning softly, stretching they felt a painful twinge and pulled their arms down grunting softly, Korin touching his wing and Colin one of his left arm, after wincing they looked in the middle of the bed seeing Theius’s head resting between them, the feather around his jaw and cheeks looking wet and darker hue, tear soaked, they looked in surprise blinking, then looked around seeing them all around their bed as if up all night, they looked to each other “w-were they…up all night looking after us?” Korin wondered in a whisper
“it…looks like they save us from the dragon, i…faintly remember a name but I can’t put my finger on it” Colin replied groaning “oooh…my arms and chest hurt…did we get thrashed that bad? So bad Mira couldn’t heal us?” he wondered himself, it seemed that they weren’t fully conscious of the powers they used or the words they said, they could not remember it, but whereas the mind may not remember, the magick soul they possessed remembered very well “I…don’t…I don’t think so, somethings telling me that…at least my whole body is…ouch” he moaned, his body feeling like it had been put through a wringer
“Whatever it was, I feel like my whole body head to toe is sore” Colin complained, Theius stirred slightly, as did Alma and Mira, they looked to Alma and Theius, and remembered what had happened, and they looked down with a deep guilt, looking to each other they leaned forward, a twinge in Colin’s body shot up his back and through his arms and legs and he winced with a painful expression on his face, Korin wasn’t in quite as much pain and soreness but they were still quite sore even though they didn’t know why, he looked to Colin with a moment of concern but he pushed on, they got out of bed and hugged them both, feeling their hug, they stirred once more and woke up, seeing them against them in a tight hug, Theius looked to them as did Alma and shocked and surprised expressions on their face “b-boys, your awake, a-a-are you feeling well? Are you hurt still?” he asked still surprised greatly, they nodded, their eyes closed tight, Alma hugged them back, Theius turned around and returned their hug his mouth opening slightly a joy filled expression on his face
“Yes mom, dad, we’re okay, we’re sorry for leaving…we endangered everyone ‘cause we did something wrong” Korin said first
“and we’re sorry for the things we did and said, I know we did something really stupid, we…we didn’t-” Theius quickly hushed Colin and closed his eyes, littles tears streaking from both Alma and his eyes “we were afraid you wouldn’t forgive us…we lied and betrayed your trust, and we flew after you as soon as we could, all we care about is that you’re okay now…we don’t care what you said or did…you had every right” Theius explained, his voice emotional and tight “your our mom and dad, all of you are our family…and…and…” Korin’s voice trailed off struggling to speak
“and we could never hate you, you’ve taken care of Korin his whole life, raised him and believed in him, you’ve known me only for a few days but…you accepted me as a son, treated me like I was your family too, you were kind and loving…you let me see what a family is meant to be…and even if it wasn’t like that, I can’t bring myself to hate anyone, everyone has a good and bad side…and everyone deserves a chance” explained Colin smiling to them “thanks mom, dad” he said warmly and his lip quivering, Alma went to him and gave him a warm endearing hug smiling softly “it’s not the matter of time or blood that makes family…it’s the love that connects them that makes a family…you’ll always be our son, our little Colin, whether you’re in this world or your own” Alma cooed, hugging him tightly, he grunted in pain as she hugged him and she let go, with deep concern “are you okay little one?!” Colin nodded wincing for a moment “y-yes mom, I’m okay, I just felt a sudden jolt of pain is all, what happened to us last night?” he asked gently
Theius turned to him as he let go of Korin “you two fled into the forest last night and ran into a heavenly creator, from what Silence had told us-“
“Silence?!” Korin exclaimed “isn’t he the third fated one like us?” he asked hesitantly, Theius nodded “yes, when you two entered forest and met him, Silence had told us that an evil had possessed him, and that is why he attacked you, he came to the great forest to escape from it, it had taken over his kind and he fled in hopes of escaping, but he was already being controlled, the darkness took hold when you two came near, you did very well from what I was told, not many could resist so enduringly as you two did, when you were sure to perish Silence jumped into the fray and rescued you two, the reasons your bodies ached is when he was to destroy our village, the forest and cause mass destruction, you two did not seem conscious at the time, but you three used a power unseen before, and stopped him from unwillingly killing many and devastating Athesia, you purified the evil within him and set him free, rather than let the evil take hold of him again he ascended and passed on, to be reborn, giving us knowledge and wisdom before leaving us, he told us that this destiny you face has three roads rather than the one, you hold the key to destroying Athesia, and saving it and yourselves down these two paths, when he told of these paths we were elated to-”
“Father wait…you’re telling us me, Colin and Silence stopped a heavenly creator? One of the most ancient and power figures in Athesia?”
“Yes, and did so without killing him, in your hearts you chose to forgive and save him when you could have chosen to end his life with such power, of this, I am proud my children”
“he said that we had three paths we could take rather than then one we’re fated to die to stop the war, how can we stop the war and save everyone and ourselves?” Colin asked
“That…he did not say specifically, but I do know is that you mustn’t give in to evil, and strive to save as many lives as you can before then, believe in each other, and believe in yourselves that you can end this the right way, were nobody has to die for the sake of destiny or some prophecy, you follow your own path, reunite the lands before this evil takes hold over them all, only together can we all strive for a true happy ending, I know we lied to you telling you that this destiny you faced didn’t have such bad paths, but I know, we all know, that together you three can truly unite Athesia once more, and we can welcome you home as the kind and proud heroes you three are”
Colin smirked lightly “thanks…dad”
Theius patted his shoulder softly and looked to them “you two were in bad shape last night, Korin’s wing was broken, his other had most of his feathers burned away, you had some bad scraps, a few fractures and a concussion, and because the amount of magick you both used last night, your bodies were heavily strained both physically and magically, thankfully Mira is gifted with healing magick as you two would haven’t had healed as quick, she held her diligence until you were both healed which took roughly 4 or 5 hours, she gave your bodies injection of magick stimulants as well, which restored the damaged magical and physical vessels in your bodies to a working capacity, but it doesn’t quite heal the extensive damage done by it, this is especially so with you Colin” he explained looking more focused towards Colin “your damage is more extensive than Korin’s, so you’ll need to take it easy for a little while, you may have a capacity for magick we suspected but on the level you used it, cause far more damage because your body was not naturally born with the ability to maintain and use magick, but fret not that does not mean the magick you have will not make it so with time”
“you used magick in the heat of the battle with Shesha as well, though it is likely you weren’t wholly conscious of it the whole time” Silence walked into the room looking to them bowing gently to Mira who was awake now, but was silent, smiling contently, allowing them to make up and explain things
“you subconsciously use magick in times of great duress as of now, but I sense your body is adapting well to the newfound presence of magick in your body, I can’t sense the magick in you very well as it seems only able to manifest slightly now, when you’ve fully unlocked the ability of magick, we will be able to sense a ‘magick heart’ in you, or the soul of your magick which manifests itself as the magick we all use” Silence explained raising his hand and form a shadowy ball that dark veils trailed up and dissipated “as so, this is the manifestation of my magick soul, although it is dark in appearance if you could see my magick soul it would appear white, it manifests itself outwardly in different colors depending on the magick, but your magick soul never changes, depending what you’ve been through, your magick soul can become clouded, things like doubt, anger, frustration, sadness, can cloud it, when it becomes clouded your magick will weaken, sins like murder and betrayal are different, they manifest themselves on your soul like thorned vines which can corrupt your magick soul, then ultimately your real soul” he lowers his hand and the magick disappears “sins are hard to cleanse, so keep it in mind, but is not impossible, when you two chose to forgive them for lying to you, I sensed the vines of sin purged from their magick souls” he reached to his mask and took it off, taking off his hood, looking to them, Korin’s eyes opened as he saw Silence’s face “whoa!  I’ve never seen a darkwalker’s real face before”
Silence chuckled “I am among friends, people I trust, so it’s alright for you to see, but once we leave here and set out on our journey i won’t be removing it again, not until our journey is complete” he explained, his hair was long and silvery, the light hitting it, it had a white sheen just the metal, his eyes red, his expression a gentle relaxed smirk “you two are very close,  in such a short time you’ve all become closer than any I’ve met before, it’s like a work of fantasy, although being here is much so fantasy for you, is it not Colin?” he asked softly
Colin nodded looking towards him “yes, it’s something I couldn’t have imagined, so many would wish for this, to go to another world, a beautiful grand world with magic, with all these people we could only dream of, even if my reason for coming here is supposed to be one of sacrifice, many would rather take it then live in my world” he explained lowering his head a bit “even though we can’t change that, I still have my own things I want to protect, and that’s enough for me to protect my own world, if that darkness can reach there, then earth is in danger just like Athesia, it’s not a matter of…well just protecting Athesia, it’s about protecting families, their friends, their lives…my world might not be the best or the kindest but it’s something I gotta protect, Athesia is an amazing world too, and even if I wasn’t born here, it’s still something I want to protect, for Korin, and everyone’s sake too”
Korin grinned and nudged him a bit “the feelin’ is mutual, I might have been born here but I wanna protect your blood family, Athesia ain’t perfect, just like any world but it’s worth protecting, and so is your world Colin, it’s the place you were born, call home too, so it’s up to us three to protect ‘em both!” he tapped his back, and looked to Theius and Alma “when can we start training dad?”
“we can start tomorrow, you both need to recover from the excitement of last night, Colin especially, just walking looks painful to you two, this training is going to be hard on you, and your bodies, starting now would only reopen wounds, so to speak” Theius explained placing a claw on Korin’s and Colin’s shoulder “I know you might be eager to begin but for now while we have the time to rest, let’s take time to recuperate and prepare ourselves, you both have been going and going nonstop, so much in just two days, so let’s take it easy boys, Korin you especially, Mira had just mended your wing, you didn’t just fracture it, your wing was definitely broken, so no sneaking out and flying, Mira will be here to keep an eye on you two, I’ve got to head back Thiren to report this to the high king and council, no doubt they’ll be looking for a report after last night’s display, if we fly over mountain’s peak, I should be back by tomorrow afternoon, but if things go smoothly I should be back by morning”
Colin smiled and nodded, whereas Korin’s furled his brow in a brooding expression, no flying? Clip my wings now, I’ve flown every day, he thought to himself, Colin noticed his discontent and snickered softly “hey cheer up, it’s only a day, if it wasn’t for Silence saving our hides and grandma Mira for patching us up we’d be recovering for at least a few months, just be glad it’s a day, and not half a year or something”
Korin rolled his eyes still pouting, Theius laughed and pat his back a little roughly, too good for his own strength, feeling the firm pats of his father’s claw pounding his back, he cringed, eye twitching as shocks of pain rippled through out his sore body “Theius, you’re patting Korin too hard, how many times do I have to tell you to watch your strength?” Alma scolded giving a stern motherly expression; Theius stopped, giving her an innocent expression in return “hm? I didn’t do anything; I was just patting my son a little is all”
She gave him a more stern expression and he smiled nervously and waved to them “welp! Take care little ones, take care Mira, Silence, dear wife!” he turned and quickly exited the room, Alma giving him the stare eased, Korin’s right eye still twitching, his body a little stiff, he grunt “ow…ow ow” he muttered, Colin laughed and rubbed his back, and he exhaled as he eased up “whew, thanks Colin, heh, that’s my dad for you, injured or recovering he doesn’t know the word gentle haha” his expression turned from a smile to a deeply puzzled one for a moment “I can only imagine what training is going to be like, yeesh” he paused imagining a scene where  him and Colin were standing in a line and Theius was grinning alright little ones, lesson one, don’t get smashed to pieces! Seeing an image of them looking surprised and shocked, then his claw coming down impossibly fast, flattening them both, he hunched for a minute sweating in dread, looking to Colin with a doomed expression “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about some destiny, dad’s pound us into the mountain if he’s gonna let loose, he’s back breaking without effort, I don’t think we can do this, w-we can handle ourselves right?” he paused “Right Colin?” he asked urgently
Colin laughed a bit and slowly it trailed off, then his face turned straight, and looked to Korin, expressing no emotion, realizing this “……we’re so dead, dead is going to look at us and say man you guys do it better than me and quit his job” they both start sweating profusely, Silence chuckles and crosses his arms “you two will be fine, don’t sweat it, if you get flattened into paper Mira will just patch you up, until you…you know, stop…getting flattened into the dirt”
“Not helping” Korin remarked a bit sharply
Alma walked to them giggling “You boys will be fine; he’s trying to train you to use your magick at will rather than in the heat of things, not er…pound you to pieces, well, not if you let him, Father can get…carried away with things”
She showed slight concern for a moment before smiling brightly to them, they both looked to each other with a sickened face “urk…I think we’re not feeling good, I think the magick uh strain stuff was harder than we thought, we’ll just lay down and rest for a day…or two” Korin said, expressing overact his condition, nudging Colin to follow him, taking a second he began wincing and expressing the same sickened and pain expression, leaning forward, a sharp pain shot up his back and he grunt wincing, Alma looked at them seemingly worried and looked to Mira “grandma Mira, the boys look quite bad, I think they’ll need another injection” she worried in a feigning manner, Mira nodded touching her chin “yes yes, I can see they’re still hurting, perhaps one more wouldn’t hurt”
Hearing their excuse backfire hard, their faces turned blue and stomachs dropped to the ground, Silence looked at them smirking with a raised brow, his silvery eyes gleaming, almost as if telling them ‘that’s what you get for faking’ they grunt and waved, Colin winced again, eye twitching, although Korin was faking, Colin was dooming them to a most cruel fate “h-hey we were joking, r-r-right Colin? Haha, you know joke?” he nudged Colin, and he looked to Korin with a hopeless expression “we’re dead, we’re going to get stabbed to death” he despaired, Korin picked up Colin and quickly ran towards the door in a panic “ahh! No shots! I hate needles!” he cried, opening the door he felt his mother’s tail wrap around his waist and he let go of Colin as he pried his claws into the ground sliding slowly into the room “noooo, anything but needles!” he lamented, Colin got up and although he was aching quite bad he rushed away from the door, but not quite fast enough as he felt a soft yet firm claw grip his jeans, underwear and all, and he turned back, sweating profusely, Alma had a deceivingly warm smile on her face, holding Korin with her tail she pulled him back and he winced as his muscles tensed up, making his body ridged and stiff, once she had enough of a grip on his pants she picked him up by his belly very carefully and wrapped him up with Korin in her rather long tail
“bring them to the bed, Silence if you could hold them down, I would surely not want to miss and require to give them a second injection” said Mira, instructing Silence, who nodded and he placed his mask back on and his arms began to flow with dark magick,  black tendrils coming from the ground “understood” Alma carefully moved her tail carrying the squirming two and placed them on the bed, then Silence’s magick tendrils quickly shot over the bed, holding them down like straps
“Just who’s side are you on here?!” Korin exclaimed looking to Silence, who removed his mask once more “it’s habit when using magick to wear my mask” his expression wasn’t lighthearted but somewhat straightforward “I’m on the side that allows you to heal faster, look at Colin next to you” he said, pointing to Colin, his expression was pained, eyes wincing closed,  he had healed from the outer injuries, but the inner ones were still there, though not as severe as they would have been, but it was enough to cause enough pain that simply being held down was painful, Korin looked to him in realization, he was still recovering and his body ached of course, but to Colin who had received the same treatment was still in pain, he frowned slightly and looked to Silence
“We’re born with the ability, the capacity for magick…he isn’t… even if this strain is not hard on you, it is for him, your only thinking of yourself right now…” he paused looking to him with a troubled expression “there’s more to worry about than a simple needle, that’s making sure we’re all okay, that he is, just let her give it to you both, and rest, for now that’s what you must do, for your sake and for his”
Korin looked at him, not saying a word, his face was blank, he didn’t have anything he could say, nothing came into his mind, he was right, sure he was afraid of needles, and so was Colin, but seeing him pain, Korin looked down to his chest with submission “alright…” he said softly, Mira sighed gently, and retrieved the crystal injectors used for magical exhaustion treatment, and Korin closed his eyes, Mira quickly injected the serum into Korin’s arm, he winced for a moment and stayed quiet, then she injected Colin, who was breathing heavy, didn’t react to the injection to his leg, Korin opened his eyes, feeling a haze beginning to wash over him, his eyes slowly becoming unfocused, looked to Colin who’s face began to ease, then relaxed as he fell asleep, Korin fighting to stay awake for another few moments, was released from the tendrils and he raised his arm up sluggishly and failing to get it to his chest, fell to his hand and his eyes closed, and the darkness washed over him as he drifted away to sleep, Silence looked to them deep in thought, so many thought passed in his mind, they were young, and pure hearted, but to a degree, naïve, he knew they had strength in them, he could feel it lying deep inside them, he could feel the pacifism in the human’s heart, and a strong passion within the Alpherian, but when they were out in the world, could they handle it? Could they stand strong against the foes they were sure to meet? Mira wouldn’t be there to heal them time and time again if they became wounded, they were unexperienced, and their magick was young, underdeveloped more than he had hoped, all he could do, was hope, hope that Theius would do what’s necessary to bring out their magick, make them stronger, he made a resolve deep in his mind that he would protect them, they couldn’t do this on their own, and being a darkwalker he had the strength do it he believed, he had to, much was at stake and they couldn’t fail, he couldn’t fail the seraphim or his father, or his people, doing so would lead to the death of countless, the idea of failing weighted heavily on him, the force that worked against them strong enough to possess a heavenly creator, such a power is vast, and to him it was like a lake against an ocean, they both might be large, but an ocean is vast and overwhelming, how could we face such a force and expect to win? What is there 3 young individuals can do again such power? Were it not for the magick that they used that night many would have perished, none of us able to do a thing, do they understand the gravity of the situation, he was a darkwalker, he was strong in magick, but even he had his limits, there was only so much he could do, could they change the fate of Athesia, Of other worlds that might fall prey to this dark and evil presence?
“You are concerned about them, aren’t you darkwalker?” Mira asked, noticing Silence’s troubled mind, his train of thought broke and as noticed Mira picking up on his feelings, he gave a soft sigh “quite, they are both young, I am young, we’re being thrown into a world beset by madness, I…have doubts I can protect them from everything, Theius may be able to train them to use magick, but the Human cannot bring out his magick at will, his body was not born with the capacity for magick, the Alpherian knows little of magick, surely he could not cast it without the incantations to manifest it, they’re both inexperienced…”
“I believe in Theius, and I believe in you three will have the courage to stand against any foe, you must believe in yourself, and in your friends, without courage, without the will to believe you can overcome, your mind, your magick will become clouded, and brittle, do not trouble your heart and mind needlessly, you each hold great potential, even you do not seem aware of just what you are truly capable quite yet” she responded smiling gently “Seraphim Besaria believes in you, she would not send you here needlessly, you three are chosen because out of the millions, billions and more, you three were chosen to take up this destiny, and you have the ability to decide what path it goes, few are given a choice such as this, have courage Silence, you all have the strength in you to stand against any that seek chaos and evil, as long as you have the strength to believe nothing is impossible” Silence looked at Mira in surprise, her words were far more then wishful thinking, deep in her heart through and through, she believed with all her heart that they could succeed, that they do have what it takes to go whatever distance they need to go to save what’s precious to them, he looked down and chuckled slightly “perhaps you are right Mira, forgive me for my shortsightedness, I…faltered for a moment, but…” his gaze turned to Colin and Korin “If you and everyone else believes we have the potential, the strength to see this through then I must rise to the challenge, and face it with them together”
Mira nodded once, placing a claw on his shoulder “you should rest as well, you’ve been up the night, a young one like you needs his rest as well”
“I will be fine Mira, for now…I will watch the sunrise while the morning is still young”
“it would be well for you to rest with your companions, I know nightwalkers are a people who connect with others while they rest, perhaps rather than the sunrise, perhaps…getting to know your companions would allow you to bond better, they know so little about you, I’m sure in no time you can become wonderful friends” she implored, seeing she insist he, looked out through the window, seeing the sun beginning to break from the horizon, he decided to respect her suggestion and walked to their bedside and sat down in a meditative position, closing his eyes “very well, Mira, I will not doubt your wisdom, it is true we know little of each other, getting to know one another when we are closest is a wise choice”
“Grandma knows best as they say fufufu”
He began focusing and through Mira’s eyes she could see the invisible strings that connected people reach out from Silence and connect to the two lying in bed, from there Silence drifted into slumber, his magick reaching out to them and connecting to them on a plain of sleep, Mira sat down and watched over them carefully, Alma had quietly left some time before, without notice, if they had need of her, should would be where they were always welcome…home.
Korin and Colin floated in a dark fog their dreams obscure, they couldn’t remember what they saw, and ultimately it was just faint images they couldn’t make out, when their vision, their senses began to return, rather than in a dreamlike state they began feeling like the dream was becoming real that they had fallen into different reality, gawking about, Korin noticed Colin and blinked, rubbing his eyes “C-Colin? Is that you?” he turned and looked to Korin in surprise “h-huh, Korin? You’re in my dream too? Wait; is this a normal thing in Athesia too? O-or is this just some REALLY over real dream?” he asked curiously Korin continued looking at him in surprise “what in the…why are you in my dream? Get yer own!” he replied sharply, Colin blinked and crossed his arms “but I thought this was my dream, my sleep or whatever it is, if it isn’t a dream…where are we?”
“You are within your dreams; it is my magick that connects us together on this sacred plain together where our hearts are closest” Silence suddenly appeared from the black, and the scenery changed to a grassy knoll, a tree appeared beside Korin, he look at it raising his claw as if to chop it, squinting then looked to silence in surprise “silence?! You did this? So, so this is a dream?” Korin asked with great surprise, Silence in return nodded
“Wow…that’s cool you can do this kinda stuff Silence” Colin commented, looking around, kneeling and touching the grass “it’s like we’re really in a grassy knoll”
“yes, in your dreams anything is possible, especially when magick is involved” he was still wearing his robes but his hood was lowered and his mask off “since you two are fast asleep, I took the opportunity to connect us together, so you can get to know me as you have each other”
Colin got up looking towards him “that’s a smart idea, it’s true, and we don’t know a thing about you aside from saving our hides with that dragon” Silence chuckled “indeed that is true, but it was only because he was focused on you I was able to do what I did, if he had been aware of me from the start things would have been a bit more grim”
Korin turned his head toward Silence with a curious expression on his face “I have to ask, just how old are you? I know darkwalkers can live for thousands of years, and they don’t have children very often”
“I’m only 100 years old” he replied, Colin looked at him in surprise “just 100 years old? That’s more than most people live back on earth!” Korin’s gaze glanced over towards Colin for a moment then returned to Silence “that’s very young compared to most of them, a lot of them are over at least 1000 years old” Korin responded quizzically “in comparison you’re like…er…” he paused, looking at his claws counting
“Five years old, maybe 1 year old in my years” Colin replied, Silence nodded “in my people’s concept of age, I am still a newborn”
“That’s pretty crazy they’d send someone so young in comparison, but it’s still 86 years older than us” Silence nodded “indeed it is, but don’t think of me as an adult, I’m merely a youth as you, even if it may be hard to see” he continued, smiling warmly “so why is your name Silence? Does it mean something?” Colin inquired curiously
“Indeed, when darkwalkers are born, a sound or form materializes with them, much like how Alpherians release pure magick when they are born, when we are born something materializes with us, a form we create from our magick decides our names, when I was born, the room was quieted, the was not a sound that could be uttered, there was only Silence, and that is where I gained my name, in the name of the soundless symphony” he explained in a story like way, looking to them both “how did you turn into that shadow wolf thing?” Colin continued to ask, wanting to learn about Silence with great interest “I was trained in my years to use my magick, manifest it more and more, wield it like an extension of my being, thusly after the years passed I finally gained a change of form that materializes to a certain creature that resonates with you, some of my people manifest their second form as  dragons, golems, angelic beings like angels, mine was the black wolf, wanderer of the night, in this form my ability to manipulate my magick is easier, to say, it does not make it more powerful, but increase its volume at which I may use it” he paused for a moment, Korin during this time was just looking at them back and forth, listening quietly but he cleared his throat and spoke up “so, how’d you end up finding out about this destiny we got, didn’t you feel shocked or surprised?”
Silence crossed his arms looking up towards a now blue sky filled with passing white clouds “I was told 14 years ago, on the days of your births, in truth it did surprise me, I was told the whole truth of it all, but, if it was in truth a way to protect Athesia, protect worlds beyond our own, I accepted it without hesitation, because, in my eyes, it is a choice of the needs of the one, the few, against the needs of many, I decided that day that regardless of what I faced, I would do what I must to ensure the safety of our people and the people beyond, even if it is in the name of self-sacrifice, when I lunged into the fray last night the depth of how much larger it is then ourselves fully sunk in, and for a moment seeing your broken bodies, I faltered for a moment, but then Mira helped me to realize, that we, us three have the strength and courage to face this destiny, we simply need to look within ourselves for it, Shesha, the heavenly creator foresaw our destiny, and the three paths our destiny can take, knowing that this is not simply a single path, that we can do something to change fate to where none of us must perish is something I will fight for, not for the sake of violence, or for our own lives, but so that the seed of evil will not be born with us, or the people of this land, this future I will fight for” he looked to down to them “we will have only each other by our sides, Mira, Alma, Theius, your friends, my family, can only be there with us in heart, in their place we must protect each other, you two are good individuals and I believe we’ll do fine” Silence sat down, one leg out, which appeared to be wrapped in some sort of cloth, wearing what looked like sown leather wrap  shoes with a flat sole with no design but a slight heel,  looking to them both for a moment he paused, then finally spoke “I do not know much about your stories, would you care to share? I will gladly tell you of my life thus far if you so wish” he offered
Colin coughed, clearing his throat and spoke up “well, to be honest I’m…not all that good with words like you but, I’d gladly tell you a little about where I’m from and about my life a little”
Korin hearing this walked over and sat down near Colin looking up to him, getting ready to talk about his life, he sat down, looking to Korin then Silence “well to start uhm, my full name is Colin Aelfric Freewind, which is the same as uhm, Korin’s last name, dunno how that happened but, I guess we’re just brothers and don’t know it or something but, I came from or kinda forcefully brought here from Earth, it’s world that doesn’t have magic like here, not at all, Mira probably said it and well…I think you did too, but we’re not born with any magic, or a magic soul you called it, it’s a pretty chaotic world in its own right, lots of stuff happening across the world, uhm…” he scratched his head thinking a bit “well it’s uhm, different from Athesia that’s for sure, the kinda peace that Athesia has, or had, I’m not sure, is only something you could dream of where I’m from”
Korin’s face soured a little hearing this, Silence’s face shifted slightly from a relaxed nonchalant expression, to a puzzled slight straight forward expression “tis a terrible world if such a peace is only dream worthy”
Korin nodded in agreement
“well, it’s not all bad, there’s lots of good people they’re just…confused or troubled I’m sure, I come from a family that isn’t doing so good with money, and they do their very best to make sure we all have a home and roof over our heads” Colin’s expression turned melancholy looking slightly down “my mom is gone most of the time, off doing her job in international relationships department for plane parts, my dad works making portable generators, even when he…comes home he doesn’t stop working, taking in home contracts for extra money that doesn’t pay very well, I grew up moving from place to place, moving from school to school, I never had the chance to make a real friend, someone to open up to…an…I ended up being a lil shy and not very well…I dunno…I guess open to others or make friends, I always dreamed of being on a baseball team, the big league sports”
Silence looked puzzled, as did Korin
“What’s baseball?” Korin asked curiously
“Yes, is this a…human sport that you partake in back on earth?” Silence inquired after Korin
“well it’s a sport where you have a pitcher, holding a…fist sized ball, that throws it to a batter, who has a bat…a bat is uhm…a wooden rod that’s about my arm’s length that gets a little more broad towards the end, usually with a rounded top, and the batter hits the ball into a diamond shaped field of grass with chock to show where four bases are, on each edge of the diamond, when the batter hits the ball, he’s gotta run to each of the ‘bases’ or flat white plates before the other team catches the ball, or touches him with it, when he gets back to the base he scores a point for an inning, there are nine inning which each team strives to have more points, which ever teams has the most points at the end of the game wins, after someone strikes out or misses the ball three times, they’re ‘out’ and then the teams switch from pitching and catching, to batting and getting back to home base” Colin was very avid about baseball, although he didn’t have much when it came to  it, he still had his favorite team, and kept up with them in their games, while he explained it, both Silence and Korin looked more and more puzzled and curious
“Wow this baseball sounds interesting, is flying allowed? Or are there no flying humans either?” he asked
“nope, we can’t fly by ourselves, or do magic or anything special like you guys can, from what grandma Mira told me, we’re like Yukans in your world”
Korin crossed his arms trying to understand this baseball “wow…so what does the team get when they win?”
“well, money, that much I know, uhm, fame and stuff, I just like it because it’s exciting, two teams working hard pushing their limits, cheering fans, excitement when they hit a ball out of the stadium, and boos when the balls is caught before landing, I dunno just is…something I like…uhm…I guess…a-anyway” he paused clearing his throat once more
“u-uhm, when I was growing up she told me about how she was ill when she gave birth to me, and the doctors said she wasn’t gonna survive because of complications, when she felt a strange sensation overcome her, she told me the doctors were baffled beyond words, her wounds healed in front of their eyes, her bleeding stopped and she lost consciousness then woke up healthy, to this day she still doesn’t know how it happened, do you think there was someone watching over me?” he asked curiously, Silence put a finger to his chin in thought “it’s sounds very similar to healing magick, but from what you’ve told me, it sounds like it wasn’t ordinary magick, healing magick can hold heal non-fatal wounds, only soul transference magick can heal fatal wounding, but the cost is steep and in exchange for years of your life, you give those years to the receiver, and their body will mend even the most life threatening of wounds as long as the body is still alive and the soul is within the vessel, it may very well have been a foreign power that intervene in your mother’s delivery, perhaps they wanted you live a life with your mother, rather than to have been born with only fleeting memories of her, although she is gone often, she’s still in your life, you remember her face, and hold memories of your family in your heart”
Korin was thinking deeply when the memory popped into his head and it clicked “grandma Mira! The only one who knew of you then was grandma Mira, she saved your earth mom’s life” he exclaimed in realization
Colin looked at him in surprise, then tapped his palm with his fist “Your right Korin, grandma Mira was watching over me my whole life, she saved my mom”
“she saved her life, but do bear in mind, soul transference is a forbidden magick as it tamps with the natural process of life and death, in a way, it creates a paradox, a different you then what you were supposed to be, soul transference magick as well, heals the body but in the process, to Athesian people, Yukan or not, it also can transfer memories of words, phrases, situations and even names, mayhaps your surnames were chosen because your mother in some way was influenced by Mira’s memory, perhaps she recalled the memory of Korin’s naming, thusly you both were giving kin surnames, the pieces align quite well Colin”  
Korin and Colin looked to each other puzzledly then grinned “then it means we’re brothers in a sorta…magic-y sorta way, my dad always wondered why mom gave me that surname rather than my dad’s or hers” he responded grinning happily
Silence chuckled looking to them both “you two do seem very close despite how little time has passed, without so much as a week passing you two have grown a very strong brother like bond, and even share the same family now, it’s puzzling and quite…heartwarming to see such bond grow in such a short time”
Colin grinned to Silence, looking to his eyes, Silence looked into his, as the saying goes the eyes are the door to soul, and in a place where they are closest was like looking into an open door, as a darkwalker, it’s the ultimate sign of trust, to let someone see into your soul, and understand their being, what lies within them, Korin looked to them both as they kept a steady gaze, somewhat confused, Silence looked into Colin’s soul and found many sincere, kind, heartwarming memories, no memories of misdeeds or wrong doing, looking into his soul he could feel the emotions he felt, he felt great happiness, joy, excitement and curiosity, a kindled courage lying deep within, aching to burst forth, but as there is good in one’s soul, there is always something to balance the good in the heart, looking deeper, he could feel deep sincere sadness for his family, his longing and frustration, his nervousness and shyness, what Silence felt was strong, yet fragile and passive heart, one that sincerely wished to do no harm, only to help, Colin looked into Silence’s eyes, he could feel strange new sensations, what were they? He could emotions that weren’t his own take shape within his heart, somewhere inside him, he felt Silence’s emotions; he felt great passion and courage, he could feel resolve and calm only describable as a quiet mellow morning, cool air filled with the scent of peaceful new day, he felt himself going deeper, he felt longing, he felt the need to prove himself, the burning frustration to get stronger, to be recognized by his people, the small feeling of conflict and confusion, he could feel a slight and harmless envy, so many emotions he could feel, all of which began to wash over him, Silence could feel him looking into his soul, as he did his, feeling the deep sorrow for his family’s struggle, the confusion in his heart became more obvious by the moment, Silence broke their gaze looking away, Korin looked at them thoroughly confused, one brow raised fully up, one lowered down “uh….guys…you…okay? You’ve been staring at each other for like…3 or 4 minutes now, something you uh…wanna tell me?” he asked in his thorough confusion, Colin looked at him with a blank stare for a moment then shook his head, and blinked, his focus returning slowly “u-uh…no…no I don’t think so, I was just…uh” he scratched his head, Korin gave him an unimpressed expression, leaning his head forward, arms crossed, one claw tapping against his arm, giving a clear as crystal ‘expectant’ face, Colin shook his head once more to get out of the haze, and he finally focused fully on Korin this time “I’m not sure, I looked into Silence’s eyes and then, I started feeling all these uh…emotions I guess…they didn’t feel like mine though” he explained, Silence sighed for a moment as he came out of his initial daze “that’s…making a spiritual connection, when one soul connects to another through their pathways, in essence, our eyes, which are both keys and doors, when we locked solid gazes, we unlocked and opened the doors to each other’s innermost feelings and emotions” he shook his head lightly “for truth, I have never done it before, it was…quite the surprise I must say, it’s exhausting even in a dream” he chuckled slightly at the last part “so…like we became uhm…like one or…something?” Colin asked softly, not being too forward, Silence shook his head “not quite Colin, although we were completely Intune and connected with each other, we didn’t merge our souls, it was more like…hm…what is a good way to say it…our minds connected, as did our souls, but we did not become one entity, we each remained ourselves, only feeling what the other’s deepest feelings are but not becoming them in the process” he explained as best he could “I might be close to a century old but tis only a child’s age in our kind, darkwalkers take their time training and honing themselves…needless to say I am refined to a degree in decision making and awareness, but…I am not quite as learned in mannerisms of communicating with others quite yet, it takes adjusting, speaking basic Alpherian and such, although I am quite surprised, how did you understand Mira and Korin when you first arrived, more than likely the dialects of human and Alpherian are different” Silence asked ponderously, Colin looked down touching his chin “huh….i’m…not sure, I was still battered through a loop and Mira spent all night mending my injuries, I just woke up and it was like she was speaking English to me, I didn’t notice” he replied thinking deeply about it, Korin blinked “It’d make sense why we understand each other here since we’re all connected so closely, but maybe when Mira heal your mother, she transfer knowledge of Alpherian language to you too, I hear Yukan children are born still connected to their mothers, if Humans are like them, then maybe since you’ve got some hidden potential in the tank it let you pick up a sorta…natural ability to understand Alpherian, so far that all you’ve heard so far, but…” Korin looked up towards the sky thinking deeply “that heavenly creator was speaking flame tyrant dialect, which is in essence, the oldest form of Alpherian tongue dating back countless years ago, although it was like he had a heavy accent to me, you seemed to understand him too, maybe even better than me” Korin speculated, confounded by this, Colin looked down to his jeans thinking deeply, then it clicked “can you enchant clothes to understand other languages?” he asked curiously, Silence looked at him in surprised from his suggestion “that’s quite an intuitive question, it’s believable the more wise or knowledged the caster is in dialects and languages, the stronger and better the enchantment, perhaps Mira enchanted something of yours, perhaps your clothes” Silence pondered a moment “it’s no doubt that he’ll  be able to understand ancient and modern dialects of various races if it was her to have enchanted your garments” he pointed out “but to you it probably sounds like we’re speaking in your native language no doubt, and to us you’re speaking Alpherian, quite puzzling how things fall in place…”
“I mean that’s nothing bad, it just means Colin won’t have trouble understanding us, and we won’t have trouble understanding him, not much to think about Silence”
“Indeed, that is true Korin” Silence replied
Something nagged at the back of Colin’s mind when he thought about it, but he decided not to think much about it and dismissed the feeling, switching subjects “where do you come from Silence? I learn a little about the history of Athesia and about the 200 year war, but I’m still learning about Athesia, and I don’t know much about darkwalkers and all the other people that live here, so I’d love to hear about your people, and how you came to be wrapped up in all of this like Korin and I”
Silence nodded “I come from Illiumia, it’s fairly large city located far to the west of Athesian lands, a city by the shores, disconnected from the world, hidden within great and perilous mountains, beyond the ruins of our ancestors, it’s a city unlike Alpherian or Yukan design, carved of white brilliant stone, it’s buildings reaching high into the skies and deep below the earth, the stone is craved to a level you could only imagine, all of which is handled by a select few crafters chosen at birth, even I do not know their secret, if that tells you anything”
Korin’s eyes sparkled hearing tall buildings and imagined climbing to the top and jumping off in a graceful dive, opening his wings as a gently updraft catches his wings “w-wow…” he responded, his tone soft and amazed
“That sound amazing, if you’re disconnected from Athesia, does that mean your people sustain themselves?” Colin asked
Silenced nodded in response  “yes, darkwalkers needn’t eat so often as most races, as our bodies age at such a slow rate, and our metabolism mirrors this, one meal would last two weeks before we would need to eat again, mind you it is one meal, much like if you were to eat dinner, the next day you would eat once more, to us, your day is our two weeks, we do not consume meat or feed on the plant life of our world, we fulfill our need for sustenance with magick, although the method of which we consume it, is in material shape, of which we give it form of flora, but does not have the same composition as flora”
“So…it’s kinda like magic plants? It looks like a plant but it’s just pure magic?” Colin asked in turn
Silence nodded once more “indeed, you’re correct Colin, and it is grown deep underground, where the caretakers reside, they are a people born blind to the world, seeing only magick, darkwalkers like us, they wear masks much like our own, but sport no opening for eyes, as they do not need them”
“Can you eat food like us if you don’t have those plants?” this time is was Korin who asked
“Yes, although since it is not pure magick manifestation, it does not sustain us as well as our own cultivation, thusly my metabolism will speed up, and with it my life will shorten, in essence it’s unhealthy for me to do so, but is viable in situations where I cannot find a viable source of sustenance”
Colin was surprised, and intrigued deeply as he listened, although Korin was still caught up in the idea of how tall their buildings were, since he loved flying, the idea set his imagination ablaze
“I am certain you shall ask, so I will answer before needless works are spoke” he paused for a moment, Colin looking at him a bit oddly “I told you that I knew about my destiny on the days of your birth, in truth, I knew about it since even my earlier years, I had visions, as some do when there is a destiny they will find themselves needing to fulfil, I had told my father and mother of these visions, when I was but only 20, I was called to an audience with Seraphim Besaria, there are only…and only three reasons for such an audience, the first, is a telling of great change on the horizon, the second is the scribing of one’s impending death, the third is of a ‘Remael Hazeia’ ”
Colin tilted his head confusedly “A…what?” he asked in response
Silence looked at him perplexedly to his confusion “you did not understand Remael Hazeia?” he asked
Colin shook his head, Korin looked at Silence with equal confusion, seeming to have stopped day dreaming for the moment “that’s the first time I’ve ever hear a word like that too Silence, what’s it mean?”
“Remael Hazeia, it’s a phrase only spoken in the darkwalker tongue, in Alpherian is roughly translated as ‘fate born’ a foreseen birth with great importance to the future of Athesia, audiences with the seraphim are of only great importance, as Darkwalker kind is a individually governed people, we have no defining ‘head’ of our people as the Seraphim is only contacted in regards to situations of Athesia, you might say she’s a figure of our people, a white angel defined only as an oracle of fate, she has existed for millennia, divining fate and the future, around 80 years ago I was the first among elders to have seen her, she was a brilliant sight, robes the purest white, a mask so intricate it could not have been crafted by mortal hand, no eyes of which to be seen, her voice was tranquil, and alluring, speaking to her, it was as if I spoke not to a mortal being, but of some existence beyond our people taken form in the shape of a heavenly body”
Colin and Korin looked at Silence with a deep interest and wonder “wow…and you got to meet this Seraphim and it was about your destiny, years before we were born even?” Korin asked, his voice thoroughly filled with curiosity, Silence nodded as usual “indeed, it was foreseen many years ago by her, she foresaw the 200 year war and it’s result, she foresaw my birth, as well as yours, Colin, Korin, she knew something of incomparable importance was on the horizon, over watching my birth, my life as I lived it, when I came to meet her she told me a time would come I would be called to be a safe guard of the world, in its darkest hour, that I am one of three that were to take up a great and perilous path that would decide the fate of Athesia, and a great many worlds beyond it, at the time I did not understand, as Korin was yet to have been born, and you, Colin, your parents yet to have been born to create you, I was the first of us, slowly as time went on, I carried out my duties, tending to the gardens, our lands and training myself to wield the magick I do, even with the years I have I am not as experienced as many darkwalkers are, as many reach their peak of ability in a millennia, I have but a fraction of temperament and ability as many of my people do, but that goes without saying that the magic I have learn I need no incantations to cast, as you do Korin, as incantations are methods to channel magicks you do not quite have the experience to master, a warn Colin as you are not one with a vessel born to hold magic, with an unknown source of magick somehow founded in you despite an incompatible vessel, using magick to far above your ability, can incapacitate and if done too often, will kill you, keep that in mind, you will need to build your foundation which you’ve begun building when in your encounter with Shesha, I am unsure, but I believe your magick came forth responding to your burning desire to protect something, as magick fueled by emotion resonates with the user more, creating a stronger magick, even in your dreams magick can be used, so bear in mind that using it despite you’re physical body is not active your soul and magic are un-resting, such as now, your vision is clear, you can smell, see, taste, feel and hear as you normally would, as well our minds have connected in a single plain as a result of my magick, I reached out to both of your magicks and connected each of us, which is why we are here now”
Korin and Colin both looked at each other again then back to Silence trying to understand as best they could
“wow…that’s a lot to take in Silence” Colin commented, looking slightly lost but not completely dumbfounded “we know that Colin isn’t a natural born magick user and we know that it ain’t all that good when he exhausts him magick and all that” Korin said, pausing a moment to collect his thoughts on the information “So how does someone jus’ build a foundation for magick when they didn’t have it in the first place?”
“by focus, by training the mind to connect with their magick, as it is now, the only way he can produce magick, Is by allowing the magick to come forth on its own, rather than say you or I call upon it, when I transform into my form I call upon my magick and meld it to my need, you call upon your magick to create the fire magick you use, Colin cannot do this with his foundation, what you must do Colin, is focus, focus your mind and reach out to the magick that's buried deep within you, reach deep within yourself and feel your magick, allow yourself to sink within your  being and touch the magick you hold within you…let it come to you, do not force it out, as you will fail, think of magick…as a secondary being of its own, if you reach your hand out and let the magick come to you and take your hand, you will have successfully made the magick connection we all make at birth, woven into our being before we are aware of our very self, while we are here, let’s try to build one such foundation, Korin, I recommend you do so too, as it will help you to reach a deeper connection to your magick”
Colin Nodded eagerly, and Korin nodded too, a little less enthusiastic, he wasn’t the type who liked to be stationary, and like to be doing something “come on it’ll be fun Korin, I’ll be able to use magic and you’ll be able to use magic better, it’s a win-win”
Korin sighed smirking a little “alriiiight I’ll do it with you” Korin replied earnestly, sitting in a cross-legged pose, with his claws cupped together
“Take that pose Colin and let us begin”
Colin nodded and shifted to the same position as Korin
“now close your eyes, focus, imagine yourself sinking, almost…falling, but do not struggle against it, let yourself sink, let yourself fall gently, expand your senses and imagine your mind expanding, the closed in feeling fade away…”
Colin and Korin both closed their eyes, following Silence’s guidance; Colin inhaled and let out a slow, deep exhale as he let his focus on his surroundings fade, let his mind empty and let himself slip away, he felt a small sensation of falling wash over himself, as did Korin, they felt themselves sinking, almost falling from their very bodies, Colin felt as though he was leaving his body behind and delving into an unknown, strange new existence, a weightless feeling he could only describe as being like a feather, falling slowly in the air, he could feel himself slipping away into a place he felt he had never been, a strange new place, despite having his eyes closed he could begin to see a color, a form in the blackness, he slowly felt himself move towards it, his body was immobile, as was Korin’s, he felt as though he was reaching out not with his hands but with himself, reaching out to this colored form, the feeling, he felt was very slowly being returned, he could feel himself reaching out, the form becoming more clear, he eventually let go of himself, of his physical being and he reached out and felt as though he touched a gentle warmth, it was gentle, and light, as he felt himself get closer, he stopped and the form did too, he stayed there, floating in a weightless, formless state, looking in front of a shape that began to resemble himself, he began to make out details In hazy form, he could see that this form was white, it smiled to him gently, and as though he felt himself reaching a hand out, the form, slowly, began to form arms and reach out to him, in what seemed like forever, it reached out and he felt a deep warmth fill his being as the figure touched his being, it looked to him and he could see it smiling to him, he made an attempt to smile back, feeling the sensation as though he were, the being reached out to him and in surprise he could feel…no…hear a voice echoing to him, he couldn’t quite make out words, but it indeed spoke, the words as time went on became more and more clear “I can hear your soul, I feel it calling to me, it is kind, and I hear it well, now you can feel me calling back, Colin, I hear your words well, your words can finally reach me, in your dreams I call out to you, but you do not hear, but now, you hear my words, and I, can finally hear yours…I am the magick within you, and I accept your call” the being seemed to say, the words just forming in his mind, without words, without sound but understanding “you…are my magick soul” Colin said, yet his mouth did not move either, his words reached out to this being which it seemed to understand, the being closed its eyes and Colin felt a rush of something, something welling up and flowing over his being, he felt himself filling with some feeling he could not explain soon after the being nodded to him, and he felt himself flowing up, almost falling into a aimless black sky, he felt his weight return, although it did not seem as heavy, it didn’t feel as much of a burden, he felt himself slowly  returning to himself, and then a light began to return, he could hear the sounds of birds, of gently flowing grass across a peaceful sunny plain, the warmth of the sun touching his body, he could feel the wind against his skin, the smell of flowers, he slowly opened his eyes, wincing at first as his eyes slowly adjusted, blinking a few times, he opened them, Seeing Silence and Korin looking to him, Silence holding a warm pleased grin, Korin giving a proud and happy smile
“I could feel you made the connect, Colin, I sense your magick soul now, far more than before, I can feel it’s presence within you as your soul, I am quite happy you did so well, it’s been around 2 hours since we began, though it will have felt longer, or shorter, though I cannot be sure, what I do know” he paused “is that your magick soul Is strong now, perhaps when you both awaken, you’ll be ready to train, but only time shall tell, here in the world where our minds our closest, I may speak my heart, but I am not quite as talkative outside of this dream, so for now, I will give you advice from deep in my heart”
Colin and Korin looked to each other in confusion, not sure of what Silence may say
“I will protect you both, no matter the foe we face, I know you are not one to fight Colin, Korin you are strong willed, but lack combat experience, I may be not as experienced as some, but I know what i must do when the time comes, allow me to be your sword, that will strike out against our foes, I will fight for your sakes, I swear on my life that we will see this through, we SHALL return home…this is a promise to you two I shall keep, you both are younger than I, and you do not live as long as my kind, I will not see it cut any shorter”
The very words resounded to them, they were much more, it was an oath, a promise they knew was one that he intended to keep, without doubt or hesitation
“Well fine, if you insist” Korin said, Colin looked at him sourly, then he smiled “then ah’ll just have to be the bow and armor” he continued winking
Colin and Silence both laughed heartily
“Then I’ll be the shield, I dunno what I can do with my magic but I’ll do my best Silence, Korin, we’ll do it, we’ll return home…” he looked down for a moment in thought, remembering his original home which he came from not too long ago, he looked up, a twinkle of determination in his eyes “Together!” he said full of heart
They all cheered in their resolve to face this destiny head on regardless of what they might face, because in their heart, they all knew, as long as they had each other by their side, they’d see this through, through thick and thin, despite knowing each other for a fleeting amount of time, they all felt like they’d known each other for years, the kindled bond of friendship and brotherhood burning strong and deeply
“I sense it’ll be time soon for you both to awaken, anything either of you would like to speak of while we are here?” Silence asked
“Ya’huh I got somethin’!” Korin spoke up
“Our job is to save lives, an’ from what I remember, we saved someone from somethin’ real bad…if we can save a heavenly creator, we can save anyone, i…dun want to kill anybody…it’s crazy I know…but…” he paused in reflection, thinking about what he had said, to not kill, even if the foes they faced intend to, and stop them, but not end their life, it was a difficult path to take to be sure
“it ain’t somethin’ I wanna do…I know they’ll be tryin’ to hurt us, or kill us, but…ending someone’s life jus’ ain’t something I can see myself doing…so…let’s make another promise…to protect everyone’s lives, and not take any”
Silence looked to him deeply, Colin was a bit more passively to the suggested promise and agreeing as he was a pacifist, and didn’t believe in killing, or harming others, Silence believed in the lives of the few against the lives of all, he wanted the outcome where no one has to die, but he would do so if it meant protecting others, protecting Korin or Colin, not putting forth his own safety into the idea, he gave a sigh, thinking deeply on his proposal “it will be difficult, and the future is not clear as what will transpire, I will do what I must to avoid a situation where we must choose one, for another, a situation in which one must die so another will live, but I agree, Korin, let us do everything we can to make sure we do not stain our hands, or…claws, in blood, or our destiny will be for naught”
Korin smiled, hearing Silence agreeing, looking to Colin who nodded “I agree too, I don’t want to hurt anyone, much less take someone’s life in the process, I’m all for it Korin!” he said vigorously
It was agreed; that they would chose a path of peaceful resolve, to save friend and foe alike from bloodshed and death. But like most difficult paths, it’s not easy, and they will be faced with difficult choices

-story progression to be continued-
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