《The Fallen》 Prologue This is my first fanfic, and English isn''t my native language. So expect some errors in grammar or in the story. If you found any, I¡¯ll be glad if you let me know, so I can fix them and improve. ..... In the province of Zurka, one of the border provinces of the Moonlight Empire. There is a mountain. The mountain itself is not so especial, yet it¡¯s know across the entire Empire. As The Mountain of Sorrow. No one knows why the mountain it¡¯s called it like that. What make this particular place so famous, it¡¯s not its name. It¡¯s the fact that not many people have returned after entering the forest that surrounds it. The mountain and the forest, have become a place off limits. Many attribute this phenomena to the fact, that it¡¯s so close to the border of the Empire. The province it¡¯s bordering with the Rak nation, the home of the raks. Creatures with human like appearance. That have been at war with the Empire since its very foundation. Most people that live near, try to avoid going to the mountain. But right now, at the foot of the mountain. You can see four people entering a cave. A cave which entrance was so hidden, only few people had discovered it. And fewer was the number that lived to tell the tale. Between the four men there were three big mercenaries, which were pushing around a young man into the cave. - Hurry up, and take us there. Or I¡¯ll kill you! - Roman, the leader of the three mercenaries. Was saying this while throwing the young man to the floor. With just a flick of his hand. He was using magic, a basic spell to strengthen his physical strength. - Ok! I said I¡¯ll take you there, so relax man. - The young one¡¯s name is Alex. And right now, he was remembering the events that brought him to this moment. Three years had passed since leaving his home. He had done that after deciding to become an adventurer. All that, so he could discover something that would made him famous. He concealed his last name, and joined various guilds as Alex Wright to earn some money. But because of his lack of magical prowess, he was expelled from all of them. And to enter a small guild, you just needed to have a regular magical prowess. Alex was just bad at magic. One of the main facts that got him to leave his home. Changing jobs and learning how to survive in the world, while trying to become famous, had been his life for the past three years. His travels across the empire had brought him here, to the Zurka province. But after recalling an old legend his grandfather had told him, and investigating it for six months, he had discovered this cave. A monumental discovery for him. Because of the runes he had found at the very end of the cave. He was so happy that he went to the nearest village, and started drinking to celebrate. At the age of twenty-one, like all youngsters that have had a few drinks. He started bragging. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. When he woke up the next day. He found himself with Roman and his lackeys. They wanted him to take them to the cave, as payment for the drinks they bought him last night. Alex remembered nothing like that whatsoever. But after the beating he got, he made a deal with them. - At first I doubted of your story Alex, but now that we''re here that means the part about the runes are true. - - I wasn¡¯t lying. So I take you there and you let me go like we agreed¡­ right? ¨C Alex said. - Of course man, just like we agreed. - Roman of course was lying, and Alex knew it. He had been thinking a way out of this situation since they left the village. But came out with nothing. As Roman was better at magic that him, he was at his mercy. After twenty minutes or more, they found a huge room with and enormous piece of crystal in the center. In the crystal there were some carved runes. It was an ancient language, that Alex¡¯s grandfather had taught him. But since he felt an ominous feeling emanating from the crystal, he didn¡¯t read them. - So here we are. Now it¡¯s time for me to leave you gentlemen¡¯s alone. - - Not so fast, you think I¡¯m stupid? Read the runes for us. I know you can do it, you told us last night. So don¡¯t try to test my patience any more. ¨C Answered Roman. - Damn it! ¨C _Alex was cursing softly, wondering if he didn¡¯t tell him more secrets. Something wasn¡¯t right in this place_ - I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea man¡­ I have a bad feeling about this cave, that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t read the runes when I came here in the first place. - - I¡¯m running out of patience, so read them or die! - _Roman took his sword, and placed it on Alex¡¯s neck_ - Now read them! This is your last chance. - - You¡¯re crazy. Who knows what could happen if I read them? They are written on an almost extinct language! - - Guess we will find out pretty soon ¨C Said Roman. Cursing in his mind for this weird development, right after having found this place. Alex sighed and hoped this were some powerful spell runes. And everybody except the one who reads it, stayed petrified. Or died a horrible dead. - It goes like this¡­ ¡°The time has come to repent¡± ¡°With the power that this language holds¡± ¡°Only those that locked you. Can set you free¡±. - Alex was getting more scared, but kept reading as Roman¡¯s sword was pushing harder against his skin. - ¡°Vit Etum Catten. Vit Sutra Vat¡±. - Which meant: ¡°I, who owns the chains. I, set you free¡±. Right after finishing the sentence. The ground started shaking, and a powerful light left them blind for a moment before passing out. When Alex woke up, there was a man in front of him. CHAPTER 1 This is my first fanfic, and English isn''t my native language. So expect some errors in grammar or in the story. If you found any, I¡¯ll be glad if you let me know, so I can fix them and improve. ..... In this earth there are some especial crystals that are doors. Doors to places unknown, to dimensions unknown. This crystals are so rare, that the possibility that you could find two, is astronomically low. But there was once a man, who found two of them. His name was Aaron, and now he¡¯s trapped inside one of them. In that place, time goes by so slow, that the minutes seems like hours, and the hours seems like days. After a while he lost his sense of time. He didn¡¯t know if he had been there for months, years, or even longer. Inside you can''t age. Your body remains the same, as it did when you were sealed. Cold and dark. That was all there was to the place, he had been confined, so long ago. He no longer had the mental strength to resist the loneliness. But he knew he wouldn¡¯t let go of his life because he had something to do. Or to say it better, he has something to finish. He craved that thing, so much that after this long time, he still could embrace his sanity. At first he wanted to forget. He wished that the grand and caring arms of the flow of time, would let him forgive the ones that put him here. But he soon realized that, that rage, was the only thing that was keeping him from losing his mind or worse. The thing he wanted was revenge. Revenge against those who betrayed him, and left him to rot in there. The very ones that were his friends. One of them even more, his lover. The pain that came after, was second only to the rage he had felt. Once more he was remembering, to keep himself in check. Something that had become like a mantra to prevent his mind from breaking. All of a sudden there was light around him, and he was back once more in that hateful cave. He felt dizzy and confused to be back, after so much time. The sight, the smells. Feeling the cold air of the cave against his skin. Those sensations forgotten long ago, were too much for him, to handle. He fell to the rocky cave floor. Standing up, and stretching his muscles. Beginning to accept the fact he was back, he saw four guys right in front of him. One of them, was lying on the floor unconscious. With a more precise evaluation, he looked young. About the same age as him, when he was doomed to spend an eternity trapped in that place. The three others looked like mercenaries. They were using some kind of bulky armor. And before long the biggest of them all, started talking. It took him a few seconds, to listen the words the man had said. So much time had passed, without him been able to listen another person¡¯s voice that he got lost at that marvelous sound. Coming back to reality, his brain started processing what he had heard. - So it¡¯s true what that guy told us about this crystal, it really was a magical crystal. But who is this guy? It looks to be a boy. ¨C Said the man. - What do we now boss? ¨C Answered one of the guys. From the conversation and from the looks of it, the first man was the leader. The guy on the floor seemed to be a part of them, but he couldn¡¯t be so sure. - The plan stays the same. The three go grab the one that¡¯s standing, to interrogate him. I''ll kill Alex over here. ¨C Said the leader. Things were progressing quite fast. Not five minutes had passed since returning, and he was already in troubles. - It looks like you¡¯re not a rescuing party. So let me ask you a few things. Before getting rid of you. ¨C Said Aaron. The mercenaries were taken aback, by the act of Aaron threatening them. But they soon recovered and advanced towards him. - Jajaja sorry man. We came for a treasure. But I am very surprised, to have found that you were inside that crystal, and not our treasure ¨C _The leader said this while easing up his guard, and laughing at the same time_ - But you are going to tell us everything you know, one way or another. - - You think so? It¡¯s pretty clear to me what¡¯s going to happen. It¡¯s you who is going to tell me everything you know, while the rest will be serving as my punching bags. ¨C _Aaron was itching for a fight, so he could loosen up his muscles and stretch them_ - So surrender guys, and everything will be much easier. - You¡¯re a very funny kid. Still, be a good boy, and let yourself be captured. Stop wasting my time, and go get him guys! ¨C Answered the leader. - Well you can¡¯t said I didn¡¯t give you chance. - With a swift move Aaron disappeared, before appearing right in front of the two guys on the back. With a punch in their guts, he throw them across the cave. Remembering the words in his mind, and letting the power flow within him. Aaron raised his hands, letting the magic free. A magic he had not felt traveling through his body, for a long time. A very long time. The three mercenaries were throw through the air. Like there were nothing more that some weightless rag dolls. Aaron felt some magic power emanating from the leader and the guy lying on the ground. That should have been impossible. But then he remembered why his so called friends, had betrayed him. ¡°This must be the aftermaths of when they sealed me away. It looks like everyone can use magic now¡± he thought. Disarming them and pressing their bodies against the rocky ceiling with magic, he started the conversation again. - I can sense you know some magic. But you¡¯re so weak you couldn¡¯t possible hurt me, unless I was in a catatonic state. Now you¡¯re going to tell everything you know. Starting by what are you doing here, and finishing by telling me what date it is. - Because it had been so long since he used magic, he didn¡¯t want to torture them too much. After all he might not be able to restrain himself, and kill them with a flick of his hand. - Here is some incentive, to get you guys talking. - Aaron said this while making the fingers of their hands twist in an unnatural way. The fingers couldn¡¯t resist the pressure and started to break, making some pop sounds. Their screams were silenced as he casted some magic around them. After a while Aaron stopped, and let their bodies travel to the ground. In the process breaking their legs. He felt it would be pointless to harm them any longer, and asked them: - Do you want to talk now? Tell me everything you know and since you had freed me, I might heal as a reward. ¨C - St¡­ stop! Just stop please I¡¯ll tell you everything¡­ just don¡¯t torture us anymore ¨C It was the boss who answered. Even after everything the other two only screamed. They haven¡¯t talked more than one sentence, and that was previous to the interrogation/torture. - Fine what is your name? ¨C Said Aaron. - Roman sir, its Roman - - Ok Roman, tell me what you know. ¨C Aaron was glad Roman was cooperating, he didn¡¯t wanted to spend the rest of the day pulling out their eyeballs and stuff. He had very little patience for this kind of things. So probably, he would rip one guy¡¯s heart out, and let the others bleed to death. After all he could always ask the unconscious guy on the floor. - Start talking. ¨C Said Aaron. - We were hired as mercenaries in the village close by¡­ ¨C _The man twitched from the pain before continuing_ - Yesterday we overheard the guy on the floor talking about some cave with some mystery runes inside and¡­ Aaron asked them, more questions, and the three mercenaries answered them. After a while, he sat down, and started meditating about all they have told him. Something wasn¡¯t right in his story. After all, who in his right mind would believe the ravings of a drunk man? But what mattered the most was the identity of the man that was giving the orders. The one that hired them. It appears that the unconscious man, was the one that released him. To have knowledge about the cave and to be able to release him, there could only be two possibilities. He would have to ask him after waking him up. The important thing was, that from what they told him, the guy didn¡¯t release him the first time he came here. Instead the whole situation was a plot, in which the three mercenaries forced him to come and read the runes. That meant that whoever was behind this knew where this place was, and knew what was inside of it. If they knew that, then they probably knew why, he was sealed. Why someone with that information would want to free him? - Mm¡­ I see, so just one more thing before I¡¯m done with you guys. What¡¯s the name of the one who hired you? And I¡¯m talking about the one that hired you to follow this man, and bring him here. ¨C - I¡­ I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about! ¨C Screamed Roman. - Don¡¯t try to fool me. Just tell his name, before I start removing your entrails. ¨C Aaron looked at Roman while releasing his aura. The three mercenaries felt a pressure on their whole being. They felt terror, and an unimaginable fear. A fear that was penetrating to their very souls. - Ugh¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ Don¡¯t hurt us please, his name is S¡­ ugh! AAAAHHHH!!! ¨C After speaking the very first letter of what could only be the name of the employer, the three mercenaries started convulsing, and after no more than a second they were dead. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. - Shit! I should have known! ?¨C _Aaron punched the floor hard while regretting his own stupidity. A crater was formed in the place he punched. ¨C Of course he would have put a curse on them! ¨C He didn¡¯t sense anything weird on those guys. But of course what Aaron didn¡¯t take in consideration was that after a thousand years, the magic spells that were used, would evolve. And even as the curse was place on them, and they were right in front of him. As he had no knowledge of the type of curse, he didn¡¯t know where to look and therefore couldn¡¯t sense it. For what happened to them, it seemed that the curse was a high ranking magic. Aaron knelt close to them and started chanting some incantations, but at the end he couldn¡¯t recognize the magic that was cast over them. Which only left him angry. The one thing that he didn¡¯t expected, was that after being out, he would encounter strange magic. Now there was only one thing to do. Going to the place where the guy was lying on the floor he checked his chest. He discovered a burnt mark with the form of a crescent moon. Which was proof that he had freed him. But to free him, you needed to meet certain requirements. Only one of those who sealed him in that dimension, could free him. Only them or their descendants, the ones that carried their blood. Otherwise it didn¡¯t matter if you knew the ancient language, the magic would not react unless you had the same blood as them. Aaron knew they could be alive even if a long time passed. After all, you could use magic to stop aging. They could still die in battle. But it did not matter much, because no matter how many years have passed, at least one of them would still be alive. Things were getting complicated by the minute. It was time to wake Alex up, that was the name the mercenaries gave him, and hear his version of the story. Aaron stood near him and with a very particular spell, he magically slapped the guy from the distance. - Hey wake up! - After a few seconds the guy started to open his eyes, and looked at Aaron like he was some kind of ghost or demon. - Whoa! Who are you? What happened? And where are those hateful¡­ HOLY SEVEN, THE''RE DEAD!!!- When Alex looked at the almost dismembered corpses lying on the ground, he started to freak out. - Calm down I¡¯m not here to hurt you. Ok so look, I did not kill them¡­ well maybe I had something to do with their broken legs¡­ but let¡¯s not get sidetracked here. The point is I won¡¯t kill you unless you attack me or something, so relax. ¨C Said Aaron while trying to look the least threatening he could. Aaron stopped, as the more he talked, the more scared was the other guy. At the end he realized he was only confusing him. He was trying to think how to be friendly in this situation. Then he saw the other guy had already started to run away. Using his speed to get pass him, and stop him after a few meters. With the most soothing voice he could manage, he told him: - Hey I¡¯m not here to hurt you. By the way, I''m Aaron. Your name is Alex right? ¨C - Ho¡­ how did you my name? ¨C Answered Alex. - Well the dead guys over told me and¡­ - He couldn¡¯t finish his sentence, because Alex started running again. Aaron just wanted to ask him some questions, and know exactly who he was, plus his real connection with his awakening. But as it seemed things wouldn¡¯t be that easy, it was time to make them easy. - Catte! - Said Aaron. Suddenly from the ground erupted chains, gripping Alex¡¯s legs and making him trip, before they wrapped themselves around him and left him immobile. Aaron then again, with the most soothing voice he could get, told him: - Like I said my name is Aaron. And as long as you behave I won¡¯t hurt you, understood? - - Ok¡­ I understand. - Said Alex. - Ok Alex I want you to calm down, and tell me how you ended up in this cave. ¨C Aaron wanted information. - Look I¡¯m only an explorer, ok? After going everywhere trying to become famous, I ended up almost broke. With the last of my money I came to this province, following an old tale of a hidden place in this mountain. After three months I discovered this cave. To celebrate I got drunk and I bragged it at the bar. Today I woke up and Roman and his lackeys, the guys that are dead over there, they were telling me that I owed them some money form yesterday. To compensate them I had to bring them here. But they were weird. And when they saw the runes, they forced me to read them¡­ - - Whoa stop! Take it easy and get to point. Ok? ¨C ¡°It looks like if you let him, this guy could talk to you until you grow a beard¡± thought Aaron. - You wanted to know how I ended up here, am I right? ¨C Alex¡¯s mind was in turmoil. After what happened, he wanted to tell the right story, no matter how long it would take him. - Yeah, but I don¡¯t need to know what you ate last night. Just the important things ¨C Said Aaron. - Then let me finish, so where was I¡­ - - AGH! YOU KNOW WHAT, JUST SHUT UP AND FOLLOW ME. WE¡¯LL TALK AFTER GETTING OUT OF THIS PLACE! ¨C Shouted Aaron, then with his mid cancelled the chains. - Ok, but no need to yell at me. ¨C Answered Alex. ¡°For the mother of... This guy could make a holy man, curse him to death.¡± Aaron was now considering killing him, but sadly he couldn¡¯t. - By the way why were you in that crystal? Are there any treasures here? Do you have it in your clothes? Is that why you were trapped? Is it something expensive? You know I told you I¡¯m almost broke and bla bla bla... - Alex started talking again, but Aaron just ignored him. Advancing trough the cave, Aaron was dispersing the magic wards around the ceiling and the walls. Checking them he realized that, they were supposed to bring down the whole mountain against the intruders. It was lucky he spotted them so soon. After all, the wards would only be active in case of his awakening. He slowed down and started thinking, about this situation again. Connecting the information Roman and Alex had given him. - Hey what is your last name? ¨C Aaron had only one more thing to know. - My last name? That¡¯s¡­ eh Wright, I¡¯m Alex Wright. - Aaron doubted that, that last name didn¡¯t matched with any of the seven. And only a direct descending could free him. And unless the ancient language was common nowadays, which he doubt it, Alex¡¯s was personally taught the language by someone. - Mm¡­ Ok what I need from you now is to tell me everything you know about this land. ¨C Said Aaron. - What? ¨C Answered Alex. Aaron was ratter surprised that the only thing that Alex had found strange of their conversation was that question. - Well you see, I was trapped in another dimension probably for a long time. Now that you have freed me, I need to know what has happened in the world, in the amount of time that I have been gone. - - Another dimension? It makes sense¡­ and how long was that? ¨C Said Alex. - I don¡¯t know a few hundred years at least, tell me what year are we? ¨C Aaron answered. - Few hundred years at least? Seriously? Well here at the Moonlight Empire, we count the year¡¯s right after the foundation of the Empire¡­ - - The Moonlight Empire? ¨C It was Aaron¡¯s turn to be speechless. - - Yeah it¡¯s called like that because all the royalty has a tattoo of a crescent moon on their chest. They said the First Emperor had a birth mark of a crescent moon, and when his son ascended to the throne he tattooed a moon on his chest. Since then it had become a tradition. - Aaron kept quiet, the things that Alex was telling him were a lot to take in. He needed a drink, oh a drink yeah he would have given his right arm for a beer in that dimension. But now at least he knew something, he knew what had happened right after they betrayed him. Now there were some other things that Alex needed to know. - Ok, first look at your chest, second let¡¯s go somewhere else there¡¯s a lot to talk about and I could use a beer. I could kill for one¡­ not that I would of course ¨C Aaron added quickly after seeing the look on Alex face. Indeed Alex was scared because he was powerless against Roman, and it looked like Aaron had wiped the ground with him, literally. But the look on his face changed so fast, when he looked the burnt mark in the form of a crescent moon he now had on his chest. - Holy! I have a Crescent Moon on my chest, WHAT THE FUK IS GOING HERE? - - You only ask that now? Like I said there¡¯s much we need to discuss. So tell me what year are we? - Aaron said, thinking that at least two hundred years had passed. Nothing could have prepared Aaron for what came next. - We are at the year nine hundred ninety-nine ¨C Said Alex. Aaron had been trapped for almost a thousand years. CHAPTER 2 Hi there this is my first fanfic and english isn''t my native language, so expect some errors in grammar or in the storytelling. If you found any ill be glad if you let me know so i can fix them and improve. ..... A lot¡¯s of things define a good sword. Height, weight, balance and others. Just because a sword has a strange design, it doesn''t mean it''s a defective sword. Also a sword can react differently, according to the one who wields it. At this time, Aaron was holding a magnificent sword. A sword that could also fits his way of fighting. Yet, he was eyeing it with precaution. That was because of its last owner, the mercenary Roman. He couldn¡¯t believe a lowly mercenary like Roman, could afford a sword that good. Roman could have stolen it, at best case. But then again, if you can steal a sword like this, that means you are pretty good. And Roman was a mediocre mercenary at best. Aaron had been sitting looking at the sword, for the past five minutes. Alex decided it was time to tell him, something that he overheard from Roman. - Hey Aaron. I overheard Roman saying that his sword, was the payment they had received. Aaron looked up at Alex, and said: - And why didn¡¯t you told me sooner? - Because it wasn¡¯t relevant? Now, what was the thing we needed to discuss with such urgency? ¨C Answered Alex. Right after Aaron had found out that, almost a thousand years had passed since his imprisonment. He remained quiet, observing the cave. It was then he saw something especial about the sword Roman had dropped, and went to grab it. Now things made sense. He checked the hilt of the sword, and found out that a name in the ancient language had been recorded there. The name was ¡®Kezack¡¯, which meant ¡®Reaper¡¯ the harvester. This sword was a magical, very powerful sword. One that money could not buy. That only made the mysterious old man, much more mysterious. If he could give such a wonderful sword away to a mediocre mercenary. Again something wasn¡¯t right here, but then again that was something he would have to deal later. Aaron grabbed the sword and sheathed it at his waist, at his left side. He did the same with another sword this time at the right side of his waist. - Do you know where the nearest village is? ¨C Aaron said, while giving the last sword to Alex. Who did the same as him and sheathed it at his waist. - Of course, it is within a day from here. - Let¡¯s get going. We''ll talk in the meantime, you need to know what you''ve gotten yourself into Alex. - Fine, shoot me ¨C Alex was taking it pretty good. But Aaron knew that would change, once Alex had heard the whole truth. - First, tell how you found the cave. I seriously doubt you just found it by accident - Said Aaron. - Well, I left home because you know, my dad was kind of an ass. I wanted to discover something important and become famous, so much that he would had to acknowledge me. After wandering for three years, I ended up here at the Surka province¡­ - The Surka province? Wait never mind¡­ finish your story first. You can tell me about all the provinces of this Moonlight Empire later ¨C Aaron interrupted Alex. - Sure. As I was saying I ended up here at the Surka Province, and I remembered a story my grandfather once told me. It¡¯s called ¡®The Origin of Magic¡¯ and it goes like this: The legend goes that God created this world, and all the creatures in it. He created the humans to serve him, and other creatures for his entertainment. He was the owner of all magic, and a powerful being. But the humans were weak, this god was cruel to them. And they suffered from the Raks, which were a race that loved war. One day appeared a young man that fought back against the Raks, using the same magic that belonged to God. This of course made God angry, and he gave an order to the best seven human warriors. He armed them with magical weapons, and told them they have to kill the man that could wield magical powers. The young man fought with them and won, but chose to teach them magic instead of killing them. Together they fought the tyrant God, and sealed him away. After that, the young man got greedy and he wanted to seal all the magic, so only he could use it. They named him ¡®The Fallen¡¯, because of what he had tried to do. The rest of the seven fought with him and killed him, giving magic to the world and founding the Moonlight Empire. The power of ¡®The Fallen¡¯ was so great, that after the battle it¡¯s said the seven warriors buried him deep underground. In a remote place and since then, that place only had death surrounding it. So only a few nobles know this story, and since I heard about this ¡®Mountain of Sorrow¡¯ I check it out and¡­ - Alex couldn¡¯t finish telling his story. Because he was suddenly thrown to the ground, by the force of an explosion. Aaron was silent throughout the whole of Alex¡¯s story. Hearing all the lies about him that had been spread since his imprisonment, were making him angry. At the end, he couldn¡¯t suppress his rage anymore and punched the ground. A whole side of the forest that they had been walking since leaving the cave, suddenly disappeared. - Whoa Aaron what the hell! Wait¡­ the story¡­ don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re¡­ GOD? ¨C Alex was scared shitless. For a second there was a whole forest in front of them, and a second later there was nothing more than scorched earth. Alex comment only made Aaron laugh real hard. - Jajaja of course not idiot! If I would be god, do you think we would be having this conversation? - But, you were trapped in that crystal¡­ - Alex was confused. - Jajaja you fool. Can¡¯t you figure it out? I will tell if you tell me, what is the name of your grandfather? You said that only nobles know the story, so he must have been someone special. Am I right? - Well¡­ kind of, he was an historian. Linus was his name ¨C Alex didn¡¯t wanted to talk about his family, he didn¡¯t had a good relation with them. Except maybe his grandfather and his sister, those were other times of course. It looked like Alex was still lying about who he really was. But Aaron was ok with that, to him Alex seemed a bit silly but a reliable guy. And he needed information, there was so many things of the past thousand years that he didn¡¯t know. Especially about the Moonlight Empire, that was his target for now. - It''s ok if you don¡¯t want to tell me, who you really are Alex. I will found out eventually, but hey everybody is entitled to have some secrets, right? ¨C Aaron himself had some powerful secrets. That even back then, when he still trusted those guys, he didn¡¯t tell them. - Really? By the way, how old are you Aaron? ¨C Alex was curious about the age of this enigmatic character, that was right in front of him. Aaron looked young, plus he was good looking ¨C And if you¡¯re not God, then, who''re you? ¨C He already had an idea of Aaron¡¯s identity, but he wanted to be sure. In that precise moment Aaron felt something. It seemed that, explode an acre of a forest was a bad idea. - I presume you already know who I am, but you want me to say it. About my age I was¡­ I mean, I am twenty-two years old. Time was running short. - I¡¯ll make you a deal Alex. I¡¯ll tell you everything when, you tell me your real name. But we have to move now! To another village, There¡¯s people coming from the south. They are using magic to move faster, so I can sense them. They¡¯ll be here in approximately an hour. At the mention that people were coming their way. Alex forgot all the other questions he wanted to ask Aaron, they could wait. - They must be a division of the Empire¡¯s army! Since we are in a border province they have stationed regiments all over the place - Alex said while running around in circles. Alex was clutching his head in despair. If people of the empire, were to find him here, they would take him to his father. And knowing his father, he would rather get him executed. That allowing the family¡¯s name, suffer any shame. - Think fast Alex, where¡¯s the closest village? - The closest one is in the south, a day from here ¨C Answered Alex. - Then the second closest one, you fool ¨C The Empire¡¯s army must be stationed there. Of that Aaron was sure, given the direction they were coming. - It is over the east, two weeks from here. - That¡¯ll be enough, hold on tight! ¨C Aaron said as he grabbed Alex''s arm. Aaron started chanting one of the most annoying spells he knew, the teleportation spell. He didn¡¯t wanted to use it, but they had no other choice. People were coming and he wasn¡¯t sure that he could restrain himself and don¡¯t kill them all. Now the he knew what happened after his imprisonment, he wanted to stay as anonymous as possible. And he still haven¡¯t finished his conversation with Alex. - Hold on? Aaron, what are you talking about? ¡­ aaaahhhhhh!!! ¨C Alex screamed as they both disappeared. They reappeared in the forest, a week and a half away, in the east. From their previous location. The thing was that they reappeared over the trees, about fifteen meters above the ground. And as they were falling more than a few branches left them some bruises, thankfully the ground was full with dead leaves and grass. That somehow softened their fall. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. - Next time Aaron¡­ tell me before you do something like that, ok? ¨C Alex¡¯s body was hurting in places he didn¡¯t even know existed before. ¨C And you can teleport? That¡¯s so cool man. But why didn¡¯t you teleport us to the village, after leaving the cave? - Alex thought that walking was a waste of time when you can teleport. - Many reasons. One of those is that when you teleport, you feel like you¡¯re muscles were cut into little pieces, and glued after. It¡¯s hard to get used to that feeling, plus the farther you go the more magic consumes from you. And to make it worse you have to know the place you want to teleport before, or you can materialize in the middle of a building or something. That¡¯s why I teleported us above the trees. Aaron was tired, he had used too much magic in a short amount of time. He only had about fifty percent of his original magical power, and he didn¡¯t tell Alex that teleporting someone else with him required the double quantity of magic. It had been so long since he teleported, that his body hurt like if it was the first time. The two of them sitted near a tree facing each other, and they rested for almost an hour. After that, it was Aaron that broke the silence. - Look Alex here is the turning point, you have to make a choice. If you leave I won¡¯t bother you anymore, but you¡¯ll probably be found and executed because of the mark on your chest - Aaron was dead serious while telling this to Alex. ¨C However if you stay, I¡¯ll tell you what the mark means, plus I can teach you how to fight and wield magic. And I¡¯m talking about real magic. I''ll do it because you set me free, and you''re the only one I know at this time. So, what will be your answer? Alex looked at Aaron''s eyes, and saw the seriousness he had. He made his choice, he wanted to become stronger. To come back to his home and be so strong, that his father would no longer felt pity for him. For three years, he had achieved almost nothing. This was his chance. - It¡¯s obvious what I choose. I want to live, and if you can teach me magic I¡¯ll follow you. If you still want to know my last name, I¡¯ll tell you. But I need you to tell me yours. ¨C Alex realized that he never heard Aaron¡¯s last name. - My last name is Pierce and about yours, I already told you it''s fine. You look like a noble so I don¡¯t know why, but you don¡¯t have the tattoo of the crescent moon on your chest. That means you can¡¯t possibly be the Emperor¡¯s son. Other than that I do not care who you are at this time- Aaron would have killed Alex, if he were related to the Emperor. It was right that Alex was a noble, and it was also right that he wasn¡¯t the Emperor¡¯s son. But the reason he didn¡¯t have the tattoo, was because he left home before turning 19. The age when the nobles get the tattoo. Alex tried to explain this, but he stopped when Aaron started talking again. - Now, since you accepted the important thing right now is to train, so you can survive. We''ll begin to train your body, the next village is a few days from here. So well run and train on the day, and hunt and rest in the night. But first, I need you to tell me everything you know about magic. Aaron wanted to know if there had been changes in the concept of magic in the last thousand years. This was because back then, he and the people he taught were the only ones that could use magic. And it should have stayed like that. But the things that Alex told Aaron about the crescent moon tattoo and the fact that now, almost everyone could use magic. It could only mean that when Aaron was betrayed, the others went to the other crystal. ¡°They didn¡¯t release him. But it seemed that they altered the spell somehow, so now magic is a common thing. Those fools, the only thing they did was start humanity¡¯s doom¡±- Aaron had thought about this matter, on the way to the forest. - So, you¡¯re going to teach me like in the University Of Magic? ¨C Said Alex, when a smile appeared on his face. - University Of Magic? ¨C Aaron had never heard of such thing. - Ah sorry, let me explain. The University Of Magic was founded right after the Empire was born, the goal was to train people to be adept at magic. So they could fight against the Raks. The Emperor and the nobles of the First Houses, were the ones that taught them personally. - And why a University? ¨C Aaron asked - That¡¯s because you can only gain control of your magic when you are eighteen. Listen this is all I know about magic: You are not born with magic, at the age of fifteen you can tell if you can become a magician or not. At the age of eighteen you gain a conscious control of your magical powers. When you¡¯re nineteen you can enter the University, before that age you are just a teenager and you¡¯re not mentally capacitated to control magic. ¨C Alex took a break to remember more things. - That is all? ¨C Aaron was rather surprised, there were a lot of limitations to this modern magic. - No, I was just remembering¡­ the spells were created by the Emperor, from the ancient language. I know that because my grandfather told me so. Once you know the spell you can chant it in your mind, and according to how you visualize it, it can do many things. A one more thing magic depends on your mental state, so in the University they also teach you how to fight. The ones that graduate are called Battle magicians. Alex¡¯s dream was to enter the University Of Magic. But since he was weak, he knew he could never pass the exam. One of the main reason he left home before turning nineteen. - The University Of Magic¡­ that would be a place worth visiting. We should go there - ¡°A place made by them¡± Aaron was sure that there would be some clues in the University. - Really? Holy mother! The entrance exam to the University is in two months! Aaron you¡¯re the best friend ever! Uh ... we are friends right? Aaron looked at Alex before answering, at the end he thought that Alex was so weak that it didn¡¯t matter if he betrayed him. Should he betray him, he wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake twice. And he would just kill him. - Yeah¡­ I think we are, although the University can wait- Aaron watched the disappointment in Alex face and said: - You see, it¡¯s because of the crescent moon mark. The crystal in which I was trapped, is old and powerful. So powerful that when you trap or release something from it, you pay a price. And that¡¯s your magical power. When you trap something you get a mark of ahalf-moon on your chest like this one ¨C Aaron showed Alex, the mark on his chest ¨C And when you release something you get the crescent moon mark. - And what does it mean? ¨C Asked Alex. - The crescent moon mark means that the crystal took one-fifth of your magical power, and the half-moon mark that it took half of your magical power- Aaron was expecting Alex¡¯s reaction. - Wait! That means I''m weaker now? And ... you only have fifty percent of your power? ¨C Alex couldn¡¯t believe it, he was now weaker than before. And if Aaron was strong now, when he had his full power, he would have been a monster! - Magical power isn¡¯t everything in a fight, I still haven¡¯t told you a lot of things. But that¡¯s a conversation for another day. ¨C First let¡¯s run to the village, I¡¯ll show how you need to run and breathe. You won¡¯t get tired easily, and after a proper rest the amount of time you can run will increase - Aaron started stretching his sore muscles. After that Aaron taught to Alex, how to run and other exercises. After all they had talked, he wanted to get a move on. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. At the same time, to the west at one week and a half, days of distance from Aaron and Alex. There was a regiment of a thousand soldiers, observing. How almost an acre of the forest had disappeared. A general of the army that went to visit the regiment, had felt a great source of magic to the north of the place they were stationed, and came to investigate. He was accompanied by his daughter. When they got to the exact location they found nothing. - How come they are gone? Somebody can¡¯t just disappear like that, find them! That¡¯s an order! ¨C The face of the general, was red from rage. - Calm down father! The one that did this, was a high ranking magician. And I can feel another powerful magic, but I can¡¯t recognize it. - Joanna! As expected from my genius daughter. When you graduate from college you¡¯ll become a fine general. - There¡¯s still four years for that to happen father ¨C Indeed, Joanna was only nineteen years old. Soon she will begin his first semester in college. Joanna got down from her horse, and looked to the east. - The one that did this, must have been at least an ''A'' ranking magician. Every magic leaves a signature, since I can¡¯t recognize this magic, I can recognize him by his signature. - But to do that, you first need to find that magician ¨C Answered his father. Joanna looked at his father and said: - Who knows? ¨C She couldn¡¯t wait to get to college, and learn some powerful magic. Only two months, for the evaluation exam. CHAPTER 3 Hi there this is my first fanfic and english isn''t my native language, so expect some errors in grammar or in the storytelling. If you found any ill be glad if you let me know so i can fix them and improve. ..... Have you ever been in a dream so real, that you cannot tell it is a dream? And have you ever experienced something so unreal, that you think it is a dream? If so then, how can you tell that you are awake and not dreaming? It¡¯s because your brain tells you that you''re awake? But what if you can no longer think that your brain can tell the difference? Would you not be afraid to go to sleep? In the forest of the Province of Surka, one of the seven provinces of the Moonlight Empire, there was a young man that wasn¡¯t sleeping for that reason. His name is Aaron Pierce, and he was trapped in another dimension, for nearly a thousand years. In that place he couldn¡¯t age, or be hungry, but he could sleep. And when you sleep, you dream. All he could to not lose his sanity, was don¡¯t let go of those memories and dreams. Dreams of things that happened, things that could have happened. But most of all, dreams of freedom, freedom to get his revenge. It was already late perhaps one in the morning, thinking that he couldn¡¯t continue like this, as he had to sleep some time otherwise he would die. Aaron closed his eyes and dreamt. In the dream, he could see a woman with her back facing him. Saying ¡°Sorry Aaron, I¡¯m sorry, but we have to do this¡± over and over again. While trying to get to her, and turn her around, so he could see her face, the dream ended in darkness. Waking up and looking around, the first that he recognized was the snore that was coming from Alex, the young man that freed him. Laughing out loud at how easy he had adjusted to this new world thanks to the silliness of Alex. He got up and using a spell to solidify the air in the distance, and shaping it like his hand, he slapped Alex in the face real hard. - Wake up Alex! Time to get moving. - Couldn¡¯t you just wake me up like normal people do? ¨C Alex was rubbing his red cheek, looking at Aaron with murderous eyes. - I could, but it¡¯s so much fun this way ¨C Answered Aaron. Alex didn¡¯t complained much, as he was eager to learn magic and have his payback. The sun was coming up so the two started running to the near village. Aaron and Alex arrived at the village sooner than expected, in the village they asked directions to find the closest city from there. Using the teleportation spell, by noon they were already in the outskirts of the City of Bret. It was then that Aaron started training Alex. - Listen Alex this is what we are going to do, for the next month or so, I¡¯m going to teach the five basic things you need to know when you travel. Which are: how to fight, steal, hunt, cook and how to find water, we¡¯ll be focusing more on how to fight. - And what about magic? - We¡¯ll get to that later, first you need to be ready to survive in case we separate us somehow. About money obviously I don¡¯t have it, do you have any? ¨C Asked Aaron. - Yeah, I always keep 2 gold coins in a secret pocket in my shirt, in case of emergencies ¨C Answered Alex. - And that¡¯s a lot? ¨C Aaron was in the dark about the current currency of this time. - Mm let¡¯s see a hundred bronze coins makes one silver, and one hundred silver coins makes one gold. Most food cost about thirteen to twenty-five bronze coins, so at least we won¡¯t starve to death - Alex¡¯s secret money was in case he got robbed, he could buy some food. - Well, that¡¯s good Alex. Now I want you to go to the city and buy a tent and food to last us at least seven days. We¡¯ll camp somewhere near the river but far away from the city, in a place where we won¡¯t be disturbed. Aaron waited for Alex to comeback before going to find a secluded place where they could train. By the time they found a place that meets those conditions it was already night, so they built the camp and went to sleep till the next day. For the next month Aaron taught different things to Alex, following a schedule. On the day, he made Alex do exercises that would put him in a better physical shape. He made him do it to the point of exhaustion, then he would heal him with magic, so Alex could start all over again. Then came the fighting lessons that went from how to fight barehanded, to sword fighting. They sparred as often as they could, of course Aaron went easy on the fights and after some time Alex was improving. The hunting lessons were on the day and night. He taught him how to track and hunt animals, how important it was to know where you can find drinking water, and which plants were edible and which were poisonous. After the food ran out, they survived by hunting and cooking from small animals too deer¡¯s. On the night they went to the city, there he taught Alex how to move with stealth, how to blend with the crowd and to steal from people. Aaron¡¯s policy was to never steal from poor people, he thought that stealing was to be done only to gather information or as a last resort when you were out of money, so he never stole from people with scarce resources. One rule that Aaron had was to always stay clean. To take a bath every day, or at least as often as one could. This was because he couldn¡¯t stand being dirty and smelling bad, he picked up this habit in his travels across the continent. Of course when he was traveling there wasn¡¯t always an opportunity to take a bath, but if he had the chance to clean himself, he would take it. As a matter of fact the first thing Aaron did after finding the place to train, was to go to the river and take a bath. He even taught Alex that the very first thing to do when you got to a town, was to go to an Inn and take a bath, he even said that stealing to pay for it was ok. As Alex was a noble he had no trouble accepting this rule. He even agreed with Aaron. Then it came the time to teach Alex about magic. The reason Aaron was delaying this, it was because he was thinking of an appropriate way to teach him about magic. At the end he decided to try to see if Aaron could be taught the same way as the others. - Listen up Alex, now that your physical condition has improved, you¡¯re more prepared to learn magic. - And why is that? ¨C Asked Alex. - Because you can use magic to enhance your body when you fight, to move faster or to hit harder. But you are limited to the amount of recoil that your muscles can sustain, that¡¯s why it¡¯s always better to have a top physical condition ¨C Answered Aaron. - That¡¯s what you did back in the cave? ¨C Alex was wondering about the incredible speed that Aaron performed back then. - No that was my normal speed, I didn¡¯t needed to enhance my body with magic because¡­ you are slow compared to me. Anyways back to the point, since you already know the ancient language, learning magic will be rather easy for you ¨C Aaron took a break to sit down. - How many races are there Alex? - Four: humans, elves, dwarves and the raks ¨C Answered Alex. - And what do you know about them? - Let¡¯s see¡­ the elves are agile and talented in magic, they live in the east of the Empire. The dwarves can¡¯t use magic but they are so intelligent they don¡¯t need it, because they can create powerful artifacts, they live in the deep in the mountains at the south. The raks are physically strong and not many of their race can use magic, but what makes them so especial is their natural immunity to magic, weak spells just tickles them so you need some powerful magic to kill them. That¡¯s why the ones that know magic are very powerful and cannot be killed easily, they live in the north ¨C Alex knowledge about the other races was just like any other citizen of the empire. But Aaron of course was an exception, many things had changed since his imprisonment. And that included the humans, elves and the rest of the races. Back when he was born, no race but one, could use magic. And there was only one of them, the last of his kind. In the present it seemed that everyone could. That was the reason he was betrayed, so everyone could use magic. But that came with its cost, which was at best the slavery, and at worst the extermination of humanity. Now the reason why someone would want him out of the crystal after all those years, was starting to make sense to him. It was so he could finish what he started all those years ago. Aaron knew that the one they called ¡®The First Emperor¡¯ had freed some of the power, of the one that was trapped inside the other crystal he had found back then. That¡¯s why he had the crescent moon mark, and that¡¯s why everybody could use magic now. But that meant that the crystal was cracking, and sooner or later the one trapped inside of it, would be free. And if he managed to get out, his rage against those that put him in there would be unstoppable. Humanity would suffer for that reason. But things are never so simple, with the other races being capable of using magic. He didn¡¯t believed that the dwarves would be unable to use magic, seeing as the raks could. He was now the enemy of all of them because they would not give up his magic so easily, that was highly unlikely. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. - What is your last name Alex? - It¡¯s Avery, my full name is Alexander Avery Everton. I''m the next in line for the title of Duke of Avery. - And you ancestor was Marx Avery, I¡¯m I right? ¨C ¡°So it was he who sealed me. It makes sense as he was the weakest of the seven, sealing me would have given him power over the rest¡± Aaron thought. - That¡¯s right, my father rules one of the seven provinces of the empire. The Province of Esker on the south. The Central Province where the capital lies, is ruled by the Emperor ¨C Answered Alex. - So the legend your grandfather told you, it must the story that is passed from father to son about what happened all those years ago. After all this time the story became a legend, but why did your grandfather told you this and not your father? - Aaron was beginning to suspect of Alex¡¯s grandfather. - Probably because my father hates me since I¡¯m weak ¨C Answered Alex. - Well you won¡¯t be so weak much longer ¨C ¡°After I found out about something, I discover there are four more things that are unknown to me¡± Aaron thought. He was reluctant to tell Alex all his past, so instead he choose to tell him only the parts that would be of use in learning magic. The rest was a conversation for another time. - Listen Alex, magic is everywhere, in the air, in the ground, the plants, inside of you everywhere. You can only use the magic that¡¯s inside of you, aka your ¡®Magical Power¡¯, but you can replenish it by absorbing the magic that¡¯s around you. Everyone can perform magic, it¡¯s just that not everyone is talented at it. To use it, you only need to understand how things work. If for example you want to use a fire spell, you have to know how fire is created, and that¡¯s with three things: fuel, oxygen and heat. So you replace the fuel and the oxygen with your magical power, and you create heat by the friction of those two. The bigger and more complicated the spell, the more magic it requires. For example if your ¡®magical power¡¯ can be measured by the amount of ten, and to make a fire the size of your hand you need three, that means you can make three fires the size of your hand at the same time. But to explode an acre of the forest like I did back then, you need one-hundred of magical power, it means you can only explode a tenth of an acre. Of course that with meditating you can increase the amount of your magical power, but like I said not everyone can have a talent at that. The reason why before you could not perform magic, is because thousands of years ago there used to be a race of ancient beings. The name of their race remains a mystery, but they were the first ones to discover the concept of magic. They believed that magic was a substance that you couldn¡¯t see or touch, but you could feel it. They named that substance as ¡®mana¡¯. With that belief they performed a powerful spell to bind the so called ¡®mana¡¯, to their language. The one you know as ¡®ancient language¡¯, the spell worked and they succeed in binding the magic to their language. After that, if you wanted to perform magic, you not only needed to know all the things that I told you, you also needed to know their language. That race of ancient beings were powerful, yet they almost became extinct. In fact only one survived, the one called ¡®god¡¯ in the story your grandfather told you about. Back then, I had to discover their language from the ruins of the civilization of ancient beings. To do that I traveled from what it¡¯s now the Moonlight Empire to the territory of the elves, and from there to the territory of the dwarves and the raks. So now that you now the ancient language, you only need to learn how to control your magical power. So when you speak the language and use your magical power at the same time, you¡¯ll be capable of performing powerful magic. What I just told you is the work that took me years of my life, thirteen actually, from when I was eight years old till I was twenty-one. In that time I learned the things I taught you: how to fight, steal, hunt, cook and how to find drinkable water. So do you have any questions? ¨C Aaron managed to explain all that to Alex, taking a few breaks. - Yeah¡­ can you repeat to me the part about how to use magic? ¨C Alex¡¯s brain couldn¡¯t take all the sudden information, that Aaron told him. - Sigh¡­ it¡¯s best if I show how it¡¯s done first, and then I¡¯ll repeat it ¨C Answered Aaron. After that Aaron showed Alex how to manifest his magical your magical power, and how to meditate to absorb and increase the amount of magical power he could have. ¡­¡­¡­ Two days later, Aaron left Alex in the camp so he could to train, and went to the city, but it was the first time he was going there by the day. The reason was because he was tired of repeating the same things over and over again, and he needed a mirror and a razor so he could shave. He was planning to buy or steal the things, so he went with his hood up. Because it was the first time he was using the city doors, the guards stooped him. At night, he only needed to climb the walls to enter to the city. - Hold it right there, state your name and your reason for coming to this city ¨C Asked one of the guards. - My name is Aaron, and I just want to buy a few things here on my way to the University of Magic. After lifting his hood, the guards opened the doors and allowed him to enter the city. Inside it took Aaron about half an hour to get the items, after a quick visit to the tavern, he was ready to leave the city. When Aaron was approaching the city gates, he heard the guards having a discussion with three hooded figures. - Like a told you before, by the lord''s orders, if you don¡¯t lift your hood up, you cannot enter the city! ¨C It was the same guard that Aaron encountered the first time, when he came to the city doors. - We just want to go into town to resupply our things for our journey, will not take us more than an hour, and then we''ll go ¨C Replied one of the hooded figures, judging by the voice, it was a man. - Raise your hoods now! ¨C The guard said, as he drew his sword. It seemed that things were going to get bloody, as the ones that had hoods also drew their swords. In that moment Aaron felt something strange about them, there was a weird magical aura around them. He couldn¡¯t figure what kind of magic was, so it intrigued him. Aaron chose to intervene at that moment. - Hey guys, there you are! I have been waiting for you guys, for the past hour. The guard looked at Aaron and said: - You are the kid from before, do you know them? - Of course, we came from the same Province. We are all going to take the entrance exam to the University of Magic, so we were travelling together. It¡¯s just that I went ahead of them and got to the city faster ¨C Answered Aaron. - And why they don¡¯t want to lift their hoods? - That¡¯s why they are very shy, so usually I¡¯m the one that does the talking. So, can you let them in? We''ll be gone within the hour. The guard looked at Aaron for a while, before turning to the other three and say: - Fine, you guys can enter the city, but I want you all gone within the hour understood? After thanking the guard, Aaron took the three of them inside the city. He guided them to an alley, so they coudl talk without being heard by the anyone. Suddenly the same one that was talking to the guard before, took out his sword and said to him: - Who are you? And how did you know we were going to the University of Magic? - Me? I¡¯m Aaron, and I didn¡¯t know you were going there too. I said that, because I am going to the University of Magic and the city guard knew, since they asked me to tell them when I came to the city - Answered Aaron. - And why did you helped us? - Because it looked like you didn¡¯t want to reveal your identity, and that guard did the same thing to me until I lifted my hood. - You are lying! Who are you?! And how did you know where we were going?! - Like I told you my name is Aaron, and I didn''t know that... Aaron couldn¡¯t finish his sentence, because the man brought down his sword at him at an incredible speed. By reflex he dodged the man¡¯s sword by jumping back, a thing that surprised not only the man, but also their companions. After that, it was one of their companions, that said: - Amd¨ªr Wait, let me speak. It was Aaron''s turn to be surprised, not by the fact that the one that spoke was a woman, but by the fact that Amd¨ªr was an elven name. Now he knew the thing that intrigued him about them, it was because they were elves. - I¡¯m sorry for the behavior of my companion, but we have to know. Who are you? And why did you helped us? ¡°I have a shitty luck¡± Aaron thought. He had met with the elves earlier than he thought. Things were about to get interesting.