The Mark of Aether

The Lost Years~Part I

Fog misted my brain, darkness enshrouded my sleeping senses as my soul braced the lonely sparkle of light that still ran in my veins. I wondered if I died. If the end had already arrived, or if this was all a complete hallucination. If it was a bad nightmare.

I imagined waking in my small bed in the orphanage, Martha waking me up because I over slept, worrying I would be late for school. I remembered how I used to come late after a long day at school and my shift at Cassandra's fashion wear. Yet, in the most laughable possible reason, I wished to never go back to that life.

Despite the one thousand threats hovering above my head, the enormous weight resting on my shoulder, and the fear of never being good enough to sustain the need of my subjects, I still found this life more relieving. I found friends, love, and an old wizard who loved me with his entire heart like I was his own. And a father that is fighting death, yet protecting and watching me with every passing minute.

It was after voided seventeen years and half that I'd finally felt like I truly belonged.

Like I found home.

And the thought alone was enough to bring me back.

Warily, I stretched my hand, feeling the soot and burning dust brushing past my fingertips. My eyes fluttered slowly, weighing like a tone. Dust had stuck on my eyelashes, making it harder than what I imagined.

I crawled slowly, reaching for the mess of rocks scattered around me. Using one of them, I rose to my feet, my legs still shaking. My sides hurt and ached, every organ and tissue bleeding like hell. My limb felt like being cut by a razor while my upper body was so damaged I couldn't locate from where the pain came.

I scanned the landscape around me, my eyes moving from one pillar of rocks on one side to the frozen rivers of cooled lava on the other. I hoped to spot a tall silhouette wandering around, looking for me.

But Leon was nowhere near.

I removed my cloak--the white fabric was smeared with blood, dirt, and burned marks--and tore it to splits. My healing powers were out of reach as of the moment; my only chance to stop the bleeding was to wrap the wounds tightly. I stared at the blaring sun poising above my head, wondering how long had I been out.

Fear was starting to settle steadily in my heart. We were in a lost of time with the map most probably ruined after the explosion. Left in a dead land and with no remaining option, I started walking.

Hobbling through the destroyed remaining of a once mystical volcano, I carried myself. The place looked like the rest after the storm. The death after the battle. No life was present, no being, not even a corpse.

I waved from one side to another, begging to find one of my friends. As I walked, memories came back. Memories of our recent fight against the prince of darkness.

I felt rage, but in the same time, I wondered.

  What diabolic plan was he talking about? What meaning did his words held against the king? But most of all, what were his intentions from the sword he stole?

I was pacing around when I thought I saw a passing silhouette. Squinting my eyes and covering them with my hands, I stared straightly in front of me, happiness blooming inside of me.

"Leon!" I screamed out loud with a cracked voice, my dry throat burning. It was already close to noon, the sun casting burning rays on the bare skin of my shoulders. But I bore it somehow.

The shadow turned in complete haste, searching for the source of the sound. I yelled his name once again, waving my hands like a mad woman until he spotted me, a glimpse of what I thought was relief ignited in his eyes.