Dawn of the Darkness

Chapter 2 - Elisa

Rovia, 1255

trigger warning! 

Elisa stared into the eyes of Ameera Khan. Her orange iris' blazing with fury.

Ameera looked right back at her as the realization crept in. 

"YOU! you murdered my brother in cold blood." Elisa roared. She would never forget those green eyes and short black hair. 

Ameera crept back as far as she could go before hitting the cold stone wall. Luckily, there were bars dividing the two girls so Elisa wouldn't do something rash. 

"You don't understand!" Ameera stammered, with a thick accent. "It wasn't me!"

Elisa remembered that horrible day five years ago. 

Aria, 1250

Thirteen year-old Elisa was training in her favorite part in the Destined Forest. The trees were so tall in this part of the forest, they brushed the clouds. 

She was practicing stances with her sword, Hell Bringer, when she heard the warning.

"It's Tonhoui! The assassins are coming!"  A male voice shouted from the kingdom.

Tonhoui was an island west of Aria. The country was known for terrifying and bloodthirsty assassins. They usually came in groups, attempting to kill Queen Vail, who Elisa lived to serve. Queen Vail was a kind woman. She was always looking out for people and willing to die for her country. 

Elisa took off with a sprint. She had to get back to the town and protect her only family she had left. Her brother, Jax.

She ran through the forest Hell Bringer still in her right hand. She launched into the river she had swam in so many times before. The crystal clear water was up to her waist as she jumped and grabbed a low hanging branch. Sheathing Hell Bringer, Elisa reached the brink of the forest. 

She hit the streets, running. She could practically see her brother's small town house at the end of the street. Smoke clung to the air as houses burned and collapsed. 

She reached her old house just as her older brother came flying down the steps, drunk. 

"Elisa! Oh I've missed you!" he said as he crashed into a wall. "Are you here for a visit?"

"No. You need to get out of here." Elisa explained. "Tonhoui is here. You need to hide. Go in the basement and stay there until I say." 

Jax wasn't the best brother in the world but he tried. Before Elisa got accepted into the training academy for wielders, she used to live here, with Jax. 

If her brother didn't get his way, he would slap or hurt Elisa. When he sobered up, which was almost never, he would always regret his actions. 

She practically carried him down the steps and hid him under the basement in the stairs just as the door above came crashing down.

Elisa glanced at Jax and put a finger over her mouth to shush him. She grabbed Hell Bringer out of it's sheath and made her way up the steps. 

A girl no older than her stood facing her. She was covered in all black from head to toe. She wore a hood and a face mask over her mouth and nose. She had eyes so green it was almost like staring into the Destined Forest.

Elisa and the girl faced each other. The girl tossed her cloak back and revealed a terrifying selection of knives. She reached for one and moved closer to Elisa.

The two girls now stood directly across from each other, weapons out. 

Elisa struck first. She had been training with her sword for three years. She hadn't mastered her abilities yet so using them would be useless.

The girl met her strike with a powerful one, deflecting it. She slipped a dagger into her hand and threw it. 

Elisa yelled out in pain. The dagger had hit her hand with Hell Bringer in it. The girl grinned in satisfaction. It didn't take long for Elisa to realize this was suicide. The other girl was an assassin trained since she could walk. There was no way Elisa could defeat her. 

Elisa dropped her sword and ran towards the stairs. She had to reach Jax before the other girl did. She flew down the stairs three at a time. As she reached the basement, the smell of liquor flooded her nostrils. She ran towards where she left him.

He wasn't there.

She assumed he left out the back store while the girls were distracted. The assassin was coming. Fast. Her hand was still streaming with blood. She could hear her footsteps thundering down the stairs. Elisa remembered in horror that she left Hell Bringer upstairs. 

The girl was almost through the door. Elisa scanned for a weapon. She realized the only weapon were her abilities. She summoned all the power she could and watched her fingers blaze to life. Almost immediately, a huge wave of exhaustion washed over her. The flame danced along her fingertips and grew into the size of her hand.

The girl threw the door open and stared at Elisa. Her green eyes blazed in fury. She opened her cloak again and picked up multiple knives. She launched herself into a spinning motion that left Elisa frozen in shock. The assassin threw her knives in Elisa's direction. Elisa tried her hardest to summon as much fire as she could. She could feel her energy depleting. She thrust both hands out and made a wall of fire dividing the two.

The fire met the daggers head on. Elisa didn't have enough time to glance back and notice that her fire melted the daggers.

"What? No. That's not possible!" The girl said, surprised. Elisa could hear her voice draining as she ran for the Kingdom. She needed to find Jax and get him somewhere safe.

Rovia, 1255

Elisa tensed as the memories came flooding back. 

"I know what your thinking. Did you ever find the body? I'm assuming you didn't considering how he died." Ameera said with an emotionless expression.

"You killed him. You found him before me and killed him for no reason." Elisa answered. She couldn't believe she was even having this conversation. Ameera had obviously killed Jax.

"No." Ameera said.

"After the wall of fire you created" Elisa saw Elion's face twist into shock. She had almost forgotten he was there.

"It was spreading through the basement." Ameera continued. "I had to get out of there. I had just reached the door when I heard his screams."

Elisa's face fell in her hands. 

"You burned him alive."