Auric Chronicles

This is a blog for my WIP book. For more information, click on the 'What is the Auric Chronicles' link to the left. Any info you want that's not there, please, go ahead and ask! The link for that is in the same general location. Also I would appreciate it if you wouldn't reblog without my permission. I would like to spread the word about my book, but the chances of people stealing my ideas are very high.

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Well, this just might be happening...

So I stumbled across some amazing advice for writers today. I think I rebloged it. Not here though, on my main blog. Anyway, it has inspired me to do an epic revamp of most of this idea, because honestly, parts of it are pretty old and could use a rewrite. So I’m not sure if I want to stop posting chapters, or keep posting the crappy ones until I finish with the revamp and start over. Ugh, both sound amazingly complicated. Who knows. 

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Chapter 7: Fire

Mariea

         The vision faded, and Mariea ended up back in the empty void. “That’s all?” she asked the woman standing next to her, unable to hide her disappointment. The little bit of information she had gained didn’t really make sense to her. There was one thing that had caught her interest; the aura that they were creating as a cure to this new disease sounded very much like that of a demon aura. Could it be possible that the demons had once had a purpose? That they had once been creatures of good, instead of the mindless monsters they are now? She wondered, shaking her head, unable to believe it.

           “No, but that is all I can show you now,” the woman responded. She too seemed a bit disappointed that they couldn’t continue.

           “Alright. I will look forward to the next time then,” Mariea decided, trying to not feel impatient. She looked around, wondering what would happen next. Glancing back to the woman, she realized she was fading, and then the dream ended.

........                     

               Mariea woke to her alarm clock. Reaching up, she silenced the blaring annoyance and sighed, stretching. Bracken was already up; sometimes he left a little earlier to get an early start on the day.

           She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She felt as if she hadn’t slept at all, and was still groggy. Her mind dwelt on her dream. Part of her wondered if it had really happened, or if it had just been a normal dream. If it was just a dream, her imagination’s ability to create bizarre but surprisingly realistic stories amazed her.

            But part of her was sure it was real. It had been too vivid, and the story was too organized for a typical dream.

            Starting the day was difficult. Usually, she didn’t mind mornings, but the sleepless night seemed to drag at her as she tried to prepare. As her thoughts wondered back to the dream, she knew she would dwell on it a lot throughout the morning. She wondered who the woman from the dream was, and couldn’t help but think it ironic that she looked so much like herself.

           As the day continued she managed to put the dream out of her mind as she taught, but in between classes and during dull moments, she strayed back to it. She couldn’t help but think about how the woman had mentioned that whatever she was showing her would help her get through some sort of ‘turmoil’ in her future. She wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean; she wasn’t even sure she wanted to know.

           During lunch, she ran into Bracken, and decided to talk to him about it. She quickly explained the dream, and then waited to see what he would say. “It seems like just another dream to me. Something your imagination made up to pass the time. Isn’t that what all dreams are?” he mused.

           “I guess, but this dream felt like more…” she muttered, puzzled.

           “Maybe it was. I guess if you do have another similar dream, we’ll know for sure,” he decided. Soon after, he got a call and had to leave. She remained in the teacher’s lounge, thinking about the dream.

           Eventually, after she had mulled over it enough, she pushed it to the back of her mind and tried to focus on the remainder of the day. Every night afterward, she knew she would be waiting for a similar dream.

           The bell rang, starting yet another class. Mariea waited for everyone to sit down. They chatted excitedly, knowing what was in store for today. She smiled. She loved teaching, especially teaching first years. Their fascination with the elements always made her happy.

            “Today, we learn to light a flame,” she announced, starting the class. “You’ve learned the spells to protect yourself while you learn to control the flames, and you have all passed the test on them, so that means you are ready.” She had to pause to allow the excited exclamations pass so she could be heard again. Once it was somewhat quiet, she continued. “Now, everyone is going to need a handful of matches and a cup of water. It’s easier to start with something to light the flame on.” She gestured to the box on her desk, and cups filled with water next to it. She laughed inwardly at the irony; normal schools warn kids against playing with matches. This school used it as a teaching method.

             After everyone had some matches and a cup of water, she grabbed one for herself. Holding it up in front of the class, she started to explain how to light the match. “The flame you are calling comes from inside you. The flame you create is fueled by the fire of your life force and your will to live. When you use Fire Magic, you harness that natural energy with your aura and will it to light the match. This is why learning Fire Magic is the easiest; you naturally have the ability to create the fire.

             “To bring the fire to the match, you have to concentrate on bringing the heat and the oxygen to the fuel. If you concentrate hard enough, eventually, the match will light on fire.” As she said this, the match in her hand lit with a little flame on the end. “Over time, you will be able to call the flame faster, and it will become easier. You try now.”

              As the kids concentrated on trying to light their match, Mariea let the flame she had lit die, dipped the match in a cup of water on her desk, and then threw it away. Then she turned back to the class and watched them carefully, waiting to see who managed to light a flame.

             Nothing happened for a minute, but then a girl in the corner squealed, obviously surprised and happy. On the end of her match a small flame flickered back and forth. Soon after it had lit though, it disappeared. “Good,” Mariea praised. “You know why it died?”

            “Because I stopped concentrating on it?” The girl guessed as she dipped the match into the water.

            “Yup. Eventually, you won’t have to put much effort into keeping the flame alive. I can keep a flame that small going all day long without much thought. With practice, you’ll be able to do that.”

             Mariea watched as the students concentrated on their match. Some of the student’s faces almost made her laugh because they were concentrating so hard. Every time someone managed to light the match, there was always some sort of exclamation of happiness.

             Eventually, everyone had managed to make at least a small flame. Some people had ended up trying too hard and the flame and spread up their arms, but the spells they had set up earlier had protected them. Five minutes before the bell was going to ring, Mariea told them it was time to clean up.

             After they were cleaned up, a boy asked what they were going to do next. “After you manage to learn how to light and dowse the flame at will, then we will learn how to control the size of the flame. Then we will start experimenting with other things, like throwing flames, which we will use the lab for,” Mariea told them. Then the bell rang, and the class left.        

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Chapter 6: Elinore

Elinore

         Elinore walked down the street, her skirts clutched in one hand to keep them out of the mud, her books tucked under the other arm. She hurried, not wanting to be late. Walking to the end of the street, she turned and climbed the steps of an old schoolhouse, one that seemed unused, but was definitely operating.

           This school was the closest a girl could get to studying an actual profession. Most girls her age were already married, some with kids. Being nineteen, she was lucky she was still going to school. Because she was an Aurae, her life was definitely different than most girls her age.

           The one room school was filled with kids, most a little younger than Elinore. This was one of the final times she’d walk into this room, and she knew she would miss it. Graduation was only a month away, and then after that, the midsummer night’s festival, where she and the rest of her class would celebrate their new title as full-fledged Auraes.

           A couple of other girls stood in a corner, talking. She walked over to them, smiling. Elinore had met Shareece and Elizabeth on their first day of school together, and had quickly bonded. Since that moment, they had been together. “Hello!” she exclaimed happily as she joined the two.

           Shareece, the dark haired girl, replied by saying, “Good morning Elinore. How are you today?”

           “I’m fine. How about you girls?” she asked. Shareece nodded with a smile, telling Elinore that she was okay. Elinore looked to her other friend; she had auburn hair and lots of freckles across her cheeks. She looked pale today, making the freckles stand out even more. Seeing her red eyes and tired looking expression made her worry. So many people got sick in the colder months, and even though it was spring now, it was still cold, and would be for a few more weeks. Elinore had always known it was just a matter of time before one of the three got sick.

           “I’m fine… sort of. Just a cold,” Elizabeth answered, sniffling. I hope it’s just a cold were the unspoken words amongst the three. A cold shiver ran down Elinore’s spine.

           “Well, I hope you get better soon. Graduation’s coming up! You can’t be sick for that!” Elinore said, trying to lighten the mood by talking about something positive. Just then, someone behind her began coughing violently. Elinore tried to ignore it, but couldn’t. She turned to see a younger boy standing behind her. Every cough racked his whole body. His face was turning red, and it looked like he was struggling to breathe. The teacher came up and led him out of the building.

           “I hope I don’t end up feeling like that,” Elizabeth muttered, her worry plain in her voice.

           “You won’t, Ellie. You’ve only got a cold,” Elinore muttered, trying to sound firm to reassure her friend, but she didn’t even convince herself. That was the fourth student who had left the school coughing like that. The first one had died last week, his aura completely drained, with no explainable cause. The other two hadn’t returned. Now, another student was missing from the small classroom.

           It was strangely silent in the one room school. No one dared talk about the boy, it was too frightening, but no one wanted to return to their previous conversations and seem like they didn’t care about him.

           Eventually the teacher rejoined them, looking tired. She motioned for everyone to take their seats, which they promptly obeyed, grateful for the distraction.

           “Students, I have something very important to tell you. No doubt you’ve noticed how many kids have been leaving the school sick. This is because recently a new disease has developed. It’s highly contagious. Those who have it are being quarantined, but we can’t seem to control it, even with quarantining.

           “I have a list of symptoms, I’ll have it here on my desk; if you have any of these symptoms, please, let me know right away. Even if you think it’s just a cold. Until we know more about the disease, anyone with any of the symptoms must stay away from other Auraes. All we know now is it seems to drain a person’s aura, and is fatal. I don’t mean to scare you, but we may be on the verge of a plague. Luckily, those without an aura seem unaffected, as the disease affects the aura. That is all.”

           Elinore glanced at the people around her, wondering just how many of them would get sick. She had heard of plagues before, and the thought of one happening now terrified her. Plagues were nasty things. The Auraes were young and their numbers few; a plague could wipe them out overnight.

           She noticed Elizabeth go to the teacher’s desk, and then she went to the teacher, whispering quietly to her. Then she turned and left the schoolhouse. Elinore noticed as she walked past, she looked like she was on the brink of tears. Does she have it? Is Ellie going to die? Elinore thought. Then another thought had come to mind; she had spent a lot of time with Elizabeth the last couple of days. Was she going to get sick now? And what about Shareece? She too had spent plenty of time with Elizabeth. Would she get sick too? Her thoughts raced with millions of questions for the rest of the day, making it difficult to concentrate on her studies.

           Eventually, the grandfather clock in the corner chimed, letting everyone know it was three o’clock. The teacher dismissed the class. Elinore gathered her few belongings and walked out the door. She stayed clear of the other students, afraid that if Elizabeth was sick, and she had gotten it from her, she might make more people sick. She went straight home, where she wouldn’t have to worry about getting sick; the rest of her family didn’t have auras.

            Just weeks later, the sickness had escalated to a full-fledged plague. Auraes fell sick left and right, and everyone was getting extremely nervous. Elinore sat in class again, looking over their shrinking numbers. There were only 12 kids left, her and Shareece amongst them. Elizabeth had fallen sick with the plague, as Elinore had worried she would.

           The teacher was talking in front of the class, but Elinore couldn’t concentrate. Suddenly the teacher started coughing. Not her too! She stood to help her. Soon after the disease began to spread, the teacher had asked Elinore, because she was the oldest student, to help the students who fell ill if the teacher couldn’t. She figured that included the teacher. Careful not to stand too close, she led the pour woman outside, where she had no clue what to do next.

           “Just… go back inside… I’ll…  I’ll be alright,” her teacher huffed as she attempted to catch her breath after she stopped coughing. “Please… I don’t want to get you sick.” Unsure of what else she could do to help, Elinore slowly turned back to the school. How many more will I see fall? How are we supposed to stop this? She thought as she stared at the small, half empty room.

           “Is she alright?” one boy asked. He was one of the older students. She recognized his dark hair and gray eyes; his name was Densin, one of the kids approaching graduation along with herself.  

           “She says she’ll be fine. Just a cold. I guess… I guess we can go home early. I don’t know. I doubt she’ll be teaching us any more today,” Elinore answered. Or ever, she added to herself, but then quickly pushed that thought away, unwilling to believe the people that were sick wouldn’t get better.

           “Another teacher will be assigned to your school,” a man’s voice said from behind Elinore. She turned towards him, just a bit surprised. He was tall and strong looking, with thick brown hair. He had a short, well-trimmed beard like most men his age, and a thick mustache. All of the hair hid most of his face, but she could see his green eyes. Elinore quickly recognized him as an Aurae when she sensed his aura.

           “Do you know what’s going on mister?” one girl asked, sounding a little frightened and confused.

           “I do. In fact, I think I may have an answer to this increasingly problematic disease. That’s why I came here, and my timing seems perfect. We need young people with fresh auras to help us in our experiments. Every able bodied person who is willing to help must do their part. I am here to help gather the Auraes. Now, who is willing to help?” he explained.

           The room remained quiet for a moment. Then, Densin stood and stated, “I will gladly help.”

           “Thank you my boy,” The man said with a wave of his hand, gesturing for him to join him by the door. “And what would your name be?” he asked.

           “Densin. Densin Jones,” he answered as he walked to the man’s side. Elinore smiled at the boy’s bravery.

           “I would like to help too,” Elinore announced, taking courage from Densin. If it meant she could save her friends who had fell ill, she would do whatever they asked them.

           The man nodded. “Anyone else?” Eventually, there were six of the twelve standing by him. He seemed to get more and more excited every time a new person joined them. The other six were unwilling to help.

           “Alright, come with me. The rest of you can go home; tomorrow your new teacher will be here.” The man turned to leave. The six kids that said they would help followed him out. “Your parents will be notified. They already know we are looking for volunteers. After today’s work, if you’re still willing to help, then you will move into the facility, and stay there until we no longer need your help. Understand?” Elinore nodded along with everyone else. “Good.”

           They walked for about ten minutes. When they reached the edge of the town, the man turned down a path that led to the surrounding forest. After another twenty minutes, they came to a big, brand new building. It had been hastily made, and Elinore could see that the building was actually made out of the surrounding landscape, complete with clumps of grass and shrubs, and what looked like pine needles imbedded into the walls and roof. They must have used Elemental Magics to create it, she thought, recognizing how the land had bended to create the building. I would have liked to see them make it. That would have been amazing.

           There were no windows, making Elinore wonder how they lighted the place. She knew that it would be hard to keep the place light enough to work with only candles. The Auraes had left a small walkway of earth that lead to the door. The doorway was small, only big enough for one person to enter at a time. There was no actual door; the entrance was just covered with an old blanket.

           The group walked through the entrance one at a time. Inside, Elinore looked around in surprise; the room was as light as midday, though she saw no candles. Looking up, she saw a swirling ball of light that pulsed many different colors floating against the roof. Despite the brightness, it didn’t hurt her eyes to look at it, almost as if the light dimmed when she looked at it. “What’s that?” one kid asked, pointing at the ball.

           “It’s our version of the sun. We created it with our auras, so we wouldn’t have to worry about light. As you can see, the building lacks windows, so it was the easiest solution for lighting,” the man answered. Elinore stared at the ball with amazement, wondering how they had created it. “Come along, we have work to do,” the man added, so she reluctantly tore her eyes from the ball of light and followed him and the rest of the group.

           Looking around, she saw a large group of Auraes completing multiple tasks. They worked on tables, or at desks, all doing something hastily, their stress and worry clear in their faces and actions. They ignored the group and kept working, obviously very busy. She couldn’t help but wonder what they were doing.

           The group followed the man to a smaller room in the back where there were more kids her age sitting on the floor. He told them to join the group on the floor, so she did. After finding a place to sit, she looked around. She knew none of the kids, except for the five that had come with her. After quickly counting, she concluded there were around forty kids.

           “So, what do you think they need us for?” A boy next to her asked. She turned to see it was Densin.

           “I have no idea,” she answered with a shrug. “I hope we can help though.”

           “Yeah, me too,” he agreed.

           After a moment of silence, she said, “You know, I noticed back when that guy was looking for people to help, no one seemed to want to volunteer. You were the first one. You gave me the courage to help, and I’m pretty sure you helped everyone else that volunteered. I just wanted to thank you for that. It seemed so easy for you.”

           “Oh…” he muttered, blushing a little. “Well, my dad’s a doctor. He does his best to help people. I’ve always wanted to be like him.”  

           “Well you’re good at it,” Elinore complimented with a smile. He smiled back, just as the man from earlier called for their attention. Elinore turned to listen.

           “Thank you again for coming,” he began, “Let me introduce myself. I am Dr. Redro. You will meet several other doctors why you are here. We have been working on a cure for the disease that has been plaguing us for the past month.

          “As you already know, we brought you here to help. We needed younger people with fresh auras to help speed things up. Plus, we may have found a cure—which will be explained to you later—but we are having trouble getting it to work. It has to be grafted to an aura, but all of the people we have tried connecting it to have either died, or rejected the change. We have concluded that those with more developed auras can’t accept the change; their aura has already developed its different abilities and the change is too drastic.

           “Younger people haven’t developed their aura as much, making it easier for them to accept the change. We are looking for auras with no chosen specialty. Some of you may have that aura. That is why you were brought here. Doctor Ashcroft will explain the cure in more detail.” Dr. Redro backed away and a woman stepped forward.

            She was surprisingly tall for a woman, with hazel eyes, brown hair, and a determined, strict look to her face. Elinore could tell that she cared deeply for the people she was fighting to save just by listening to her explain the cure she had helped create. “The cure is what you might call an artificial aura; we created it. The first to have this aura will have to have it grafted onto their current aura, as Dr. Redro explained. This new aura has the ability to take the sick person’s aura, leaving just enough for the person to survive. Then, the Aurae with this new ability can purify the sick person’s aura, ridding it of the disease, and then return the aura to its owner. After plenty of tests, we have proven this outcome.

          “Now, all we need to do is give this aura to a person, so they can start the healing process. We plan to give it to multiple people, but only certain auras are compatible. As we speak, Auraes are spreading out through the known world, searching for more people with these auras.” She paused to let this information sink in, and then added “Any questions?”

           “How does the purifying work?” One person asked. Elinore too had wondered what it was like.

           “It works kind of like a spell. When the one doing the purifying takes another person’s aura, they see the aura in their mind, like you would a spell. The sickness is like a dark, dead spot in the aura. The cure repairs this damaged spot, restoring the aura to health. Does that answer your questions?” The person nodded. “Any other questions?” No one said anything.

           “Good, let’s get to work,” Dr. Ashcroft instructed. “To start off with today’s work, each of your auras will have to be tested to see if they may be compatible for the grafting. We will start with that now. Dr. Redro will take all of the boys into that room; all of the girls will stay here with me.”

           Next to Elinore, Densin stood up as all of the other boys did. “Good luck,” he whispered to her.

           “You too,” she whispered back. She watched all of the boys leave, and then waited for her instructions.

           “Alright girls, line up in front here,” Dr. Ashcroft said. They stood and did as they were told. “Now, one at a time, I’ll call you off to the side and scan your aura. We’ll start with you,” she said, pointing to a girl at one end of the line. She walked over to where Dr. Ashcroft was headed. Elinore noticed another woman standing nearby with piece of paper. She seemed to be writing down things Dr. Ashcroft told her.

           Elinore silently waited her turn, trying to keep herself occupied by tracing the embroidery on her dress with her finger. After what seemed like forever, it was her turn. She walked over to Dr. Ashcroft and the other lady. “Alright then, I need you to let your aura be free, so I can read it,” the doctor told her. Elinore nodded and allowed her navy blue aura to swirl around her. Dr. Ashcroft’s maroon aura alighted too, and she closed her eyes. A sensation like bugs crawling across her skin washed over Elinore. She tried not to shiver, but the feeling freaked her out.

           Eventually the feeling subsided, and Dr. Ashcroft opened her eyes. “You’re aura won’t work,” Dr. Ashcroft informed her.

          “Oh,” Elinore muttered, feeling deflated. “Why not?”

          “You seem to have quite the proficiency in the Elemental Magics,” Dr. Ashcroft explained. “Don’t worry though, you can still help us, if you are willing. We need more Auraes to make the cure. You could stay and assist.”

          Elinore brightened. “I will, then,” she accepted. Dr. Ashcroft nodded and thanked her. Elinore walked over to where the other girls who went before her were standing.

           After a little while longer, they were finished and all of the kids regrouped into the first room. As they were told to sit, Elinore looked for Densin, him being the only other person here she knew. She didn’t see him, so she just sat on the side.

           She looked over the crowd, wondering where he was. Just then he walked into the room. He stopped and scanned the crowd, looking for someone he knew. His gaze found her and, seemingly deciding she was the only one he knew, he came and sat next to her. He seemed excited; she could see it in his eyes. “My aura will work,” he whispered as he sat down.

           She smiled at him, and then turned back to the two doctors standing at the front of the room as they began to talk. “We have a list of those who can help us. The rest can stay to assist in the tests if they want. Anyone who isn’t willing to help anymore can leave now; there will be a man at the door to escort you home. Know that this process is not risk free; there is a small chance that your aura could still reject the change.” She glanced over at Densin, wondering if he was worried at all. He seemed content to risk himself to help others; this, and the fact that no one left, made Elinore smile. She was glad so many were willing to help those who were sick, no matter what happened to them.

           Dr. Ashcroft smiled, obviously noticing that no one got up to leave, as Dr. Redro continued. “Thank you again for your help. Those that have been informed that your aura will work, come with me, I’ll escort you to collect your belongings, and set up your living space as you work here. The rest will go with Dr. Ashcroft and others.”

           Three days later, Elinore rushed to her work space, already behind, even though she had been working hard all morning. There was so much to do, and so little time to do it. As much of the cure needed to be made as possible, and creating even one drop was a long and grueling process.

           She was tasked with storing finished cures or taking them to one of the many doctors. Dr. Ashcroft had just informed her that they were ready to attempt a graft, so Elinore was taking a bottle to the awaiting doctors at the grafting area.

           She walked faster, her excitement making her hurry. She thought of all of the people at home and around the world that were sick that she was helping, especially the people she knew personally. Ellinore. Her teacher. Shareece, who she had heard had fallen sick just yesterday. This is for them, she thought as she slipped under the blanket separating the grafting area from the rest of the work space.

           She headed over to a doctor standing in the corner. “Here,” she said, handing the doctor the cure.

           “Thank you. Could you stay and assist me?” the doctor asked as he took the bottle.

           “I was told to, if you need me,” Elinore answered. Even though she was here to help, she felt a little nervous; she knew they hadn’t yet completed a graft, and she really didn’t want to be present if something went wrong. She didn’t know what she would do if something bad did happen.

           The doctor nodded, happy for her help, and then said, “Alright, we’re ready; bring him in.” A nurse lifted a corner of the blanket and Densin walked in. This surprised her a bit. She hadn’t expected to know the person they were attempting a graft on. She couldn’t help but wish it was somebody else, in case something did go wrong.

           The doctor told Densin to lie on the table in the middle of the room. “We’re going to have to strap you down. It’s just a precaution, don’t be nervous.” Densin nodded, accepting it easily. The doctor wrapped a strap around his arms and legs, pinning him to the table. Elinore couldn’t help but wonder what could happen that would make the straps necessary.

           She walked to the side of the table and stood at his side. Densin noticed her and grinned. She smiled back. He seemed nervous, but excited. Suddenly, she was worried. It made her bight her lip, and she had to look away from Densin, not wanting him to see her worry. Instead she watched the nurses prepare silently around her. Why am I so worried? These doctors know what they’re doing. She shook her head, forcing herself to believe Densin would be fine.

           The doctor turned to her and handed her some gloves, distracting her from her thoughts. “Here, put these on, and put your hair up. The process tends to get a little messy sometimes; these should protect your skin.” He said it quietly enough that Densin wouldn’t hear him. Elinore nodded. As she quickly pulled her blonde hair into a tight bun on the top of her head and pinned it there, she couldn’t help but think that those sometimes where probably when it went wrong, and probably the reason for the straps. She then pulled on the gloves. They were long enough to cover the cuffs of her sleeves, keeping her hands and arms completely covered.

           The doctor stood next to her, studying the bottle. With a sigh, she heard him mutter, “I hope this works. Please let it work.” She could see now that he was nervous. Not a good sign… she thought. “Alright then, let’s get started. Densin, whatever happens, you must follow every instruction I give you, or something could go wrong. Understand?” Densin nodded, looking a little more nervous. She could tell though, no matter how scared he got, he was going to go through with this. She respected his strength, and willingness to sacrifice himself for others.

           She moved around the table to stand near the doctor, hoping that she could help Densin. She wanted to tell him that everything would work out, but she wasn’t sure it would, so she just smiled, trying to hide her nervousness.

           “Hold this.” The doctor handed her the now open bottle. She took it in one hand and looked down at the swirling liquid. It was a murky green color, and shone with its own light. “Densin, let your aura be free,” the doctor instructed. He nodded, and a blue gray mist surrounded him. The doctor sighed one more time, and then allowed his own aura to come alight. Its yellow glow lightened up the room. One by one everybody else except Elinore stood around the table with their auras alight.

           She watched as the doctor reached into the bottle holding the cure and seemed to grab it, his yellow aura swirling around the liquid and holding it in place in his palm.

           Together, the Auraes surrounding Densin started chanting a few words in the Auric language. The cure slowly spread from the doctor’s hand to surround Densin in a thin mist, encasing his aura with him. They started chanting a few more words, faster this time. In her mind, Elinore too repeated the words over and over again.

           She didn’t realize it, but the power in the make-shift room and the words she chanted had brought her aura to light. It swirled around her, adding to the other’s auras. The doctor glanced at her once, a look of surprise on his face, and then turned back to his work. She didn’t understand the look, but didn’t think twice about it as she watched them work.

           As they added the new words, Elinore watched as Densin’s aura slowly started to blend with the cure. As it did, his face contorted with pain. “Is he all right?” she wondered out loud.

           One of the nurses standing next to her stopped chanting briefly to say, “This is normal.” She nodded, even though she was unconvinced, and even more worried.

           Their chanting changed once again, and the line between Densin’s aura and the cure blurred more. He hissed in pain, squeezing his eyes shut. She reached out and gently placed her hand on his arm impulsively, suddenly needing to stop the pain, to comfort him. He briefly opened his eyes to look at her. As best as he could, he reached for her hand, but the straps prevented him from taking it. She wrapped her hand in his. He held on tight to her hand, needing something to ground him. He squeezed his eyes shut again, fighting the pain. Please let this work, she thought, repeating the doctor’s words from earlier, now with a more desperate note to them. Let him be okay.

           As the chanting continued, and the cure and his aura became one, she could tell every second for Densin was pure agony. She squeezed his hand, silently telling him that she was here for him. His breathing became ragged, and he moaned weakly. When he started thrashing back and forth, she understood what the straps were for. She glanced at the doctor, wondering if this was all supposed to happen. The doctor still looked nervous, but determined, so she hoped everything was going as planned.

           As the last of the cure and Densin’s aura blurred together, the chanting stopped and he sighed in relief. For a few minutes, he lay still on the table, his eyes closed tightly. The only signs that he was still alive were the warmth in his hand and the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Her heart skipped a beat. “Is he okay?” she asked again.  

           “I’m… alright,” he whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear. She sighed in relief. He opened his eyes and looked at her. Their eyes met, and she could see the relief in his eyes, and his gratitude. She smiled. Thank you for staying. For being here, with me. She heard the words, but he hadn’t said a thing.

           She blinked in surprise. What was that? She thought.

           I’m not sure, but I think because you were touching me as the change happened, our auras created some sort of connection. I can hear your thoughts, and you mine, Densin replied.

           Oh… She wasn’t sure how to feel about the realization. She panicked for a brief moment, not sure she wanted such a connection with somebody. Hopefully it’ll wear off, she told herself, not wanting to worry about it too much.

           I don’t know that it will, Densin told her, surprising her again. She had to try really hard not to jump every time she heard his thoughts in her mind.

          Oh… she repeated. She hadn’t expected him to hear that. Deciding they’d figure out the details later, she changed the subject. Well, you’re welcome. I felt I had to stay.

          He smiled a little. I know. I felt it. If you hadn’t have stayed, I don’t think I could have survived. That was the worst thing I’ve ever felt in my life.

           The doctor moved closer to remove the straps binding Densin to the table, so Elinore let go of his hand and backed up to stand outside of the group of people, up against the blanket wall. Free of the binds, Densin carefully sat up, seeming a bit dizzy. He stared at his aura swirling around his body, which was now a gray green color.

           “How do you feel?” the doctor asked. Elinore could tell he was struggling to hide his excitement.

           “Sore and absolutely exhausted… but something’s different.” Besides the fact that I can hear your thoughts, he added silently.

           The doctor nodded vigorously, absorbing this information, and then pressed for more details. “What else has changed?”

           “I feel… stronger somehow… and I can see better; hear better too. It’s like the new aura enhanced my senses,” Densin explained.

           The doctor nodded again, smiling. “An extra bonus. It seems that the aura benefits you as well. Now to see if the cure will work.” His excitement was obvious now. He seemed ready to rush Densin off to work, but then he paused, and frowned slightly. “I should give you time to rest first,” he muttered, half to himself. “Take a day or two, and then if you’re ready we’ll get to work.”

           Densin nodded. “I’ll be in my room then,” he informed them, and then attempted to stand. He swayed on his feet for a moment, visibly shaking from exhaustion, before falling back down onto the table with a thud. He sighed, almost in embarrassment, and said “It seems like I’m going to need some help.”

           “Elinore, take Densin back to his room,” The doctor instructed absentmindedly. He had turned from the two and began an excited conversation with the nurses, already discussing the next graft.

           Elinore nodded, smiling slightly at the doctor’s scatterbrained ways. As she walked to Densin’s side, he let his aura fade. She gasped and stopped, noticing another change that she could see now that his aura wasn’t alight, glowing against his skin. He abnormally pale. What? he thought, sounding surprised.

           You’re so… pale, she replied.

           Really? I wonder if it’s permanent. Is it a bad thing? Am I… creepily pale? He wondered.

           Even though he was weirdly pale, she didn’t consider it creepy. No, just really pale. I like it. When she realized what she had just thought, she hoped he hadn’t heard the last part, but she doubted he would have missed it.

           He smirked. Nope, I didn’t miss that. She blushed. His smirk turned to a smile. I like it when you blush. He thought playfully. She blushed more, and he tried not to laugh, knowing that the doctor and nurses would probably think something was wrong with him if he randomly started laughing.

           She walked the rest of the way to his side. He slipped his arm around her shoulders. She wrapped her arm around his middle to support him. She helped him to his feet and started leading him to his room as he directed her.

           As she helped him stay on his feet, she tried not to blush again, still thinking of their previous conversation. She tried to hide her thoughts, but she noticed his grin. She knew he was enjoying her attention. “This is going to be weird, she grumbled.

            I know—I’m going to know everything you’re thinking. Even the things you don’t want me to know, he agreed. He seemed to think speaking about their new connection out loud wasn’t a good idea, so she followed suit and spoke to him mentally.

           That’s if it’s permanent. I guess if it is, we’ll figure something out. Maybe there’s a way to keep our thoughts to ourselves, she thought hopefully.

           I hope so. It’ll be strange knowing your every little thought, and you knowing mine, he agreed. I’ll look into it, after I sleep for a few days.

           She laughed a little at the last part. For a few days? Don’t you think that’s a bit long? She teased.

           “Seriously, I think I could sleep for two years, if given the chance,” he joked, slipping back to spoken words as to not confuse people with their laughing.

           This time, she laughed openly. “I don’t believe that.” He laughed with her.  

           When she reached his room, she helped him sit on his bed. “Well, I better go. There’s a lot of stuff I still have to do,” she said. He nodded, sinking down onto his bed. She stayed for a minute more, making sure he would be okay. I’ll be fine… Go… ahead and get… back to work, he thought groggily, as if he barely had the energy to tell her.

           Okay. Sleep well. As she slipped out the door he was already asleep.

           She walked back to the grafting room, not sure what else to do. The doctor was the only one still there. “Elinore, I’m glad you came back. I need to talk to you.”

           “I’m listening,” she invited politely, curious as to what the doctor wanted to tell her.

           “As we started the graft, I noticed your aura came alight. You were helping us; I could feel your power. You’re lucky nothing went wrong, because you aren’t trained to do the grafts.” He seemed a bit irritated.

           “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean too. My aura just did it on its own. I didn’t realize thinking the words was enough to take effect,” she explained apologetically.

           “Well, it’s okay now. I think you may have actually saved the boy. He wasn’t doing very well. I could feel the change tearing him apart, like every other graft had done to every other person. Your extra power must have been just what we needed.” She stayed silent, not knowing what to say. After a moment, the doctor said, “I want you to train to help with the grafts; I think you have a gift, Elinore.”

           She smiled, “Thank you sir. I will.” Helping with the grafts will be a lot better than helping elsewhere, she thought, excited. Especially if they keep working out so well.

           “Alright, I’ll get you a trainer. You can start tomorrow,” The doctor instructed with a smile. She nodded, happy that she could help more.

[auricchronicles-blog]

Chapter 5: Freedom

Nalia

Nalia sat in her room, hungry and tired. Just as the woman had promised, not taking the bottled auras brought to her meant less food. Even when she hid the bottles or opened them and left the empty bottle on the tray, they knew she hadn't drank it. She figured they could tell because her aura remained pure. Whatever the case, Nalia was running out of ideas, and food, so she decided to try and stop the madness. Escape attempts hadn't worked—she had already tried several times—so her only other option was to convince them their methods weren't working. Well, I hope this works, she thought as she made up her mind on her plan.

Usually her food was simply slipped in the little slot at the bottom of the door, but sometimes the woman would bring it in when she wanted to talk with Nalia. The next time she came to the door with her dinner—which had diminished to half a piece of plain bread, a sip of water, and the aura—Nalia walked up to her and informed her, "You might as well give up, I won't drink the aura. I never will. You'll be forced to starve me." She was pleased her words sounded strong and defiant, despite how nervous and weak she really was.

The woman sighed and told her grimly, "I'm sorry to hear that, and I'm guessing the Darkray will be too." She handed the tray to Nalia, and then backed out and shut the door.

Nalia sat down and slowly ate her measly dinner, wondering what the Darkray would do next. When she was finished, she was still hungry, but she was adjusting to the feeling. It was a constant now.

She was beginning to think the Darkray hadn't taken her seriously when the woman came back. "The Darkray wants to see you," she informed Nalia, and then gestured for her to follow. Her escorts fell into step behind her, reminding her there was no way she could escape.

Alakar was waiting. Seeing the Darkray again made Nalia cringe, but she tried to hide it. He was tall and slender, with ruffled black hair that was always falling in his face. He wore dark clothing that seemed to blend into the shadows, making it hard to see him in the dark. Tucked against his back were a pair of dark wings, large enough that when opened completely, they spanned the length of a car. Huge and leathery, they reminded Nalia of the wings of a bat. Despite showing signs of neglect, they still looked strong, and added to his menacing presence. Looking into his eyes always disturbed Nalia. The irises were the color of dull coal, and the only distinction between the pupil and iris was the slight red tint to the slit-like pupil.

He watched her from the shadows as she approached, a slightly darker patch in the dimly lit throne room. "Nalia. Come, bow to your leader," Alakar commanded when Nalia entered. Complying grudgingly, she moved to bow before his throne. He just watched her for a minute with his unnerving eyes, leaving her to wait in suspenseful silence. When he spoke again, she had to suppress a small jump of surprise. "You see fit to disregard my laws, to not take the auras that are rightfully yours from those pitiful humans, and when I try to teach you the right way of life, you deny my help. Why is this?" he asked.

"It's because I believe that humans have a right to live, and taking their auras for our own pleasure is wrong," Nalia answered strongly.

"Please, do explain," The Darkray requested almost pleasantly.

"It's kind of a long story." Nalia said, trying to avoid telling him everything.

"I want to hear it all," Alakar demanded, sounding all too eager. She realized he was fascinated by her and her refusal to conform. This just added to Nalia's hatred of him.

Nalia grumbled her annoyance, and decided she wasn't going to get anywhere. Fine, you get the short version then, she silently told him. "It started a few years ago, when I was hunting this woman. I chased her for a while and eventually cornered her. Before I could take her aura, she asked me to wait. For some dumb reason, I was curious, so I did. She then told me she knew she couldn't avoid her death, but she wanted to know, before she died, why I killed people so selfishly. I suddenly realized I couldn't think of a good enough reason to take her life, so… I let her go. She didn't even seem afraid, maybe a little bit, but mostly she almost seemed… to pity me. It made me disgusted with myself. After that I… I stopped taking auras," Nalia finished. For some reason it felt good to say it, to let the dark creature before her know just how she felt. After a moment, she looked up to the Darkray, not knowing what to expect.

There was a long moment of silence before Alakar said, "Your case is much worse than I thought. A demon who wants a pure aura… that's only happened once, long before I became the Darkray… But, lucky for us, I still know what his punishment was!" He seemed almost gleeful that he could recall it. Nalia groaned inwardly as she waited for him to continue. "I have no choice but to ban you!" She must have looked hopeful, because he added, "Ah, you aren't getting off that easy. Before you go, I will curse you. You will not be able to obtain human food. You won't be able to return, or eat, until you have consumed an aura."

As he finished he raised his hand. Around it, his aura gathered, like a thick black shadow. It spread across the room, heading to Nalia. She tried to back away, but her escorts stood behind her, preventing her from getting too far.

When his aura touched her, it was so cold it took Nalia's breath away. It surrounded her with his darkness; she felt its dark grasp both physically and mentally. Its touch brought back horrid memories of her past, making them clear and all the more terrifying. She recoiled, trying to hide, but then the shadow disappeared, leaving Nalia freezing and breathless.

"Send her away. I don't want to see her until you can confirm she's fed," The Darkray instructed with a dismissal wave of his hand. The woman nodded, and, after being pulled to her feet by her escorts, Nalia was led out of the palace. They walked through the city in silence. Other demons watched, some with curiosity, as they neared the city wall. For a minute, Nalia felt saddened—she was leaving everything she knew behind. But then a small realization hit her, and she smiled to herself. Beyond those crumbling walls, there were more than just hateful demons. Maybe I'll have a better chance with the Auraes, she thought hopefully.

Owen

Owen watched the clouds gather above, and briefly wondered if it would rain as he strolled down the streets of Verndale. Luckily I grabbed a jacket, he thought as it gently began to drizzle. He wandered down the streets, enjoying the rain. He was supposed to be heading home, but there was so much on his mind, he felt too restless to be cooped up inside.

The demon attack had left him with a lot of questions, and the more he thought of them, the more he got frustrated. Even though he had talked to Professor Rolondo the day before, it hadn't helped him much. There were still so many things he didn't understand, especially the fact that there had been a demon in the city. He had never seen a demon inside the city before, and it worried him.

As he walked, the cool air and gentle patter of the rain slowly calmed his troubled mind. He meandered around town, taking back ways and side streets to avoid the main road where the demon had attacked him.

He turned down an unfamiliar road, and to his astonishment, he sensed an aura at the end of the street that he didn't recognize; there was something weird about the aura that drew him forward. As he got closer, he recognized the strange feel of a demon aura. Sensing such a fowl thing left a bitter taste in his mouth. His aura ignited in defense, sending an orange glow across the buildings. Not again. Two demons in one week? Just my luck, he thought irritably.

He approached the demon cautiously, who was female, with blue-black hair. She was tucked in a corner of a dead end alley-way with her head resting on her knees. Probably one of their tricks to lure in an unsuspecting victim. She'll wait till the last minute, then strike, and drink the poor person's aura, Owen thought, but then the demon raised her head. "What are you doing here, demon?" Owen demanded.

"P-please I've been banned! I'm not a demon, well I am—I'm not here to hurt anyone!" The girl stumbled franticly. When Owen saw the true terror on her face, he let his aura recede, its glow disappearing, but he was still suspicious.

"Why were you banned?" Owen asked carefully. He had never heard of a demon being banned from Sarako before. The girl looked lost and hungry, and her cheeks were wet and her eyes red from freshly shed tears. She was unhealthily thin, and looked like she hadn't eaten in a long time. The hollow, empty look in her eyes, as if she had given up all hope a long time ago, made Owen wonder just what she had been through.

"I… I don't think taking the aura of an innocent person just for my own benefit is right," The girl replied carefully as she stood up. Owen backed up, just to be safe, but something about the girl made him want to believe her.

"Oh…" he replied, unsure of what else to say. He had to admit he was surprised. If she was telling the truth, it would explain why the demons wanted to get rid of her. "What's your name?"

"Nalia," she answered.

"How long have you been here?" Owen asked.

"About a week, I think," Nalia guessed with a shrug. "I lost track of time pretty quickly." She seemed very willing to answer Owen's questions.

"You must be hungry; do you want something to eat?" Owen offered.

Nalia just stood there, so Owen started walking out of the alley, hoping she would follow. Suddenly Nalia blurted out, "I can't eat."

Owen looked back, totally bewildered. "Why…?"

"Because… Alakar cursed me so I couldn't eat until I drank an aura," Nalia explained reluctantly.

Suddenly Owen became nervous. "And let me guess, you're slowly making me trust you so you can drink my aura!"

"No! Ugh, I knew that would happen. I promise I'm not here to drink anyone's aura!" Nalia protested, looking crestfallen.

"A demon's word isn't worth much," Owen muttered, but once again, he found himself unable to deny what he was seeing. He just couldn't ignore how much her appearance seemed to verify her story, or the raw emotions he could see on her face. The girl needed help, obviously, but she was still a demon. It left him wondering what to do.

"Then I swear by anything! Everything you care about. I'm not here to hurt you, or anyone else! I just wish I could be normal, like you." She leaned against the wall, on the brink of tears again.

That was enough for Owen. She needs help, and a demon wouldn't stand here trying to get me to trust her, she would just take my aura, he reasoned. "So you just need a little bit of an aura to break the curse?" he asked. Nalia nodded. Owen let a little of his aura appear around his hand, where it gathered like a small puddle. He held it out, silently offering what she needed. Briefly he wondered if he had lost his mind, but he suppressed that thought, committed to helping Nalia now.

"No… I won't, I couldn't!" Nalia said immediately, shaking her head.

"I want to help. It's okay," Owen insisted, and then quickly added, "Just take a little bit though."

"Nobody's offered their aura to me… Are you sure? It's not a very pleasant experience," Nalia informed him carefully. She sounded a bit hopeful, like she had finally found her answer but was unwilling to believe it. Owen just held his hand out and nodded. He didn't need to tell her he had already almost lost his aura to a demon this week. "Okay… I'll only take enough…" Nalia mumbled as her aura grew around her. Owen watched as his aura glowed stronger around his hand, and then snaked toward Nalia. When they touched, the same pain from when Malik had tried to drink his aura came to Owen.

Finally Nalia pulled back, and Owen's aura disappeared. He stumbled back, panting. Nalia just stood there, like she wasn't sure what to do next. Eventually she whispered, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Owen reassured her, despite the pounding headache he now had, and the fact that the world was spinning a bit. Finally the feeling cleared. "Now the curse is lifted, and… you didn't kill me, so I'm pretty sure I can trust you." Owen smiled kindly, trying to reassure her. He noticed that she was shivering because of the cold, so he pulled his jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders. She pulled it close, obviously grateful for the jacket. "But we need to leave now. Our auras probably attracted some attention. Come on, I'll take you to my place." Owen turned around, and Nalia followed.

"Wait a sec."

He turned back around to face her again. "You okay?"

"Yeah…. I just… what's your name?" Nalia asked.

"Owen."

Nalia stood there for a minute, looking frail again, wrapped in his jacket. Eventually she said, "Thank you, Owen. No one's been so nice to me." Owen smiled and nodded again. Seeming satisfied, she started toward him to follow him out, and the two headed out of the alley together.

When Owen returned home, his mom was sitting on the porch. First she was smiling, but then she looked puzzled. Owen could tell by the shocked look that came next that she had sensed Nalia's aura. "Who's this, Owen?" she ventured carefully.

"This is Nalia. I know what you're thinking, but we can trust her. I should know. Is Lily home?" Owen asked. His mom nodded. Before she could ask any more questions, Owen led Nalia into the house. "Lily?" He called, hoping to locate his sister. He turned to Nalia and started to get her something to eat when his twin walked in.

"What's wro—oh…" Lily's gaze was glued on Nalia, who shifted uncomfortably. "Owen?" Lily asked, clearly hunting for an explanation. Owen glanced at her and the confused look faded from his twin's gaze as she nodded. Lily and Owen had always had a way of communicating without saying a word, and Owen was especially grateful for it now. "She can stay in my room. I'll go make some room. I may even be able to find some dry clothes that would fit her." She left the room, heading back down the hall.

After Owen got Nalia something to eat, he explained everything to his mom, who agreed to let her stay, albeit reluctantly, until they could find a more permanent spot for her. Nalia sat huddled in Owen's jacket as she hungrily ate what had been offered her. After she was finished, Lily returned and showed her to her room. Owen was about to follow, when his mother came up behind him and grabbed his arm.

She pulled him into her room across the hall, her firm grip telling him he had no choice but to follow. When they were alone, she whirled to face him, looking angry. "Owen, what were you thinking?" she hissed, trying to keep her voice down so Lily and Nalia didn't hear, but still yell at him simultaneously.

"I… I don't know, honestly. I just felt like I should help her…" his brow furrowed as he realized just how compelled he had been to help her. It was almost irrational.

"She's a demon, Owen. A demon. You realize what they do, right?" she demanded.

"I know… she seems different though," Owen said, trying to reassure her. He quickly explained the situation in the alley, and how many chances she had to hurt him but didn't take.

His mother sighed, running a hand down her face. She looked tired, and seriously worried. "Just… promise me you won't do anything that reckless again, okay?" He nodded obediently. She hugged him, and then allowed him to leave.

He went and joined Lily and Nalia, who were talking quietly in Lily's room. Nalia had changed into dry clothes, but still had Owen's jacket swung loosely over her shoulders.

"So, Owen, how did you meet Nalia?" Lily asked as he sat next to her on her bed. Owen briefly explained the situation in the alley again, and got a little insight from Nalia's side of the story as she added comments.

After he finished, the three fell silent, not sure what more to say. Nalia sighed softly. "My whole life has basically been a lie. How am I supposed to relearn sixteen years' worth of crap? The demons aren't exactly good at education their children."

"You could come to school with us!" Owen suggested suddenly.

"Owen, how would that work? She's… well…" Lily stammered, trying not to offend Nalia while still trying to be the voice of reason.

"No, you're right, they would never allow a demon," Nalia agreed sadly.

"But Professor Rolondo would understand! I mean, you know how she is. She'd help Nalia. She would help anybody," Owen insisted firmly, positive his professor would believe Nalia as he did.

Lily shrugged, and then looked to Owen, "We can take her in on Monday, but for now let's not talk about it." With a glance at Nalia, then a pointed look shot in his direction, Lily informed him that they were upsetting Nalia, who sat uncomfortably on her make-shift bed.

Owen nodded, picking up on his sister's meaning. "You okay with that?" He asked Nalia.

"You know best," she agreed simply with a tired shrug. She looked exhausted, so Owen thought it best to let her rest. After saying goodnight, he slipped off to his own room, realizing he was pretty tired too.

Mariea

Mariea sat in her office at the academy, busily correcting papers. The day had been long and boring. She was hoping to finish the papers and then go home, and was beginning to think she might make it when she heard the knock on her door. She sighed a bit, but wouldn't turn away whoever needed her. It just wasn't who she was.

She pushed away what she was doing and greeted, "Come in," hoping that whoever was out there hadn't noticed the sigh. The door opened and Owen walked in closely followed by his twin, Lily. "Sit down," she invited, motioning to the two chairs across from her at the desk. "What do you need?"

"Well…" Owen started, and then glanced nervously at Lily sitting next to him. "Um… I—well we… have a—a friend who wants to… to enroll here," Owen stumbled.

"Okay…. Who is this friend? Why aren't their parents enrolling them?" Mariea asked, wondering what was making him so uncomfortable. Something clearly wasn't right.

"Well she's… sort of… not human," Lily mumbled.

Mariea could feel the twin's nervousness pouring off of them in waves. "Then what exactly is she?" she asked, now both equally interested, dreading what they were going to say, and confused. They're not trying to enroll a pet, are they?

"She's well…" Owen started, but couldn't seem to finish. "She's sort of… she's kind of… well—"

"Come on Owen, just say it!" Lily interrupted, sighed, and then added, "She's a demon."

For a minute, Mariea just stared at the twins. She found herself wishing this mysterious friend had been their pet. Eventually she found her voice and said, "A—a demon?" The twins nodded. Mariea leaned back in her chair, stunned. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Can we trust… this friend of yours?"

"Yes," the twins confirmed simultaneously with enough conviction to make Mariea wonder what had happened to convince them. "And her name is Nalia," Owen added.

"Well, we normally don't allow demons to attend the academy…" they're usually not allowed into the city, she added to herself. "It puts a lot at risk. How do you know we can trust her?" she asked, searching for more details.

Owen glanced at Lily again, looking unsure. Lily nodded, and then Owen began explaining to Mariea how he had met Nalia. Mariea had to admit the girl had shown considerable restraint when Owen had offered her his aura. Restraint wasn't a quality often found in a demon.

When he finished, Mariea sighed. "Owen, I want you to know you took a big risk allowing this girl to have some of your aura. Demons are very deceptive, and their control over their aura's hunger is weak at best. You're lucky she was telling the truth, and that she was able to control herself once she had you convinced," Mariea reprimanded, unable to resist scolding the boy at least a little bit.

"So… I guess you don't want her to go to school here?" Lily asked, sounding disappointed.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea…" What do I do? Mariea thought. If I let her in, how would the kids react? I'll definitely have to talk to the kids, and explain what's going on. It might be a little difficult for her. I doubt everyone will be as accepting as Owen and Lily have been…

"I think it would be best if I meet her first before I say yes or no," she finally decided. "Did you bring her with you?"

"Yeah, I'll go get her," Owen informed her, stepping out of the office. He came back with a girl a little older than the twins, with black hair and hopeful green eyes. The minute the girl walked into the room, Mariea could sense her aura. It's so pure for a demon, she noted, a bit surprised.

Mariea stood up and stretched out her hand in greeting and, with a warm smile, she introduced herself. "Hello, I'm Professor Rolondo. I run the school."

Nalia shook her hand and said, "I'm Nalia." She then claimed Owen's seat, who had moved to stand next to the wall near Mariea's desk.

"Owen tells me you are interested in enrolling in our academy," Mariea stated, starting the conversation as she sat down.

"If that would be okay," Nalia confirmed carefully.

"I would like it to be. I try to accept all who want to join, but to be quite frank this is a very interesting situation. I would hope we could work things out so you can," Mariea replied. Nalia nodded. "I'm curious Nalia, why did you leave Sarako?"

"I was forced to, by Alakar. He wanted me to drink an aura, and I refused, so he kicked me out," Nalia replied simply.

"Really… I've never heard of a demon willing to give up consuming auras," Mariea mused.

"I guess I'm not the only one, but the Darkray usually manages to force most into giving up the idea. I think I'm the only one who managed to refuse the Darkray," Nalia explained with a slight shrug. Mariea couldn't help but notice the hint of pride in her voice at this. Obviously it meant a lot to her.

"I'm surprised the Darkray let you go," Mariea stated. Knowing him as she did, she would have expected him to kill her rather than let Nalia run off to the Auraes and get her wish. Mariea couldn't deny that it made her just a bit suspicious of the girl's true intentions.

"He didn't at first…" Nalia muttered, her gaze becoming far away.

"Would you be willing to tell me what happened?" Mariea requested gently. She could tell it was a bit of a touchy subject for Nalia, but she was curious, and the more she knew about the girl, the more willing she would be to accept her.

Nalia nodded. She began to explain her time with the Darkray. Clearly it haunted her by the look on her face as she explained to Mariea what had happened. The twins looked surprised too, so Mariea figured they hadn't been told the details of this story.

As Nalia finished, Mariea wondered again if she could trust this demon. Nalia seemed honest as she had explained her story, but Mariea knew how good demons were at lying. She mulled it over in her mind. There had been a lot of times where Nalia could have taken advantage of Owen and his family, and could have at least tried to take advantage of Mariea now if she really wanted to.

At the same time, demons weren't really known for their loyalty, even to the Darkray. There was a slight change Nalia had been sent by Alakar to get information, but Mariea doubted any true demon would be able to resist so many auras around them at once. The typical demon would sacrifice their loyalty to the Darkray to satisfy their need for auras when given such a blatant opportunity.

After a few more moments of considering her options, Mariea sighed. "Okay Nalia, I'm willing to try it. Let me warn you though, I'll be watching you closely. You have one chance to do this right. I'm trusting that you can keep your aura in control, and that you won't try and hurt anyone?"

Nalia brightened, nodding enthusiastically. "I swear I won't hurt anyone," she promised, her voice full of conviction and hope.

"Alright then, let's get you signed up," Mariea stated as she pulled out a folder. Nalia smiled, and Owen gave his sister a silent high five. Mariea couldn't help but smile as well at their reactions. "In total you'll have eight classes a day," Mariea explained as she handed Nalia the registration paper. "There are four you're required to take, and on the back, you can choose the other four from that list of classes."

"Wow, there are so many different options…" Nalia murmured as she scanned the classes.

"Go ahead and take it home, just have Lily or Owen bring it back when you're done. You can start next week on Monday, okay?" Nalia nodded, pulling the form close.

"Thanks Professor," Owen said to Mariea, then turned to Nalia and said, "Let's go home and fill this out." The three stood up and walked to the door.

Well this is a first, Mariea thought as she finished her work. A demon that understands humanity. I wonder how well this will go. Mariea packed up her things and locked up her office for the night. "I've got one crazy story to tell Bracken," she mumbled as she left.

Mariea floated in a white expanse of nothingness. She felt nothing, saw nothing, heard nothing. She felt completely relaxed, a feeling she had missed. Somewhere in the back of her mind she briefly remembered going to bed, but reality and all it's problems seemed a million miles away.

She stared in front of her, a silent sigh escaping her. She wanted to stay here forever. Part of her realized this had to be a dream, but she didn't care. The peacefulness was amazing. She was always so stressed, with all the work she had to do, she rarely had a moment to just relax and focus on herself. Here, in this blissful peace, it felt like she might actually have a chance to relax.

From her left, a gentle light pulsed to life in the bland expanse. She could see it out of the corner of her eye, and turned toward it, curious. She wanted to move towards it, but couldn't move, no matter how hard she tried.

Eventually, she realized if she just thought of moving, she would drift slowly in the direction wanted. Silently, she floated towards the pulsing light, the white expanse of nothingness seeming to bend around her as she moved forward. She reached for the light, cautiously at first, wondering what it could be. She didn't want to leave the blissful world that she had found herself in, and she worried that the light could be the way out. Her curiosity won out eventually, and she reached out for the ball of light.

Patches of color burst from the light, bringing a strong gust of wind with it that blew Mariea back. She stared as the colors formed things; first a blurry silhouette, and then a woman. She was tall, thin, and young. She looked kind, but sad, like someone had removed all the happiness from her life. She was wearing a long white dress that trailed behind her. Looking at the woman was almost like looking at her reflection in the mirror; her hair was a few shades darker than Mariea's, just enough difference in color to notice. They were both tall and thin, and the woman's eyes looked exactly like Mariea's.

The woman opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came. Slowly, her voice came to her and words began to take form, but they meant nothing to Mariea for a moment; they were just meaningless sounds, as if the void in which they stood couldn't handle the noise. Finally, Mariea understood what the woman was saying. "Mariea, do you hear me?" The question made Mariea think that the woman was trying to contact her from a great distance.

"Yes, I hear you." As she spoke, Mariea realized why it took so long for the woman's words to reach her; when she spoke, it felt as if the void took the words out of her mouth and absorbed them. She felt like she had to scream to make the words audible. It took a couple times before she could get the words to form properly and be loud enough for her companion to hear them.

"Good," the woman said with a smile. "I need to talk to you. I will have to hurry; the connection between this world and yours is weak, and won't last long. What I have to say is important, but too long to say at once. In other words, this is going to be the first of many dreams like this." This only confused Mariea. What does she mean by two worlds? She wondered, hoping she would explain further.

"There's something you need to know," the woman continued. "In your near future, I see turmoil. I have yet to figure out exactly what it means, but I have a growing feeling that it has to do with what I need to tell you; in fact, I'm almost certain it's related. What I need to tell you is a secret passed down amongst your family, but was never shared with you, despite how important it is for you to know. I assume your parents were just trying to protect you, but you must know, because you are the most important link in the story. The final chapter. The end. The resolution. And, my chance to rest in peace."

"What do you mean?" Mariea asked. She was totally lost. Who was this woman, and why was she telling her this now?

"Let me show you my story, Mariea." She held out her hand, obviously wanting Mariea to take it. Mariea hesitated, not sure what to expect. The woman must have noticed her falter, because she questioned, "What do you know of your family's past?"

"Beyond my grandparents, not much. I never really thought about it. I know I'm part of a long line of Auraes, connected back to the first who began to study the Magics," Mariea told her.

The woman nodded. "I expected as much. There is much in your family's past that most Auraes would prefer to keep buried. I want to tell you these things. I want to tell you what it is that you are expected to accomplish. Come with me."

Mariea thought for a moment about what she was being asked to do. She felt like she needed to know what the woman had to say to her for some unknown reason. Looking up to the woman, she could see her need to share what she had to say with Mariea; It burned in her sad blue eyes, bringing light to them. Whatever it was, it was very important to the woman. Mariea nodded slowly, and reached up to clasp the other woman's hand.

She smiled at Mariea. Behind her, the edges of the expanse of gray was slowly churning, becoming more colorful and bright. The woman turned just as the colors burst from the edge, suddenly filling the void. Slowly, the colors formed a world around Mariea. The woman was gone, but somehow Mariea knew she was still nearby. She focused on the story that began to play out in front of her, her mind hungry for information, every part of her body filled with apprehensive tension. What is it that I need to see? What does the future hold? She thought.

Before her, Mariea could see a muddy, eighteenth century English town spread out before her. The town gave away to farmland on one side, and a thick, ancient forest on the other. The street bustled with people going about their daily activities. The image focused in on a young woman, about eighteen or nineteen, walking down one of the streets. She wore a simple gray dress and apron, bland compared to her deep golden hair and blue eyes. Her hair was tucked up into a tight bun, and in her arms she carried a few books. Mariea watched as the girl tried to avoid the mud as she hurried down the street to a small, worn down building that bustled with people. Mariea found herself completely absorbed in the story, any thought of the world she had left behind forgotten.

[auricchronicles-blog]

Chapter 4: Scheming

Altaira

         Altaira scanned the crowd of people, looking for Mefune. This time, she wasn’t trying to avoid him. She had to admit, his words and Daya’s encouraging were finally sinking in. There was no reason to hold a grudge against him when he could potentially help her, and it wasn’t anybody’s fault but her own that he was better than her. After waiting to see if he would walk by, Altaira sighed and headed down the hall towards the council room. It was the first time she’d visited this part of the Brotherhood’s headquarters in a long while, knowing he spent a lot of time there now that he was the Brotherhood’s leader.

           The council room was filled with rows and rows of seats, enough to seat the whole Brotherhood. Toward the front of the room were seven slightly raised seats, facing the rows. These seven seats were reserved for the Council members and the Brotherhood leader.

           Altaira really didn’t expect to find Mefune here since the council wasn’t in session, but she walked in anyway. To her surprise, he was sitting alone on one of the higher bleachers, staring down at the ground as if he was in deep thought, his arms resting on his knees, his chin in his hands.

           Altaira started slowly up the bleachers, feeling apprehensive. No matter how much she told herself hating him was no longer a good idea, it still didn’t make talking to him any easier. He had chided her like a child that day on the cliff, and even though he had been right, it still stung.

Mefune looked up as she reached the bottom bleacher, but he didn’t move. Instead, he looked back down towards the front of the room, allowing her to approach in silence. Only when Altaira reached him did he look to her, finally acknowledging her presence. “Mefune…” she started, trying not to show how uncomfortable she was.  With a sigh, she forced herself to continue. “After we talked a couple of days ago, I realized I’ve been acting stupid and selfish. The council had the Brotherhood’s best interest in mind when they named you leader. So… could we call it truce?”

           Mefune nodded almost imperceptibly and said, “I figured you’d come to your senses eventually.”

           She tried not to show how his words bugged her. Instead, she said, “Yeah, I guess I did. I… I have to ask you something too.”

           He raised a brow. “This isn’t about the bag again, is it?” he asked in clarification, sounding just a bit amused.

           She shook her head. “No—though I’m still curious, but that’s a conversation for another day.” She paused, and he waited quietly for her to ask her question. “I really don’t know how to ask this, but… I guess I’m wondering what you plan to do with the Brotherhood.”

           He stayed silent for a long time, studying her with his piercing blue eyes. Eventually, he asked coolly, “What’s your interest in my plans?”

           Altaira shrugged. “Rumor has it you have intentions to return it to some purpose the Brotherhood once had. Something to do with the demons.”

           He didn’t confirm or deny her suspicions. Instead, he leaned back against the back of the bleacher and asked, “And if I was?”

           I hate his indirect answers, she grumbled inwardly. Stop dancing around my questions! “You might say I’d be interested in helping.”

           “Hmm.” Once again, he sat in silence, contemplating her words just long enough to make Altaira impatient. Then he frowned slightly. “I would love to say that is my goal, but it’s not possible.”

           Altaira was surprised. “Why not?” she demanded, forgetting to control her frustration. She heard it in her own voice.

           “They’re standing in my way,” he said, gesturing to the floor below. Altaira glanced over her shoulder to see the council seats below, and got his meaning. “They have all the power now. It’s been that way for several years. Maybe from the formation of the council.”

           She snorted, shaking her head. She almost felt like laughing. The irony of everything was enough to tip her over the edge. Even if she had won Mefune a few days ago, the position wouldn’t have done her any good. “It’s ironic, isn’t it?” Mefune muttered, almost as if he had read her thoughts. She found herself agreeing with him. “We both tried so hard to get this position, only to find it carries hardly any power.”

           They fell silent, both contemplating the annoyance the council had become for the both of them. “Well…” Altaira muttered, thinking out loud as her gaze temporarily became unfocused. “If the council is such a problem, why don’t we just eliminate it?” She looked up and met his gaze.

           “It’s funny you mention that. I was thinking the same thing, but I wasn’t sure I could do it alone,” Mefune admitted.

           Altaira smiled. “Great. How do we do it?”

           Mefune almost seemed amused. “You’re enthusiastic.”

           “You have no idea how much this means to me,” Altaira told him.

           He fell silent for a moment, watching her again. “So it wasn’t just for the power, was it?” he asked softly.

           She didn’t hesitate to answer. “It never was.”

           He nodded. Altaira wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw a hint of admiration in his gaze before he turned away. “I’m honestly not sure how we go about doing this. I want it to be peaceful. We’ll never convince the Brotherhood to follow us if we don’t.”

           “I agree, but until we figure out a way to peacefully remove them, why don’t we treat it as if it will be violent?” Altaira suggested.

            “And why is that?” Mefune asked.

            She didn’t answer for a minute, realizing her next comment would require her to admit he was better than her, and her pride almost wouldn’t let her do that. Finally she said, “It wouldn’t hurt if I touched up on my fighting a bit. There’s obviously a few things you could teach me, and… training could be a good cover up for us meeting to plan things.”

            He nodded slowly. “I don’t see why not. I’m willing to share some secrets.”

           “Okay,” Altaira said, feeling surprisingly relieved. “It’s settled then. When do we start?”

           “Follow me,” Mefune replied simply as he stood, surprising her a bit. I guess we’re starting now, she thought, a bit surprised.

           He led her to an open sparring circle filled with soft dirt. When he began instructing her, she had expected him to start out showing her little things that would improve her skills, but weirdly enough, he started with the basics. At first she felt a little bewildered and frustrated that he was starting so easy, wondering if he thought her completely incompetent, but she started to realize there was so much she could improve on. It was mostly things she had become lax on over the years as she had risen above the pack and no longer felt it necessary to try so hard. Now she realized she was slacking off.

           As he helped her correct a minor detail in her stance, he told her, “Though to most your stance would be perfect, I notice little holes here and there. That’s something we have to remember; the basics are our foundation. How well we perform depends on how well we retain the basics. If we forget, or slack off, a superior swordsman could find weakness. Even I practice the basics when I’m practicing alone. I go over footwork. I constantly check my stance. Remember this.” She nodded, absorbing his words.

           Eventually they moved on. They sparred a little bit, first slowly so he could watch her footwork, and then they did some real sparring. She was amazed at how much he could show her.

By the time they finished, it was late at night. Altaira lay in her room, exhausted. Okay, she thought, he’s not a complete idiot. Then she laughed to herself, realizing that she had just admitted she was starting to hate him a little less.

Mefune

            “I may have an idea,” Altaira announced as she approached Mefune. After discussing their plans for a week, all of their ideas had fallen short of their goal for one reason or another. Altaira had quickly grew frustrated, but Mefune assured her they would figure out something. He was beginning to realize just how impatient she was compared to him.

           Curious, he nodded, but then told her, “Let’s not talk here.”

           She nodded, understanding that discussing these plans out where anyone could overhear probably wasn’t the smartest idea. “Where then?” she asked.

           He motioned for her to follow, and started down the hall. Eventually, he led her to the cliff overlook, figuring nobody would bother them here. “So what’s this idea of yours?” he asked once they were alone.

           “What if, instead of removing the council, we replaced the members with people that agree with us?” She suggested.

           He considered this. “That’s possible. I would rather just be rid of the council, but it’s a good temporary fix,” he mused. “We would have to find six people we can trust.” They both knew that wasn’t easy in the Brotherhood; suspicions were high, and many had their own motives.

           She nodded. “We already have two though,” she pointed out.

           “Two?” he asked. “I can’t be on the council and be the leader.”

           “I was referring to my friend, Daya,” Altaira clarified. “She’d be perfect.”

           Mefune recognized the name—he at least knew the names of most of the Brotherhood, with the exception of some of the newer members—but he wasn’t sure he knew enough about Daya to trust her. “You sure we can trust her?” he asked.

           Altaira nodded. “She’s practically my sister. If I can’t trust her I can’t trust anybody,” she insisted.

           Mefune shrugged, and couldn’t help but think he wasn’t sure he trusted Altaira yet. “That’s two then. Who else?”

           Altaira looked stumped. “I can’t think of anybody else. You?”

           He shook his head slightly. “I don’t have many friends here,” he admitted. “Not ones that I can trust.” He knew he had himself to blame for that—he chose to stay distant—but that was beside the point.

           “I guess we’ll have to find some people,” Altaira decided. “Anybody on the council we could convince to help us?”

           Mefune sighed. He was beginning to get to know the council pretty well as he worked with them, and didn’t really have a good opinion for many of them. He shook his head as he said, “Not really. Maybe Garrett, but I’m not sure I could trust him to keep this quiet. He’s pretty loyal to Samar.”

           “Hmm.” Altaira muttered. With a shrug, she mused, “Well, we can at least start with getting me and Daya on the council. How do we go about doing that?”

           “We could always kill the members. That would definitely open up a few spots,” Mefune suggested with a light shrug.

           Altaira looked surprised. “Are you serious?” she asked cautiously.

           He smiled, shaking his head slightly. “No. I said I wanted this to be a peaceful transition, remember?”

           Looking relieved, Altaira agreed, “That would probably be best.” After a pause, she added, “I mean, I guess it’s always an option—I’m willing to do anything to get at the demons—but let’s keep it our last option.”

           Mefune agreed, and then the two fell silent for a minute as he thought through their options. “There has to be rules the Council has to follow, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if they’ve violated at least one of them every now and then. The rules would be on record, from when the Council was first established. I have free access to those records. Give me some time, and I’ll find something on somebody that we can use,” Mefune decided.

           Smirking slightly, Altaira inquired, “Are you planning on blackmailing them?”

           Mefune shrugged. “If that’s what it comes down to. It would be better than killing them all. Though there may be some way if we bring these things to light, they would be forced to step down without our influence.”

           “Either way works with me,” Altaira agreed with a shrug. “Let me know when you find something. I should tell Daya.”

           He nodded. “I would like to meet Daya, before we do this,” he requested.

           “Sure,” Altaira agreed. “You could come with me to tell her.”

           He nodded again, and they headed back inside. Altaira led them to Daya’s apartment, and he waited with her after she knocked on the door. Daya answered after a moment. “Well, I see you two don’t hate each other anymore,” she said in way of greeting.

           “I never hated her,” Mefune pointed out.

           Daya chuckled. “She definitely hated you.”

           “Shut up,” Altaira demanded, but she didn’t sound too sincere. “We need to talk.”

           Daya smiled slightly. “You going to include me in your evil plans?” she joked.

           “Maybe. He wanted to meet you first,” Altaira informed her.

           “Ah,” Daya said with a slight nod, her gaze turning to Mefune. He briefly thought they could easily be sisters; they both had brown hair, but Daya’s was lighter, and she had pale brown eyes. She offered a hand, and Mefune shook it. “Nice to meet you.”  

           He nodded in agreement, and then said, “Altaira said we could trust you.”

           Daya smirked. “I would hope she would say that.”

           “Yeah well, don’t make me second guess myself,” Altaira told her, her smile telling Mefune she was joking. They seem close, he observed.

           Daya laughed, and then waved them into her room. “Let’s not talk about this out here,” she suggested.

           Inside, Altaira and Mefune quickly explained their plans to place the two women on the council. As they finished, Daya slowly nodded. “I’d be fine with that. So this is your new way of getting revenge then, huh?” she asked Altaira.

           Altaira shot a glance at Mefune, and then nodded. “It’s the best I can do.”

           “Have you—” Day started.

           “No,” Altaira interrupted, obviously understanding what Daya was getting at and not wanted her to finish her sentence. What’s this about? Mefune wondered.

           “Will you?” Daya asked.

           Altaira seemed uncomfortable talking about whatever it was Daya had brought up. She hesitated a moment, and then muttered, “Maybe.” Daya nodded, seeming to understand Altaira didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Deciding he didn’t need to pester Altaira about it, Mefune stayed silent. If it was something important, he hoped Altaira would tell him on her own.

           “You should consider letting Desiree keep her position on the council,” Daya suddenly suggested, changing the subject.

           “Why?” Mefune wondered. He probably knew the least about Desiree; she was the only girl on the council, and was very soft spoken. She usually just agreed with Samar and didn’t say much. Mefune wasn’t sure how she had even gotten a position on the council to begin with.

           “I know her. She’s a pretty good person, and she wouldn’t be too hard to convince to go along with it and keep things quiet. Plus, if she did blab, she’d have a hard time convincing the others that she’s right. We’d have time to do damage control before she has them convinced,” Daya explained.

           Mefune glanced at Altaira, who nodded in agreement. “Sounds good to me,” Mefune agreed.  “That makes three.” Looking to Daya again, he asked, “Anybody else you think might be trustworthy enough for this?”

           Daya considered it for a moment, and then shrugged. “Not really.”

           “Hmm,” Altaira muttered. “Well, Mefune said he’d do some digging, see if he could find anything we could use against them. Until then, there’s not much we can do.”

           “Alright. Keep me updated, okay?” Daya requested. The two agreed. “I’ll tell Desiree about this sometime.” With that, the three went their separate ways.

[auricchronicles-blog]

Chapter 3: the Auraes

Mariea

           “How’d you do that?!” a kid cried out from the back of the group. Mariea stood in front of one of her many elemental classes at the Rolondo Aurae Academy. In her hand, five multicolored flames danced around her fingertips. Her aqua blue aura swirled around her, making her golden blonde hair shift as if caught in a breeze.

           The class she was teaching was made up of students in their first year at the academy. The Academy consisted of a student’s high school years up to graduation of college, and was an alternate school, designed to train Auraes.

           “This is the Elemental Magic of fire. This is just one magic you will learn in this class. Being first years, you begin with fire. It’s the easiest of the elements to learn at the beginning. But do not take it lightly; though the easiest to learn, it’s still one of the elements. It’s hard to tame, and will take much diligence and practice,” she said as she let the flames die. Loads of questions filed from the class like “When do we start?” and “Won’t it burn us?”

           “Whoa! Slow down, one question at a time please,” she requested with a small chuckle. At once almost the whole class raised their hands. Mariea chose a girl with light brown hair and hazel eyes. The first day of Elementals 1 always made her feel like she was a third grade teacher, not a professor at an Academy teaching students fourteen years and older. This class was usually one of the first times kids were introduced to the full extent of their aura’s power, and it was always exciting. She had to remind herself she was dealing with the youngest group at the Academy as well, and they often weren’t as mature as the kids in her other classes.

           “When will we start?” the girl asked, voicing the question on most of the student’s minds.

           She recited the answer to the often asked question. “As soon as I think you know all the important precautions, I’ll allow you to light you’re first flame. There’s only one of me and twenty or so of you, so this may be a slow process, but it’s impeccable that you know everything you can about the magic before actually using it. Any other questions?” Almost all the hands from before flew up. She called on a red haired boy with icy blue eyes and freckles, whose name was Owen.

           “How do you do that without getting burned?” he asked, his fascination evident.

           “Practice, mainly. Until you are in complete control of the flames, there are spells that I will teach you that will protect you. This is what you must learn before you start actually working with the fire. Next?” she called on someone new. Mariea spent the rest of the class period answering questions.

           “Okay,” Mariea eventually said, “We are almost out of time, and I need to pass these out.” She grabbed a stack of papers from off her desk. “These are the class syllabus. It includes all of the requirements for this class; pretty much what I expect of you and what you can expect of me. Here Lily, come pass these out,” she said, handing the papers to a dark-haired girl with blue eyes who was one of the few students in the class that she already knew; she had Lily in her first period.

            “I need these papers filled out, signed, and brought back before we can begin!” she added kind of sternly to get the point across. Lily stood and took the papers from her and began passing them out.

           After the papers where passed out, the bell rang to let the kids out, leaving Mariea to prepare for her next class.

................                                         

           After a long day of showing off the Elemental Magics, Mariea was happy to be home. The first day of the semester was always busy, but important and fun.

           After hanging up her jacket and dropping her purse on a nearby table, she looked around for her husband, Bracken. She could hear typing, informing her that he was in his office. She walked in to the dimly lit room. She could just make out his wry form hunched in front of the computer screen. Smiling fondly, she flipped on the light, knowing he had worked through most of the day and hadn’t noticed the dimming light. He blinked and leaned back as if he had just realized how dark it had gotten. Glancing over his shoulder, he smiled in greeting and said, “Thanks.”

           She nodded. Walking over to the desk, she wrapped her arms around her husband and gently kissed him on the cheek before turning her attention to the computer screen. “Working on yet another report?” she asked.

           “Yes,” Bracken answered shortly, and then continued typing, his thin, nimble fingers flying over the keys.

           “And let me guess, I’ll have to read it when you get done?” Mariea asked. She had become his editor the moment she married him. Even though she pretended like it was a pain, she enjoyed being able to help him.

           “Yes,” Bracken answered again, mainly focusing on his work.

           “Is that all you can say?” Mariea teased.

           A small smile played on Bracken’s lips before he repeated “Yes,” then continued his work.

           Mariea laughed and then asked, “What do you want for dinner? And don’t say ‘yes’, I can’t cook yes.” Mariea always cooked for them. Even though they definitely had the money for a maid or two, Mariea was too independent to allow somebody else to cook and clean for them, so she took care of the large house on her own.

           “Something fast so I can finish this,” Bracken requested. “I need it done for tomorrow.” Tomorrow he had a very important meeting which Mariea didn’t know about. Bracken was definitely a busy man, just like Mariea was busy with her work.

           “Okay, I’ll find something,” she said as she left, heading for their large kitchen. When she got there, she went to the sink and started washing her hands. As she was washing them, she noticed someone outside moving towards the house. Wondering why someone was visiting so late, she went outside to meet them.

           When she got outside, Sage, a third year from her Earth Elemental class, ran up to her. “Professor…” she started then stopped to catch her breath. She had clearly ran hear from somewhere in town. “Professor Rolondo,” she started again, “we found a demon wandering through downtown. I think he was hunting someone. He’s powerful and it’s only me, Owen, and Professor Andreka. He told me to come find you.” She said this like it was all one word, like she couldn’t say it fast enough.

           “Alright Sage, come with me,” Mariea urgently instructed and then ran back in the house. Sage followed, closing the door behind her. She didn’t even bother to explain to Bracken where she was going. All she could think was, why are there demons in the city?

Owen

           Another flash of green whizzed past Owen’s head. Rolling to one side, he barely avoided being beheaded. Looking to the source of his near demise, Owen gritted his teeth and ran towards it. As he ran, a faint orange glow surrounded his hands as he gathered his aura.

          When he got closer, a figure appeared out of the smoke and fire, silhouetted in the same green light that had shot past Owen’s head. Owen spread his hands, palms facing the figure, and a bolt of orange electricity shot towards his enemy, who avoided it easily. He’s too fast and strong, I’ll never win alone. Hurry Sage, please! He thought desperately as he prepared to shoot another beam of energy at the demon.

          Suddenly the green light disappeared, taking the person with him. For a moment Owen looked around in bewilderment. His hands fell to his side slowly as if in his surprise he had forgotten about them. Looking around, he searched the nearby shops and burning buildings, trying to find the demon. Then, from behind him, a horrific growl echoed through the streets. He flipped around to see what had made such an unearthly sound, and to his horror, he found the demon, or what he thought was the demon.

          Standing in front of him was a black dragon. It towered over even the highest buildings, making Owen feel like an ant. The dragon opened his large mouth, and with another growl, green fire shot into the sky. The light from the fire reflected eerily off of the dragon’s black scales and the sharp red spikes running down the beast’s spine. Owen could barely make out humongous tattered black wings tucked against the dragon’s back, and couldn’t help but wonder if it could actually fly.

         The dragon looked down at Owen with his glowing green eyes, seemed to smile, and spit fire at him. Owen ducked, but he knew he couldn’t avoid the fire. He prepared for the singeing pain of being burnt, but to his surprise, it never came.

          Cautiously, he looked up and saw that the dragon’s mouth was dripping with water. He looked around and saw Professor Rolondo, water dripping from her hands, her aqua blue aura swirling around her like mist.  

          “Get somewhere safe!” she called as she continued to douse the dragon with water. The dragon growled in frustration and turned away from him to fight back.  

           That was all Owen saw because he looked away from the fight and climbed to his feet. He ran towards a girl, Lily, lying on the ground. “Sage, help me!” he yelled as he picked her up. Sage ran over and protected Owen as he carried Lily out of the way of the battle.

           “What happened to her?” Sage asked when Owen set the girl down behind some debris that would give them a little protection against the flying magic.

           “It’s all my fault. She tried an advanced spell. She asked me to cover her, but I was too busy. The demon shot her with his aura and she passed out,” he explained quickly. He studied his sister as he explained, hoping desperately that she would be okay. She seemed pale, and her breathing was shallow. “She barely managed to block enough of the blast to survive. If she doesn’t make it, I’ll never forgive myself.”

           Sage patted his arm. “She’ll be fine,” she muttered encouragingly. Owen nodded halfheartedly, his attention on his sister.

           Suddenly the sound of battling ended. Owen peered over the rubble to see Professor Rolondo standing over a fallen man, the dragon gone. She looked over, smiled reassuringly, and motioned for them to move closer. Sage and Owen cautiously ran to her side. When they reached her she said, “Let’s get this demon to the prison.”

 ................

           Below some of the older buildings of the Academy was a prison designed specifically for holding demons. With the help of Professor Andreka and Owen, Professor Rolondo brought the demon to the prison.  Sage had stayed to watch over Lily, who Professor Rolondo said would be fine.

          After the demon was secured in one of the cells, Professor Rolondo turned to leave. Before she got far, Owen caught up to her. She paused when he asked, “Professor Rolondo, who was that?”

           “That,” she answered, “was Malik.”

           “But since when can demons turn into dragons?” Owen asked, confused.

           “It’s very rare, but some demons can transform. I had hoped it was just rumors. We hadn’t confirmed it before today,” She explained to Owen.

           “I think I recognize the name… wasn’t he one of the first demons on Rowanoak?” He asked. Mariea nodded. “I never expected to find a demon wandering through Verndale!”

           “Neither did I, especially a demon like Malik. He’s an old demon. When they grow as old as he is, they tend to become cautious. If Malik is in Verndale, the demons have obviously decided that we’re no longer a threat; they used to stay away from the city. Every now and then we would here of attacks, but they were always outside the walls. We should watch for more demon attacks,” Professor Rolondo muttered. Owen couldn’t help but notice she seemed a bit concerned as she spoke. She paused, obviously deep in thought, and then sighed. “I’m sorry Owen, I would love to stay and talk with you, but I have injured people to care for, and I need to find out what we’re going to do about this new chain of events.”

           “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Owen said in farewell. He had other questions, but accepted that they would have to wait. Professor Rolondo nodded and walked out, leaving him alone with the chained up demon in his cell.

           Owen walked towards the door and peered in out of curiosity. Lying on the floor was a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties, but from what he had just been told, the demon was much older. Demons had ways of playing with their appearances to make them look younger, and Owen guessed the shapeshifter would be even better at it.

           The demon had messy black hair and he was pale. Like all demons, his aura was a murky green, the color of all the auras he had drank mixed together.

           As Owen watched, the demon sat up, brushed himself off, and looked around as if he was wondering where he was. Then, he turned and looked Owen in the eye.  A small mischievous smile crept onto his face before the green light returned around him.

           A searing pain shot through Owen’s body, and he fell to his knees. When he lost eye contact with Malik, the pain immediately faded. Owen sat dazed on the floor for a minute before he stood up slowly and headed for the door to leave the dungeon, all the while glancing over his shoulder at the cell door nervously.

 .....................

           When Owen and Lily got home their mother was sitting in the living room with a worried look on her face. When the door opened she jumped up, walked over to Owen and wrapped him in a big hug. “Where have you been?! It’s after midnight!” she exclaimed. Lily went straight to her room, clearly exhausted.

           “I’m sorry mom. While I was out with Lily and Sage we found a demon. Lily was hurt, but she’ll be okay. That’s why she went straight to her room,” Owen explained. He purposefully left out how close Lily had come to losing her life to try and avoid freaking her out more.

           “I’m just glad you and Lily are safe, we can forget the extra hours past curfew,” his mother said kindly, pulling him over to the couch. Ever sense he could remember, his mother had made curfew eleven. She insisted they be home by this time because she claimed that midnight was the hour demons hunted. Owen couldn’t help but wonder if she would try to move it earlier because they had been attacked before midnight, but he wasn’t about to point that out to her.

           What had happened at the prison returned to his mind and he wondered if his mom would be able to explain. “Um… I need to ask you something,” Owen said, partially reluctant to bring up the topic.

           “Yes?” his mom invited with a loving smile.

           “When I was with the demon at the prison…” Owen explained what happened when he looked into the door, and then asked what had caused the pain he had felt.

           “I think the demon may have tried to drink your aura.” His mother replied, her brow creased with worry.

           “What?!” Owen stammered, shocked.

           “You should probably talk to your teachers about that on Monday,” his mother instructed.

           “Okay, I will,” he agreed. No longer feeling up to carrying a conversation, he told his mother he was going to bed, and then he headed upstairs. Despite being exhausted, he didn’t sleep for a while, thinking about what had happened, and what his mother had said. He made a mental note to remember to talk to one of his teachers about it in the morning. After lying awake for another few hours, he finally managed to drift off to sleep.

Mariea

             Another class finished. We’re another step closer to lighting flames, Mariea thought as the class filed out the next day. As she walked to her desk, she noticed Owen was still in the room. He looked like he needed to talk to her about something. “Everything alright, Owen?” She asked him.

           “I think so… well, kind of… not really. I need to tell you something,” Owen stumbled.

           “Go ahead, what do you need to tell me?” She said kindly, trying to reassure him. She couldn’t help but worry that something major had happened, judging by how he was acting.

           “Last night, after you left the prison something… happened,” Owen began, proceeding to explain what had happened after Mariea had left, and then what his mom had said later.

           When he finished, Mariea was frowning. “Your mom was right Owen. The demon had tried to drink your aura. You’re lucky he didn’t get too far. The doors of the prison prevent the demons from using their auras to take another’s, but Malik was still able to because he had eye contact. It was a good thing you ended up falling,” she told him.

           “I figured my mom was right,” Owen murmured.

           “You feel alright now, right? You were able to use your aura okay today? I know it was only for a few minutes, but I want to make sure nothing happened that could have a long term effect on your aura,” Mariea pressed.

           “I feel fine, and my aura worked great today,” Owen said, reassuring her.

           “Alright, it seems like everything is okay.” She sighed. “I’m sorry Owen. I shouldn’t have left you alone in there. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

            He shrugged lightly. “I should have left. It’s not your fault.”

            “Well, I’m just glad you’re okay,” Mariea told him with a small smile.

             “So… what do you plan on doing with Malik, now that he’s down there?” Owen asked, wondering if she was just going to leave the demon in there.

              “I really didn’t know what I was going to do with him, but… he escaped, sometime this morning,” Mariea informed him.

              Owen looked surprised. “How?” he wondered.

              Mariea shrugged. “You’re guess is as good as mine,” she told him, even though now she guessed Malik must have gained just enough strength from Owen’s aura to break through the magic guarding the prison. “Luckily, he fled the city without doing any further damage. I think he was too drained to risk another fight.”

              “Well, at least he’s no longer our problem,” Owen muttered with a shrug. Mariea nodded, but she couldn’t help but disagree to herself. As long as there were demons, and she was an Aurae, they were her problem, as they were for all the Auraes.

                The sound of a bell ringing made Owen glance at the door. “Dang, I’m late,” he grumbled.

                “Don’t worry about it, I’ll talk to your teacher after classes and get her to dismiss the tardy,” Mariea offered, waving her hand slightly in dismissal. “You better go though.” Owen nodded, and after thanking her, walked out. Mariea thought about what she had told him for a minute, then started putting things away from the last class and pulling out things she would need for the next class.

[auricchronicles-blog]

Chapter 2: the Brotherhood

Mefune

          “So, Mefune, why do we use swords? I mean, why use such old fashioned weapons when there’s a lot better options out there?” the boy asked.

           Mefune glanced at him. The boy, Aron, couldn’t be more than fifteen, but he was smart, Mefune had noticed that already. He was defiant of leadership though, the reason he had left his home in Verndale to join the Brotherhood. He didn’t show any respect for Mefune despite how far he outranked the boy. Aron was lucky Mefune was more patient with the newcomers than most; others would have already chewed him out, or worse, by now. I asked for this though, Mefune reminded himself, reflecting on his request at the announcement of the match for a younger member to assist him in preparing. It wasn’t like he needed the help, but he liked to keep tabs on the newest recruits, see what the future generation of the Brotherhood was shaping out to be.

           Turning back to preparing the sword in his hand, he answered, “Because modern weapons are useless against demons.”

           “Why?” the boy pestered.

           And here comes the never ending questions. “Their auras naturally repel bullets,” he explained. “Nobody really knows for sure how. It’s a demon thing though—Auraes aren’t so lucky.”

           Aron seemed to think about this for a moment, granting Mefune a few minutes of silence. He continued to work, cleaning another already spotless blade. He placed two in the sheath around his waist, and then tucked the other six into a black bag. “What about the vampires? Can we shoot them?” Aron asked.

           “I guess if you wanted, you could.  But if you are being attacked by a vampire, you’re most likely close to it anyway, so a sword or knife will do,” Mefune replied. “Didn’t the Auraes teach you these things back in Verndale?”

           Aron shrugged. “No. They focused mostly on those with auras, and since I don’t have one…” he shrugged, and then fell silent.

           If he was looking for sympathy, Mefune wasn’t going to give it to him. He had his own problems to deal with, and he didn’t need the boy’s as well. To make this clear to Aron, he diverted the topic by instructing, “Here. Take this. Make sure it’s near the ring during the match.”

           “Why?” Aron questioned as he accepted the bag. Mefune didn’t answer, just turned his back, making it very clear he expected the boy to follow orders. There was no way Mefune was going to explain the complicated reasons for why he kept the bag near, even during fights. Aron eventually left, leaving Mefune alone for a minute.

           As he was pulling on fingerless gloves, Garrett, a member of the Brotherhood Council, walked in. “Hey, good luck out there,” he commented as he approached.

           Without even thinking about it, Mefune told him, “I don’t need luck.”

           Garrett looked surprised, smirking slightly. “Somebody’s confident. You that sure you’ll win?” Mefune nodded simply. “I don’t know, I’ve seen her fight. She’s pretty good. What makes you so sure?”

           “Because I’ve seen her fight as well. I’ll win,” Mefune reassured him. He wasn’t being cocky or overconfident, he just knew he was good at what he did. There weren’t many who could match his natural talent, and then the amount he trained on top of that put him well ahead almost all the members of the Brotherhood. “The only reason why I wouldn’t is if I threw the fight,” he added after a minute.

           “Are you considering it?” Garrett asked.

           “No. I have no objections to being leader of the Brotherhood,” Mefune replied with a small shrug.

           “So you are a bit ambitious after all,” Garrett teased. When Mefune didn’t react, he snorted, sounding annoyed he hadn’t gotten a reaction. Changing the subject, he added, “Oh hey, you remember that debate we got into a few days ago?”

            Mefune groaned inwardly, but his expression didn’t change as he responded, “The one about which was the lesser evil, demons or vampires?” he asked.

            “Yeah,” Garrett clarified. “You never finished what you were saying, about how demons are better.”

            Mefune shrugged lightly. “It doesn’t matter,” he dismissed.

           “It seemed to matter to you then. Quite a lot, actually. Come on, just tell me,” Garrett pressed.

            “I was just saying demons are better than vampires because they are addicted to auras. They’re not in their right mind when they kill,” Mefune relented.

            “Hmm. Well, I say vampires are better. They have to kill to survive. It’s just like when we hunt for food. Demons kill because they can, to feed an addiction. That’s murder in my book,” Garrett argued.

             “You must think me a murderer then; I’ve killed for much lesser reasons than survival,” Mefune mused.

             Garrett chuckled, his tone almost bittersweet. “Haven’t we all?”

             “Mefune?” a voice asked from behind. He turned to see Aron had returned. “Altaira’s ready. The fight can begin once you enter the ring.”

              Mefune nodded, and started out. Before stepping out of the small prep alcove, he glanced back and said, “Oh, Garrett?”

              “Hmm?” the other man responded.

              “The demon’s addiction to auras is much stronger than the control of any drug. Without regularly consuming an aura, a demon becomes so weak, they’re a shadow of their former self. They would do anything to restore what they had lost, to end the pain.  It would drive even the best to killing, and since they are raised in an environment where it’s acceptable to allow their aura to control them, there’s nothing stopping them,” Mefune told him.

              Garrett nodded slowly. “I guess I can understand that… where’d you learn so much about demons?”

               Mefune allowed a small smile. “I’ve done my research. I like to know my enemy.” With that, he turned away from Garrett, stepping out into a large, open, circular arena. The floor was sandy, easy to slip in if you weren’t used to it, but Mefune was so used to fighting in sand-filled practice circles the transition didn’t even faze him. He glanced up at the stands surrounding the circle. They were filled to overflowing with the Brotherhood, who waited silently for the fight to begin, the tension audible in the air.

             Across the circle, a woman about Mefune’s age stood confidently, her hand resting lightly on the hilt of a sword strapped to her waist. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a tight braid, and she was wearing flexible, dark clothing, perfect for fighting in. Her dark violet eyes followed him as he moved to stand opposite of her, his stance relaxed. He was more than ready for this fight. As he had told Garrett, he liked to know his enemy. Altaira being one of the greatest fighters the Brotherhood had to offer, Mefune had made sure he was familiar with her fighting style, knowing one day this moment would come.

             They were about to battle for the title of leader of the Brotherhood. Their previous leader, Kreta, had just stepped down. Tradition had it that he could appoint his successor, but anyone who thought they were good enough could challenge for the position. Kreta had appointed Mefune, and as Mefune had expected, Altaira had challenged. He knew she was ambitious, and wouldn’t pass up this chance to take power, but Mefune wasn’t about to hand it to her. He had just as many reasons for wanting the position as she did.

              Samar, the council leader, stepped into the circle. The two approached him. “You both know the rules. Fight fair, fight hard. Good luck to the both of you,” he told them, before pausing. He stepped back a few steps, and then yelled, “Draw swords!”

              Mefune grabbed one of the swords from the hilt at his belt and slipped into a fighting stance at the same time Altaira reached for her own weapon. Once Samar was out of the circle, the fight began. Altaira struck first, and Mefune let her. He easily defended, but allowed her to remain on the offensive for a few moments, getting a feel of how well she was fighting. She’s on her game, today. Too bad it’s still not enough, he thought, analyzing the fight as it played out.

               Eventually, he pushed an advantage he saw in her defense, and quickly gained the upper hand. He disarmed her after a few more moments, but she wasn’t ready to give up yet. She dove after the blade, but Mefune was quicker. A fraction of a second after her hand wrapped around the blade, he was in front of her, his sword pressed to her neck. Allowing a small, triumphant smile, he commanded, “Yield.”

             She let go of her sword again, signaling her defeat. Briefly, his gaze met hers, and he was a bit surprised by the amount of hatred he saw there. Dismissing it, he stepped back, retrieved her sword, and returned it to her, as was tradition. She accepted the sword, obviously barely controlling the urge to rip it from his grasp. The tradition was supposed to signify there were to be no hard feelings between the competitors, but for some reason Mefune got the feeling that wasn’t the case between him and Altaira.

            They were swept up in formalities and celebrations afterward. He couldn’t help but notice, once the parts she was required to be at were over, Altaira disappeared. Daya, a friend of hers, disappeared soon after, looking concerned. Mefune shrugged it off, focusing on the party. She’ll get over it, he decided, and then thought nothing of it again.

......................                                      

Altaira

            Altaira stormed into her room, throwing her sword and sheath onto the couch. She ran her hands through her hair, pulling half of it free of the braid. When it snarled around her fingers annoyingly, she yanked the ponytail out and allowed it to fall from the braid, chucking the band into some dark corner of her room. She paced for a minute, trying to contain her anger, but with a curse, she lashed out at the wall, slamming her hand against it. “I lost! How?” she wondered aloud.

           After a few moments of oppressive silence, a knock came at her door. “What?!” she snapped angrily.

           “It’s Daya. Can I come in?” a voice asked softly from the other side.

           Sighing, Altaira moved to the door and allowed her friend in. Once she was in, Altaira slammed the door shut again, with more force than necessary. “I lost!” she exclaimed again, as if it wasn’t obvious.

           “I know, I know. I’m sorry,” Daya said, attempting to soothe her. “We’ll figure this out.”

           “No, we won’t! I need to be leader, Daya! How am I supposed to be now?” Altaira shouted. Suddenly a wild idea came to mind. “I’m going to kill him. That’ll solve this problem.”

           “Altaira, calm down. Listen to what you’re saying. You know you can’t kill him,” Daya argued.

           Altaira snorted. “Yeah, I know. I can’t even beat him in a duel. If I went after him for real, I’d be dead in a few minutes. He was playing with me, Daya! Did you see how he did that? He was going easy at the beginning. I could tell he was holding back. I thought maybe he’d throw the fight, but no, he just wanted to make a game of things!” She threw her hands up in exasperation, and began pacing again.

           “That’s not what I meant,” Daya muttered. “You can’t go after him because there’s rules against that.” She sighed. “We’ll find another way.”

           “No, we won’t,” Altaira insisted, her anger falling away to sorrow. “I can’t convince the Brotherhood to fight the demons unless I’m their leader, and I can’t fight the demons alone. How else am I going to get revenge for my parents?” She sunk onto the couch next to her forgotten sword and rested her head against her fist. “It’s pointless.”

           “Maybe… it’s not,” Daya muttered.

           “What other options do I have?” Altaira demanded, throwing her hands up in exsasperation.

           Daya stayed silent for a long moment, seeming to debate telling Altaira something. “This is just a rumor, but… Apparently Mefune’s always talking about how the Brotherhood’s lost its purpose. Apparently we used to fight the demons all the time; that was our purpose. If… if he feels strongly about this, he may try to move the Brotherhood back in that direction. Maybe you could get in on it.”

           Altaira just stared at her friend for a moment, completely surprised Daya even suggested this. “You… want me to work with him?” she asked. She shook her head, disgusted at the very thought.

           Daya shook her head, looking just a bit irritated. “You only hate him because he beat you.” Altaira didn’t reply. As much as she cared for Daya, she couldn’t agree with her friend on this one. She didn’t understand Altaira’s frustration with Mefune; it hadn’t only been the fight that had irritated her. Ever since she had joined the Brotherhood, he had been there, making her look like his shadow, always one step behind. She was fast, but he was faster. She was smart, but he was smarter. She had quickly impressed her superiors as she had trained, but all of her successes were hidden behind his. It was a consistent pattern. Now he had been made leader of the Brotherhood, leaving Altaira to continue playing the shadow.

           “Think about it at least, alright?” Daya requested. “I’m going to come back when you’ve calmed down a bit.” She stood to leave, but paused before she reached the door and glanced back. “Just… don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

           Altaira sighed, and mumbled a halfhearted, “I won’t.” Unsatisfied, Daya hesitated, before giving in and leaving Altaira alone to sulk.

.............. 

           Altaira scowled as she moved down the hallway, noticing Mefune again. It was hard not to see him every time they passed; he stood out in the crowd, despite how much he tried to blend in.  He was tall with a slender but strong build and shoulder length, almost white blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. Even though he spent plenty of time outdoors, he was surprisingly pale, as if he rarely saw the sun. He almost seemed sapped of color, besides his eyes, which were a surprisingly bright, light blue.

           Every time he passed, Altaira spotted him immediately. She had attempted to avoid him since the fight, but it just wasn’t possible. Mefune was more actively involved in the day to day workings of the Brotherhood now that he was their leader, so it was hard not to run into him, and even when he wasn’t present, he was the talk of almost every conversation. Becoming leader had definitely brought him plenty of attention.

           As she turned back to head down the hall away from Mefune, someone tapped Altaira’s shoulder from behind. “You’re avoiding him still, aren’t you?” Daya stated quietly. When she said this, Mefune turned around again, almost as if he had heard Daya. Though Altaira realized he was too far away to hear, she still pulled her friend into the nearest open room and shut the door, just in case.

           “Yes,” Altaira admitted, finally answering her friend’s question. “But wouldn’t you, after he embarrassed you the way he did me?” she asked sourly.

           “You still hate him, then,” Daya stated, sounding slightly disappointed. “I’m telling you, he’s your best option now.”

           “I know! I can’t stand it though! I can’t work with that-that… demon spawn!” Altaira spat.

           Daya chuckled. “He’s been degraded to demon spawn now, huh?” Altaira rolled her eyes, annoyed that Daya found this humorous. Daya obviously noticed, because her smile faded. “Maybe you could at least try talking to him? Give him a chance? You don’t have to like him. I don’t like a lot of the people we work with, but I don’t let that stop me from reaching my goals. You shouldn’t either.”

           “I guess I’ll try talking to him,” Altaira agreed grudgingly, if only to get Daya to stop pestering her.

           Daya brightened. “Good! Tell me how it goes.”

           Finally, Altaira allowed herself to smile, despite how irritated she still was. “Sometimes I wonder who it is that wants me to be leader more, you or me.”

           Daya shrugged. “I just want you to be happy. You deserve that, after all the crap you’ve been through.”

Mefune

           “Altaira,” Mefune mumbled with a chuckle and a shake of his head as he turned and continued down the hall. Ever since he had beaten her, every time they passed, she scowled and quickly changed direction. If he entered a room she was in, she would leave, and if she came to a room he was already in, she never stayed long. Obviously, she was trying to avoid him. She’s jealous. She has a right to be, he thought.

           Mefune walked out a door that led to a moss covered area surrounded by pine trees. Just beyond the small clump of pine trees was a large drop off to the sea below. The ocean was visible in the distance, just beyond the trees.

           He sat down on a large rock, pulling his black bag off his shoulder and setting it by his leg. He had a few moments of silence among his new demands as leader, and wanted to take advantage of them. Whenever he had a moment like this, he liked to come to this cliff, to relax and enjoy the view before more demands were added to his time.

             After only a few minutes of silence, the door opened behind him with the soft wisp of displaced air and creaking hinges. As he glanced back but saw no one, a small smile crossed his usually unreadable face. Obviously somebody was on the cliff with him, but didn’t want to be seen. “You do realize it’s hard not to notice the door opening,” he informed whoever had stepped out on the cliff.

           “What’s in the bag?” They questioned, completely ignoring his remark. Mefune recognized the voice; it was Altaira. Glancing down at the bag by his leg, he admitted the bag could draw attention, but he was confused why Altaira was so interested.

            Inside, there were many things, most notably the many swords. They were set in pairs of two; every pair had its own unique, elaborate design. Though unique, the swords were ordinary compared to the power of the swords, sheath, and bag combined. The whole combination was crafted by a talented Aurae. The bag and swords were connected with powerful magic, so if he ever lost a sword in battle a new one would appear in the sheath, and the dropped blade would return to the bag. This ensured he never found himself unarmed, as long as he kept the bag close; over long distances, they no longer worked. Besides being a convenient way to carry his weapons, the bag could also hold any number of items of any size, but never became too heavy to carry.

            But Altaira could have easily found this out by asking anyone else. He hadn’t exactly kept the bag’s powers a secret, and knowing how she had actively avoided him the past few days, he couldn’t help but wonder why she was bothering to talk to him now.

           Something’s changed, he decided. “What’s your interest in my bag?” he finally replied.

           “Just answer the question, will you? You don’t have to make things complicated,” her disembodied voice demanded. He looked around for her, and found her standing across the cliff in the shadow of a tree, moody as usual. Mefune ignored the demand, not in the mood to answer to her.

           After a long pause filled with her staring stubbornly at him, Mefune sighed. “Look Altaira, I have nothing against you. It’s not good to fight amongst ourselves. You’ll get another chance at being leader, but right now this is my chance, so give it a rest.” After he finished, he got up and walked away, leaving Altaira alone on the cliff.

[auricchronicles-blog]

Chapter 1: Nalia

            Nalia watched the gathering crowd from a distance. They swarmed around the city center, their shouts audible even from a great distance. With a shake of her head in disgust, she hurried away, trying to keep out of sight. She knew all too well why the crowd was gathering, and wanted nothing to do with it. As she slipped down the dirty streets, cries of joy echoed from behind her. The demons at the city center were clamoring for the chance to claim a bottled aura, and the Darkray must have just revealed them, judging by the sound of the crowd.

            Though she too was a demon, she had long since given up her addiction to auras, making her an anomaly among her kind. She hated the first of the week, when the bottled auras were presented to the public. Because the Auraes had locked themselves in their walled city, getting auras had become difficult. Lucky for the demons, the Darkray had collected several auras into bottles years before, enough to sustain them for years to come. Nalia heard rumors that at one point more bottled auras were presented every day, but as supplies dwindled, less was made available. This only made the demons more desperate for the auras, and the chaos caused every Monday was something Nalia wholeheartedly avoided.

           The diminishing supply limited how many demons got an aura each week. Most could go a month or two without being affected by it, but eventually the craving became overpowering. After she had decided to no longer consume auras, Nalia had almost lost the nerve to keep her commitment as the cravings had worsened. The only thing that kept her from falling back on old habits had been her moral courage. Taking an aura, even one of the bottled auras, required taking a life, and it was something she refused to do.

          Other demons however didn’t care that they had to kill to claim an aura, and as the cravings became so extreme they were painful, they became desperate. Because of the lack of recently consumed auras, they were weakened, and just couldn’t fight the crowd to get to the bottled auras, making their desperation worse.

          Some began turning to the Aurae’s city, Verndale. The demons had watched the Auraes for years as they slowly became complacent in their time of peace. Not having to fight for their lives on a daily basis, like their ancestors had, was weakening the Auraes, and the demons knew it. Once the Auraes dared settle outside of their wall, the demons could no longer resist the urge to hunt, to feed. They started attacking the city again, and when the Auraes did not retaliate in any major way, some dared to cross over the wall.

            Though she hated to admit it, the demon’s attraction to the city left Nalia with an easy excuse to avoid the gatherings. Other demons decided to forgo the bottled auras too, choosing instead to risk the city.

            It still wasn’t easy though, living among the demons with a pure aura. She couldn’t completely suppress her aura, no matter how hard she tried. It just wasn’t possible in the time she had stopped using it, meaning others could sense it’s purity if they paid enough attention. She knew if someone caught her avoiding the gathering they’d question her about it. There still wasn’t enough demons that avoided the crowd for people to think it normal. So she stayed far away, avoiding it and any other social event. She closed herself off, hoping the rest of the demons would allow her to become invisible.             But now she found herself in an even more difficult situation. After the announcement from the Darkray a few days ago, she knew war was coming. The demons would be expected to feed more often, to practice, to become stronger. If she continued how she was acting now, she’d be fine, until the war actually came. She didn’t doubt the Darkray would intend her to fight, despite her only being sixteen. He didn’t care how young she was, nor did any of the other demons. If she went into battle now, with her aura so pure, she would be left defenseless against the Auraes.

            She averted her thoughts when she realized she stood in front of her small two story house. Realizing she wasn’t expected there for another hour, she paused for a minute, debating what to do. If she came too early, her mother would wonder why she wasn’t at the city center with the rest of the demons.

            Her mother, Kimora, was a vampire. Vampires were similar to the demons in many ways, except for one large difference; the vampires fed on blood, not auras. With no reason to be there, they too avoided the city center on Mondays. Her mother was most likely home, sleeping through the day as many vampires did. They weren’t strictly nocturnal, but they were drawn to the night, their bodies better suited to surviving in the shadows, so most chose to live at least a semi-nocturnal lifestyle.  

          Sighing, Nalia decided she’d rather try to sneak into her house and risk waking Kimora rather than have someone stumble across her and wonder what she was doing. At least around her mother, Nalia didn’t have to worry about Kimora sensing her aura; vampires had no such ability.

           It was dark inside the house, confirming Nalia’s suspicions of her mother being asleep. The lights were almost always off in the house, partially to conserve what little electricity the city had, and partially because her mother hated the bright, florescent lights almost more than she did the light of the sun.

            As Nalia entered the house, she slipped her shoes off to avoid making any noise as she walked across the old wooden floors. When she got to her room, she shut the door quietly behind her and grasped in the darkness for the string that would turn the light on. Pulling the string, she blinked in the sudden light. It didn’t take long for her eyes to adjust; the single bulb barely lit the space, but it was better than nothing. Having electricity in Sarako was slowly becoming a rare thing as the town deteriorated.

          Finally some peace and quiet, Nalia thought as she plopped down on her small bed. Now I can do what I want. Even though her father could read minds, she had secretly learned a protective spell that she put around her room to keep prying minds out. Here in her room was the closest she got to feeling free from the world around her. Most of the time, she felt unwanted, alone and out of place.

           The demons that she spent every minute of her life with were all mindless slaves to the Darkray. It amazed her how he had so much power over them. Questioning the leadership of the Darkray was strange, but she did. Just because Alakar was more powerful than any other demon, he was made a king, and the man—if he could be considered one—wasn’t even completely sane. To Nalia, that wasn’t right.

         The Auraes just make more sense! Nalia thought with a sigh. They’re supposed to be the bad-guys. Why does it feel like the exact opposite?

         Becoming frustrated, Nalia pushed these thoughts away. Laying back on her bed, she stared up at the dull pastel-white roof and peeling paint. She made an effort to keep the house nice, but it was a pointless struggle, the flaking walls was evidence of that. The house she lived in was better than elsewhere in the rundown town of Sarako, but the whole city was falling apart, and nobody seemed to care.

         “Nalia? Come downstairs please,” she heard her mother call.

         “Coming!” Nalia called, grumbling under her breath about just wanting a few minutes alone. It was better not to keep her mother waiting, so after plastering a fake smile on her face, she headed back down the hall to the dully lit living room.

         “I’m going hunting, dear. Would you like to come with me? You could drink the auras of the people I catch. I know you haven’t fed for so long,” Kimora suggested as she played with Nalia’s long, blue-black hair.

         Nalia cringed inside at the very thought of taking someone’s aura, but she forced herself to smile. “I’m alright. I won’t need to feed for another couple of months,” she replied, trying to sound convincing.

          A flicker of doubt crossed her mother’s face, but then the smile returned, and she said, “Alright dear. Make sure you cook something for your father.” She patted Nalia on the head, and then turned to leave.

            Nalia waited for her to leave, and then she went into the kitchen. “Now to find something to eat,” she mumbled with a sigh. This is how her life had always been, and how it always would be.

.......                                  

           Nalia found herself with two days blissfully alone. For those days, the house finally felt a bit like home, giving her a haven from the world around her. It all came to an end too soon; toward the end of the second day, she stood at the sink, washing the mismatched dishes when she heard the door open. “Nalia dear, I’m home! Where are you?” Her mother asked as she walked through the door.

           “I’m washing dishes!” Nalia replied, trying to hide her disappointment. She had enjoyed having the house to herself, and wasn’t looking forward to dealing with her mother again.

           Kimora walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Nalia noticed that her skin wasn’t nearly as pale as usual, and the traces of her aura still visible had turned blood red instead of its usual gray. Nalia knew that vampire auras only appeared right after they fed. They would turn blood red, and then slowly fade to gray before disappearing completely. She fed again, Nalia thought in disgust.

            “Something wrong dear?” her mother asked when she noticed her daughter studying her.

            “Kind of; Father’s missing. I haven’t seen him since the night you left. He told me he was going to hunt and he wanted me to have dinner ready when he came back, but he never did,” Nalia lied, coming up with a quick response as she returned to the dishes. She really hadn’t seen her father in several weeks, and wasn’t worried about him at all. He came and went as he pleased, and neither Nalia nor her mother expected him to be around a lot. Still, it wasn’t the first time Nalia had blamed discomfort or worry on her missing father, so she knew her mother would take the excuse without questioning her.

            Kimora shrugged. “He’s fine. He probably decided to stay out longer,” she told Nalia, obviously not worried at all. “Is that the only thing bothering you?”

            “Yeah, I’m okay now,” Nalia confirmed.

           “Well then, we have something we need to discuss,” Kimora announced.

           “What?” Nalia asked, suddenly wary of how focused on her Kimora was. There was only one reason Nalia could think of that would bring Kimora to pay attention to Nalia; she had displeased her somehow.

            “You haven’t fed for three years,” Kimora stated bluntly. Nalia opened her mouth to protest, but Kimora cut her off. “Don’t deny it! Your father told me how pure your aura is. Did you really think you could hide it?” When Nalia didn’t respond, Kimora continued. “Your father also told me it is law I take you to the Darkray.”

           Nalia could no longer hear Kimora. Fear made her heart skip a beat, and she just about dropped the plate she was drying her hands were shaking so bad. Calm down Nalia, you’ll make it out of this, she promised herself, even if it was just an empty promise to keep herself from panicking. It was all she could do to not break down in tears right then, but she refused to do so in front of Kimora. “When?” she managed after a long pause.

            “Tonight,” Kimora responded, making Nalia’s blood run cold. Realizing she wouldn’t be able to avoid her mother’s demands, she bit her lip hard and resigned herself to her fate.  

 .........

            Nalia was right to be nervous. After a long argument with the Darkray, he decided her case was too serious. He told Kimora Nalia would have to be confined to his palace, and sent her mother away. It didn’t make Nalia feel any better that Kimora so willingly handed her daughter over to Alakar.

            He called for guards to come retrieve her. As they waited, he turned back to her, smiling slightly. “Now little girl,” Alakar began, “you have been brought here because you are in denial. You are a demon, there is no avoiding it. You must feed on auras, and humans are there for you to feed on. You must learn that. You are sick, and I am your doctor; I will make you better.” He finished, his smile turning psychotic. Nalia couldn’t look at him, she was so disturbed by the look in his eyes. Just leave me alone, she begged silently.

            As the guards entered, the Darkray ordered, “Take her to her room!” The two tall, muscular demons bowed to Alakar and then roughly pushed her toward a hallway. They led her through many halls filled with identical doorways. Nalia was quickly left disoriented as the twists and turns blended together in her mind. She figured the layout of the building was like that on purpose, just in case she escaped.  

           Eventually they stopped at a door that didn’t look any different from all the other ones they had passed. The door was locked, and at the bottom of the door was a thin slot covered with a flap. Noticing the slot’s size, Nalia wonder of its purpose. One of the two men pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door. He pointed inside the room and after a moment’s hesitation, Nalia walked in, deciding resisting them was pointless; they could easily force her with how strong they were.

            Inside, the stark contrast of black and white throughout the room gave Nalia a headache. The room had a small array of furniture; there was a small table with two chairs, and in the corner was a bed with plain black sheets, which stood out greatly against the plain white walls.  There was a black table next to the bed with a white lamp on it. Across from the table and chairs was a white metal dresser. Nalia couldn’t help but wonder what had made the Darkray choose such an extravagant color scheme for the room, other than to drive its occupants mad.

           Sitting at the table was an older lady with the aura of a demon. It was hard to place her age, as it was with all older demons, but Nalia guessed she was near fifty. “Come, sit with me,” she instructed, gesturing to the empty chair across from her. Nalia reluctantly walked over and sat in the chair. “You’re probably wondering what this room is about?” the lady asked.

         “I am. I’m wondering why the Darkray wants me here. I didn’t do anything wrong,” Nalia replied.

         “You are here so we can help you, and so we can teach you the truth, not because you did anything wrong,” the woman said patiently, as if she was trying to reassure a confused child.

          The Darkray’s obsession with Nalia being mentally ill was quickly becoming annoying. “But I don’t need your help. I don’t want to hurt anybody, so just leave me alone,” Nalia snapped.

           “That is why you need our help. You are a demon. Nothing will change that.” Immediately Nalia hated the way the woman tried to turn her words against her. Her calm voice filled with superficial concern only made it worse. No matter what Nalia said, she couldn’t get a reaction out of the woman, like she was a robot. “You will see, in time,” the woman continued, “I learned, you can too. Tomorrow, your lessons begin.” After she finished she got up and walked out, leaving Nalia at the table. When the door shut, Nalia heard a key turn in the lock. They locked me in here, like some animal, she thought with disbelief.

            Nalia walked over to the bed and laid down. If they try and make me drink another aura I won’t let them, she decided, knowing that was their end goal. They can’t make me. I’m stronger than they are.

 ............

             The next morning a tray was pushed through the little flap at the bottom of the door. Nalia picked it up and carried it to the table. On the tray was a bowl of cereal, a glass of orange juice, and a small bottle filled with a glowing purple substance. Tucked under the napkin and spoon was a small card. On the card it said:

This is your breakfast.

When you are done, push the tray through the slot at the bottom of the door.

The bottle is harvested aura.

            Well, at least they’re going to feed me, Nalia thought as she tasted the cereal. It wasn’t too flavorful, but wasn’t horrible. For a minute, she just stared at the aura, wondering who had lost their life when the aura was harvested. Thinking of such things only infuriated her again. She pushed the tray across the table defiantly, and then stood and went to the only empty corner in the room and sunk to the floor with a sigh. She rested her head on her knees, trying not to think of the Aurae whose aura was sitting on the table.

           After a few long hours of lonely silence, the woman came back. When she picked up the tray and saw the aura, she looked displeased, but she carried it out without saying anything.

             When she returned, she told Nalia to once again sit with her at the table. Nalia grudgingly did so. “Why didn’t you take the aura?” she asked.

            “Because I’m not a monster like you,” Nalia spat.

            “You only think that because of your condition. You will get better—” the woman started to say in her calm, reasoning voice, but Nalia cut her off.

          “I don’t have a condition, and I can’t get better if I’m not sick!” she yelled. “You can’t make me drink an aura!” The woman stayed silent, just staring at her. Nalia wanted to slap her, but held back, curling her hands into fists and forcing them into her lap instead.

          “We’ll see about that,” the woman eventually said, her voice now cold. “Starting tomorrow, your meals will be diminished every time you don’t drink the aura. If you keep refusing it, eventually it’ll be all you have.” She smiled smugly, obviously feeling victorious. She continued to explain about lessons and training, but Nalia wasn’t listening, her mind occupied by the new situation she had just landed in. They won’t really do that, will they? I’ll starve before I take an aura. Do they not understand that?

           Eventually the woman took her to a new room where her first lesson began. They dragged on for a few hours, before she was allowed a half hour in her room for lunch. The lessons were filled with stuff she already knew; the history of demons, how to catch an aura, and other annoying stuff that Nalia tuned out. She was sure most of the history was lies, made up to convince her that the Auraes were the ones at fault, not the demons, but any person with common sense could see holes in their story. They couldn’t hide the fact that the demons were the murderers, not the Auraes.

          Just as she was starting to doze, she was finally allowed to go back to her room for dinner. She found it waiting for her, along with another bottled aura. Looking disdainfully at the aura, she grabbed it and shoved the bottle under her mattress, then sat and ate her dinner, surprised at how well it was cooked.                       That night she lay on her bed, trying to get some sleep. That wasn’t that bad, she thought, trying to encourage herself. Little did she know it wasn’t going to stay like that for long.

 ............

         Day after day Nalia’s ‘condition’ worsened and so did the way the Darkray treated her. Eventually all she got for lunch was a bottled aura, and the time she was allowed alone during the middle of the day was cut out, replaced by more Darkray propaganda. Time and again they would present her with a chance to take an aura and rectify her situation, but she denied them every time.

         One such time, she sat staring at images on a screen, when one of the men Nalia had come to call her escorts held out the bottle to her. She glanced at it once, and then stared defiantly at her tutor, refusing to acknowledge the aura. Eventually the escort set it on the table. Rage flared inside of her, making her pick it up and toss it at the screen. The smashed against it, releasing the aura in a flash of color and smoke. Nalia was released from the class early for pour behavior. As her escorts walked her back to her room, Nalia couldn’t help but smile a little at her own rebelliousness. Maybe eventually I’ll get my point across, she thought as she was let into her room.

          But these, and other attempts to rebel, didn’t seem to sway the Darkray, any more than his nonsense changed Nalia’s mind. She found out along with her food, her day-to-day comforts faded away too. Her bed was diminished to a small matt and a thin blanket. All the other furniture disappeared one by one. The room even seemed to shrink.

         With no way to tell what time it was, the days started to blur together in her mind, making her quickly lose track of how many days she had been with the Darkray. She was kept deep inside the center of the Darkray’s palace, far away from any natural light. Her days were defined simply by when her lessons started over, which she figured was the start of a new day, but even that was uncertain.

          One morning Nalia was awoken for what she thought was her usual lessons, but this time she was led to an unfamiliar part of the labyrinth-like palace. Just when she was about to ask where she was, the escort stuck something in her arm. She yelped in surprise as her vision began to blur. She stumbled forward, panicking, trying to stay conscious. Whatever they had pricked her with worked quickly; she soon fell to her knees. She heard someone say something about ‘the bonds’ and then her world went black as she slumped to the cold floor.

......... 

           When she awoke, Nalia was sitting on some sort of ledge. She blinked her groggy eyes and looked around, trying to get her bearings. Suddenly she realized with a shock she was suspended above a pit, held up by some sort of harness. Her hands were strapped to the bar above her loosely. Immediately she grabbed onto the bar, fear making her hold on so tight her knuckles turned white.

            After a second, she calmed down enough to look around the room. The bar she was attached to extended across the room, which was stark white, making it hard to tell just how big it was. The harsh lighting above made her feel like she needed to squint, or look down, but that only reminded her she was hanging above what looked like an endless abyss.  

            Just when she started to relax, the harness disappeared, as if it was never there. Suddenly she was holding on desperately, praying her grip on the bar wouldn’t fail her.

            She hung, frozen and absolutely terrified with no idea how to get out of the situation, until she realized there was an aura hanging at the opposite end of the room. Realizing this was probably some twisted plan of the Darkray’s to force her to consume an aura, anger rose up inside her, dampening the fear a little bit. Mustering her courage, she decided to move towards the aura, catching the hint that it was the only way out of this mess.

            Slowly she inched along the bar, her hands never completely leaving it; she was too scared to completely let go. The process was slow and tiring. She wasn’t even close to the aura when her arms started shaking from exhaustion; they had never held her weight for so long.

             When she finally reached the aura she carefully reached out with a shaking hand and grabbed the bottle, pulling it off its string. To her surprise, when she did a platform slid out from the wall to her, creating a bridge from her to the wall. After making sure it would hold her weight, she gratefully let herself down onto it, and then quickly scooted away from the edge. She crouched down, feeling comforted by the solid platform underneath her. She wouldn’t look at any of the edges—instead she just stared at her feet as she rotated her shoulders, attempting in vain to relieve the pain in them and her upper arms, and return feeling to her tingling hands.  

             Hoping she could get out somehow, once she gathered her courage she headed towards the bridge that expanded between her and the wall, but when she started to walk forward it disappeared. She jerked away from the new edge just in time to save herself from a neck breaking fall. Once again her heart raced madly at how close she had gotten to falling to her death. She huddled at the center of the platform, unwilling to move again.

             After a long pause she started to think clearer. Thinking over the events since she had woken up, she realized the progress she had made was all connected to the bottled aura. You want me to drink the aura don’t you? She mentally asked the Darkray. Well I won’t.

            She began to unscrew the bottle. With every turn of the lid a small piece of the bridge reappeared. She walked forward as she turned the lid, staying away from the edge but still making progress.

            When the bottle was completely opened, she stopped, debating what to do. If she opened the bottle, her aura would fight to drink it, but she figured she needed to open the bottle to get more of the bridge to appear.

           Carefully, she lifted the lid off. Immediately she felt her aura reaching for the swirling liquid that slowly seeped out of the bottle, but she suppressed her aura the best she could, biting her lip.

          Dropping the lid caused a little more of the bridge to appear, but it wasn’t enough; there was still enough distance between her and the door to jump, even if she had the courage to try. She realized with a sigh she would have to drink the aura to continue. There was a small part of her in her desperation that thought she could always drink this one, to save herself, but then not let him convince her to drink another one. But after one I won’t be able to control my aura anymore, she realized. It’ll be a lot easier to get me to drink another one. So I can’t give in. Not even this once. I’m going to have to act though. It’s the only way the rest of the bridge will appear.

          She allowed her aura to appear, its emerald glow surrounding her. With it came the natural hunger for the aura in front of her. Surprised by the strength of the urge to take the aura, she was almost overpowered. Luckily, as her aura reached for the one in the bottle, the rest of the bridge appeared. She sprinted to the far wall where there was a door, and quickly suppressed her aura. When she stepped onto the solid ground outside the door she threw down the bottle. It fell for what seemed like forever, before shattering on the floor far below. As it disappeared, her aura relaxed. “I won’t drink the aura. You failed Darkray!” She announced proudly.

           The door opened behind her after a few moments, and she was pulled through roughly by and unfamiliar demon. They dragged her back to her room, clearly irritated. Their puppets, bent to the will of the Darkray. I’m better than them; I did not let him control me, she thought defiantly.

           When she was left alone in her room, her good mood quickly faded, replaced by uncertainty, and a hint of dread. She knew that wasn’t the last of the horrible things the Darkray would put her through, and her near death experience had left her shaken. She realized now that her ecstatic mood had just been her mind’s way of coping with the stress and shock of the moment.

            She sighed shakily as she sat down in the corner of her room where the dresser had once been, her mind reeling. So much had happened to her in the past few days, she wasn’t sure how much more she could take. I just want to leave, she thought sadly, and then realized she had nowhere to go. Outside her prison, there were only more demons, more people that hated who she was and how she defied their ways. Tears welled up in her eyes. She cried, curled up in the corner, for the rest of the day and into the night. She felt trapped and alone, wondering if her life would always be like this.

[auricchronicles-blog]

Prologue: Demons

          Alakar sat curled up in a dark corner of the roof’s rafters, his wings wrapped around him like a bat’s. No light reached this corner of the room, allowing him to disappear into the shadows. He stared down at the tiled floor below, his dark eyes unfocused.  He was often found secluded in this corner when revenge occupied his thoughts.

           Mariea caused all of this, he thought bitterly. Anger boiled inside of him every time he thought of her. She has kept us trapped on this island for too many long years. “And it’s time we did something about it. We’ve waited long enough. The demons grow stronger every day. We are ready,” Alakar mused to no one in particular.

           He spread his wings and flew to the ground below, landing silently. When he landed he called for one of his many personal assistants. An older woman walked up and bowed. “Yes my master?”

           “Gather my people. I have something very important to tell them,” the Darkray told her.

           “Right away sir,” the woman said, bowing again, and left the room. Alakar climbed a few short stairs to the large throne he had built for himself. He lounged into its soft cushions, and glanced around the palace. The building was much larger than any other building in the city, and in much better condition. While he lived in luxury, his people barely made it by, but nobody seemed to mind. The demons had no standards.

As he sat a giant bell rang out across the city. By law, when this bell rang, the people of Sarako City were required to gather outside Alakar’s palace. No one knew exactly what would happen if they didn’t follow the laws he set, but the demons had lived under the rule of the Darkray for so long, obedience to him was part of them. Though some did not like him, they would never openly defy him.

After a while the woman returned. “They’re ready sire,” she informed him. He nodded and headed for the balcony at the opposite end of the room. Opening the large double doors, he walked out into the early-morning sun.

           When he walked out, the people gathered below began to clap. They were only halfheartedly clapping, just following custom. He motioned for them to settle down. When they did, he began to speak, “My people, for many long years we have been forced to stay on this island instead of roaming the world, taking advantage of the abundance of humans as we deserve. Now who is guilty for this atrocity? Mariea and her pathetic little band of Auraes.” Grumbles of agreement passed through the crowd. There was one thing he knew they all shared; their hatred of the Auraes was equally strong, and he knew he could use this to his advantage.

“Some good has come from her trapping us here,” he continued, “During our time here, we have trained and became stronger, and now we are almost double them in numbers. We must take advantage of this weakness. It is time to free ourselves.

           “In a few months, we will attack them. Their pathetic city shall fall, and we will roam the world once again!” As he finished the people began cheering and clapping again, bringing a wicked grin to Alakar’s face. This time, the clapping was sincere. He knew he had won their loyalty. This was exactly what the Darkray wanted. “Go now, prepare yourself for battle!”

           The people scattered. He watched them leave, staring out over the city from the balcony. It’s time, finally time, he thought. After being trapped on this prison island for so long, we’ll finally be free.  He smiled wickedly at the thought as the sun rose over the cursed city of the demons.