It was starting to get dark in Ellinia. Tenan had asked Braven to walk his wife home back to Ludibrium as he stayed behind. Fire was hesitant at first and looked at me with her soul-piercing eyes. My so-called father wasn’t able to heal me properly so Tenan wanted to stay behind to heal me and made sure I was safe. Braven escorted Fire out the door and he soon followed her towards the harbor in Ellinia. Luckily I only lived a few yards away from the entrance of the harbor.

“What happened?” Tenan asked. His voice sound hurt somewhat- but angry at the same time. “I was jumped by some sick Thief and his clan.” I said to him sitting up on my bed. He began to walk around my little tree house, “Ahh… this brings back memories.” He said to me, “When you were so young, you were only 9 when I saved you from that green mushroom tree. And I brought you here and you just danced around to the songs I sung you. You often fell asleep to the poems I recited for you. You were so innocent then.” I looked at him, with a disturbed look on my face. Tenan began to touch things around my room, picking up my first little uniform that lay folded on the dresser. “You were so kind and so gentle when you first became a magician with your 1 energy bolt that you used once a day. You were so pretty and small. I almost wanted to adopted you and claim you as my daughter.” He said as his voice felt a bit warmer than usual. I rested my back against the headboard of my bed. I looked down on my lap, gazing that the small patterns of the blanket.

I had remembered him actually tucking me in bed and recited those poems about El Nath and Balrog. How he would sit at the bottom of the steps in the living room, clapping and singing old folk songs of Priests and Clerics. And in the middle of the floor I would dance, twirling around in my little magician clothing at 9, dancing with a small cursed doll in my hands. He was kind then, and there was no one else but him and I that lived in this house. Shortly after Tenan disserted me, I ran away and forgot this house ever existed, much like Tenan.

He walked over towards my bed and sat at the edge of it. “What ever happen to the little innocent Aaru I raised?” he asked softly, placing his hand on my cheek. I continued to stare blankly at the patterns of the blanket. I wanted to say things to him that expressed my currently feelings, and I wanted to do things to him… that later I would regret. However, I held my composure and I held my tongue. I lifted my head up slightly and looked at him. Directly into his eyes, I had said to him in a the coldest tone of whispers, “She died a long long time ago.” I smacked his hand away and rose from my bed. I placed my hands on the nightstand supporting myself so that I wouldn’t have to fall once I rose. He watched me struggle for a moment as I walked towards my closet to retrieve my repaired moonlight and dark guiltian, and also my shoes.

I had seen him turned his focus towards the nightstand. There I had accidentally knocked over a picture frame. Tenan had picked it up and looked at it. It was him and I at Florina Beach eating lorangs and fried chicken with milk and pure waters having some delicious red beam sundaes. That picture was taken weeks before I had ran away from him. “You still kept this after all this time…” he asked. “No, I just left it here because I didn’t want to remind myself of you.” I said to him coldly as I changed into my uniform. Tenan quickly rose from the edge of the bed and walked towards me and pressed me against the wall. “What’s the matter with you Aaru. You were never this cold with me. What ever happen to you? Are those damn powers gone to your spiky little head?” he said harshly to me.

“Get off me!” I yelled at him. Struggling in his grasp. He held me close to him as he began to glow a light green and a shower of green heavenly light surrounded us. This was the first time I had ever seen him use his powers on me. I looked up at Tenan and he had his eyes shut, tears slowly falling from the corner of his eyes. And at that moment I felt like the little girl I once was when he found me. My eyes always locked on him when he used his magic like Holy Arrow or Magic Claw. But never did he use Heal on me. At that moment I wanted to cry. I placed my head on his chest and he held me complete, I felt his hand rub my back and reassured me that everything was going to be all right. After that, he suddenly let me go and looked at me and I looked up at him. “See, the little Aaru I raised is not dead.” He said to me as he slammed the picture of us at the beach having a good time onto the wall being pinned with a holy arrow. The Holy Arrow slowly dissolving the picture in a white flame that gave off no smoke or heat.

“Why did you do that to me… why did you leave me?” I asked him looking at him as he looked away from me. He didn’t answer me; instead he let out a soft sigh and headed towards the door. I watched him as he placed his hand on the doorknob. “Why?” I asked him again. He looked towards me and said. “It was either you… or Fire.” He opened the door and continued. “And she would have died… if I would have saved you first. I had no choice… I had to save my fiancé at that time.” My heart sank hearing him say those things. My eyes swelled with tears and my chest began to hurt with grief. I heard him apologize but I threw a small tantrum and yelled at him to get out my house. I launched the small tattered cursed doll at him as the head ripped from the body. He picked up the broken cursed doll in his hands, rubbing his thumb on the tummy of the doll, holding the doll’s head in his other hand. “Sorry” he said again and placed the doll on the near by table and left the tree house.

It had begun to rain again and the lightning and thunder roared in the skies. My heart fell into the lake of tears and at that moment it felt as though I couldn’t breath. It was at that very moment that my heart stopped, and the world seem to stop moving as well. I closed my eyes, my own thoughts echoing in my mind. I opened my eyes again, taking a deep breath. I walked over to the middle of the floor and curled up in a small ball. That evening I had fallen asleep, feeling hurt throughout my body. It was the first night in weeks that I had thought about Rogue. And I had wished upon the refined opal that I always kept in my pocket, to bring him back. I had wished that he’d come back for me, and take me with him… wherever he is.

I cried for several hours but regained my composure and rose from the floor. I grabbed my belongings and left the tree house. Locking the door behind me, I ran towards the harbor. I bought my ticket and took the last boat to Orbis. The captains warn the passengers not to leave the lower deck to go to the surface because Balrogs were active during the evenings. Everyone boarded the ship and stayed inside. There were many people with many different classes. There were children and the highest in ranking people. There were a small group of thieves aboard. One of the stood on the cargo, his faced masked with a black and white facemask. His friends wore the same mask as him. Two of his friends carried wands. The mages both lit up their wands with fire, making a bow and arrow. “Everyone, please give up all your belongings. Or you all will die.” The thief said plain and simple.

One of the henchmen had pointed me out, pointing his finger at me. “Sir! It’s that mage that you supposedly killed!” they shouted. He looked towards me and winked and ordered one of the henchmen to grab me. I fought one, however the other hit my on the head which knocked me out some. One of the passengers protested against the Thief. “Go to Hell!” she shouted. “Fine then…” the Thief said “lets go to Hell!” He ordered one of his men to grab the young teen and drag her to the upper deck. The henchmen ran towards the young teen, grabbing her by the arms, and dragged her towards the ladder leading the to surface. The henchmen punched the door open and tossed her outside. He called upon Balrog, bring the beast forth. One of the beasts ran into the side of the ship. The ship rocked a bit and everyone started to panic and gave up their valuables.

“Balrog!! Take this offering!!” His henchmen shouted! Balrog’s roars filled the night sky as it rained heavily. Balrog flew down with speed and instead of snatching the girl… the beast snatched the Thief’s henchmen’s head off. The young teen screamed her heart out, the henchmen’s blood showering her. Another Balrog came forth and snatched her; two more came and ripped her to shreds as they ate her body parts. She had dropped her wooden staff, falling on the inside. There were four Balrogs all together flying over the ship. The Thief ordered the two fire mages to prep their fire arrows to burn the ship down. “Everyone!!! To the upper deck now, or burn!” I opened my eyes, remaining still.

I looked towards the hostages and saw a little girl clinging to her mother. One of the hostages shouted. “Anyone here who could take down these punks? Or Balrog? Anyone!?” The female hostage’s voice filled with fear and panic. “No.” Thief said to the hostage, launching one of his Sai’s. The dagger hit the female hostage in the eye, sending her flying onto the wall of the ship. “Any who speaks will get killed, like that girl.” The Thief said. One of the thief’s men dropped me and went over the scared little girl that clung to her mother. “C’mere kid!” he said the mother fighting the henchmen off, both the child and the mother crying. I had looked around my surroundings and slowly rolled to hide behind the cargo.

“Momma!!! Momma!!!” the little girl shouted.
My heart sank with fear and sorrow.
“Arcana! I’ll save you baby…” the mother shouted.
“The hell you will” the henchmen said and kicked the mother back. The mother landing on top of other hostages.
“MOMMA!!!” the little girl screamed and cried.

Both fire mages held their cromi’s up ready to set anyone on fire who ever steps forth to fight. There was a person in the corner of the ship covered in a dark cape. “Leave her alone.” His voice said calmly. “Shut your face you bastard.” The henchmen said. The person rose from his seat and quickly whipped out his red whip and wrapped it around the henchmen’s neck and brought him to his knees. In the process the henchmen dropped the little girl flat on her face, her forehead starting to bleed. The Thief gave the signal and the fire mages launched their fire arrows. The cloaked person dodged the arrows with his red whip and launched two Angelic Betrayal daggers at their throat causing them to recklessly aim their fire arrows causing the ship to burn from within.

The hostages began to scream and shout and I slowly rose from behind the cargo. The same cargo boxes the Thief stood on. The cloaked person walked up to the dead mages and retrieved his Angelic Betrayal daggers and slowly walked over towards the Thief. My hands became blue and froze over with ice and struck the Thief from behind. He jumped to the side and grabbed me. “Nice try” he said and grabbed me. The Thief uses haste and jumped up towards the upper deck dragging me with him. He launched me outside and locked the door, locking me out. I quickly hid behind the cargo boxes, hiding from the clan of Balrogs that flew around running into the ship. I held on tightly to the ropes, fearing for my life.

Inside of the ship, The cloaked person killed the rest of the Thief’s henchmen with little to no ease using his Angelic Betrayal. Soon after… The Thief and The Cloaked person fought an epic fight. I slowly crawled towards the door trying to open it so I could climb back in but one of the beasts grabbed me and flew into the air. His claws squeezed my sides and I screamed and shouted. Oh no… I’m going to die… I’m going to die!!!!!!!! I thought as I coughed up blood. I closed my eyes and everything started to fade and it became quiet.

My eyes were faded some but I had seen the cloaked person break through the door to slay the four Balrogs. He must have been a very powerful person, a chief bandit. He used his meso explosions and assaulter moves. It took him a while but he succeeded. The beast dropped me from a very tall height.

There was very little life in me and my eyes were faded at that point. He caught me within his arms as he used his haste and jumped into the air. I had passed out in his arms as he caught me, unable to stay awake anymore. The hostages gathered towards the upper deck and surrounded the cloaked person thanking him and giving him props and fame. The cloaked person removed the hair from my eyes and whispered… “Aaru.”

Am I Dead?

-Aaru