“There’s going to be repercussions for what happened in the forest,” “The best thing to do right now is to stay inside, try not to wander around the village.”
Agni was furious at the thought of not being able to go out.
“What about Argus? Isn’t he going to try and murder me?”
“We can take care of that situation later,” Vartan told him as he walked out. He stopped briefly and looked back at Agni. “And no, he can’t touch you.”
Agni laid in his bed. He tried his hardest not to fall asleep. The fear of being talked to by a god now known as the Lord of the Abyss scared him to death.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following day, Kerrigan, his adoptive father, walked in.
image [https://theoscarino.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/image-24.png]
Agni had stayed up the entire night in fear.
Kerrigan got up and looked at Agni.
“Vartan told me about what happened in the forest..”
Agni nervously looked as Kerrigan approached him.
He leaned in and hugged Agni. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
Agni had expected him to react as Vartan did, but then again, Kerrigan was like a father to Agni.
““It’s okay. I think I’m going to be okay.”
He sat beside Agni and began talking to him.
They talked about things Agni had missed while he was gone and all the boring adventures he had endured.
Kerrigan got up and walked toward the window. “
Ah, Agni.” he sighed.
“I’m not supposed to be telling you this, but the Village elders have considered exiling you.”
Agni furiously looked toward Kerrigan.
“WHAT?!”
“Some search party members arrived yesterday night and went straight to the elders. They think you set the fires on purpose after losing to Richie.” Agni began pacing back and forth through his room. His condition had slightly improved, though he still felt exhausted from not sleeping.
“That’s not true!”
“I know that, Agni, and so does Vartan. He is talking to them and trying to convince them to let you stay.”
He stopped Agni and reassured him again. “It’s going to be okay, bud.” “Try to get some rest,” Kerrigan also asked Agni.
Agni smiled and gave Kerrigan a thumbs-up as he walked out.
“Will do.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been three days since Agni had slept.
The forest fire had engraved itself in his memory. All the dead people he had seen, those who the wolves had murdered.
Sleeping through would have helped; however, he knew there was a chance that a corrupted god could also be waiting for him if he fell asleep. There was no escape.
Vartan had not stopped by since. The window was barricaded to prevent sunlight from getting through. The bed was too comfortable, so he sat curdled up in the corner of his room, fearing falling asleep.
When is Vartan going to return? Would the village decide to exile me?
He would not be able to last another night without sleeping. He finally caved in. He got up and walked toward his drawer.
His armor would take too long to equip, so he ran through the front door with his baggy clothes on.
The sunlight nearly blinded him as he stepped outside. Everything around him seemed blurred. The noises around him sounded muffled.
Despite this, he kept running toward the plaza. He ran along, unaware of all the looks that he had been getting as he ran through the crowds.
He stopped right outside the town hall to catch his breath. Before he could enter, a woman grabbed his arm.
image [https://theoscarino.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/image-26.png]
He could only guess that she had been a mother who had lost her son in the fire.
Agni tried to shrug off her arm. She strengthened her grip around him when he tried to run away.
image [https://theoscarino.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/image-27.png]
“My boy.. my beautiful boy is dead….” “BECAUSE OF YOU!!” She shouted at Agni.
Agni felt the eyes of everyone staring at him. Tears rolled down her face as she fell to her knees.
“Im…..sorry,” he tried to tell her as his throat tightened.
“Do everyone in Yankton a favor, Agni,” she said. “Please leave us.”
Agni stood there in shock. He tried to speak again but felt someone else grab him.
A sense of relief went over him when he noticed who it was.
“Come on,” Kerrigan said as he pulled him. “That’s enough.”
The crowd began to yell at Agni as he returned to his home.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
image [https://theoscarino.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/image-28.png]
They walked back towards Agni’s house. Kerrigan stopped right in front of the door.
image [https://theoscarino.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/image-29.png]
he looked at Kerrigan, who bowed his head and patted Agni on the shoulder,
image [https://theoscarino.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/image-30.png?w=507]
“I can’t just stay here without sleep and wait for you!” Agni cried out in anger.
They had both gone inside since Vartan had noticed Agni’s exhaustion
Vartan looked at Agni in confusion,
“What? I never said you could not sleep, Agni.” “The gods are gone. They cannot hurt you.”
He got closer to Agni; his voice sounded calmer.
“Those people out there, they are afraid of you son.” “You do not understand what is going on.”
Agni tried holding in his tears as he remembered everyone blaming him for the incident.
“Give me some time to fix this, Agni.” he pleaded. “I am trying to help you.”
he got up, walked towards the door, and looked back at Agni.
“Get some sleep, okay?.”
Once again, Agni was left alone to his thoughts. He would not be able to stay up another night. He fell on his bed and immediately fell asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Agni awoke to the sound of the violent winds that swept across the cave. The purple hue from the rock was now gone, and it was a dark rock instead. He took a few breaths and walked closer to it. His hand began to glow with fire, he tried to punch the surface of the crystal, but it immediately began to glow. Its purple hue returned, and Agni fell back in fear.
“I’m not afraid of you, Argus.” He tried to intimidate him.
He attempted to light another flame but found it rather difficult with his entire body trembling.
“Agni,” the voice responded.
“I know you are scared, but you must listen to me.” “I am not my father. My name is Anemos.”
Agni had trouble understanding what her name was.
“Then why do you sound so scary?!” Agni replied. He had backed against the cave wall. The voice still violently echoed in his head every time it spoke.
“My helmet must still be on. I use it to intimidate the creatures of the dark. It makes it easier to cast my illusions.”
image [https://theoscarino.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/image-31.png]
After talking, Agni felt more comfortable around the mysterious rock, though he still kept his guard up.
“So you want me to travel to the Kingdom and find out where you are being imprisoned?”
“Yes.”
All his life, Agni had wanted to leave the comforts of the village, but the outside world scared him. The thought of fighting a giant monster was also unsettling.
“How do I know I can trust you?” he asked.
“Because i know something about you, Agni.”
“I know you are the fire God’s son. The son of Indra.”
Agni's heart began pounding. He felt his body slowly getting warmer and warmer.
“That’s…..Not possible,” his voice quivered.
“Accept my request, and I will tell you more of what I know.”
The dream started to fade. Agni tried his hardest to concentrate and not let the dream die out.
“Tell me more!” he tried to yell out, but it was too late. Everything around him started to disappear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The darkness of the night made it impossible to see.
"Not sure how long I slept for,” he thought as he gathered his stuff. He picked up as much as possible for the journey, which was not much.
All I need to survive is food and water, right?” he ran out the door, looking at the home he had built. It was not much, but it had been his home for as long as he could remember. He hoped he would be able to return one day.
The streets were empty as Agni ran past all of the buildings. The plaza, residences, an armory, .He ran past all of these buildings and then stopped in front of a specific one. His second home stood before him, Mr. and Mrs. Heracles Butchery Shop.
Kerrigan was outside organizing his stuff when he noticed Agni.
He hesitated to say goodbye when he saw him, choosing instead to go in for a hug.
“I Can’t stay here, Kerrigan.”
“I know, kid,” he replied. “Ever since you were younger, you always liked to venture off on your own.” Agni heard his younger sister running inside, followed by his adoptive mother laughing.
“Say goodbye to them for me… please,” Agni told Kerrigan.
“She will not be happy you left without telling her,” he cautioned.
“It’s probably for the best.” Agni began to walk away, then suddenly stopped. He turned his head and asked one final question.
“Did you know… who I was?”
Kerrigan was caught off guard by the question, he stood there for a moment in silence, as if trying to hold something back.
“I think I have a pretty good idea, son.”
“It was only recently that Vartan asked us to keep an eye out on you, though.”
"How did Vartan know?" Agni thought to himself. “Thank you, Kerrigan.” Agni began walking towards the forest, away from the village.
Forest trees began to fill his field of view. He walked on and then heard a familiar voice.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I’m leaving the village,” Agni responded. “And you can’t stop me.”
Vartan sighed and began walking towards Agni.
“Where will you go?” “How will you take care of yourself?”
Agni’s hand began to tremble.
“I’m going to save Annie Moss,” he confidently answered. Vartan’s eyebrow raised in confusion.
“What? Who?” he chuckled.
“Annie Moss, she has been the one in my dreams all along.” “I have to help her.”
Vartan shook his head.
“Agni you cannot possibly b-”
“The Gods will escape their imprisonment soon,” he interrupted.
Vartan seemed unsettled by Agni’s words.
“If that is true, you are going to need me.”
Agni began walking past him into the forest, ignoring his comments.
“Agni, listen to me.” “You are not strong enough to fight a God.”
Agni silently chuckled. “Why not? I am one.”
Vartan’s face was full of shock. Agni looked at him in anger.
image [https://theoscarino.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/image-32.png]
“You made me believe that something was wrong with me!” he continued to yell.
image [https://theoscarino.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/image-34.png]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been two days since Agni had left the village. Trees and grass surrounded him. The sun was barely visible from the thick leaves that covered each branch. Agni ate a rabbit that he had managed to catch and cook up. He was enjoying his meal when he suddenly heard the tall grasses rustle. He quickly grabbed his sword and approached the grass.
“Who's out there?!” he yelled out. A dark figure jumped out and tried to tackle him, but he pushed the stranger away. Although his face had drastically changed, Agni instantly recognized him.
image [https://theoscarino.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/image-35.png]
image [https://theoscarino.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/image-36.png]
Richie had no trouble stopping the blade and dropped Agni to the ground. He held a knife to his arm and slid it across. Agni yelled out in pain. Richie laughed and put the knife to Agni’s throat.
His demonic laugh echoed across the woods.
“TIME TO FINALLY DIE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!” He raised the knife to stab Agni again.
Just then, a sword ripped through his chest. Agni stared at it in disbelief. The blade was ripped out, and Richie began to walk away slowly. He only managed to walk a few steps forward before falling.
Agni got up and began to pressure his bleeding arm. Before him stood Vartan with a sword. Its blue hue began fading, and the handle’s core turned red before fading completely. Vartan helped Agni stand steady.
image [https://theoscarino.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/image-37.png]
He looked at Richie’s body. A sense of guilt went over him.
“It was my fault, Vartan.”
“He was too far gone,” Vartan replied. “This is not who he used to be.”
Agni looked away and gathered his stuff.
He took one last look to remember the consequences of his actions. Had he been able to control his fire, Richie could have lived.
They both began to walk away together, deeper into the forest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another three days went by, and the two approached the end of the forest.
“Are you ready?” Vartan asked Agni. It would be the first time Agni had been out of the forest and had seen what was beyond its borders.
He had heard tales of the legendary mountains that encircled all of Arosia. The mighty mountains reached the clouds.
The end of the forest was in sight.
He excitedly ran out into the open field and then stopped abruptly.
image [https://theoscarino.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/image-43.png]
TO BE CONTINUED…