Back in the wagon, George guided the horse along a different path. Rael and Avures sat in the back. The trip was mostly silent. Rael, who normally was full of life, looked desolate and unexpressive. She stared at the wooden floor of the wagon as it was dragged along. Avures stared at her from across the wagon. It hurt him to see Rael in such a state. Though he couldn't relate to her problem...he could understand why it upset her deeply. He just wished there was something he could do to help. He wish he knew the right things to say or do with her in this scenario.
"At least I get to see Misses Greene again..." Rael's voice seemed scratchy and unenthusiastic as she didn't move at all.
"Well, first we're going to see the village Avures's family was from..." George kept his eyes on the road ahead. "Belva is what I think it was called."
"Oh boy...I sure hope you drop a revelation to shatter him too..." Rael's voice tone turned sour and sarcastic as she started to fiddle with her hands.
"Sweetheart..." George sighed, resting his head in his hand.
"What do you think?..." Rael's eyes moved up to look at Avures. A blank, cold stare greeted him.
"I think..." Avures started, but stopped. The fact that they were heading towards the direction of that village helped in him making a decision to go there...but why exactly did he want to go?
"Could it be...that you're thinking of someone else?"
Before, he was thinking of someone else. He was thinking of Rael. After that vision, after saving her, after what George had said that night, and even after the revelation of her past now...Avures knew that there was danger facing Rael in every direction. But...it wasn't just her, was it? Avures had wanted to know, even though the Cult of Ozix had directly nothing to do with her. He wanted to seem like he was doing everything in his power to at least garner the knowledge to protect Rael. But that girl...the "Guardian Angel" as she called herself, had seen right through him.
It was his attempt to disguise his own desire. Thinking, and knowing that, he was undeserving of the knowledge of the past. What had he ever done to discern it before? When had he ever cared until he realized he could use this power for others? But that was just his nature...not helping people, but using it as a guise to help him not feeling so guilty about taking and receiving. If he did something to make himself feel deserving, then the guilt and anxiety wouldn't wrack his brain. Avures considered himself greedy.
But, instead of bashing him...instead of scolding him for that greed...instead of damning him and drowning him in his sin...she planted the idea that his view was wrong. It was possibly the first time that such a thing became apparent to him. And it wasn't simple as in undeniable information being presented, but instead, that his view of the world and life itself were flawed somehow. Avures felt undeserving...and didn't feel like his life should be better than any others...and for that, he didn't enjoy or like life. It felt pointless. His own, highly subjective view of the world, was challenged by this girl who simply told him to look at things differently. But, he truthfully had no reason to...
So that was why...he wanted to figure this out for himself, and for that girl as well. It wasn't about Rael. It wasn't about his other friends. It was about him, and his Guardian Angel. For once, Avures truly wanted to do something involving his own being.
"I think I'm prepared to face whatever is that." Avures grabbed at his pants tightly as he glared at Rael. She looked at him for a few moments before breathing slightly heavier out of her nose and showing a small grin.
"You really took your time with that response...real inspired." Rael looked to the road behind them. "You're silly sometimes, Avures..."
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As the sun rested in the sky with the day half passed, the horse-drawn wagon finally stopped. They had arrived at their destination. A small village, or what used to be, stood ahead of them. The three of them hopped out of the wagon, and looked at the place.
Several buildings made of wood and stone were wrecked to pieces, with the wood being a dark, near black color from rot. There were some buildings whose roofs caved in. Some who were missing portions of the walls. Some who were completely bare and devoid of any walls or roof anymore. A large tower still somehow stood near the middle, though it had large holes in it, revealing the interior's staircase to the top of it. To the other side of the ruined village, a wood-line could be seen.
George nodded his head.
"This is Belva...or what's left of it." George slowly stepped forward. "Fifteen-some years ago, this place used to be brimming with people."
"This is...sad." Rael looked around as she walked forward as well.
Avures stepped past the two of them, gazing around at the different buildings. He couldn't make heads or tails of what any of them were supposed to have been. Avures walked on ahead alone, searching around. The buildings had been so rotted, so destroyed by the rain and weather after so many years. It seemed more like a relic of the past than a place people used to live together in. He didn't understand. This place was as desolate as could be. The cult attack had killed everyone, and destroyed all of this village, leaving behind only basic remnants that served to the memory of the damned...but he remained. He stood among piles of destruction that had once almost served as his own grave, yet it was all unrecognizable to him.
Was he supposed to feel an attachment to this place?...what was he to find here?...what could he discern or figure out?...it seemed to serve as nothing more than an empty and destroyed effigy to what could have been for him. Avures lurched forward...his gaze dragging across the ground as he tried to think of anything. That was when he heard a footstep ahead of him. He caught a glimpse of movement. A familiar figure walked into a building ahead of him.
Avures nearly tripped over himself trying to rush over to that spot. He heard George and Rael call out behind him, but he was more focused on what was ahead. As Avures ran ahead, he stopped at the same place he saw the apparition...he didn't see her...but, what he did see...
Avures saw a large building. Not extremely big, but relatively huge compared to the other buildings in the village. He saw a destitute doorway and room ahead of him. The walls of this building had long since partially collapsed, but somehow, the building maintained some semblance of it's shape. He took careful steps inside as the floor below him seemed weak. In front of him, laid a broken cradle. The wood was mostly rotted, and misshapen or torn apart. But, it was unmistakeably a cradle.
Avures felt like he was being watched...He swiftly turned around. This time for sure...he saw her walk past the doorway. Avures carefully walked out of the building again. As he scoured the area, he looked towards the tree-line of the woods. That girl...she was standing by the trees, waving for him. Avures didn't waste a single moment. He ran as fast as he could to her. As he approached, the girl ducked behind a nearby tree. When he peered around said tree, she was gone. Sighing, Avures slowly perused around the trees, looking for any hint of her again. He had questions...but that was when the oddity caught his eye.
Behind a few of the trees, Avures was struck with confusion. A single, unmarked gravestone stuck out of the ground. He slowly crept up to it. There was nothing particular about it other than that it was by itself. Avures knelt down in front of it. It was completely blank. As he tried to peer a little closer, seeing if he missed anything at all...he felt something poke him in the back. Avures went to turn around, but the poking was assertive.
"Uh-uh-uh...don't turn around now." That familiar voice spoke to him. Avures obeyed, stopping and staring at the grave.
"What is this?..." Avures's gaze stood upon the stone.
"A grave, duh..."
"I mean...for who?..." Avures felt a tingling sensation crawl down his left arm.
"Why don't you see for yourself?...touch it."
"Huh?..." Avures looked down at his left arm. That similar, nightmarish black color had taken over his left index finger. And although, Avures could only ever associate that appearance with the nightmarish realities he saw...he didn't feel fear. Seeing it as something he needed to do, Avures took a deep breath. As the power culminated and swirled in that finger, Avures touched it to the cold, unwavering stone. His vision went completely white...
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Avures's vision came back to him. He could feel himself able to walk and move, though the scenery was unfamiliar. It looked like the village he was in, but not destroyed at all...yet. He could compare it to the vision he had of Rael and George in the alley. But, as he looked around, it seemed that what he was viewing was much more...dreary.
Smoke piled and plumed up in the evening sky. Several buildings lie on fire. Shouts of battle could be heard nearby, and the screams of people could be heard before swiftly being cut short. He watched as several people wildly scrambled about the village as figures cloaked in black robes with purple edges seemed to descend from the outskirts of the town. As they fell upon the townspeople, they mercilessly cut them down. Avures shielded his eyes and ran further into town, hoping to find an answer.
"Stop! I can't have you buffoons injuring the girl! She's the vessel I need in order to find the site!" One particular figure in robes held his hand out to a horde of other robed people. He faced towards a person who stood some distance away. A girl...Avures recognized her as that girl...that "Guardian Angel". But something was off...her left arm...was covered in that same blackness that plagued Avures's arm.
"You're disgusting..." The girl's face showed nothing but anger.
"Look, if it were up to me...I'd merely take your arm. But, we both know that's not an option...now don't we?..." The figure shrugged as he stepped closer.
The girl flung her right arm up, and a flashing slice of light escaped forth and barreled towards the figure. The figure stomped his left foot forward. A dark tendril rose from the ground and blocked the Light Magic until it dissipated. The tendril then quickly receded. The girl then put both her hands together flat. She then put them side by side with no space in-between. A blinding ball of light materialized in the center where her hands conjoined. The girl focused as she released several flurries of these orbs, one after another at the figure.
The figure then raised their left hand, and a darkened and circular barrier appeared around him. The balls of light either faded away, or bounced off of this barrier. The cloaked man then stopped as she did, lowering his barrier.
"So then, the rumors were true. A prodigy of magic at your age...I'm sure your mother and father must be proud. It's also good to know my new form will be quite powerful." The cultist laughed aloud as the girl cringed and gritted her teeth.
"Avura!" A voice called out, cutting the figure's laughter. Two new figures rushed to the girl's side. Avures watched on in curiosity. A blonde haired woman...and an older looking man who...looked a lot like Avures himself.
"Mom! Dad!"
"Avura, are you hurt?" The woman knelt down and examined the girl.
"No, I'm fine! Let's fight-"
"Avura..." The older man put his hand on the girl's shoulder. "Go grab your brother...and run as fast as you can..."
"Wha-what?..." The girl's eyes went wide. She looked around at the situation, observing it for what it was. Avures followed suit.
There were bodies of the villagers littering the streets. Many of the robed cultists were playing around as they made sport of killing the innocent. Some were slicing throats and mercilessly slaughtering. Others made game out of them, hanging the intestines and inside of the slain around for all to see. Joyous and maniacal laughter could be heard echoing throughout, overpowering the screams of those who just wanted to live in peace. Even the garrison of this small village were subject to the torture the cult inflicted as they didn't stand for long.
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Avures crept forward...he was mere inches away from the girl and the one she called mom and dad. They didn't see him...they didn't acknowledge his presence...but Avures felt something when he looked at them. It was a strange uneasiness. Like he felt knots forming in his chest as he watched.
"It's okay, sweetheart...let your father and I do what we can..." The woman stood back up.
"Avura...we will always love you...and we'll always be with you and your baby brother...take the letter inside with you...now go." The man took his hand off of the girl's shoulder.
"Mom...Dad..." The girl's eyes swelled with tears.
"Go." The man reiterated, patting the girl on the head. She hastily wiped her tears and ran inside the nearby building.
"So I see...sending yourselves to the butcher to save your own blood, huh? How noble..." The cultist chuckled.
Avures wanted to watch the battle go down, but he felt himself being drawn into that building. He shook his head and ran after the girl. As he ran inside, he saw the girl holding a sealed letter. She quickly stuffed it into a pocket of her dress. She then rushed over to a cradle...
Avures watched on with a certain fascination. The girl leaned over and peaked at the inside of the cradle, and Avures did the same. A young infant who hardly had any hair, and had deep green eyes...the infant was wrapped in a white blanket...the baby was completely silent, but he was not without movement. Even as the screams of people being killed drowned out most quieter sounds, the baby was calm.
"Don't worry, Avures...I'll get you out of here." The girl lightly grazed the baby's soft cheek with her fingers. She smiled, but it was clear she was in anguish. An ear-piercing scream rang out that shook Avura to her core. She rushed to look out the window. Avures would continue to follow her. Peaking outside, the figure had his left arm and hand completely held out to the side. Blood dripped down from his fingers, as the man who Avura called her father fell limp to the ground. The scream seemed to originate from the woman who Avura called her mother. She fell to her knees and crawled over to the father. She pulled him in close to her and held on tightly.
"Dad!...no..." The girl sniffled as the tears restarted. She started to breath heavy. She pulled herself away from the window. She didn't know what to do. She could take Avures and run, but what then? She wanted to save her mom...she wanted to save her dad...and yet...and yet...she sobbed. Why was this happening to her and her family. She dried her tears, resolving to do something, anything...that was when she spotted it...a meat cleaver sitting on the table nearby. She lurched over to the table, practically throwing herself on top of it as she grabbed the cleaver.
She held the cleaver up to her face, and saw her own expression. Redness had formed around her eyes, and tears still lightly cascaded down her face. She felt pathetic, but she knew how to stop this. As baby Avures watched from the side bars of the cradle, Avura placed her left arm on the table. She slowly raised the cleaver in her right hand...Avura focused in right where that blackness stopped...she took several quick, deep breaths to mentally prepare herself...if she did this...then maybe...just maybe...no one else would have to die. After all, that's what those cultists were here for. Her body...her left arm...
A resounding and loud chop echoed throughout the house, followed up by the wails of Avura. Dropping the cleaver, she writhed in pain as she gripped the area of her left arm that was still left. She screamed in agony, struggling to maintain any semblance of what was going on around her. Baby Avures watched on. A small splatter of blood had fell onto his face, and slowly slid down...but he didn't flinch, or cry at all...after a few more minutes, Avura could feel herself at least regain some form of control...she managed to overcome enough pain to cognitively hold her right arm out. And, using magic, completely blast away the chopped off arm.
"I suppose it's time to hunt down that girl of yours...huh?" The cultist put his boot overtop of the mother's head, and put pressure down on her skull as she cried out in pain. Suddenly, the door to that building came back open. The cultist watched on as the girl slowly reemerged. She was panting, as she held the baby Avures in her right arm.
"Stop it..." Avura called out.
"Oh...I guess she'll come right to me..." The cultist shrugged as he took his boot off of the mother's head. Seeing that Avura was still here...the mother's eyes shrank.
"It's over..."
"Huh? What do you mean it's over? It's not over until I use you to find the site."
"That...won't be possible." Avura slowly turned herself to fully face the cultist, showing her rapidly bleeding stub where her left arm used to be.
"You-..." The cultist froze in shock.
"That's right...now that the arm is gone...the source of that power you wanted...you have no reason to be here...so please, leave everyone else alive and just leave..." Avura pleaded, her eyes starting to swell with tears again.
"I-...pf..." The cultist lowered his covered head. "No deal...in fact, I have no reason to leave any of you alive now, including yourself. If you had just come along and surrendered, this wouldn't have happened. But...as a showing of your resolve, I'll save you for last."
"No! Please!" Avura screamed out. The cultist raised his foot once more. "Don't! Please!..."
"Too late...this is finality!..." The cultist stomped his boot down onto the mother's head, completely shattering her skull, and splattering a mess of blood and brain matter all over the dirt. "Kill the rest! We're done here!"
Avura shook her head violently, turning the other direction and running away as fast as she could. She clutched Avures to her chest with her right arm as tightly as she could. She could feel herself fading fast, the blood loss catching up with her. Avura willed herself to move forward as her body failed her. She made it to the tree-line. Avura sifted through the trees as best as her body would allow. She was getting dizzier and dizzier. She was stumbling everywhere. Eventually, she knew she couldn't hang on anymore...
Avura put her back to the nearest tree, and slowly allowed herself to sit down with her back against it. Avura's breaths became more exasperated as her eye-lids started to fall. Jolting herself awake through pure will, she laid the baby in her lap, and reached for the letter with her remaining arm. Struggling to open it, she eventually succeeded and pulled out the letter. She read it as best as her failing vision would allow her to do so. A final farewell address to whoever received the letter from her father, asking that they adopt both Avura and Avures, signed with their last name, Kovar.
A moment of thought hit Avura. Using both her right leg and right hand, she fumbled with the letter. She tore off a tiny piece from the letter. Specifically, the part that mentioned Avures, and only that first name. She lightly tucked it within the blanket that was wrapped around the baby. She then used what little strength she had left to crumple the rest of the letter, and destroy it using a very small amount of magic, the only bit she could muster forth. After that, she held Avures in her right arm once again. She looked into the baby's eyes. Those dark green eyes...she could only hope...that Avures would live on...she smiled softly...as she grew more and more tired...until...
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"So, she went and bled out on me, did she?" The cloaked man stood above her with a legion of robed minions behind him. The darkness of night had nearly concealed Avura and Avures. A few of the cultists had torches on them illuminating the area around them...
"The baby lives." One of the robed cultists pointed to the infant she held in her arm.
"So it does, huh..." The cloaked man knelt down and looked at the baby. No response, though, he could hear it breathing. He stood back up. "What's it matter anyways?...it'll starve to death out here before anyone finds it...maybe even be eaten by wild animals. Now that...is truly terrible. Let us depart."
The horde of cultists walked out of the forest...
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"Oh dear lord!..." A woman's voice cried out. The sound of a single set of rapid footsteps could be heard. "How awful..."
The woman ran to the side of Avura. She knelt down beside her and checked her as best as she could...but, it was fairly apparent that she had been dead for some time. Though, the woman's attention then turned to the infant she still held in her arm. This woman managed to carefully pry the baby from the arm of the deceased girl. The baby breathed, and even looked towards the woman. Much to her surprise, the baby did not cry, he did not scream. He just stared at her.
"What's this?..." The woman reached her hand down to where a tucked piece of paper lay in the blanket. She pulled it out and read it. "Avures?..."
The woman looked at the girl. The smile had still remained on Avura's face, despite the lifelessness. Deep down, the woman sort of understood the plight of her. She had walked to Belva in order to trade, but found it ablaze. The carnage that lay within was burned into her memory. But, she had seen some tracks leading to these trees. Footprints, and a steady trail of blood that had somewhat dried on the ground.
"God bless your soul..." The woman uttered, staring at Avura...
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Avures's vision slowly faded back in to the tombstone in front of him. He didn't move. He didn't get up to face her. His eyes kept focusing on the stone. Avures had seen so much. He didn't have trouble understanding what happened...but perhaps, why?
"You're..." Avures blinked, looking at the gravestone. What did he even want to say? A full mixture of emotions swelled inside of him.
"Yes. I am..." The girl behind him put her hand on Avures's head, and slowly pet his hair.
"I figured you were connected to me in some way..." Avures stood up, and the girl pulled her hand off of his head. He still looked at the gravestone. "I just never would have known it would be like this..."
"And how does it make you feel?"
"Feel?...I don't know. It all feels...wrong." Avures turned to the girl...no, his sister. "What happened to you was...it was nothing short of awful. I'm sorry..."
"Avures...what happened, happened. You were only a baby, you don't need to be sorry."
"But...you could have ran faster if you didn't take me...you could have maybe fought with your-..." Avures stopped. He didn't even know how to say it. He looked down out of shame.
"Our, mom and dad...but no. I wouldn't have left you behind, never ever...not by choice anyways...I sometimes think, maybe if I was able to run a little farther, or if didn't cut my arm off, we could have made it somewhere safer...we both could think of all the "what-ifs" in the world...but in the end, I feel like I made the correct choices...because you're alive." Avura smiled and stared at Avures. She grabbed his hand, and lightly stroked it. "And in the end, you can only make one choice when it comes to your actions..."
"I swear, for your sake, and my own..." Avures clenched the hand Avura held into a fist. "I'll avenge you..."
"Avures, I don't want you to get revenge for my sake...but there is something else I want you to do." The girl let go of Avures's hand.
"What is it?...What can I do to help you?...what can I do for you?..." Avures uncurled his fist.
"If you have to think of it as something to do for me, then so be it...but I want you to know, you'll never have to earn your place in your big sister's heart...so don't be so harsh on yourself, don't put yourself down, don't think of yourself as undeserving...I died, hoping that you would live on. That you would be able to grow up into a strong man, that you might also get to experience life. In those last few moments I held you, I worried that it wouldn't happen, and that I would never see you again. I thought I failed you as your big sister...so, Avures...I want you to live life to it's fullest." Avura wrapped her arms around Avures, and pulled herself in tight.
"Is it really okay?..." Avures held his arms above Avura as she embraced him. He blankly looked down at her. "Do I...deserve to? I feel like I'm taking these things for granted...I feel so unworthy. In the end, you gave your life for mine...So, is it really okay?..."
"Avures...everyone deserves a chance to enjoy life...no matter what...you don't owe me because I died, because I carried you away from danger as best as I could...you don't owe me at all...because I would have done these things for you anyways, because you're my little baby brother. You deserve to live, like anyone else. So, stop putting yourself below everyone else...live for the people around you, live for your passions, live for what you believe in, and, especially, live for yourself, Avures Kovar..."
"Avura..." Avures felt his entire body tremble and shiver as he slowly brought his arms down...and embraced her in return.
"Yes, that's me...your big sister, who will always love you."
"What if I can't? What if I can't enjoy life? I can hardly show any emotion...I feel so many things, but I feel like I can't show them either..."
"Allow yourself to feel things, Avures...allow others to make you feel things. Allow other people to know how you feel, and show them that, as best as you can...as long as you try...that's all I ask..."
"I-...I don't know what to do...I don't know how..."
"Don't worry...it'll all come together, as long as you..."
"Enjoy...And value...Life..."
"Avura..."
"Avures..."
"Thank you..." Avures pulled himself away from the embrace, and took a long, deep breath...trying to quell his body's shaking.
"I'll always be with you, I'll always be cheering you on..." Avura took her right hand, and softly caressed Avures's cheek. "Goodbye for now, baby brother..."
"Goodbye, sister..." Avures watched as the visage of Avura slowly faded until...she was gone. Avures took another deep breath, in and out, and rubbed his eyes. Avures felt...silly, getting so worked up over that. He had been so moved by someone who he only truly learned about moments ago, yet, it felt like he had filled a huge hole in his life. Avures's lips shook slightly as it slowly curled into the smallest of grins.
"Avures! Hey!" Rael's loud voice entered his ears. Avures quickly shook the grin off of his face and rubbed his eyes again. The red-headed girl ran to his side.
"Rael...hey..." Avures struggled to find anything to say.
"Are you alright? Your eyes are really...red looking. Were you crying?..." Rael leaned in close to Avures's face with concern on her own face.
"No...I'm fine." Avures had a hard time switching to a conversation with Rael from the last.
"Ah, of course...you don't cry." Rael shrugged and smiled slightly. "Huh?...you were over here looking at that?"
"Yeah...I was...drawn to it." Avures looked at that unmarked tombstone. The mental image of Avura holding him took over his sight for a brief moment before fading back to the gravestone. "That's where my sister is buried..."
"Huh?!...How did you figure that-Avures! Your other hand..." Rael took hold of Avures's left hand and lifted it up to her face. The blackness that had originated on just the finger had made it's way to his wrist.
"Oh, it's fine...I'm not really too sure about it though." Avures wasn't exactly telling the truth, but he wasn't lying either.
"Hmm...well, do you wanna look around some more?" Rael dropped his hand.
"I think I've seen all I needed to...let's go to Kakodo and see Misses Greene." Avures led Rael on back to the wagon.
"Everyone deserves a chance to enjoy life...no matter what."
Though Avures wasn't really sure how to find that value in life, for his sister's sake...for his own sake, he'd try to do things for himself, and enjoy life. In a way, for the first time in his own life, Avures was excited for what the future held for him...