Memories of the Forgotten

This is the second chapter in the 2 chapter update! Sorry again for the wait... working on 4 stories at once can be tiring.


Chapter 28


"What? Someone with magic..." John began, but Aivon cut him off.

"That's right. You wouldn't know it, but I too came from a family who practiced magic's abilities... Wind magic to be more accurate. My father was an acomplished wind master. I always looked up to him as my guidance in life. And I was so proud to be his son, knowing that one day I would too inherit his gift. But it was a lie. A mistake. I never once showed signs of magic. Never could I cast even the most basic of spells. I was denied my birthright."

"But how?" Aivon asked, completely unaware of how it seemed even possible.

"Magic power declines... in families where parents don't both share in magic's abilities," Jessica explained. "When a person doesn't learn to cast magic at the appropreate time..." she shot a look to John, "or if the bloodline thins too much, magic won't be present in the offspring. Before, magic used to be widely spread, but even now less and less people are able to cast magic... The magic that runs in the bloodlines thinned out. I suppose the same could be said for demon blood as well."

Aivon looked back, shocked by this news. It offered even the smallest glimmer of hope that, perhaps one day, his decendants would never have to face the curse placed upon his family. "I guess his own parents bloodline had finally reached it's limit..."

"Perhaps so. Even still, through my dissatisification I persisted. I continued to study, hopefully to advance my knowledge to the point where I could force myself to cast magic should I have to. But that all changed... the day that magic brought chaos upon me..."

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It was a warm day, as Elno pondered over his books. It was a basic spell he was reading up on, trying to find a way to allow himself to cast. He had chosen to read outside, his mother watching him. He was wearing a light shirt and shorts, allowing for a cooling breeze to refresh his body. As he turned a page in the book, he noticed something moving toward them.

It was no more then a dark spot from a far distance, but as it got closer, it revealed itself to be a person wrapped in a black cloak. He was walking calmly, straight toward them. The person's hood was up and the face could not be seen, but when the person was still a good distance away however, Elno grabbed his things and went besides his mother. Something, instinct perhaps, told him not to be near this person.

"Is there something you need sir?" Elno mother said, while motioning for her son to head inside. He did so relunctantly but not before hearing the weary voice of a man.

"Actually... yes. Flare Storm!" Elno immediately rushed outside, seeing his mother on the ground, the remains of a fire spell disappearing into the winds. The man's hand was out and was pointing toward his fallen mother.

"Mother!!!" He ran up to her, holding her close, afraid to let go. He turned to the man who had attacked her, hatred filling his eyes. "How dare you hurt my mother like that!" he screamed, rushing in blindly to attack. A swift punch had knocked the wind from him, quickly removing any threat.

"Stupid child. Your strength is no match for mine, and your magic aura is pitiful at best," the man spat out, tossing him to the side. "Now, I have things to do, so allow me to finish them." With that, he advanced on Elno's mother once more.

"No... mom..." he watched, his eyes barely opened. Yet he closed them instantly knowing he wouldn't want to see what was happening. Yet he could not cover his ears in time to hear the scream that came from his mother, as she cried out in anguish before death claimed her. I don't want to die, he thought to himself over and over again, hoping beyond hope that whoever this man was would simply go away and his mother would be ok.

His hopes were dashed when he felt his presence behind him. Where anger was, now only fear resided. He was trembling, he could feel himself shaking violently as what he thought was certain demise come over him. Then, just as suddenly, the man's presence vanished, without trace. He looked up, almost scared of what he would find. There was no one around. The man had simply came and was gone, like the wind's breath.

And where his mother used to lie, only a pile of ashes remained.

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Nearly everyone had be shocked to silence by the story. Yet Elno spoke with no hint of pain or with tears in his eyes. "Ever since that day, I have despised magic in all it's forms. I hated it's power and all it stood for. But most importantly, I cursed myself for the weakness I had shown. I hated the fact that could nothing to save my mother from the fate that was brought upon her.

To this day I still don't know why that man killed her. But I vowed to never be weak again. To never lose again. And so I forced my body to streach beyond the limits of nature and this is the result." Elno rushed in, his blade striking. "Star Strike!" Suddenly, though there was only one strike, Aivon felt five. And this time, the attack had come much faster then expected for Aivon to block or dodge. Five cuts appeared, one on each of his arms and legs and one across his chest.

Aivon screamed out in pain, blood trailing down from his wounds staining the earthen floor beneath him. He was breathing heavily as the blood loss slowly eased up, the wounds already closing themselves. "Fine... you have your reasons for doing what you do. But do you really think that will bring your mother back? Will truely being this strong, ever ease the burden in your heart?"

"Shut up!" Elno spat out suddenly. "You know nothing!" With that he threw more shuriken, which Aivon was able to stop with an 'Earth Wall' spell. "I swear I will bring you down if it's the last thing I do."

"Keep it up and it may be," Aivon said, channeling his magic energy. "Where you find a weakness in myself, I see your own weakness... now let's see if your power can stop this! Earth Dragon!" Aivon pressed his hand against the ground, while an earth spell form of Hieas' 'Water Dragon' emerged. It's head towered up above it's prey before striking down, intent on smothering Elno.

"You want to see power? I'll show you power!" Elno faced the dragon head on, showing no signs of fear. He pulled out five shurikens and held his dagger in his other hand, gripping the handle tightly. Throwing each of the shurikens, they soon embedded themselves into the face of the dragon. He jumpped up to meet the attack before it could slam into him, driving his dagger into the earthen face. Then with his other hand he struck the dagger with a powerful force. Several large cracks appeared in the body of the attack, each new one forcing out a cloud of dust.

Soon the 'Earth Dragon' spell was no more then a pile of rocks. As they fell down, both Aivon and Elno were observing each other. Elno's right hand was bleeding from the knuckles, while Aivon was almost completely spent of energy. "Damn... didn't think he could actually pull that off..."

"That's what happens when you underestimate me." Elno tried to reach in for his shuriken, but his hand hurt too much to be of any real use. Cursing himself, he picked up the dagger with his other hand, determined to fight. "Now to finish you off. Based on the strength of that last move, your all but out of energy... With no defense to my assualt!"

"You annoy me..." Aivon mumbled, as he channeled more energy. "SandStorm!" Dust and bits of earth swirled around him, forcing Elno to pull back from the force of the spell. When it ended, a large cloud of dust almost completely covered the battlefield. "Damn... I'm losing too much energy..." Aivon knew it was no good. His defenses could only last him for so long, before he was completely spent of energy and tapped out of magic. "Alright one chance left..."

"Giving up already? Perhaps it's for the best after all..."

"Like hell! I've got one more good spell left... and that's all I'll need!" Aivon tried to convince himself that he could win with this final attack. He was nervous considering that he had yet to successfully perform the spell and that this woud be his last chance. The barriar would stop John or Jessica from helping or interrupting the fight, which meant that this was an all-or-nothing spell. "I just hope this works..." With that he started to channel energy.

However, Elno was not about to let him take his chance. Charging once more, his blade was poised to deal the finishing blow. "Diamond C-"

"Nature's Fury!" A large pillar of earth shot up and struck Elno's chin. The force of it knocked him upwards, a small splash of blood coming from his mouth. Four more earth pillars rose up and struck, the sound of breaking bone echoing out as the earth spires pinned him midair. Blood was running down both his arms, as twitched in pain. "Gotcha..."

Aivon fell down, as the spell surrounding the arena disappearing. John and Jessica rushed in, the spell around Elno negating as well, dropping him onto the floor. Both his arms were broken, unusable and he lay completely vulernable. John helpped Aivon stand, as he weakly opened his eyes to look at his opponent. "Please... kill me."

"What?" Aivon said, surprised.

"Kill me... I... cannot stand being this weak... I would rather die then become weak." His arms twitched, yet he couldn't get them to help him stand. His head was turned so it wasn't face-down in the dirt. "My arms... and a few ribs... are broken, unusable. If I cannot be strong, then I have no reason to live."

All of them looked to him, before Aivon bowed his head. "Your not weak. And you do have a purpose to live. But it's not this. Death is not an answer." Aivon motioned with his head to have his friends help him into the next hallway, and to the next destination. He turned his head back. "You didn't fight to your fullest. You held back." Elno flinched, his eyes shut tightly. "There is still hope for you. You haven't completely fallen into the depths of the darkness. Pull yourself out... I know you can."

Jessica and John led Aivon away, while Elno could do nothing but watch. "Aivon... I wonder... what trials did you face?" With that, he passed out.