Connor Evans and The Binding Scrolls

Stand Up

"You know, for a person I met twenty minutes ago, you are really asking a lot of me." I grumbled, marching down the street alongside Steph. I was very grateful that today was rather quiet, since I had no idea how to put away Fortis and being spotted with a 4 foot glowing, golden and silver sword would be very hard to explain.

"Well, for the Chosen One you're kind of lanky, but I didn't say anything, did I?" She retorted, flipping through her book. Peering over her shoulder, I saw what looked like some mad scribbles and graphs, her hand writing was a little weird to read but I noticed 'mind blank' and 'teleport' and it set off a couple warning bells in my head.

She pulled the book closer to her chest, giving my a light scowl.

Steph rolled her eyes, before continuing to read as she lectured me. "I understand that you love your family and all that, but if they know about any of this they'll just be put in really great danger and it's just easier to get you to leave home for months on end if they believe you're somewhere else."

My heart sank. I'd have to give up my family? I didn't choose to be Chosen, I didn't ask for any of this and all of a sudden it was my duty.

"Why were you looking at 'mind blank'... things?" I asked, Steph sighed, finally turning to make eye-contact with me.

"It'll be easier if they don't know you exist," she said simply, "there won't be any mental damage but they'll just forget you and any trace of you."

I opened my mouth to protest. Remove any trace of me? That's just... not fair. I wanted to be known to my family, their my family. But I stumbled to the thought of them suffering at my hand, and stopped in my tracks.

Every normal part of me screeched to tell her that 'wiping me' from their heads was just absurd, but Fortis... I felt a pang from the side pocket I kept it in. I suppose, it was just for the best, to have them not now me. They were simply safer that way.

Stephanie cocked her head, "Connor?"

I cringed a little, feeling a tight, chocking grip on my heart as I looked up at Stephanie. "Clear their memory," I said simply, "clear their memory, take me exactly where I need to go and tell me how you found me, why you have this sword and who I'm going to stab with it."

She nodded, smiling a little as she ran her hands over a page in her book. It began to glow, shimmering violet light flickering from the pages as she mumbled some words I had never heard before. Wind picked up beneath my feet and my jumper flapped in the sudden breezes, I turned my gaze to Stephanie and her eyes had gone a flat, pastel violent, staring seemingly straight through me.

Then I fell.

It was a flurry of blacks and deep purples, I tried to stabilise my falling but my arms flailed through the air like a drowning bird. I look to Steph, she was falling quite casually, holding her back tightly in her arms as she fell gracefully.

Then I hit the ground.

I landed square on my back with a sudden thud (no cracks, thankfully) as the wind was knocked straight out of me. I squeezed my eyes shut, wincing at the pain of hitting the hard wooden floor. After I peeled my eyes open, I could see Stephanie standing over me with an outstretched hand, giving me a smug smile.

I playfully scowled, grabbing her hand and pulling myself up from the ground. Where were we?

Looking around, it was a rather small living space.

The walls were made from large, grey concrete bricks but were barely visible through the various stacks of paper littered all over the walls. Image upon image, scribble upon scribble sprawled over the plain surface. The floor was a dark wood, it seemed incredibly old but not quite decaying.