Just a story i did for my English assignment. Hope you enjoy
Long ago, witches were seen as heretics. They were thought to be vicious practitioners of the dark arts, known to do anything as long as they could get results for their experiments. This was a belief that had changed two hundred years ago when the witch named Nova Dustlight ended the war between humans and the demons. With a single spell, she had chased every demon on the continent back to their home. With that single feat, she had truly ignited the age of magic. Being a witch had become something that was highly esteemed. If you had the qualifications, you would never have to worry about money. Over the next two hundred years, magic would become a part of everyday life. Special academies had been built to hone the potential of those who wished to learn magic, so they could go on to complete great feats like Nova. This, however, is a story for another time. Today, I wish to tell the story of Nova Dustlight and how a girl barely in her twenties had managed to save the world.
214 years ago, 14 years before the end of the war
“Master, why do people always treat the witches so badly? You’re a really, really, really, great person!”
“Well, Nova,” her master replied. “To put it simply, they’re afraid of us and our power. They don’t wish to take the time to try to understand it or us, so they decided to label us as heretics. For them, it was the easiest solution.” After Nova stared at her with a confused expression, her master said, “I don’t expect you to understand right now, Nova. When you’re older, you’ll understand what I mean. Now, why don’t we go outside and practice dispersing mana into the air?” I followed my master outside and started practicing what she had taught me. I made a ball of mana in the palm of my hand and tried to scatter each particle of mana into the air. Even after I concentrated really hard, the ball of mana exploded in my hand and knocked me back. After laughing for a bit, my master said “Try to picture the ball of mana as a tree. Each mana particle is a leaf and each time you pull a leaf from the tree, a mana particle comes away from the ball. If that doesn’t work, try picturing something else that is a large quantity.” Taking my master’s advice, I closed my eyes and pictured a tree. After a few minutes of taking leaves off the tree, I opened my eyes. Mana particles hovered all around me. Having a sense of attainment, I tried doing it with my eyes opened. It was a little harder, but I was able to do it. While I was spinning around, my master said, “Good job! Now, here comes the hard part. I want you to converge the particles back together into a separate ball. For this, imagine that you’re taking all the leaves and putting them into a basket.” Closing my eyes, I pictured a basket and many leaves around it. As I put the leaves in the basket, I could feel the mana coming together. My master said I had officially completed the first part of my training.
7 years before the end of the war
“Today will be your final test. You will need to make a panacea and give it to someone who seems to have an incurable disease. If they are cured when taking it, you will pass this test. I will not give you any help during this test. If you run into any difficulties, you will have to ascertain the answer to them yourself. Use what I’ve taught you and you’ll do fine. “After talking to my master for a bit longer, I headed towards the mountains. The first ingredient I needed to get was the Moon Flower, which was only created once a flower had basked in the moon for a hundred years.
As I made my way to the top of the mountain, I had an uncanny felling that something was watching me from behind the trees. I couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but it didn’t feel like it had any malevolent intentions towards me, so I decided to just leave it alone and continue up the mountain. When I reached the top of the mountain, I saw the flower. What caught my attention, however, was the girl standing next to it. Her hair was as white as snow and her eyes were a clear blue. She sported a black dress with a rose design. Before I could say anything, she turned her head to me and said, “It’s a fine night, isn’t it?” I thought for a moment and replied, “It is indeed a fine night. What’s your name and what are you doing here? ”
“I am Chloe,” she replied. “I’m on a journey to make a map of the entire world and discover the secrets that this continent has to offer.” “That’s really cool,” I replied. “My name is Nova. I’m currently training to become a witch.” Noticing my eyes widen as I let that statement out, Chloe said, “You don’t need to be scared. I’m not one of those people who hate witches. My best friend completed her witch training a few years ago.” Letting my curiosity take the better of me, I asked “Where is she currently? I’d love to meet another witch who isn’t my master.” After a moment of silence, Chloe looked up. “I... don’t know for certain. Last year, I heard news that a witch had been caught in the area she had traveled to. I can’t contact her and I can’t even go there and check to see if it was her because they had completely expunged the body: not even a bone was left.” The only thing I could think to say was, “I’m sure she’s alive. She might’ve gone to another area when that happened.” Chloe replied, “I hope you’re right.” After I walked up and grabbed the flower, I heard rattling in the bushes. I formed a ball of fire in my hand, but quickly found out it was unnecessary. What came limping out of the bushes was a small, black lizard. I thought it was just a simple lizard until I had a better look at it features. Two horns were developing on the top of its head. What truly caught my attention was the two wings that were on its torso. These two indicators were enough evidence to tell me I wasn’t looking at a simple lizard, but instead the king of all beasts: a dragon.
Dragons were beings thought to have gone extinct. They were known as omniscient beings that could answer any questions you asked it. I kneeled and picked up the baby dragon. I could feel Chloe’s gaze behind me, so I said, “Would you like to hold him too?” When the words had left my mouth, she was next to me almost instantly. I tried to hold back my laughter, but I couldn’t help it. I talked with Chloe for a bit and asked her if she wanted to help me find its parents. She instantly agreed, so we quickly set out. I wrote my master a letter, letting her know the situation and that it might take me some time before I complete the test.
1 week later
“Chloe!” I shouted. “I think I found the dragon’s lair.” I made my way down to where Chloe was. Even though I had only known her for a week, I felt she was someone I could trust. “How’s Draggy doing?” I asked. Petting his head, she replied, “He’s currently sleeping. It’s kind of sad that soon, we won’t be taking care of him anymore.” I nodded my head and said, “Yeah, but at least he’ll be with his family. That’s something I never really knew.” When Chloe gave me a confused look, I started to add on more. “When I was 5, my parents were killed by bandits. Two years later, my master had found me half dead in an alley.” “I guess we’re kind of in a similar boat.” Chloe said softly. “ Both of my parents died when I was really young, so I don’t remember them. I lived on the streets my entire life and everyday was a struggle.” We continued talking about our past for a while until I finally said, “Shall we take this guy back to his parents?” As we got closer to the dragon’s den, it became more suffocating. Inside the cave, the dragon was sleeping in the middle. It was at least 4 stories tall. It’s breathing got louder the closer we got to it. Its eyes opened when I was about 10 feet from it, but it showed no sign of attacking. I signaled for Chloe to bring the baby dragon over. When she set it down, the adult dragon sat up and stared at us.
“Thank you for returning my child to me.” I was caught off guard, confused about where the voice came from. “I’m talking to you through telepathy. I am Chronos, the dragon that rules over both space and time.” I hadn’t been very scrupulous when looking at the dragon earlier, but now that I had a good look, I could see a pattern with clocks and hourglasses on the dragon’s scales. “We’re glad to have returned your child to you. My name is Nova and this is Chloe.” “I see,” Chronos replied. “Well, where exactly did you find my child?” “By where the Moon Flower grows. I had to collect the petals from the flower to complete my witch training,” I replied. “So you’re a witch trainee. Now it makes sense why I smell her on you,” Chronos said. Curious, I asked, “What do you mean by that?” “Well,” the dragon replied, “A few years ago, I became friends with a witch. We had talked a lot and she had mentioned that she found a child on the streets and took her in. You have the same rare pink eyes she described the child as having.” Even though I wanted to hear more, I said, “I should probably go now. I need to finish this test given to me.” After asking Chloe what she was going to do, she said she was going to go look for her friend. I told her that in 3 years, we should meet up in the capital city. After saying goodbye to Chloe, Chronos, and Draggy, I headed for the next ingredient.
4 months later
The last ingredient I needed to get was the egg of a basilisk. When I found a nest, I skulked behind some rocks until the basilisk was gone. Once it left the nest, I ran in and grabbed an egg. I quickly got out of there before it came back. Because of there tough scales, basilisks are invulnerable to magic. After another month of traveling, I made it back to my master’s house. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. “Master!” I called out. “I’ve returned with the ingredients.” After there was no response, I broke down the door. On the table, I found a note.
“Nova, you’re probably wondering where I am, but that is not something I can disclose at the time. I’m truly sorry, but your graduation will have to wait. In the meantime, I ask that you help keep the people in the village just south of the forest safe. If you just tell them you’re affiliated with me, they’ll let you know what you need to do. In my room, you’ll find a present. Be sure to always continue your magic studies.”
Following what my master’s letter said, I headed to her room. There was a staff and a note next to it.
“I, Astra Frost, bequeath this staff to my student Nova Dustlight. It is a staff that was passed down to me from my master and from my master’s master and now I pass it on to you. I hope that it helps you, my young apprentice.”
I uncovered the cloth covering the staff. It was silver with a moon on both sides of it. Blue jewels lines the side of the staff. When I was looking over it, I noticed a button. When I pressed it, wings sprouted on both sides. I had a feeling it could be used to fly, but for now, I decided to put the wings back in. After looking at the staff for a bit longer, I headed down to the village. There was a man in the center of the town giving some sort of speech, but seeing as how there were only 2 people listening, he wasn’t a very cogent speaker. I made my way to the mayor’s house and introduced myself. He said that all I had to do was keep the village same from monsters. When I asked him why the villagers couldn’t protect themselves, he said, “We have finite resources and power. While we could probably defeat some monsters, since we’re out here in the sticks, the capital wouldn’t send any help.” All I replied with is, “I understand.” Over the next two weeks, I continued to kill monsters that got close to the village. This changed one night when I saw the village on fire. I quickly hurried over to the village hoping I wasn’t too late. My fears were quickly extinguished when I saw the villages. Between the cinders, sparks, and flames, I saw the villagers in a circle. Each one was singing praises to the Dark God of Destruction, Nevermore. Amidst the destruction of their village, each one was happily singing and dancing as if they had won something. Concerned, I decided to look around for any clues that might hint at what happened. Just when I was about to give up, I spotted a dark figure behind a tree. Even from this distance, I could make out some of their features. Two jagged horns sprouted from their head. They were at least 3 feet taller than me and they wore a sinister smile. Just as I was about to rush at them, I spotted another one. The more I focused, the more I saw. Each one wearing a sinister smile, staring at me with dark, red eyes. I could feel my legs trembling as I stared at them and they stared back. For the first time since I met my master, I was truly scared. I quickly returned to my master’s home and hid in my room. I couldn’t help any of them. They had all gone mad with some type of...disease. That’s when I remembered about the panacea my master wanted me to make. If it truly could cure anything, then I should be able to help at least one of them. I grabbed the ingredients and began chopping them up. I put them into a potion brewing pot and began stirring. Even being a little bit off with the potions measurements could put me in danger. After 2 hours, I had finished the potion and quickly rushed to the village. The creatures and the village were no longer there. I desperately looked for anyone I could save. Even after searching for an hour, I couldn’t find anyone. I couldn’t save anyone. In a desperate attempt to at least destroy the creatures that caused this, I made a circle out of my own blood. In my eyes, doing this would hopefully be seen as a venial sin. They’d have to forgive me for destroying the beings that killed people, right? I’m sorry Chloe, master, I don’t think I'll be able to see you for a while. I sat in the circle and began the forbidden chant,
“Oh great God of Life and Death, grant me the power to vanquish my enemies. It doesn’t matter how long I must wait, just please, see this through to the very end.”
1 hour before the end of the war
Random School Boy POV
“Boys! Get back in here now! What if the demons find you!” “Ok!” my friends and I replied to our teacher. “Stop trying to act all nonchalant about this! You may think you’re fooling everyone else by acting like you’re not scared, but I can tell.” What does she know about us? I thought to myself. I wouldn’t care if a demon showed up. After she stopped her speech, I told her to stop acting supercilious just because she was older and a noble. Before she could say anything, I quickly ran out of the classroom and into the woods. Feeling a bit adventurous, I headed towards the site of a village that had burned down about 7 years ago. After a lot of walking, I finally arrived. In the center of the village, I saw the main attraction of why people came over here: the girl in the blood orb. About 4 years ago, someone had discovered what happened to this village after now hearing anything for 3 years. The girl in the orb was blamed for the incident, but since no one could open the orb, she was left alone. Curiosity getting the better of me, I walked up to the orb and put my hand on it. After a moment, the orb suddenly burst. The girl who was inside slowly opened her eyes and looked at me. S he gave a slight smile before asking “How long have I been asleep?” A little confused, I replied, “ If you mean how long you’ve been here, its been about 7 years.” “Ah,” she said. “What about the creatures with the horns?” “If you mean the demons, they’re currently trying to end the war.” “Thank you for letting me know,” she said. A moment later, she floated into the air, muttering something to herself. She looked down at me and asked “What’s your name, boy?” After a moment of hesitation, I replied, “Matthew. Why?”
“No reason,” she said. “I was just wondering who would be the one to witness my death and the end to this terrible war. It was nice to meet you, Matthew. My name is Nova Dustlight. I hope we don’t have to meet for a very long time.” Before I could reply, a flash of red blinded me and then she was gone. “Nova Dustlight,” I muttered to myself. “Even though it was short, it was nice to meet you.”