On the Planet Niatollus, On the Outskirts of DaSiangiiao, Upon the Slopes of Erradia
“97. 98. 99. 100...,” Auro’s voice echoed as he performed push up after push up on the Slopes of Erradia in Niatollus. The Slopes of Erradia were beautiful beyond imagine. It overlooked the entire valley, as well as the castle, which glistened against the beams of the sun’s rays. The castle was carved in beautiful stone and placed as a beacon of authority to all within Niatollus. There was much that could be said about the castle, the beauty of it, the sheer size of it, and the expensive jewels needed to make it, but what couldn’t be said was what happened on the inside. The palace life was a secret one. None really knew what the Queen, her daughter and their subjects did during the day. The Queen would occasionally come out and greet those who waited at the gate, and then the Princess would scurry about from one place to another within the grounds of the castle, all a symbol of wealth and power.
“110, 111, 112, 113,” Auro kept counting and with each exhalation of breath, he was that much closer to the body he wanted. There was nothing wrong with his current body, but he felt he needed something more, something to give him the upper edge. He finished off at 120 and moved on to sit ups, pumping them out one by one, exhaling when he was supposed to and inhaling on queue. After completing a set of sixty, he moved on to some sparing, though it really wasn’t sparing as he didn’t have a partner to do it with, still he had carved wooden dummies to fill the role. Auroriianos closed his eyes and exhaled, his shirtless upper body glistening due to the sweat that was beading up from the workout. He clasped his hands together and felt the surge of mana flow from his feet into his hands, and as his hands separated an orb of intense black appeared. Without a word the orb broke into two, one on each of his hands. A bead of sweat dropped from his brow and as it fell, Auroriianos readied himself. When the sweat hit the grass, Auro dashed forward with such quickness it was hard to see if he had hit the dummies or not. The orbs faded and as Auroriianos turned around, the dummies crumbled and fell to the ground before bursting into flames.
The dry wood burned for a few moments, Auroriianos watching the flames as he thought about Erobus and his father. He thought of Azael and his mother, he even thought of his sister. She was a fragile girl, one who he cared for deeply, one who he’d protect with his life. She loved him as much as he loved her, and whenever he visited she’d be the first out, but they didn’t know he was home. He hadn’t told any of them he was home, in fact he was here without even so much a word to the Order or Erobus, but he knew the old man had eyes everywhere and would find him if need arose. As the flames licked at the wood, Auro turned his attention to a rather old looking monument, a bit of wall left from an attempt at sealing it within. The thoughts of his father angered him. The man was indeed a poor excuse for a father and Auro resented him because of it. He lifted his hands and began to speak. "A change is at hand, with this wall turn to dust, its utter destruction is an absolute must!" At the end of his sentence he released two streams of power that struck the wall with so much force, it was completely obliterated. Shards of stone shot in all directions and Auro watched with an emotionless face as it occurred before him.
There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere. Everything seemed to stand still, all the noise of life seemed to vanish and the sky seemed to twist and move in a strange pattern, none that Auro had ever seen. The wind that had been blowing had creased and the grass seemed to blow in limbo along with the trees. Nothing moved, everything was very still, and Auro was the only thing that moved. He looked around and raised an eyebrow. Something was very strange.
As if to cause him more headaches on figuring out what was going on, a beam of light spit the now darkening sky and shined directly on him. Wherever he moved, the light followed and it came to a point that Auro was starting to freak out and prepared for the worst. Two orbs of arcane energy appeared in his hands and as he was getting ready to fire them into the sky towards the source of the light, he heard a voice, a very strange voice. This voice sounded as if several people were trying to speak at one time.
“There is no need for that Auroriianos.”
Auroriianos glanced around, whirling on his toes as he tried to find the source of the voice. As he did so, he noticed a shape forming out of the light and it was so bright that he couldn’t look straight at it. He turned his head and tossed the orbs in the direction he thought it was coming from. There was an explosion, but Auro couldn’t see if he had hit the form or not.
“I must say you’ve grown into quite the young man,” the voice spoke again, and this time a figure was behind the voice. Auro looked at the figure and nearly collapsed, but he quickly knelt down and bowed.
“I beg forgiveness,” Auro stated as he continued to bow, “I did not know who you were. I had heard stories, but I didn’t believe you actually existed.”
“Well, young one, it would seem that I do in fact exist. I created all you see here, everything, and now I need your help in protecting it.”
“My help? Why me?,” Auro asked in confusion. This was the great god Idros, and he was telling him he needed his help in protecting the realm.
“Why not you? You contain the spark of the Archite young one, you are a protector and it is time you reach that goal of yours. Isn’t it your goal to become the greatest Arcane Warrior ever to exist? Now is your chance.”
“But, I have so many questions, I.....,”
“Those will have to wait Auroriianos. Your time is now, go and protect that which you love.”
Idros vanished instantly after, leaving Auroriianos looking dumbfounded as if he had no clue what had just happened. Had what just happened actually happened? He was confused beyond belief, but he was certain the god Idros had just made contact with him. He couldn’t wait to tell Azael what he had just experienced. Grabbing his shirt, he looked over at the castle and realized everything was moving again, and the clouds and sky were back to normal.
“I will,” he said before a portal opened up in front of him. It would lead him to Atrulyn where he hoped Azael was. The last he heard from the old man he was in this location. Auro appeared on the outskirts of whatever the name of the city Azael frequented. He saw the male laying in the grass as he always did, for some odd reason. Why had his father taken so much time to train him, instead of his own child? Azael had been the big brother Auro had always wanted. Though he was protective, he still was more of a brother than a friend. It was also because of Azael that Auro didn’t talk to his father much at all. The occasional training his father provided was met with stiff rebellion and his father often times simply avoided the issue at hand. Erobus was the one who truly trained Auro, wanting him to reach his fullest potential, gifting him with items that could be seen as forbidden. He sighed, for all that Azael had taken, he had also given and he couldn’t be happier. He was proud of Azael, and he was going to get his father alone to talk to him when the time was right. As he walked onto the field, Azael spoke, acknowledging his “younger brother.” Auroriianos smiled and knelt down so that he was somewhat eye level with Azael.
“You’re never gonna believe this old man,” Auroriianos began as the two stood fully to their feet.