3. Origins

Cassandra: "Mom, what were you like in your childhood?"

Jarah: "Come to think of it, ya never told us your childhood stories"

Alastair: "Same"

Dain: "Can we sleep"

Avicia(winking): "Alright, Aunt Avie is here to save the day."

Year 1410, Avicia Pov:

We, the Asters, had powers called 'gifts'. Why and how we got it? No idea. All we know is we are the only ones in the whole kingdom to possess these powers, and mother has strictly forbidden any kind of use in the public, or infront of Dad....and Trevor.

My mother, Ei, has the power of mind control. I don't know much about her power except that she uses it to erase someone's memories. I heard that she can also control one's mind but she doesn't do that because it's crime.

Calia had the gift of healing. She told me she could heal small wounds. If she tried to heal big ones, she would faint. Apparently her healing requires stamina, and so her body Probably cannot handle this much of it. How she got it? well...

Year 1400:

I always looked up to my big sister, she was so cool and tough...like a second mother to me. She was there when I needed her, she protected me.

In the academy we went to, I was bullied by the seniors. You see, the normal age for an Enchancian to discover their elemental affinity was maximum 2 years. And I was a little slow, in everything, unlike my sister. That's why, where everyone got to know their elements at the age of 2, I couldn't. It took me 5 years to get a grasp of my element.

So the seniors of Calia's grade bullied me, calling me slow and lazy.

One of those days, when I was practicing my recently accquired Earth magic, I heard a boy talking behind me. He said something about'stupid' and 'weak' before walking away, leaving me confused. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I watched a stone, hurling towards me. I braced for impact, thinking I'd be knocked unconscious...but instead, a bigger girl stood in front of me just in time, and it hit her hand instead. It was Calia's hand.

"Leave her alone", she growled at the kid, summoning small fireballs in her hand. "Don't talk to her again, you hear me?" She turned back to me, "Are you alright?". I nodded, shifting my glance to her hand, and then I noticed. She was crying!

Calia may seem tough on the exterior but she was a crybaby, and as much as I loved her for being so cool, she would always start crying at the slightest of things.

"It hurts!" she winced as she clasped her other hand over the injured area. The bleeding wasn't stopping and I knew she wouldn't calm down without proper medical attention. But then it happened.

Out of the blue, a faint bluish light starting coming out of her fingers, scaring us both. She look at the injured hand and it seemed like the light was getting absorbed into the wound. It wasn't long after that when the bleeding stopped completely and the hand felt perfectly fine.

That's how she got her healing magic.

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When I was 6, Mom told me that Calia wouldn't always be there to protect me. And that was h a r d for a six year old to comprehend. I started crying and ran to my sister begging her not to leave me.

After a lot of coaxing she consented, and promised to protect me whenever needed.

"I will rather die, than leave you. Even if you get lost, I promise to find you...and hug you tight, and then kiss your nose and pat you on the back." she giggled.

Still, that fear crept inside me for weeks when I finally decided to be strong, for her, for mom. I started doing all kinds of fightings lessons, even helped mom to move furniture and stuff.

That is how I got my gift, the gift of 'Strength'. I had superhuman strength, I can lift just about anything.

We were not allowed to speak of this, to anyone, not even our dad. Although sometimes it slipped through our mouth, my mom almost immediately erased their memories. I don't know why she was being secretive about it.

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Calia: "Tell them about Cynthia"

Avicia Pov:

Cynthia! Yes. Apparently, we had a long lost aunt. Cynthia Aster, mother was so obsessed about her. Cynthia this, Cynthia that, Cynthia likes food, Cynthia is so beautiful, yada yada.

Unfortunately, we never met Cynthia around that time, Mother used to tell us she ran away from home when she was little, and that nobody knows where she is now.

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Year 1394, Third Person Pov:

It was 1399, Tefan was drinking on the dining table, Ei was cooking, and Calia, who was a year old, was sleeping in her room. The house wasn't that grandiose, but just enough to fit a family of 3. It was a two storey house, the ground floor comprising of the living room and the kitchen, and a small bathroom.

Through the window of the kitchen, Ei spotted a blonde figure approaching their house, holding, what it seemed like, was a baby.

She was confused, so she went towards the road, and upon closer look, it was a blonde woman, carrying a new born baby in her arms..and she was approaching towards her.

So Ei stood there at the porch and when the woman arrived, she asked about her. "May I help you?"

The woman ignored her, and barged into the house as if it were her own. She went up to the table, and slammed her free hand on it.

"Wake up you bastard!" She screamed at Tefan.

Tefan groggily woke up, and soon the colour faded from his face, when he looked at the baby. "Emilia, you...how-" He was looking at her and the baby continually.

"That's right, take responsibility. Or I will kill him."

"What in the gods is happening?! Tefan, explain this." Ei said, her expression growing angrier.

"I dont need to explain shit to you, go to the kitchen." Tefan exclaimed, his voice trembling slightly.

Ei scoffed. "You think I'm gonna listen to you? After all these years I cared for you, and you did this? Don't test me. Emilia, please tell me what's happening."

"This is my son, and HE is the father. I don't have the money to raise him. So either he takes responsibility, or I will kill this baby." The woman said threateningly.

"Well kill it then." Tefan shrugged. Both of their eyes widened.

Ei was even more furious. "Oh my god, i can't believe you...first you do this BEHIND my back and now you're telling her to kill this baby? Do you even care about this baby!? You have no reason to kill him!"

"If she wants to bring his bastard to be raised like one, i wont stop him." Tefan answered coldly.

Ei grabbed the man by the arm roughly. "Listen you, this child needs help. It's your fault!"

Tefan got up from the table, and slapped her across the face, before raging. "Don't talk back to me, you wench. I decide who lives and who doesn't. One more word and I'm gonna start taking my anger on Calia.", with that, Tefan walked away and left the house.

Emilia gasped, bringing her hands on her mouth and tears filling her eyes. She was silent, before standing up and going out of the door. "I-I am so sorry. I should leave, it's my fault you went through that." she trembled as Ei started sobbing softly.

"What about the baby?"

The woman pondered on this...surely she can't kill him...but she doesn't even have money to survive herself...she looked at her son, hugging him even more, "Well, I guess he'll grow alone...if he lives."

With that, Ei stood up. She walked up to her, and put her arm on her shoulders.

"I'll take care of him...I promise you, he will not feel the emptiness of a mother. I will give him every love he deserves. Please don't let him suffer. It's not his fault, I'll be there for him..." Ei tried to keep her tears to herself, trembling a little.

Emilia, broke down to tears. She had expected Ei to be furious at her or curse at her, but she never expected this kind of reaction from her. She hugged her tightly, saying over and over again that she was grateful to her.

After a while, Ei took the baby, cradling it in her arms. "What will his name be?" She asked, that same warm smile returning to her face.

"Trevor Ash Brown".

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Trevor had an unnaturally large mole on his back, the only flaw to his perfect body. Maybe that's what made him different. He had this habit of greeting people in a weird manner. He would wink at them, hands on his head like a two finger salute, and say "Sup'sy Daisy!".

At first, Ei asked him to stop, but of course, like father like son. Even Calia got this habit of saying "Lemon squeezy!" After his greetings. Avicia always laughed at them and told them it was gross, but deep down both Ei and Avicia, enjoyed it.

They were very close, and they always shared things with eachother. They were like siblings. Though they weren't related by blood, Trevor felt like family, until one day, when he was 16, he asked Tefan about why people always tell him that he is different from his parents. He had blonde hair, and blue eyes, with fair skin. His habits were different too.

And as heartless as he could possibly be, Tefan told him that Trevor wasn't Ei's son, but "some whore's". Both Calia and Avicia were present there, with Ei. She tried to explain it to him but Trevor was too heartbroken at the thought of having no family, no real family, just Tefan, and a dead mother to show for all the years of his life...that he didn't really understand anythinng.

That's when they last saw him, the next day, he was gone, like a ghost, as if no one was there to begin with.

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The Asters and Browns were not really the happiest family, but they cherished these little moments in their life. As Ei would say "Don't look back just to remember the bad memories...look back to reminisce the good memories."