The True Past of a Legend

When Violet Duval first ran from her clan, she had nowhere to go, nowhere to call home. She was only 16 and she had only just started to learn magic. That was three years ago.

~~~

Things weren't much different for her now. She was still on the road but now that was her choice. Herculean had offered her a place to stay but she had refused, she wanted a life of adventure. She had grown used to the thrill of danger.

"Hey, who was that dog?" Damian asked bringing her back to reality.

"Herculean's mutt. His name is Mr.Sparks. He has some magic of his own," Violet responded, smiling.

"I presume this Herculean is an old family friend of yours."

"Something like that." She smirked as they reached the edge of the fields between Lycansill and Phoenix Sworn. They had reached the Capital of Norimor. The one place that mattered most in the realm.

~~~

Herculean had grown up on a farmland in the village of Salque but since he had grown old, the land he once knew as a plentiful land of crops had grown cold. It was always snowing and the soil had been trapped deep underneath. Most had fled for more fruitful land but he couldn't bring himself to leave his home.

He was fine for a few months. He sustained off the crops he had harvested before the long winter. It was not too long though before the cabinets of his log cabin were found empty. He started boiling the snow over his fireplace for water. Then he ran low on firewood.

He started to starve and thirst. And soon after that a young mutt arrived on his doorstep. He was a blend of several different breeds but mostly husky and basenji. He had white husky fur, streaked with brown and black highlights. His eyes were blue and his ears brown in the shape of a basenji dog's ears.

The mutt gave Herculean a solemn sorrowful look, one of loneliness and the old man felt something from him; a kind of energy. Something awakened inside the old man that day. He felt the energy resonating with his soul.

He closed his eyes and held the energy at bay inside himself. The dog started barked and the old man released a bit of the energy into the snow. A puff of purple smoke covered the snow where the magic had fallen and then from the smoke emerged a plate of cooked stir fry; rice, meat and vegetables. He was saved.

He went out and picked up the plate of food. He briefly walked inside to set it on the table. Then he opened the door to let the dog inside. He bent down to pet it.

The old man felt at peace petting the dog. It was as if the magic had told the dog to find him. To awaken the Rodēn hidden with Herculean's soul. A Rodēn which allowed the old man to transform any inorganic material into a cooked dish on a plate.

Herculean lived in peace like this for many years, getting his water from cooked cactus and his companionship from Mr.Sparks then a young woman covered in scars showed up on his doorstep. She looked to be about 16.

She said her name was Violet Duval.

"Get inside quick!" He asked of her and she got inside quick. The door slammed behind her as her stomach growled, "First let's get you fed, then you can tell me all about what happened to you."

The dog barked at her but once Mr.Sparks had smelled her, he calmed down. The old man scooped a bit of snow onto the table from his cauldron and then he used his magic to make a plate of pizza. "Eat," Herculean suggested and Violet listened.

The old man made a plate piled high with cooked cactus and used a knife to scrape off the spines into a bucket full of the spines. He put the cooked cactus into a bag and grabbed another bucket, then he squeezed out the water left inside.

After about 15 minutes he had squeezed enough out for a glass of water. He gave it to Violet and then he continued to make his water. "Go ahead, tell me about what happened. I can listen and work." He grunted as he squeezed the cactus.

"I... umm... got caught in some vines while I was on the run." She said inbetween gulps of water.

"What were you running from?" His eyebrows furrowed as he asked her this.

"My clan. I don't want to be like them." There was a hint of darkness in her eyes as she looked down at the floor.

The old man decided not to pry any farther. Whatever past she has, it wasn't one she would want to dwell on now or ever. She would have to process it to overcome it one day but now was not the time.

"Drink up! And get some rest, we will talk more

in the morning." She nodded and the old man stopped to scoop more snow out of his cauldron and onto the table. He made another plate of pizza and then went right back to squeezing his cactus.

~~~

Herculean woke up bright and early. His log cabin had two stories. He had slept upstairs in his usual bed and he set up a floor bed in his living room for Violet Duval. He walked quietly down the stairs and found her sleeping soundly in the bed he had set out for her.

The dog was cuddled up next to her, they seemed to really like each other. He set the table, setting two glasses of water on it along with two scoops of snow. Once they awoke, he would change the snow into two plates of eggs, bacon and pancakes. Then he would put some snow in the dog's food bowl and water in the water bowl. He would make the snow a nice t-bone steak.

As he waited, he read a book off his shelf; Vampires Lost on a Gothic Planet in Space. They awoke as he finished his chapter and he made them food. Mr.Sparks ran to his food bowl and chowed down on his steak.

Violet gingerly walked over to her plate and started eating herself. The old man ate a good bit, too. After the meal was finished, Herculean looked to Violet and asked her, "Are all dogs drawn to you, this way?"

Mr.Sparks had finished his food and immediately ran over to be by Violet's side underneath the table. She looked down and smiled at him before looking back up to answer the old man, "I think a lot of humans like me are loved by dogs. That must be why he is drawn to you as well."

"And what kind of human is that?"

"Why, a mage, of course!" Violet remarked.

The old man looked intrigued, "So, you have magic, too. What can you do?"

He opened up her palm and a fire hovered above it. Then the flame morphed into earth, then it was water, and finally it was only a breeze. She explained her powers to him, "...I'm only a beginner, though. Maybe there is something more you can teach me."

"I'm afraid not. Although, I've already had this magic for many years, I haven't taken the time to learn much about it. But if you stay here, maybe we can teach each other how to get stronger?"

"Yeah, maybe." All of their Rodēn awakened under that roof. The old man spared with her utilizing the dog as his familiar. Mr.Sparks had the ability to generate and control lightning. Violet became a strong fighter and got to know Herculean well. She bonded with the dog, making it her familiar as well.

They lived in happiness for three years, then one day they found her. The Duval Clan had been asked by an old resident of Salque to go there and find what remained of it. They obliged.

They made their though the old cold village, not uncovering much. They came to the edge of town and in the distance they could see a log cabin.

They stopped a dog running across the snow and as they got closer, they could see Violet playing fetch with the dog.

Three members had come on this mission. They didn't expect to find much or maybe not anything at all, but instead they found something the shogun had been searching for the past few years.

"Violet! It's so good to see you!"

Crimis Duval rejoiced. He wore a red gi and two swords by his side. The other two wore a black gi with only one sword sheathed at their side. They all carried Katana. Violet looked back in fright.

Crimis broke out into maniacal laughter, "It's time to come home, Violet."

The Duval Clan drew their swords and Violet used her magic to create floating stone shields. She blocked each strike with them as Mr.Sparks fired lightning bolts at them.

Crimis demanded one of his hirelings, go back to the base and tell someone about this place. He ran and the fight raged on.

Each sword had a black button on its handle when pressed the magic trapped within the sword would be murdered. Her parents had tried to get her to fight with these swords, and despite her strength with a sword she refused to murder magic. The trauma from her clan had taught her to hate swords.

The stone shields started to crack as she gathered more magic and made more shields continuing to block their attacks. "You can't defend forever!" Crimis cried and then he pressed the button on the sword in his left hand.

His adrenaline started pumping in his veins. He chopped through the stone at an inhumane speed, his strength breaking through the stone with ease. The stone shields crumbled to nothing as Crimis reached past the barrier to Violet.

Violet quickly regathered her magic as Crimis jumped up and swung for her neck with both swords. A burst of wind surrounded Violet. Crimis tried to use his adrenaline to speed past the wind but he got caught in the hurricane despite his best efforts, along with his comrade, Devon.

Mr.Sparks barked as he fired off two lightning bolts, one at each samurai. The hurricane ended and Devon pressed the button on his sword, using his adrenaline to speed towards Violet as fast he could. She got ready to start another windstorm.

His blade turned from steel to fire but he moved too fast for Violet to take in what was happening. He reached her, a burst of wind surrounded her but this time, the samurai sliced into her wind with fire catching Violet in a flaming tornado.

Her skin started to burn as she gathered her magic morphing into stone armor before the fire could do any permanent damage. However, the samurai were burned and bloodied from Mr.Sparks lightning bolts as long as she could hold out, they were much closer to death than she was.

Herculean had been so entranced in his books, he hadn't noticed the ruckus going on outside. The old man set down his book to go get a glass of water when he heard the fighting outside. He rushed outside with his bucket.

Violet was holding her arms out in front of her guarding against the fire blade. Crimis was standing back, gathering magic and trapping it inside his swords.

Herculean ran up to her side as Devon's blade turned back to steel. He had no more magic at his disposal. He leaped back not yet noticing the old man, and before he could Herculean launched the cactus spines in the bucket at the samurai. They pierced his skin and Mr.Sparks shot another lightning bolt at him. Devon fell unconscious. Violet gave Crimis an intimidating glare.

Crimis thought for a second. He had gathered enough to launch a massive attack on her, the dog and the old man but they were giving him a chance to run. He could leave now and come back later with more numbers but what if they left this place? He had to take his chances.

He pressed the button on both blades rushing forward as a mirage of black widow spiders began appearing around him. They were swirling around his blades, his legs and his waist. He was inches away from the three of them as he swung his blade and launched a swarm at the dog.

"RUN!" Violet commanded, and lightning surrounded Mr.Sparks, he dashed away but the bugs followed him never quite getting close enough.

Violet had been fighting hard to get her magic to listen to her, but as Crimis got closer and she attempted to summon a windstorm instead flames surrounded her. She could probably find a way to use this to her advantage.

Thousands more swarms of spiders swirling around Crmis until his whole body was shrouded in them. He swung his sword and a dome of spiders was launched at Violet and the old man. Violet started blasting them with her fire. They were getting closer but her fire was faster. She burned them all alive.

However when the fire had vanished, Crimis emerged, his adrenaline turned to 100 as he rushed in too fast for Violet to react but Herculean moved with instinct. He jumped in front as Crimis swung his swords downward. He sliced an X into Herculean's body.

Violet still hated herself for what she did in that moment. She ran and ran until she ran into some bushes. She hid inside them. She couldn't go back there. The shogun had already taken enough from her. She quieted her breathing as she hid.

Herculean had fallen unconscious after being sliced into. "Oh, Violet, come out, come out wherever you are," Crimis cried out as he got closer to her.

She ever so slightly peeked out from the bushes, seeing his feet. She started preparing to fight back as he played mind games with the magic around tricking it inside his swords. As he finished gathering his collection of victims, he set out on the move again.

He made his way up to the bushes,

"I will give you to the count of three to come out, quietly and follow me willingly back to your home with the shogun or you can die here!" He started to count. And Violet attempted to blast a burst of wind out at him, however instead a barrage of stones was fired. They crushed into him knocking him back as each stone hit him.

Violet jumped out of the bushes and Crimis was about to murder his victims when the dog found them. He fired off a lightning bolt and Violet blasted Crimis with fire. The samurai exploded.

Violet rushed back to the log cabin to help the old man.

She kneeled down to his fallen bloodied body. Herculean was falling in and out of consciousness, as he tried to find the resolve to get back up and help. "It's over. I'm sorry, it's my fault they came here. It's my fault they did this to you." More tears fell from her eyes with each new word she tried to form.

Herculean talked in a harsh whisper, finding it hard to breath as he neared death, "Don't... blame... yourself... Apply... little... heat... to... the... wound."

Violet wiped her tears and summoned a small fire hovering it over the wound to craterize it. She wasn't going to let him die here.

Her magic had run out of stamina and she didn't have time to try and gather more. However, her adrenaline was still pumping fast and maybe even faster than before as she picked up Herculean and picked him on her shoulders. She ran as fast as she could while carrying him and didn't stop running until she made out of the village and into fertile farmland.

She saw people immediately began screaming, "Help! Help! I need a doctor!" They saw her distress and two small adult villagers rushed off to find her the local doctor. A few of the other villagers grabbed a mattress and placed it in a wagon. They carried it over to her and asked her to place him on top. She obliged and fell to her knees. Her exhaustion was catching up to her but she couldn't rest yet. She had to know he would be ok.

She had to...

~~~

She woke up in a small wooden room in a small slightly uncomfy chair. She looked around seeing lots of white lining the room and blue carpet underneath what looked to be an infirmary bed. She must have passed out. Having retained her sense, the memories of what had happened earlier that day washed over her and panic consumed her mind.

She rose from her chair and dashed over to the bed, finding Herculean resting on it. She felt for his pulse and felt a slow beat. Or at least it felt slow to her but in all likelihood, it was beating at an average rate. However, everything seemed to slow in that moment as the world felt safe again.

Herculean was alive, but they would need to keep running far away from her. The Duval Clan must never find them again. But for the time being her world was safe.

~~~

By the time, Violet and Damian made to the stadium, the gate was closed. An orc carrying a battle ax was relaxing by a tree; he was probably some sort of servant to a contestant. Damian passed by him as Violet chose to follow behind slowly. Damian was usually better at talking than she was.

Damian walked up to the security guard, a toned, muscular orc in plate mail wearing two maces at his side, "The Championship is closed for entry. You are late. You should have been here eight hours ago."

Damian rubbed his chin thinking for a moment, "What is the first challenge of the championship?"

"It's a maze of puzzles. They have 16 hours left to make it out the other side. You'll never make it out in time. You would have two-thirds of the time, your competitors had."

"Me and my lady friend are prepared to do whatever it takes to win. It's worth a shot. What do you say, let just two more in to join the festivities?"

"Hmm..." The orc pondered this. His immediate thought was he'd have to let anyone else who wanted in, inside but something told him this would be their little secret. Maybe he could let them through afterall. He raised the gates with his bare hands and they wandered on though. None were any wiser; now all they had to do was solve a few puzzles and find the right path to the exit. How hard could it really be?

~~~

Tifius had arrived at Phoenix Sworn early. He had plenty of time to fool around before he went and entered the Championship. He could feel his stomach weak as he was hungry. He'd have to find a good restaurant to eat at first. One that had enough etiquette and elegance for a refined platelet such as his.

Phoenix Sworn was a magnificent land ripe with crops, beautiful flowers, lakes to catch delicious fish from, along with a vast variety of animals to hunt.

Hunter Stables was a five star restaurant with an ever-changing menu depending on the season. Right now, deer were in season. Fortunately for Tifus, Venison was one of his favorites.

Oftentimes when Tifius was out in public, he wore a deerstalker hat accompanied by an elven suit with a spiked iron club strapped to his back. However, once he entered Hunter Stables the High Elf host asked him to remove his hat. He reluctantly obliged and the host looked him over. He noticed tiny orc horns hidden inside his long blond hair. He looked over to his companion, a full-blood orc.

"Is he your brother?" The host asked in a nonchalant manner but there was a hint of disdain in his tone.

"He's my servant! I'm a Pureblood High Elf!" Tifius declared as he tried his best to control his temper.

"Then explain the horns?"

"Genetic mutation and possibly the next evolution of Elves," Tifius said this as if he believed it.

"So your orc friend isn't related to you?"

"No!" Tifius was shouting now.

"Then he can dine here, you'll have to wait outside, though." The host pointed to the door.

"Why? I'm a paying customer. Don't you like gold here?" Everyone was staring at the scene.

"We don't serve half-elfs here, they defile the blood line. Please leave, I can't stand to look at you any longer."

Tifius reached into his suit and there was a sound of smashing before Tifius started to grow. His muscles grew ten times their size. He then used his other hand to pull out his club and yet again there was the sound of smashing as the club turned black. A gray aura surrounded the club. His magic had made it stronger.

He lifted the club up and then brought it down on the host's stand. He smashed into pieces and put a hole in the floor, "That could be you!"

The High Elf host chuckled as he pulled out his staff. Near the bottom of it, a red switch could be seen. He pointed it outward towards Tifius as the half-elf prince's anger seethed. He was growling. He could see the High Elf Host was willing to fight for his claims.

Tifius' magic had 15 seconds left at most. He lunged forward and the High Elf pulled the switch, a blast of gray energy shot out at Tifius and he went flying out of the establishment. The energy blast knocked him into the stadium wall and Troy ran off to find his boss.

Tifius' magic faded away as he hit the stadium wall but it was enough to soften the blow. He got up, put away his club and brushed himself off. He decided they weren't worth it and went off to find some meat at the farmer's market.

"I had a feeling, I'd find you here, boss!" Troy shouted out as he saw Tifius sitting at a picnic table eating his steak and vegetables from the market.

Tifius looked at him solemnly and turned his eyes to Troy's orc. He patted his own horns. He no longer had his hat to hide them. "Is it true, you think, Troy?"

"Is what true?" The cobblebrute asked as he sat down next to him.

"Am I not really a pureblood?" He had never left his home and his mother won't let him know the truth. He idolized her and thought she would never lie to him.

"I don't know the full story, but looking at you, I'd guess not. But that's ok, it's not so bad being an orc." Troy offered him a smile.

"But what if that means I'm not worthy of a throne? The host said it best, 'I defile the bloodline'."

"The blood line is already defiled. The whole world is corrupt. Noone is worthy of a throne until he proves his own worth!" Tifius took a big bite of meat as he pondered this. Perhaps the cobblebrutes weren't just brawn, afterall. Tifius may not have the best blood but he could prove his blood was just as worthy as that of the Hunter Stables Host.

He finished up his meal and brought another meal for Troy, then they made their way to the stadium. They entered just in time to start the first event; a maze of puzzles. They had twenty four hours to make it to the other side or they would be eliminated.

Tifius was ready to be tested. The whistle was blown and a crowd of mages rushed into the maze, Tifius running with them. Troy stayed behind; he had no magic of his own. None of the cobblebrutes had magic.

Tifius went down a path less traveled by, meaning many had opted not to walk on his path. It wasn't long before he came across his first puzzle.

There had been arrows pointing in several different leading many to get confused and lost but Tifius had a natural born affinity with nature due to his elf heritage, and he had awakened a racial Rodēn which allowed to take full advantage of this trait. This gave him the ability to create harmless sensory effects, such as leaves rustling or the whisper of a breeze. Most of the time he also could predict the weather and with the right materials, he could even snuff or light a fire using magic as the ignitor or the extinguisher.

He had used this power to block any surrounding distractions by using it to create ambience all around him. Then he sent out waves of ambience in every direction to try and confuse anyone else using the same Rodēn as him.

The waves he had sent out utilizing caged magic and every so often, he would use a bit of dead magic to further isolate his mind as he felt others attempting to do the same thing and it would have worked on him, too, except he used his magic to make his mind stronger.

That was his special Rodēn, the ability to enhance the strength of anything within a close enough range either by touch or by sending out a blast of magical energy as far as his power could reach. For now, that was about fifteen feet.

By using these techniques, he was almost certain he had followed the right path. He looked around him and saw a table with various vials and potions with a piece of paper laid in the center of it. A giant iron door stood behind it and a tiny pit in the ground lay at the foot of the door. Tifius stepped up to read the note

It read, "The roaring fire rages on in the woods as the goblins run to the caves and the elves work tirelessly to put it out." This meant nothing to him right now.

He put the note down and looked at the vials of potions. There were six vials, only two of the liquids contained there within were the same color. Two were green, the others were orange, red, blue, and black.

Tifius's first instinct would have been to associate each color with the word in italics but he wasn't sure which potion would have gone with woods; perhaps the black liquid.

Goblins and elves could be green, Orange or Red could be fire. He might as well try something if only to see what would happen.

Tifius picked up the orange vial and poured a little bit into the tiny pit, then the black, followed by the two different green vials. Something at the bottom of the pit opened up draining the pit. And then there was a clank.

A vent opened up in the wall to the left and gas slipped into the area. Tifius started to feel sleepy. It wasn't enough gas to fully affect his senses but if he wasn't careful, he'd pass out.

He figured fire must've been wrong and started with the red this time followed by black and green. He heard another clank, then more gas was released. Tifius was starting to understand it had never to do with color, afterall. He had to try something else.

Maybe he had to decipher what the liquid was to find the pattern. Not that would be too difficult; how could they expect anyone to do that. And he couldn't taste them, he didn't know what they were.

However, that gave him an idea. Tifius picked up one of the green vials and wafted it up to his nose. It had the smell of a nice winter breeze. That couldn't be it. He picked the other green vial and did the same thing. It smelt of a wood burning fire.

He found the black had the small of a nice oak tree, while the orange smelled of unwashed savages and the red had a floral scent, representing the elegance of an elf. He poured all of the contents of each vial into the pit in order of scent and there was another clank. The door opened. He grabbed the note and walked through the door.

Once several seconds had passed, the door closed again and locked itself. The same mechanism that locked and unlocked the door, unknowingly to Tifius, also refilled the vials. However, there was no way for anyone else to find the riddle. They hadn't expected someone would take the note.

Tifius continued down the pathway until he found a room with four wild animals in cages. Each cage had an emblem of the animal inside etched inside a diamond -shaped tile. There was a lion, a wolf, a bear, and a snake. Snake was sleeping soundly but the rest were howling, and growling. They were hungry. He spotted a note resting on top of the snake cage.

Tifius climbed on top and quickly grabbed the note before jumping off as the snake jumped awake. It was a boa constructor and the bars had been made just short enough that it couldn't escape.

Inside the note, he didn't find a riddle but rather a command. It read, "Smash their blood against the door!" He looked at the iron door at the end of the hallway and saw two poles in front of it. They must have been sensors of some sort.

Tifius looked around at all the cages, the animals were growing louder as they each were trying their best to escape the cage, even the snake. Tifius wished there was another way.

And he was led to believe, there probably was more than one way to solve this puzzle but what the others who come after him do otherwise. But listening to the command was the best he knew how to unlock that door. There was a smash and a stronger, bigger Tifius rushed forward.