New Beginnings

2 years have passed since I appeared in this world.

Since then,Neytmir has taught me the art of swordsmanship,survival,and about the world.

Apparently,the country's name is Voldathea,and it is one of the most prosperous countries in the world. Well,this world,at least. 600 years ago,there was a great war against The Demon King Krueger and his race,the Devillins,which resulted in the union of the 4 great warrior clans. The Swordsmen,The Mage,The Brawler,and the Hunter. They then sealed Krueger in the moon and exiled the Devillins to the south,and had guards watching the area to make sure they never left. However,that's all I currently know about this world. Either Neytmir knows only that much,or he's hiding more from me. Whichever the case may be,though,I don't really care. He's the same person who'd taken care of me for these 2 years,so I owe a lot to him. However,this may be the last time I see him,as I'm heading back out to the town to live on my own.

"Jordan."

"Yes,master?"

"It's been 2 years now,hasn't it?"

"Yes master. It has."

"Well,to our agreement 2 years ago,you will now have to live and venture out yourself. You won't have me to do everything for you anymore. I have nothing more to teach you."

"Thank you,master,truly,for everything you've done for me. I wish for nothing but the best for you,sir."

"You too,Jordan. And don't call me master. We're on equal terms now,you know. Call me Neytmir."

I smirked.

"See you soon,Neytmir!"

I shouted out to him and ran back to the main town.Before I ran off,I saw him waving back at me. My time with Neytmir was great. He taught me many things,but most importantly,he taught me how to let go. So of course,it was sad to leave. But the most important thing for me to do right now is go back to the town and find a new job.

But that was abruptly interrupted.

As soon as I reached the bar,it was literally in shambles. Everyone who had been sitting down and drinking or whatever at the bar was on the ground,covered in blood. Standing amidst the chaos was a figure,dressed in a brown leather jacket and a hood,covering his head. He had a black aura emerging from him,with the receptionist trembling behind her counter. This was the first time I had ever seen anything like this before. However,at the moment I wasn't thinking about anything. I had already dashed into the figure, sword in hand. It wasn't a surprise when he easily knocked me out of the way,as I definitely broke a few bones,as my body hit the rubble laying on the ground.

"Get out of my way,child. You are NOT worth my time." the figure said, walking towards a large man with what seems to be a horn-shaped tattoo on his arm.

"No..no,please,I beg you!"The large man said to the hooded figure, pleading for his life. I had never seen someone with an aura this menacing before,in my life. Hell,not even Neytmir had given off an aura like this! The hooded figure then lifted up the large man and spoke to him.

"You betrayed Krueger..you shall be culled."

Just then,the hooded figure completely crushed the large man's head into nothing. He was then covered in the black aura again,but me being the idiot that I am,I dashed into him once again. However,this time,I felt a slight surge of energy pass through my body. I quickly jabbed him with the end of my blade. Of course, he easily dodged it,but I had already predicted his dodge. I made a quick turnaround,reading to slice him,but something that I had not foreseen occurred.

"You have potential,child. Maybe one day,you will understand the greatness of our lord Krueger."

He threw me right into a wall,ripping my shirt and vest into shreds. The figure then disappeared in a cloud of black smoke,vanishing without a trace. I sat there,against the wall,coughing up blood. I could feel my consciousness slipping away,with the last thing I saw was the receptionist rushing towards me.

****

I don't know how long I was out for,but when I came to,it was about 3:00 PM,if I had to guess. As I looked around,I figured out that we were still in the ruins of the bar. The receptionist was also here,and it looked like she was preparing a drink of some sorts. I was covered in bandages and it felt like a few bones have been healed.

"You're awake? You were knocked out hard,"she said to me,in a reassuring and comforting tone. She had blonde hair and wore a white shirt and black bowtie,along with a black skirt.

"What happened?"I responded,sounding half asleep.

"The Devillin that attacked this place knocked you out cold."

"He got away,didn't he?"

"Well,obviously."

I slowly got up. I still felt some difficulties moving some of the joints in my body,but it was better than how I felt when I fought him. When I moved to this world,I honestly didn't expect things to go this way. I expected the world to just be normal,just..well,in a different time period. But I can't say that this is a different life either,since I can't remember anything from my past life. As far as I know,this is my life.

"But off topic from the Devillin for a second. I need to talk to you about something." the woman said,switching her face from a calm and peaceful to a serious look.

"What is it?"

She took my arm and unwrapped one of the bandages on my arm,revealing what seems to be a..birthmark,or a scar. It was in the shape of a lightning bolt,and I'm honestly dumbfounded that I had never noticed it before.

"What's the meaning of this?" She said to me,with a serious tone in her voice.

"I..don't know. Is it supposed to mean something significant?"

"You..don't..know..?"She replied to me,with a confused and terrified look on her. I was also confused. Did this birthmark mean something horrifying? But then,out of nowhere,Neytmir appeared from around the corner.

"I received word that the bar was destroyed. Looks like I was too late,wasn't I?" Neytmir said,walking over to me and the receptionist. My mind was mixed at that moment. On one hand,I thought, "Wow,Neytmir's here!". On the other, I thought , "You could've come 2 hours earlier,old man!". Nevertheless,I felt happy that he was here.

"I let you out for not even a day and you end up with bruises all over you. Maybe I should just take you back in."

"If I knew ahead of time that he would I would have had a chance."

"I knew it. This is your boy,isn't he,Neytmir?" The receptionist said to him,standing up and putting her hands on her waist.

"Not exactly,Helia.I'd say he's an apprentice of mine."

Now I'm confused they talked like they knew each other like the back of their hands,talking like they were very close.

"Uh,I'm sorry,do you guys,like,know each other?" I said to them.

"Neytmir and I used to adventure together for a while. But we're still good friends. But that can be put off for now. Take a look at this,Neytmir."

The receptionist..Helia,pulled down my bandages and showed Neytmir my birthmark. Neytmir had the same reaction that Helia did. A terrified expression,like I was some sort of monster.

"What is it?" I asked him,in a confused tone.

"You didn't tell him about the elementals?"Helia said to Neytmir,with a disappointed tone and expression on her face.

"I never expected him to run into them,let alone be one."

"What is an elemental?" I asked them,covering up the mark.

"You should tell him,Neytmir."Helia said to him,before emitting a green glow on her hands. I suspected that it was the healing magic Neytmir told me the Mages could use. She then used it on my back,which started feeling better already.

"Well,remember when I told you there were 4 main warrior clans,Jordan? What I didn't tell you,was that there were 5 other clans. They were special clans that could harness the power of the 5 elements. Fire,Water,Earth,Wind,and Lightning. In order to signify that they were a part of one of these clans,a member would have a birthmark,resembling the shape of the element they could control. These clans were later grouped into a main warrior clan,which we call the Elementals. You having a lightning shaped birthmark...means that you are the lightning elemental."Neytmir explained to me,in the easiest manner to understand. My head still couldn't wrap itself around what he told me,though. An elemental was someone who could control an element,which meant they could use magic. No,it was more special abilities than magic. It wouldn't add up if I was one of them. Through my 2 years of training,I couldn't do anything related to magic. Not even a simple ground wall spell,which even a child could do. And now I'm being told I can control lightning? I'm not buying it at all.

"Now,the person who attacked this bar was a Devillin. If they've broken out of the south and started culling abandoners, it most likely means they're working on the unsealing of Krueger." Helia said to Neytmir,walking behind her reception table and grabbing a white shirt and black cloak.

"If they're doing that...it would be a wise idea to get the Voldathean Dragons back together." He responded to her,standing up on his feet.

"Excuse me,uh,what are The Voldathean Dragons?" I asked them.

"That was our group of adventurers. We disbanded after an argument. Helia was part of it,too. She was our mage." Neytmir said to me,looking over to Helia.

"If you get them back together,I'm staying back here. I have my life to take care of. Here,boy,take these." Helia replied to Neytmir,and gave me the cloak and shirt.

"Hey,I'd like to help out with getting your team back together." I said to Neytmir. This sounded like a big plot was emerging. One that could potentially end up catastrophic for everybody. I was put here as my second chance. I wanted to make sure no one gets to this stage,and live their lives here normally.

"No. I have a better idea for you. Since we know now that you're an elemental,your job is to find the 4 other elementals and group together. You will be our key to defeating the Devillins,and if all hell breaks loose,the key to defeating Krueger." Neytmir said,pointing to me.

"But I can't even use the powers that were given to me. How will I even get them to trust me,let alone defeat those Devillins?"I said to Neytmir,putting on the shirt that Helia gave to me.

"Show them your birthmark.They'll trust you. Now,you should start with finding the flame elemental. There were reports of a man manipulating huge fires over in the Felintal Kingdom."Neytmir said to me,putting his hand on my shoulder and handing me a map. I gulped. Hard. I would be on a huge quest on my own for the first time. 2 years ago,I had been put in purgatory with no memories,then suddenly placed in this world. Now,I'm on a quest to find 4 other legendary people to embark on a journey to save this new world.

"I understand. Thank you,Neytmir. And you too,Helia." I said to them,grabbing the cloak and walked over to the entrance of the bar.

"Good luck,kid. And don't die!" Neytmir shouted over to me.

"Same to you,Neytmir!" I said to him,I swung on my cloak,and started running towards the Felintal Kingdom marked on the map Neytmir gave to me.

My quest starts here!