"I'm sorry darling but momma is a little busy right now, you know you could help me if you wanted..."
A female elf with skin that glowed like that of a pale sunrise cresting the horizon replied, her greyish platinum hair reflecting the sunlight coming from her cooking station's window. Her body incased in a light green dress that was modest yet elegant in design furled as she turned to look at her daughter. Her face's natural grace and soft features beamed a smirk that seemed to know the answer to her suggestion already.
Her daughter looked to be a moderately pale skinned half elf/ half human with strait black hair that reached shoulder length, it rested upon her purple dress that seemed to mimic that of a night gown. She stomped her foot and put on a scowl that didn't seem to do her face's naturally sharp angles much good.
"But mommaaa! Papa isn't ever able to tell us stories! He's always gone when i go to bed and Chris is the only one that gets to be up late enough to at least say goodnight to before he goes to work.... this is soo unfair!"
The young teen then stomped around the simple looking cottage's floor, the wood resonating the anger in her steps. After she made a single lap around the simple round dining table she turned to her mother with a pleading face.
"If it bothers you so much dear you can always ask him yourself, you know how to contact him." Her mother stated as she stirs the cauldron that's nestled into the small hearth she was cooking in front of.
The steam permeating the aroma of a potato soup throughout their cozy home, the daughter who was about complain quiets and gains a sheepish demeanor. As if contemplating the chance of actually reaching out to her father to convey her wants before shaking her head slightly and nervously taking one of her hands into her other.
"B-but i don't want to bother him if he's busy..." she says meekly
This only caused her mother to chuckle lightly and put on a playful smirk, as she lifts the stirring spoon to tap the edge of the rim removing the excess from its scoop. Staring at the contents with a look of satisfaction.
"That's done for now" she says lightly to herself, "Olivia would you be a dear and fetch your older brother? While you do so ill message your father and inform him that dinner is ready" as she waved her hands towards the hearth. It seemed tendrils if a pale green hue that were almost absent of matter, began to seep from her fingertips stretching into the shadows that played behind the cauldron. Olivia on the other hand having seen this countless times curtly nods and heads towards the front door to fulfill her mothers request.
After donning her travelling slippers she slips past the wooden door to the sight of golden fields of wheat surrounding her homestead. She closed her eyes to focus on something that her father once told her, when she was much younger. The darkness she saw with closed eyes almost seemed to whisper words into her mind, though to many the event might have been concerning or even frightening. To her it was a warming comfort.
listen closely little one, if you ever feel lost or alone, know that your family is always with you. You are my child and that alone makes you apart of something much bigger. One day you will be able to both experience this greater realm and control certain parts of it, and when you do you'll realize that you were never truly alone. For every light shall cast a shadow, and for every shadow will carry your fathers love for you.
The smile couldn't be helped as Olivia heard the words in her fathers voice, the whispers echoing as a feeling both in her mind and heart spread like an invisible wave of energy, she focused on her brother's presence. As she's grown to realize what her father meant and lessoned learned from her mother. Over time everyone who interacts with the laws of the worlds around them, focusing on them and growing accustomed to that eventually has the ability to gain control over their aspects. Her father's life lead him to grow with "darkness". Much to her dismay, she's never been able hear what he's experienced throughout his times. That doesn't mean she hasn't been taught to sense the energies around her now.
Focusing on the darkness it all seemed to outline with scattered whisps of soft hues of all colors until they seemingly went into place with loose tendrils of their natural hues, the semi translucent wheat radiated a golden aura that permeated into the earth slowly pulsating amongst all the roots like a light ripple amongst a golden sea that would radiate to the seed pods where some of their energy would return into the air, the cobbled stones vibrated like a solidified block of grey smoke. The house behind them strangely a blank black space in the colorful scenery, but understandable when you understand who lives there. Still Oliva knew her brother wasn't nearby and pushed more at her magic sight to look for a familiar color.
Olivia knew that everything in the world carried energies of different colors, her mothers was that of a soft burnt orange with touches of green. Her Fathers naturally were black with touches of different hues at times, and her own was this soft yet deep evergreen while her brother's was still complicated. When personalities and auras are still forming from growth their divine aspects have chances to change until their individual qualities are set with the laws that fit them.
It would be noted that she herself isn't set on her divine nature. The fact that Olivia knows that she's in line with some aspects of her mother's aura and can see her personal aura's steady colored hue implied that the training her mother was teaching her was working. Following that mental conclusion her mind also detected traces of her brothers familiar soft blue and silver hues a mile or so to the east in a familiar woodlands, and with that she opened her eyes to trek in that direction.
The soft yet warm sun lounged in the sky about just shy of evening. Its golden rays playing upon the wheat fields in her view lasting the whole way until the woods lay right before her. She thought of many different things that didn't last more then moments in her mind during her trip.
"I wonder what Malcom's training in now?"
"Bet that old goats making him sweat! Haha"
"Still not fair he's got a personal tutor.. i wonder..."
As the woods began to surround her she figured she might try another lesson that she actually learned from her father. While her mother taught her about sensing and viewing the world in the magical detection aspects, her father taught her about concealment.
"Darkness is everywhere, both visible and not." She murmured to herself as she worked on bringing her energies inside her body. Even checking with her magical detection to ensure none of it leaked into the environment as she began to creep through the woods towards her brother influence.
It didn't take long until Oliva got past enough foliage to see movement along a clearing in the middle of the woods. Then she took a silent breath to hold as she almost didn't believe what was happening before her eyes.
Before her stood a: moderately tall ,young, olive skinned, male. His jawline carrying an almost identical look to that of their mother but with short dirty blonde hair and faint traces of what would look like fine hairs on his chin. He was robust in stature as his muscles showed their tense state. His shirt was a tight fitting ocean blue with short sleeves and black pants and shoes to match.
Malcom was there drenched in sweat, a quarterstaff in his hands gripped until his olive skin turned white. His breathing was ragged but those little were almost missed since her attention was what was in front of him. A large green and black stripped salamander stood before him. It stood on all fours and was covered in bruises and welts with some small cuts all across its body. It eyes almost level with Malcom's, both staring at each other as if conversing without words.
Olivia held her breath as she could almost see the tension in the air. This didn't look like training at all! At least compared to her peaceful lessons at the dining table with her mother that is, but before she could reflect any further she saw Malcom sift his feet just a little forward. But that little movement seemed to cause a reaction from the salamander.
Using all of its height it reared up on its back legs, standing now taller than Malcom, the salamander swung its left claw at him. Almost instinctively Malcom's staff met and deflected the blow away. The salamander adjusting to its momentum being pivoted hits the terrain causing a small explosion of dirt and rubble to launch from the impact zone.
A small smirk appeared on Malcom's face just to have his eyes go wide as the salamander plants its other clawed appendage next to the buried one and shifts its weight onto its front end. Malcom tries to take a step back to avoid what happened next but was too slow. Rotating its body it uses what's left of its momentum to swing its body and tail to slam into him.
The sickening sound of the impact causes Olivia to freeze as she sees her brother take the hit into his upper torso, unable to withstand the sheer size the tail flattens Malcom into the ground. He slides just shy of 2 feet away on the ground semi tumbling uncontrolled until he comes to a stop. He tries to get his hands under his stomach to pick himself up off the ground but the salamander was faster. In a blink it stood above Malcom its head that's as wide as Malcom's chest opening over his head seemingly about to deliver a fatal blow.
Oliva couldn't keep quiet as she yelled, her voice unknowingly booming across the opening in the woods.
"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Her hand pointed in the direction of her brother, almost reaching out in: fear, desperation, and love. Her emotions were running wild but in her lack of focus something almost instinctively happens. Unbeknownst to her, tendrils of her magical energy left her palm and meshed into the surrounding darkness that the canopy of the woods provided.
Just as the salamander roared and lowered its head to bite the defenseless young man before it, a small flash of black appeared before it from underneath the man.
SNAP
As the jaws came closed and bit into the black cloud that engulfed Malcom, the air from its speed and strength caused the smoke to waft away. Revealing that there was nothing there, it looked left to right searching for its target. In the distance it saw a smaller figure sitting within the undergrowth a short distance away.
Oliva was confused for a moment as she saw the black smoke engulf her brother. But those fractions of a second passed when the shadows around her converged to create what looked like a puddle. Within its center a blob pushed up and broke the membrane to reveal Malcom still on all fours trying to push himself up. His look of startlement and confusion clear on his face as he looked around only to see the same face on his sister who he just noticed was here.
"O-Olivia?" He said lightly
"H-hey" she said back meekly, noticing she just got caught sneaking around.
They looked at each other for a moment before Malcom looked over towards the creature he had been fighting with and sighed. Shaking his head as he picked himself off the ground, he faced the creature and dusted himself off.
"Alright joe i guess that enough for now. Also what's up? You almost took my head off!!"
"I mean it wouldn't be the first time. Plus i wanted to see how Lady Rose's teaching have went" a semi nasally voice quipped from the Salamander. As if the finishing of the sentence was a trigger, the salamanders form broke into tendrils of similar smoke of Olivia's but in its shades carried tinges of a deep dark evergreen.
The smoke reverted into a shape of a small man. No taller than 4 foot tall, his bare slightly toned but still pudgy torso forming first. His soft roundish face solidifying next as the smoke whisps into the shape of bifocals that rested on his nose. his legs formed into the shape of something similar to that of a billy goat. His skin tone finalizing his transformation with a paleish pink hue.
"Uncle Josephus?! I didn't know you could shapeshift!" Oliva exclaimed in confusion, standing to quickly go to give him a proper greeting.
Josephus mentally sighed as he saw the young girl running towards him. He wasn't one for physical affection in everyway. His normally grumpy and critical character despised them even. But unfortunately, everyone has a weakness.
"Kid you know you don't have to do th-"
Before he could even finish his sentence he was being embraced in a momentum filled hug, which nearly bowled him over since olvia was about a foot taller than him and even weighed more.
"-is every time.... " he said exasperatedly, since the impact knocked the wind out of him a bit. But any further complaints were silenced since they seemed futile. After a few moments she released him allowing him to breath regularly.
In that mean time Malcom approached with a grin on his face. Josephus saw the smirk and eye'd Malcom in a way where his message was clear.
Not a word or else.
Olivia after releasing the poor satyr finally finds her voice and meekly puts her head down a bit while using it.
"Sorry for sneaking up on you guys.... but mother said dinner was done.."
"And she sent ya over to get this welp, i gotcha. Go ahead his trainings done for the day anyways, ill also report that Lady Rose's lessons are going well while I'm at it." Josephus concluded as beginning to turn away from the group.
"What no hug goodbye for me too?" Malcom said lightheartedly toward Josephus. But his expression froze when he saw the smirk on his face as he turned to look over his shoulder.
"Dragon form next session. Make sure you bring your gear if you don't wanna die." Josephus replied smugly
"W-wait really?! No need to be so hast-" Malcom tried to plead but its as if a gust of wind molecularly shattered Josephus as he disappeared into shadowy dust. Leaving the siblings alone in the clearing of the woods.
Sighing and accepting that things will be tough next week, he hangs his head for a second to let out a groan of displeasure before facing his sister.
"Well i guess we should get goin, don't wanna make Ma angry with us for being too late." He said turning towards the direction of home.
"Y-yeah.." Oliva said meekly, mimicking her brother.
The travel wasn't too long but nothing changed much during the walk, Oliva couldn't refrain from asking her brother a question to help pass the time.
"Do you think he'll really turn into a dragon?" Her childish curiosity failing to be hid in her voice.
"One thing i know livy is that Ol' Joe doesn't play around. If he says something he generally means it, which I'm not excited for." He said in a semi serious tone.
"I'm sorry" she began "If i didn't show up then maybe things woulda been different. Though i thought i hid myself well enough.. how did he notice me?"
" Ma woulda taught you how to conceal but not to blend yet. If there's a void of laws in a area and you're sensitive enough you can see a dark spot in a world of colors and know that it isn't natural. I'm not there yet apparently, joe seemed to notice right away." Malcom replied, his tone both somehow with speculation and confidence. As he looked aimlessly across the fields.
Almost realizing something with his own words he looks away from the fields of wheat to look at her
"Speaking of, didn't the teachers at the academy tell you what human world you'll be going to? My experience was on the Tokuta realms, and i hope personally they don't send you there." Malcom inquired.
"Yeah.. haven't told mother and father yet. I'm a bit nervous and want to hear how their time amongst the mortals was. You can't be too prepared can you?" She replied
"That's implying you can really prepare for interacting with the laws of existence that you haven't been aligned with yet silly goose.
So where are they sending you? Or are you gonna leave me in the dark too?" He said in a semi mocking tone that all older brothers and sister gain when talking to their younger siblings.
"*sigh* fine... I'm going to the Amberfell realms, they're saying that its finally stabilized after the last great catastrophe that happened there and now has enough populous to support divine interventions now."
With that, as the house was in front of them a few hundred yards away. Malcom stopped and looked over at his sister with incredulous eyes. She could only look at at them in her own confusion, her voice parroting what her mind was thinking.
"What's wrong? Is that a bad place to go?" Barely containing her curiosity.
Malcom hesitated for a second, his mind running through all sort of things in that instant only for quiets words to leave his lips.
"That's where father and mother were born..."
Olivia's eyes went wide.
"REALLY?!"
Her yell expressed her surprise, its profoundness didn't allow her to even realize the formal name Malcom normally forsakes was used. In her mind she HAD to have her father tell her how it was like there since it was so close to their family. Her smile on her face eventually softened since complications arrived.
"Wait.. the realms been closed since there was a cataclysmic event.. its been millennia since its opened back to the divine lands.. do you know what happened?" Oliva asked trying to solve some doubts.
Alas Malcom only shook his head. Expressing clearly his words would only be assumptions. But a smile slowly grew on his face, he was glad to see that his little sister was taking the matter seriously for her preparations for departure.
"Cmon livy, lets not keep ma and pa waiting"
He quipped and continued from where they stopped on the path.
Not wanting to be left behind she followed to enter through the front door, the smell of a hearty soup consisting of potatoes and pork with other light vegetables in the broth permitted through the air. The table was set with bowls steaming at their respective seats.
Their mother was finishing up a chat to a small bird like that of a parakeet, but instead of its usual blues and greens. It was comprised up a variation of shades of grey and black smoke. With the words, "i love you, see you soon" she raised her right hand where the bird was resting and watched as it dove into the shadows near her feet.
She then turned from her resting place and gracefully walked towards the table. "Your father will be here shortly, and asked for us to not wait up if we were hungry." She said, her soft voice adding warm tones to the room as she moved towards the table. It was when they all got close to taking a seat that Olivia spoke up.
"Hey mother... i can't help but asks.. how was it like growing up in the lands of the mortals?" She asked, the hesitation obvious.
Rose looked over at her daughter, a face of light intrigue from the question spread as she began to think of the many lifetimes worth of memories she had experienced there. The smile on her face remained even as she shook her head from side to side.
"Well to most of my people, i was just a simple village girl who had a knack of sensing when people had bad intentions. Even then, i didn't end up doing much until the calamity hit and your father and his family gathered all the tribes in the world to face it.. it'd be better to ask him sweety" she answered in the best way she could.
"I have ma... he always tells me those stories are for later when I'm more stable about my journey through the divines.. but i kinda need to know it now.." she was trying to explain when a baritone voice echoes throughout whole house so softly it was as if the home itself was speaking.
"And why would that be my dearest little one"
The surprised gasp from Oliva was unavoidable as she then cringes lightly from the mental understanding that her father was home. She peered over her shoulder from the dining table at the front door. The frame was enshrouded in a moving darkness corner to corner. The undulating motions morphed as if something was crossing space and time just to pass through. As if a water droplet falling into water was reversed, a figure emerged from the darkness.
There stood a human male: skin white as the moon, long curly black hair that was well past his hips in length rested upon his tight fitting yet sleeveless robe, His left arm was made of a black layered metal that had tendrils of the shadows that would vent out as it moved. His smaller yet toned physical aspects clearly visible only added too the eerie aura that followed his presence.
He waved his hand as both a greeting to his family and as a gesture to bring all the darkness energy used for his dimensional door back towards him. As fast as his gesture was, it was all returned in an instant. Leaving the house looking a little bit brighter as a result. His smile was warm even though the energy around him was still eerily cold. His gaze still laying upon his daughter, with a little bit of expectancy at that due to the nature of her conversation.
"Father.. I-I " Olivia began only to be interrupted by her mother.
"Can wait until we sit, we wouldn't want dinner to get cold now that he's here now would we, Issac dear?" Rose confidently stated giving a look that carried meanings that her husband immediately knew.
"Yes, your mothers right. We shouldn't let all the hard work she put in go to waste!" He stated quickly. Chuckling lightly to himself
Rose beamed with a loving smile as she stared at him walking closer to the table. Their soft gazes locked in a loving exchange for a brief moment until he took his seat. Oliva and Malcom waited a moment before following his lead.
With everyone seated they followed their ritual of holding hands and channeling fragments of their gathered divine energy to the appropriate gods of the hunt, cooking, and family. After giving thanks they began to eat respectively in their own natures. Olivia feeling a slight knot in her stomach from this upcoming talk was mainly stirring her soup, whereas Malcom was famished still after his training was eating at a respectable hearty approach. Their mother Rose was bringing the bowl up to her mouth to savor the broth she had toiled over for the better part of a afternoon, savoring each flavor she had put in over the hours.
Issac on the other hand, used his shadows to leverage a bowl upwards with impromptu tendrils and ate as if he hadn't eaten before in his millennia of life. Both hands spoon at the ready as what most would call inhaling their food. Just as his first bowl empties a cloud of a small smoke cloud has already wafted over a second helping, where a repeat of the fallings of the first bowl repeat themselves. It was only after the third bowl of potato soup where he finally gave what would only described as a breather, he looked at his wife with his usual satisfied look.
While Olivia left her meal untouched, Malcom at a quarter of a bowl. their mother equating to a few sips in to her meal. Issac let out a hefty sigh.
" So my little one, what was it you were needing to talk to me about? "
Olivia sighed " Father I think its time I know what happened in your times in Amberfell. Its going to be my mortal reproval assignment for The Academy and I feel that I would be better prepared with this knowledge." she said in her most confident voice, although still "wobbly" on the ear. The air seemed to still as Issac's face seemed to slowly shift from his warming feeling to one of the same dreary fog he walked through what felt like lifetimes. She looked upon her father and he did the same.
"is it that time already? I still remember you bouncing on my knee asking for your mother to sing songs of the wood elf Iliad's. oh how--"
"yes dad. it is time... and i wanna know everything. As you and mama have told me, its important in setting the foundation--" Olivia interrupted before the likewise happening to her.
"of your divine essence. My your mother is a great teacher isn't she?" he said looking helplessly towards his wife, who just softly smiled a look at him that let him know that it was time and couldn't escape it this time. With a defeated sigh he would stand and walk over towards the fireplace in their humble living room. tendrils of shadows leaving his hands to slip into the cobble chimney. A sound of soft stone pushing on stone as a secret compartment would be revealed to contain a large leatherbound tome covered in dust.
Issac would look at its cover longingly as he took it to his chair infront of the face of the firepit. His hands touching softly on its carved surface.
"Well, its quiet a long story, one i haven't read in about twenty years now. Come sit little one, and ill tell you the tale of how a simple orphan boy's life got enshrouded in darkness."