Rising Ember

Prologue
This tale takes place in an alternate universe on a world much like ours called Fantasia. The people of Fantasia are very different from us though, because although there are human like us there are many different species of humans. The humanoid races consist of: Healers These are only able to heal people using small amounts of magic with magically reinforced healing medicines, herbs, and implements. Witches/Wizards These are users of spells and potions. Magicians These can use magic without the need of spells to aid them. Sorcerers Witches and wizards who summon creatures and use all types of magic. Dark Magicians These are witches, wizards, magicians, and sorcerers who use dark and blood magic. The more they use this magic the more they become whats called corrupt. Mixed Breeds Mixed Breeds are usually half human half animal, resulting in a human figure with animal characteristics such as; ears, a tail, whiskers, claws, fangs, and sometimes horns. Their senses are also enhanced meaning depending on their animal breed they have better hearing, eyesight, reflexes, stamina, muscle content, power, and brain capability. The common mixes with humans are; cat, dog, wolf, fox, bear, lion (mountain and normal), tiger, cheetah, leopard (snow and normal), Black Panther, and lynx. Occasionally there are mixes with two breeds of animal such as fox, wolf, and human. Mix breeds are always human and if two different breeds of Mixes (what humans call mix breeds) have a child that child is either full human or two animals and human. If two Mixes of the same breed have a child that child is always the breed that the parents are, there is no chance of them having a 1

human child. Human and Mixes are forbidden to have relationships with each other and relationships between two different breeds is frowned upon. Non human races: Demons These are vicious creature that usually have horns oddly coloured skin some have three eye and all are capable to tear through all cities. Fairies these are creatures that can range from mouse size to average human size (5 foot 5). They have wings use fairy dust to make other things fly (including people), they are also very pretty. Most are in hiding for they are hunted for their wings and fairy dust. The more mischievous type of fairy is called a pixie. Furies These at are small creatures no bigger that a soft ball, they have no limbs or mouth and most cant talk; they have huge eyes that cover pretty much all of their body. They have control over the elements, they are fluffy and depending if they are fire, earth, wind, or water, they are red, green, white, or blue, or if they are a combination of two or more elements they are multicoloured. Humanoids keep these docile creatures as pets as they come in handy for protection or fights as they are very loyal to their masters. Dragons Winged beasts that fly. They can breathe fire or they can freeze things with their breath. They come in a various array of colours and are sized from a house cat to giant. People called dragon trainers capture, train and sell dragons. Minor species: Phoenixes, Griffins, Hippogriffs, Cats and dogs. Corruption A blight that can infect Dark Magicians if they use too much dark and blood magic. It turns them insane and unable to control themselves and their magic, eventually the corruption gets so bad it destroys them or turns them into demons.

Chapter 1 Meeting Ember

So I had finally arrived after a long trip on the train, The Dark Circus. My friends had convinced to go see it after days of begging and me saying no, but finally I gave up and decided to go see what was soo great about this circus that made my friends feel like all there hopes and dreams had come true. I approached the entrance of the red and black big top. The usher who was wearing he typical black suit and tie, but instead of a white top underneath the black jacket he was wearing a red top. When I was two people down in the long line he spotted me and gave me a suspicious look. I was good two feet taller than him and he was at least 5.9. My slim well toned body was decked out in a black plaid mini skirt, a tight white blouse, a denim jacket and a sheathed sword around my hips, my long sleek black hair with a purple streak running through it was tied up in a high ponytail, I must look like a rebellious teenager skipping school I thought to myself. I went up to him and paid my entrance fee, put before I walked in he placed a had on my shoulder stopping, he then cast a knowing look to my sword, and said Please miss dont go causing any trouble. I wont be the one causing the trouble. I replied taking out my agents badge and showing it to him. I chuckled at the mixture of surprise and confusion on his face as he went back to work. I entered the big top only to find that almost every single seat was taken and when I finally found mine every seat was gone and yet there were still people trying to get past the usher, I felt sorry for the poor guy. Dealing with pushy, rowdy people every day and getting paid the bare minimum must suck. When he finally got the massive crowd outside calmed down and waiting for the next show, the audience fell silent almost like had been practised over and over until everyone stopped talking at the same time. After a few minutes the eerie silence was broken by a booming voice from the speakers placed around the tent, Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, to the place that will make your wildest dreams a reality and you will leave 3

bewildered by what you would have just witnessed. So without any further ado let the show begin. Shadows danced across the stage and colourful costumed characters played with our minds. Tight rope walkers defied the laws of gravity and trapeze artists flew across the stage, holding the audience captive. Even I was held in a trance for awhile until I felt a sharp pain in my chest. Out of the trance I looked around and noticed that the soul energy was being drawn out of the other audience members. (Soul energy is what allows some people to use magic.) After the show had finished I was able to confirm my suspicions. The audience members had been drained and it was easy to tell as all the colour had gone from their faces and their movements were slow and sluggish but most of them were muttering on about how all their hopes and dreams had come true in that short amount of time. Even I felt a bit like that. I staggered of to a corner where I was mostly alone. Fang, Fang? Where are you? I need you now. I whispered and out of the side of the building came a fluffy white Fury. Oh Ember its you. Holy cow you look horrible, what happened? The Dark Circus is what happened. See that guy wearing the midnight blue cloak I gestured towards the tent opening where a tall hooded figure was standing. Hes a Dark Magician, a pretty powerful one too. Hes close to becoming corrupt. I replied my voice raspy. Why didnt you protect yourself? Fury asked his voice full of concern. For such a little guy he had a really big heart which just added to his cute factor. I didnt realise at the time that they were using dark magic to hold us captive and give the hallucination of our dreams coming true. Anyway enough jibber jabber, Fang I need you to go tell Savitar what I just told you and hurry back. But what about you? While youre like this youre vulnerable. Ill be fine; my strength will come back any minute now. Now go theres no time to waste. 4

Okay And with that he went, slowly but he went. I sat down to regain my strength. After a while a guy approached me, Excuse me, do you know where the train station is, I just left the circus and my memory seems to be betraying me. I looked up at him to reply and noticed something, none of his soul energy was gone, he didnt even look the slightest bit drained, nor did I sense any soul energy in him at all, and even I know humans have soul energy even if they dont believe in it, and I also knew for a fact that the Dark Circus only let out about seven minutes ago and humans took longer than that to recuperate. There was something odd about this guy that was dressed in a thick black winter coat and black sweat pants even though it was 40 out. Go right over there where that big building is then take a left, keep going until you see a giant parking lot, straight across from that is where you buy your ticket from. You should be directed as to what terminal you need to be at from there. Thank you. He gave me a small nod then headed towards the building I directed him to. It wasnt long afterwards Fang came back from telling Savitar about the Dark Circus. He was out of breath and panting. Im back. He said his breathing heavy from the long trip, Yeah and what does Lord Almighty want me to do? I said sarcastically. Nothing (Huff, huff) he wants you to (Huff, huff) stay away from the dark circus for now (Huff, huff) he said he wants to send scanners in (Huff, huff) before you do anything stupid. What?! He knows I cant do that. He knows I cant do nothing while innocent people get their souls drained; do you mean to say he said that I cant even try to scope the place out? My soul energy fully back now I was more pissed than ever. I mean usually I dont care about humans and their pathetic lives but when theres a dark magician involved and Savitar of all people tells ME to stay away I get pissed. Ahhh! I wish I didnt have to take orders from him. 5

See Im part of an organisation called The Soul and Magic Society or the SMS for short. The SMS protects unsuspecting humans and sometimes other magic users from Dark Magicians, Rouge magic users, and of course Demons. Our leader Savitar is one bad dude and if any one in the SMS gets out of line they get punished. Im pissed because the rank bastard of a boss I have has put a leash on me so Im not allowed to have anything to do with the Dark Circus or the things that go on in that musty place! And I have to follow orders or else Vane will come knocking on my door and it wont be a friendly call either. Because Vane is our Bosses henchman; he deals with those of us who get out of line: he is mad, bad and scary as in pee you pants scary, you do not want to get on this mans bad side. Believe me Ive seen what happens to the people that do, they cant walk for four or five days and sometimes weeks depending on how much he likes you. Now Im not going to say anything more on the subject cause Im shaking just talking about it. Ember calm down. Its not going to do you any good fighting it and you know what will happen if you do, youve already had the first two punishments dealt from misbehaving (the first punishment a warning letter, the second a two month suspension from all work.) And honestly I dont want to see Vane put the beat down on you. I just couldnt bear that. I looked down at the little guy I had to admire him. When he was smaller I looked after him and taught him to speak now he is my voice of reason and the only reason why Im still living. Okay I huffed Come on lets go home. I leant down to pick him up; he bounced on to my hand and then quietly sat on my shoulder. Thank you I whispered to him, he nuzzled me as a sign of affection, and I smiled. I really did love him. We took our seats on the train. Fang was fast asleep on my head. You really are cute Fang. I thought to myself. NO I am not, I the roughest toughest fury in town. Surprised by him I took him off my head and held him, then remembered that he could read my mind. 6

Sure you are Fang but you know saying that just makes you cuter. He gave me a look of disagreement then bounced off my hand onto my arm rest. He sat there with his big eyes filled with embarrassment, his small fluffy white body puffed up and his little iddy biddy mouth huffing out little puffs of wind. Thats some fury you have their a strangely familiar voice said. I looked to my left and sitting there was a tall, lean guy who had intelligent emerald green eyes and black hair. Wha? The more I looked at him that more I recognised him them a picture of a guy wearing a coat and sweat pants flashed into my head. Youre the guy that I gave directions to! Yeah, I thought I recognised you. And what did you mean when you said thats some fury I have. Oh didnt you know not all of them can talk and read minds? No I didnt realise but I did get him when he was really little I taught him how to speak and as for the mind reading I dont know how he does it I suppose its because we have such a strong connection. Oh I forgot to introduce myself my name is Damian, nice to meet you. My names Ember, nice to meet you too. Wait a minute how did you know Fang read my mind? I can sense when and what type of magic is used. How? I felt rude piling all of these questions on him but the more I learnt about this guy the more I wanted to know. Ha-ha. Look Ill explain once we get off this moving death trap they call a vehicle. Now that he mentioned it he didnt look so good, so I left him alone and eventually joined him and Fang in the dream world.

Chapter 2 - Damian
I jumped off the train with Fang back on my head and Damian trailing behind me; he obviously still wasnt feeling well. We found a bench for him to rest on while Fang and I went to find food. I checked my wallet to see if I had enough to buy us all some food. 23 Jewls really thats all. Thats barely enough to buy Fang something decent. Hey Fang Fang! Wake up! Mmmm. What? We have no money WHAT! We should have plenty. And Im soo hungry! Yeah so am I, but we only have 23jewls left. Hey do you reckon you could teleport to my place and get some more? I cant, I have no energy. He moaned Hey he said perking up. Why dont we ask Damian if he has any money? I gave him a look of agreement. As we neared Damian I saw him fish out his wallet from his jacket. Here He grumbled tossing his wallet to me. Get me something with curry in it the hotter the better. Also bring me four glass bottles of milk, and they have to be glass bottles. Get some for you and Fury as well if you want them, but theyre not cheap and I need money left over for two buses. With that he turned his back to us and drifted back to sleep. I looked at Fang and had a feeling that his look of surprise replicated mine. Note to self dont wake Mr Grumpy up when hes sleeping. And I mistook him for a guy with good manners Fang whined as he jumped onto my shoulder. Haha I think hes just tired and still a little motion sick. Still, he could have said PLEASE! I gasped and exchanged a confused look with him. The more I learn about this guy the weirder he gets. I found us some food using up the last of my money, and after searching the whole station for glass bottled milk I finally found some in a little diary (the last place I looked), but Damian was right 8

it wasnt cheap but he still had enough money for the buses. We went back to the bench and found Damian waiting impatiently. Thanks he said taking his food What took you so long? Well glass bottled milk isnt exactly the easiest stuff to come by these days. Yeah He replied scoffing down his extra spicy curry that I got for him with extra hot sauce. I usually have to special order it Im actually surprised you found it I gave him a peeved glare, I wish he had given me THAT little tid bit before he sent me on the wild goose chase that oddly enough resulted in finding a goose. This is not quite hot enough he said indicating to the curry, with his face full of food. Oh Im sorry Mister High and Mighty milk man but after having to buy EXTRA hot sauce for your EXTRA hot curry you didnt exactly have a lot of money left and I still had to buy your stupid ass milk with enough money left over for your bus trips. I grumbled at him forking my now cold fried chicken. Mmm, it will do. He said as if he heard nothing I said, I growled at him in warning. He is really getting on my nerves. What happened to the nice guy on the bus? I questioned myself. When he awoke me and Fang were discussing what we would do if Savitar didnt give us a job soon. Hey do you know what the time is? he asked placing a hand on my shoulder. Startled by the sudden voice behind me I jumped and swung my fist straight into his nose. Owww Rang out in the deadly silent halls. Oh, sorry should have told you not to touch me with out getting my attention first. I think you broke it he said tenderly prodding his nose. I took him to the station infirmary to get it checked out. Well its not broken, just bruised. The nurse said handing him some pain killers. She grabbed a clip board that obviously had on it the accident report. How did this happen? Damian gave me a sideways glace then answered, I fell he said nervously. You fell? She questioned him 9

On something hard he replied, she scribbled something down on the accident report then looked at him suspiciously. Alright, you may go. As we left she continued to look at us as if we were crazy. Then Fang started to giggle You fell on something hard! he exclaimed as he burst out laughing. That is the lamest excuse ever. Hahahaha, you may as well have said I punched my self I my sleep. He spluttered I flicked him on the head Ow he squeaked. Damian hung his head Yeah Im really bad at making excuses Sorry Damian I really didnt mean to punch you. I said sympathetically. Its alright; its pretty much healed anyway. What! How in the? I said poking his nose. Well he said swatting my hand away Im a magician kind of, I can heal myself. I looked at him in surprise. I couldnt sense any soul energy coming off him at all. Then how come I cant sense your energy? he looked away from me as if ashamed by it. I prefer not to say. Its not something I m proud of. He said quietly. The look on his face told me I should leave him alone for a little while; he evidently had some bad memories that got brought up when ever he talked about his powers. I going to find the toilet will you look after Fang for me? I asked softly Ember Fang said stressing my name I dont need looking after. Besides Im coming with you Ill wait on the sink in the bathrooms its what I usually do. Glancing over to Damian who was now sitting on another bench with his head hung in his hands; he could use some time without the company of others even Fang. But the reason I wanted Fang to stay behind was to keep an eye on Damian; I dont know the guy but Im worried about him. Okay Fang come on. After finding the toilets then taking a trip around the whole station just to give Damian some space Fang and I found ourselves wandering aimlessly back to where we had left Damian. He yet 10

again was sleeping. But this time he looked different; peaceful. I could tell he had been crying by the little tears that glisten on his perfect face, his jet black hair came to just below his ears and his tall body was scrunched into a little ball; he looked almost childlike lying like that, but I knew when he was standing he was a solid 6foot5, clearing me by 4feet and his green eyes were piercing and eerie against his fair skin, that made him look like anything but a child. Every that I learnt about him so far just raised more questions about him. Oh Damian what happened to you to make you hate your powers so much? I could see the sun coming in through the windows and felt it was a good time to wake him up. Damian. Damian I slightly shook his shoulder Damian its morning. He made a little groaning sound Five more minutes Grandma, I dont wanna train yet. My full powers only came in yesterday and Im tired. Ill be up soon. Taken aback by his childhood memory a softly shook his shoulder. Damian I said sensitively. Im up, Im up he said coming to his senses and sitting up. Oh Ember its you. He said rubbing his eyes. Yeah who else would it be? Mmm, yeah I guess your right. What time is it? Dawn I said solemnly. DAWN! Ahh man and I thought my days of getting up this early were over. I giggled at his whininess. Sorry I didnt realise you werent a morning person. Yeah. I much prefer afternoons since as a kid those were the only times I had off form training. I sat down next to him and gave him a sympathetic look. Damian Mmm What happened with you last night? He looked away. Damian please, what made you cry? I said turning his face back towards me. I know we only just meet but when I see someone cry 11

I cant help but wonder what happened to them that made them hate what they are. So, why do you? he let out a long sigh. Ember its a story that I hate telling, I would much prefer if you; the one person who doesnt hate me yet, not to know. I know what it is like to have a harsh past Damian; Im no stranger to pain. Please Im willing to listen. Ember all I know is when I was about six, I had the abilities of a fully grown magician and when I turned eight I was able to see all summons both the weakest and the most powerful Even the ones that the Soul and Magic society dont dare to encounter. I was so traumatised by it my mother and grandma had to seal my powers up. Then shortly after my mother took my older brother and disappeared, so my grandmother trained me, worked me to the bone and when I was 15 she kicked me out, said I was the reason my mother ran out on me because she was scared of me. After she had shocked me with that news she said she never wanted to see my mongrel face ever again. I was forced to fend for myself from then on, I didnt know anything about how harsh the world could be then one day out of the blue everything I did know went swirling out of proportion and al of a sudden I couldnt trust or be trusted because of what my grandmother had said. Damian. Im sorry, I didnt realise. I dont need your apologies or sympathy Ember. You wanted to know and now you do deal with it. He snapped I should have listened to you when you said you didnt what to talk about it. Im sorry. I get Ember you dont understand. But whats the use in saying you should have when you didnt. Damian, I do understand probably better than any SHUT UP. Shut up, shut up, shut up he yelled, his eyes full of tears and hate. How can you Ember? How can you when you dont even know me? His tears choked him as he got up and left. Damn! I thought to myself. I was getting really good at making people hate me wasnt I? Stupid, stupid, stupid. I yelled at myself in hatred at the fact that, that was the second time I had forced him to tears. 12

I took a walk allowing myself to cool off. I knew Damian would never forgive my complete and utter idiocy. After that through one question remained in my mind, why did he trust me when he didnt trust himself? Five hours passed before Damian found me. I dont know why he did; maybe it had something to do with what he had told me. An awkward silence hung in the air and Fang, being who he is, decided to break the tension. So, what do we do from here? Well I came back here to say we should go our ways. Damian spat, refusing to look me in the eye. Hes right Fang we need to find work. As soon as those words passed my lips a giant roar shook the building. EMBER it growled Come out little half breed I exchanged a terrified look with Damian. Run he mouthed, I nodded and took off at a dead run towards the exit, with Damian close behind. What do we do? I dont know, but I like our current plan of running I said terrified. He gave me a look that said he obviously wasnt joking around. Wait he said, bring us t a stop. I have an idea. Follow me. We took off running again, this time with Damian in the lead. So do you have any idea what this thing is? I have a hunch and if its right we need to get out of here as quick as possible. Why? Whats your hunch? Theres no time to explain. Just keep going with this plan of yours.

13

Chapter 3 Dont so much as Blink

Damian flagged down a yellow and black taxi. Take us to one fifty one Acres Estate. He demanded taking out the last of his money and handing to the driver. And step on it. When we all managed to clamber in the driver waste no time doing what Damian asked. Who do you know that lives out in Acres Estate? Acres Estate was a large piece of land that many mansions were built on, and may I add expensive mansions. My brother. Damian replied. The mansion he owns is on the outskirts of town so I thought, since I was going to drop by anyway and its pretty far away, why not taken up refuge there for now. He said with a nervous smile on his face. Great, sounds plenty far away, but please tell me you and him get long and the reason your nervous is because your anxious to see him. Not exactly, theres been a mutual disagreement between us recently so we havent really spoken in awhile. How long is awhile? This time it was I who was nervous. Three years. He replied, obviously wanting to disappear. Fan-friggin-tastic, so he shouldnt mind us dropping by? I said dryly Not at all. He replied just as sarcastically. As we came into view of the mansion that belonged to Damians brother we saw it was the largest one that was built here. Wow Fang gaped your brother lives here? Ha, yeah hes a rich bastard. But how would you make enough money to afford that? Well he enjoys two things, killing and money. So he became a fighter for hire, got paid pretty well for it, and when business was low he went bounty hunting. Now he lives the high life using the interest from the money he made but never spent, to do whatever the hell he wants. But believe me hes full of charm and 14

charisma, but dont let that fool you, he still loves a good kill and sometimes just does it for the hell of it. We stepped out of the taxi and the driver drove away just as fast as he drove here. As I stepped out of the taxi the exhaustion of the past couple of days without sleep was catching up with me. The whole world became a blur and the last thing I saw was Damian knocking on the door. Ember! Fang yelled. I could hear everything but I could see or move. Fang whats happening? I dont know he said his voice was full of worry. I felt my control over my forms waver and disappear completely. Damn I knew now that I didnt look human anymore and Damian had seen me. This is why I hadnt slept since I met up with him, to try and prevent him from seeing my true form. What the hell is going on here, and why is there a Leolf on my porch? I heard an unfamiliar voice yell. Nice to see you to Ace Damian said sarcastically. Cut the sarcasm brother, even though you are fluent in it, and tell me whats happening, and why the hell youre here! Theres no time to explain, please Ace help me get her inside. Damian pleaded. Fine. Ace said obviously unhappy about it. I felt them move me. Shes not exactly light is she? Ace asked. Geez and I though Damian was bad. Fang said under his breath No of course you idiot, as you said yourself shes a mix between a leopard and a wolf, which are both all muscle, so no she not light Sorry puffball. Dont call me puffball Fine sorry poofball HEY! Fang we have more pressing things than what my jerk brother calls you right now. Damian said to try and calm Fangs on edge nerves. I felt them set me down on the plush couch. 15

Fang would you care to explain now? Damian questioned. Oh now I cant I have to do something. Bye. Fang get back here! Damian yelled. Sorry about this Ace. But I really cant explain see I dont know whats happening myself, you see I only met Ember a couple days ago. Its alright, now I need to go finish something up. Okay. I heard Ace leave. Oh Ember what the hell happened? Damian whispered. After awhile I felt myself gaining control. Whoa dont right getting up yet. A calming voice said, my vision cleared and leaning over me was an unknown but strangely familiar face. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Ace, Damians extremely good looking older brother. I tried to reply but all that came out was a small croak from my extremely dry throat. You must be thirsty after all youve been asleep for about five hours. I was shocked at the short amount of time Ive been out to me it felt like days. Ace left to where I assume was the kitchen. He came back with a glass of water with some type of fizzing tablet in it. Here drink this. Dont worry I dont know what my brother has told you about me but poisoning just isnt my style. I nodded in reply and took the glass. After I chugged down the much needed drink I felt the fuzziness that had clouded my mind beginning to clear and my I was regaining my energy. Thank you I managed to choke out Its alright. Ace took a set next to me. Where is everyone else? I questioned. Its midnight theyre all asleep. Fang didnt wan to leave you just in case you woke up but I think Damian convinced him he needed to sleep. I smiled at the comment, I had heard the argument that went on between the two, and it had ended up with Fang falling asleep in the middle of it.

16

Are you felling better? Ace asked. He didnt seem as bad as Damian made him out to be. He had a genuine concerned look on his face even though he didnt know me. Much, thank you. He stood up from his chair. Ill be right back, just want to check on something. I nodded; as he left I allowed my mind to wander through the events of the passed couple of days. What was the thing after me at the train station and why was it after me? These types of questions came and went, but the thing I couldnt get out of my mind was how different the brothers were. Although the had similar facial structure, Ace had burning gold eyes that came with the desire to kill, while Damian had his piercing and intelligent green eyes that came with the passion to be trusted. Aces skin was a tanned colour that complimented his eyes making them noticeable but they didnt stand out like Damians did against his fare skin, and Aces hair was brown and long pulled back into a ponytail, giving him a pirate look, while Damians was pitch black, medium in length and left out giving him more of a bandit look (he sometimes even wore a bandanna). Ace was slightly taller than me still making Damian much taller. Although Damian was well built it looked like Ace would beat him if a spontaneous battle broke out between them, while if it was a fight that allowed Damian to think and plan he would easily win. The brothers were polar opposites in both physical and personality traits. Ace re-entered the room bickering with what sounded like Damian. God dammit Ace how many times do I have to tell you, if its something important I dont give two shits if Im sleeping or with a girl, come and get me! I heard Ace snicker. And just when was the last time you were with a girl, little brother? Well if you count Ember, just yesterday. Damian replied smartly. Wait, while you two were with each other did you? Oh God Ace get your head out of the gutter. All I meant was the last time I spent with a girl was yesterday. 17

It was a perfectly legitimate question, considering how good Ember looks. ACE! Damian snarled Okay calm down Ill back off her. I couldnt help but laugh at the brothers squabbling. As they entered the room they quieted themselves. Ember are you alright, of did my darling brother here already pollute your mind? I let out a short chuckle. Im fine, Ace was a gentleman. Where is Fang? Hes still asleep.

18