Not a Hero

The night air grew colder. Oliver sobbed slightly, and his tears fell behind the tail of the forest dragon. In the distance, a bright orange glow emanated from the direction of the school from bonfires the staff lit to warm the students.
“There it is!” shouted Jen. “We’re almost home.”
Oliver dreaded going home knowing that a place like this existed. A village of elves, magical forces, and a massive dragon. He didn’t want to leave it behind. He may have not have been the hero, but he didn’t want to be himself. It was actually hard to stand on the back of a flying dragon, but Oliver knew he wouldn’t stay for long. Oliver saw a decent patch of bushes to land on. Hopping up at just the right time, Oliver dropped out of the sky to force fate into accepting him. Before he fell, Oliver heard some panic from his friends, but they were none of his concern. His family, they were fine without him. His friends, didn’t need him to find Casey. One less person wouldn’t hurt.
Oliver luckily landed on his intended target with a soft crunch. He looked up and saw the dragon flying low. Jumping out of the bushes, Oliver ran south towards the volcanic biome. They wouldn’t think to look for him there. Oliver made great time heading for the black mountain covered with rivers of fiery magma. If he couldn’t be the hero, he would be the next best thing. It seemed like the perfect place for a villain.
At night, and the forest slept in dead silence. Oliver had found a place to sleep in the thick branches of a large tree. All around him, the darkness gathered when a cloud obstructed the light of this unknown land’s blue moon. Oliver began to dream. He saw his house with his friends inside telling his mother and siblings what he had done. They began crying, and he felt his own despair as well. Then, he saw the sun and moon chase each other out of the sky. Leaves changed their colors, fell, and grew back. People would come and go. Oliver looked back at his house and saw no one cry. Despair turned to blind fury as Oliver screamed out ot his family. His house, the neighborhood, the world was burning from his anger. The earth crumbled like sandrock, the seas were stained blood red, and black clouds blocked the sun. Oliver stood atop the world from a dark tower, but as he looked out at pure destruction, apathy flooded his mind. The tower fell and Oliver with it.
When Oliver finally hit the ground, he felt around and noticed the warm morning light across his face as he laid on the forest floor. Oliver didn’t anticipate the difficulty of sleeping in a tree. All those stories made it seem so much easier. His back was still hurting from the fall, but the real pain started with a bump on the branch that poked him in his hip.
Oliver yawned and stood back up. He brushed himself off and looked around to find where he was going. It would have been hard to keep track of the path since all the trees all look alike, but Oliver managed to remember a certain tree that pointed south and headed in that direction. Then, Oliver felt an ominous sign that his journey was nearly over and that he should go back to the school. Deep within him, an uncomfortable feeling ate at him as he peered beyond the trees at the long distance to the volcano. It was becoming harder to take steps, and soon Oliver knew he had to turn back. However, Oliver continued pushing forward where the trees were gray with ash and the ground was covered in soot. Oliver made it to the base of the volcano, but he was very hungry. Suddenly, as Oliver shambled on, the ground beneath him collapsed into dust and he fell into the darkness. The hole became a slide, and the student slid down to the depths before being shot out into a larger cavity. Then, Oliver fell into an underground lake.
When he resurfaced, he was surprised to see a bright ball of light stuck to the ceiling of the cave that illuminated a collection of red and yellow colored flowers. A short fruit-bearing tree stood directly under it, and Oliver went to take a closer look and hopefully find something to eat. Oliver trudged along the mud and on the sandy bank, carefully stepping around the flowers. He reached for a vivid pink fruit, but his hand was struck by a wooden stick. Oliver wasn’t alone.
“What do you think you’re doing!?” shouted a young man dressed in green robes and holding a cane.
“Ow! That hurt!” said Oliver.
“I know! That’s why I did it. Leave the tree alone!” demanded the young man.
“I don’t want to hurt the tree! I just wanted something to eat, and this was the only food around.”
“Just because you’re hungry, doesn’t mean you can’t be polite and just ask nicely.”
“Okay, may I have some fruit?” Oliver asked.
“Don’t ask me, idiot. You have to ask the tree.”
Oliver turned to the tree and asked in an insincere tone, “May I have some fruit?”
Both of them stood in silence for a moment, but the other young man suddenly said, “Treena's okay with it.”
Some time later, after filling up on fruit, Oliver was was washing his face in the waterfall to the back of the cave. He cupped some water in his hands and took a sip in the dark.
“I wouldn’t drink that.” said the other young man. Oliver spat out the disgusting water. “Yeah, the water here is full of ash.”
Oliver was coughing from the drink. Afterwards, he said, “I can tell. What’s your name? And what are you doing in this place?”
“I should be asking you that, but I’ll tell you because I’m polite. I’m Drodin the druid. I look over this place since this is the only place amidst Infernus Mountain with any vegetation. Now, what are you doing here?”
“My name is Oliver. I fell down a hole. Is there a way to get out of here? Because I don’t want to stay and get in your hair. Please, I really want to get out.”
“As do I. When you’re a druid living in a cave under a burned down forest, you tend to miss life on the surface. Exploring the world, meeting people, living things with a real sense of humor and personality. I yearn for those moments, but now I have a job to do.”
“You can come with me! We could go and do all that stuff together!”
“Aren’t you listening? I have to watch over and protect this place! I have to trim the tree, and umm…. ”
“Look, they have everything they would ever need. Light and water. I don’t think they need a gardener.”
Drodin sighed. “I guess you’re right.”
“That’s the spirit! Now it’s time to get out of here.”
“There’s a tunnel that leads outside somewhere here. Hey, when we do get out, where are we gonna go?”
“I was hoping to look around the volcano for now.” said Oliver, anxious of Drodin’s response.
“I'm willing to have a look myself.” said Drodin, relieving Oliver.
And so it was that Oliver and Drodin escaped the cave together seeking adventure in the volcano’s direction. The two crossed shallow streams and hopped over logs to find their way to the fiery peak. At last, the pair made it to the base of the massive mountain, and saw a dark structure red with the heat of molten lava pouring down its sides. It resembled an abandoned castle complete with dark passageways and a detached tower near the entrance. Like the corpse of a dead monster, the face of the castle scowled in the direction of the lush peaceful plains.
“Okay….” said Drodin. “That seems sinister.”
Oliver stepped forward. “I’m gonna go check it out. This is what I came here for.”
“It was nice knowing you.” The entrance to the interior of the castle was wide open with the splintered remains of the gate scattered all over the floor. “Do you really want to go in there? This place has a bad energy.”
“Look, you can stay out here if you want, but I want to go inside.”
“Go ahead, but if you do die, please scream loudly so I’ll know to leave.”
“I…. I’ll do that.” Oliver walked over to where the light from outside peaked on the floor. A rush of hot wind blew through the walls and the atmosphere of the castle thickened. Oliver entered the desolate fortress carefully. The dark hall seemed to extend indefinitely, but Oliver was relieved to see a light in the distance. When Oliver entered the next room, he could see it was lit by glass veins of lava on the walls, floors, and ceilings. The student was amazed at the sight of a massive ornate throne in the back of the room. In front of its right armrest, an obsidian sword with glowing red runes pierced the floor. In front of the left, a pedestal stood holding a black book closed and bound by the growing roots of a sapling wrapping around the cover. As Oliver approached the throne, he felt a cold sensation amidst the room covered in lava. Now, he could see a translucent blue man sitting in the throne. It was a ghost! The ghost sat with a sinister smile.
He said, “Please tell me your ambitions.”
Oliver was stunned and responded as best he could. “I didn’t think anyone was here.”
The ghost floated right up to Oliver’s face. Oliver moved backwards as the ghost looked into his eyes. “I presume you came for those.” The ghost pointed towards the throne and Oliver nodded. “Good. Take the power for yourself. Go on already.” The ghost dissolved into thin air leaving Oliver alone in the burning throne room. The student walked up to the throne and first looked at the black sword buried in the ground. He grasped it with both hands and tried to pull it out of the ground, but it wouldn’t budge. Oliver went to the book and examined its binding. Picking up the book, he saw that the sapling wrapped around it was frail. Oliver tore the sapling from the book and tossed it aside. It made a small shriek as it hit the floor and died. “Congratulations! You are the inheritor of the Book of the Scapegrace! You are a true evil, evident from the murder of the sapling!” The voice of the ghost resounded throughout the throne room.
Oliver was startled. “What do you mean I murdered a sapling!?”
The ghost reappeared in the air. “You tore the sapling from the book. Only the truly diabolical would rip apart a vulnerable child of the trees!”
“Wait! No! I didn’t mean to! I only wanted to be strong like a villain!”
“Indeed you are!” said the ghost carelessly twirling in the air. “They’re coming…. The trees sensed the death of their young and now uproot themselves from the forest. They march on my castle to kill the inheritor and reseal the book! You wanted power? It lies in the book! Now use it to strike the trees down and uphold hatred!”
“Hold up!” yelled Oliver. “What is going on!?”
The ghost looked down at Oliver. “You want an explanation?”
“I want to know what’s going on here. Who are you?”
The ghost dropped into the throne. “Very well. I am the Dark Overlord, Orkus Wrath, or I was before I was killed by the same trees that now come for you. They and the hero known as Exemplus defeated me some time ago and sealed my weapons and my castle from intruders. Little did they know that a spirit of evil never dies.”
“If this place was supposed to be sealed, how did I get in?”
“After they left, I broke down the door. There was a guardian, but I killed him too.”
“Why didn’t you just leave here and get revenge if you’re so powerful?”
“As a ghost, I’m bound to the ground I died on.”
“What is this book? What does it do?”
Orkus sighed heavily and said, “The book contains powerful magical spells and incantations. First, it binds itself to a host who becomes its master if their soul is deemed wicked, which you just did. Then, the master can then cast any spell from inside the book simply by reciting the stuff that’s in italics at the bottom of the page. If you die as the master of the book, your soul is branded weak but is preserved as a ghost for future miscellaneous uses. Do you follow?”
“I think so. Why do you want me to take the book so badly?”
“All I wanted was to wage war on all of Visterra. But now, my forces are destroyed, my fortress is abandoned, even my own body was beheaded! I lost my fight, but I still want to see the world burn and the annihilation of all life. Is that so much to ask? But, that is what I want. What do you want?”
“I wanted to be the hero, but the position was filled.”
“So you’re jealous?” Oliver had no response. Orkus smiled, “All I needed to hear. Oh, you should go outside. I think your friend found something. Take the book with you.”
Oliver listened to the ghost and briskly walked back to Drodin. When he went outside, the druid was next to the detached tower looking up and holding something in his hands. “I’m back.” said Oliver. “Hey, what are you looking at?”
“This is really strange.” said Drodin holding a bloody handkerchief. “This fell from the tower just now. I think someone’s up there.”
“I went inside the castle. This place is abandoned. Who could possibly be at the top of the tower?”
“The blood says something. It says, Help! My father, the King, was slain and I’ve been trapped at the top of the tower. Princess Aster. I guess we better help her.”
The duo went around the tower and found a door to the inside. They climbed the winding stairs all the way up before being stopped by a heavy metal door with chains and shimmering magical glyphs depicting locks. Drodin and Oliver stood in front of the door and wondered what to do about it.
“Those glyphs look pretty strong. Why would they need something like this to hold one princess? Isn’t that a bit extreme?” asked Drodin. “I don’t think I can dispel this. We’ll have to think of another way.”
“Hold on, let me try to do something about this.” said Oliver looking through the index of the book. Oliver found a spell titled Advanced Dispel and recited, “Octos Astram!”
Surprisingly, the glyph disappeared from the door, and Drodin’s eyes grew wide. “How did you do that? What is that book!?”
“I found the book in the castle.”
“If it could dispel that level of magic, it must be one powerful artifact. It could be dangerous.” Then, something started banging on the door, trying to break it. As the banging continued, chains and bolts began to break, and the thick metal door started to bend. Oliver and Drodin sidestepped just before one last hit blew the door right off its hinges. From the next room, a girl wearing an elegant red raiment emerged. Her hands were dripping with blood. The girl in red saw Drodin and Oliver shaking in fear to the side.
She asked, “Who is my rescuer? My hero?” Drodin felt pure fear in her presence, but knew he wasn’t the one who let her out. Without uttering a word, Drodin pushed Oliver forward who tripped, landing at the princess’ feet. The book fell out of his hand and spilled into the empty space between Oliver and the princess. Oliver looked up and gave a weak smile.
He was never really good with talking to girls so all he said was, “Hi.”
The princess was disappointed at first sithe of the book and said, “My father….” The princess took a deep breath and then screamed with all of her might, enough to shake the tower. “I’ll kill them!” screamed the princess. She knelt on one knee.“I will consume them in hellfire! No! In my own rage and hatred! Hotter than hell’s infernal pits! Please! As the newly bound master of the black book, simply give me permission to act on my own and unleash despair on those who destroyed the legacy you now lay claim to!”
“What does she mean by that?” asked Drodin.
Oliver pretended to not know and shrugged with his shoulders. Then, he asked, “How long have you been inside there?”
“Please forgive me my lord for being unclear. Ahem, I am Aster Wrath, daughter of the former Overlord, Orkus Wrath. I was sealed inside that room for as long as I was not. That would be around twenty years. As a former vassal to my father, I killed in the name of chaos and hatred until our conquest was stopped by the Prodigy. Since he has failed the book, so I now pledge my loyalty and service to the keeper of the trickster’s secrets.”
Oliver asked, “How did you survive in there without food or water?”
Aster said, “When the castle was taken, I was punished by being left to die in the tower. Those who captured me sought a crueller fate for me and conjured a portal to a dimension of dangerous beasts, teasing me with delusions of freedom. After I realized they never actually gave me a chance to leave, I stayed here, feasting on those monsters and drinking their blood to sustain myself all this time.”
“Hold on.” Drodin thought for a second. “You were in there for twenty years…. As long as you were outside…. That makes you like forty years old! Why don’t you look older?”
“Time slows down in that other dimension, and I merely counted this world’s days.”
“I’m starting to understand, but how do you plan to help us?” asked Oliver.
“In any way possible, my lord. I would gladly give my life and body for the master of the book for the sake of all that is good being destroyed. I am a servant of chaos.”
Oliver remembered the trees coming to kill him and said, “I just remembered something you could help us with.”
Drodin said, “What problem are you talking about?”
Oliver hesitated, but still answered. “A ghost told me there might be an army of walking trees coming here to kill all of us.”
“What!?” shouted the druid. “Why do they want to kill us?”
Oliver felt like had to lie to keep news about the sapling from Drodin, to keep him from being upset with him. “When I found this book, the ghost told me it had an alarm on it or something. Apparently they don’t like it.”
“Then, I’m getting out of here. I’m no enemy to the trees, and if they don’t like that book, then I don’t like that book.” Aster noted, “They’ll probably just kill you now that you have evil’s scent on you. Going to them now sounds like suicide, but if we work together and use the book’s power to burn the treants….”
“No way.” said Drodin. “We’re not going to burn down the trees.”
“It’s the most effective way to stop them from killing us, and with the book, it would be simple.” argued Aster.
“You both need to calm down. Maybe we could just fight them off without having to kill them.” proposed Oliver.
Drodin became angry. “Heck no! The walking trees are horrific creatures! Unlike their peaceful stationary friends that rely on sunlight to nourish themselves, these monsters eat meat. I’ve seen bears get eaten alive by one of these things! I thought it was just terrifying just being a witness let alone the victim!”
Oliver asked Drodin, “Then how do you propose we get out of this mess? Do we just leave?”
The three looked at each other for a second, taking that second to acknowledge how stupid they were being. After that, they were racing down the stairs to leave this place as soon as possible.
“Go inside the castle first! There’s something Aster could help us get!” said Oliver. So they quickly went through the castle doors, down the dark corridor, and into the bright throne room of Orkus Wrath. Oliver led them to the sword stuck in the ground and said, “Aster, you’re strong. Can you pull this out?” Aster nodded to her master and pulled the sword from the ground with total ease.
“Can we go now please?” asked Drodin, anxious to avoid death by very angry splinters.
Just before the three of them could leave, the ghost of Orkus appeared and stopped them at the door. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Are you trying to run away? A cowardly choice isn’t it?”
“We can’t win!” Oliver shouted at the ghost. “I can’t kill them!”
Orkus’ translucent form shifted color from blue to a blood red tint. He was now angry with this new scapegrace. “You can’t, or you won’t!? You have to be evil if you want to control the power of that book, and if you can’t be evil, then I have to kill you!” With a wave of his hand, Orkus flung Drodin and Aster into the walls of the throne room. Orkus called out to them, “You two, just stay there. Aster, when I’m done with this boy, I want you to take the book since I know you actually can actually put it to good use.” Oliver rifled through the contents of the book for anything to stop a ghost, but the king’s poltergeist hurled him backwards, towards the throne. The book flew out of his hand as he landed right in the seat. Orkus used his spectral power of telekinesis to hold Oliver in the chair. Looking to his daughter, the ghost wailed at her, “He is weak and vulnerable! Kill him now, and you can be your own master!” Aster stood up with the sword in her hand. She looked to her current master then back to the blade of obsidian.
Then, looking up at her father, she yelled, “I refuse to kill him! I made a vow to you to obey the master of the book! You lost your chance to control me!”
“Such devotion, loyalty, and obedience…. I remember it…. And he cannot have it!” screamed Orkus, releasing his phantom grip on Oliver to take hold of his daughter and strangle her neck.
By now, Drodin was back on his feet, though staggered, and tried to recall the spell created to destroy ghosts. He yelled to Oliver, “Use Soul Release!”
Oliver tumbled to the ground to grab the book and continue looking as fast as he could. Oliver quickly flipped, but could not find Soul Release. Instead, he found a page marked Soul Rend and decided he had no more time. He read once, and yelled once. “Spirat Sevras!” A blue light fired from Oliver’s hand and struck the ghost in the back! Aster was let go and dropped to the ground. Orkus screamed as he was being torn away from his ties to the world, forced to die once again. A bright white light filled the room as the ghost of the former Evil King was destroyed.
Drodin and Oliver ran to Aster to help her get back on her feet. In a few seconds, once she was ready to make a break for it, they ran out of the castle and headed east. Looking back at the burned forest, hundreds of trees standing on their roots menaced the dark fortress. As the trees marched over the dusty hellish landscape, their numbers grew from a few hundred to well over a thousand. It was as if half of the forest came to replace what was burned down in the greatest migration ever. However, the trees didn’t come to revive the forest and trampled over every dead log and stump in their path. The trees searched the castle for the artifacts, but in reality, they were in the hands of Oliver, Drodin, and Aster who managed to escape to the east plains, running away from the volcano.
“Any chance they’ll find us out here?” asked Oliver.
“I don't think so. Walking trees tend to forget and are unfocused. I’m sure they’ll stop looking in about a day, but we should still stay away from that place for now.” said Drodin.
As the trio made their way east, Oliver took a mental note of what happened. He didn’t want to lose his friend by being evil. It just wasn’t in his nature to do so. Just like when he was on Casey’s dragon, he thought to himself, I’m not sure I can be a villain.
It was one day since they escaped Orkus’ castle and the group took a break from fleeing to start a fire using dead branches they found and a spell to control fire inside the book. For food, they found a stream, and Aster wrangled fish with her bare hands. Night fell on the camp as the group had just finished eating. “This isn’t exactly what I expected when I left home.” said Drodin.
“I get it. I understand.” said Oliver.
“I’m sorry, but I just don’t want to hurt anybody.” said Drodin.
Aster asked, “What about my father? You didn’t use Soul Release…. You used Soul Rend….”
“What’s the difference?” asked Oliver. Drodin answered Oliver, saying, “One spell appeases a soul, causing them to lose their will to fight. The other destroys the soul, a fate worse than death.”
Oliver was flooded with guilt. “Aster! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know that the spell did that. I just wanted to….”
“It’s okay, Master Oliver.” said the princess.
“No, it’s not okay. You chose me over your dad just because I had this stupid book. You should be angry at me!”
“I said it’s fine!” The party is silent for a moment. “I swore that I would do anything to help you didn’t I? That was my choice, and now I pay for it. My mother was just like that. Father explained that she was just an ordinary peasant girl who worked to keep me and herself alive until father took me to a better life. I didn’t fight back, but she chose to leave me with him. She didn’t want anything to do with what he wanted, his dream.”
Drodin asked, “What happened to her?”
“No one knows where she went, and I never saw her again.” Aster started crying.
Drodin felt slightly guilty for asking. “I’m sorry for….”
“That’s why, if I find her, I’ll kill her! She’ll pay for hiding from her destiny! I’ll tear her limb from limb because those that refuse to follow the master of the book deserve nothing but eternal darkness for their insolence!” shouted Aster, the fire growing with her rage.
“That said, where are we going next?” Oliver asked.
Drodin said to him, “How about Asbaratus?”
Aster snickered, “I’ve always wanted to raze that city.”
“I’m sorry. What is Asbaratus?” asked Oliver.
“Asbaratus is a human city said to be the happiest place in Visterra. One of the flowers in my cave told me her parents came from there. She said they have all kinds of people and things to do. I’ve always wanted to visit that place!” exclaimed Drodin.
“Sounds like a plan.” said Oliver.
“I will follow you master.” added Aster.
“Then it’s settled. We’re going to Asbaratus. How far is it?”
“It’s about a day’s journey. We should get some sleep for tomorrow.” said Drodin. The group went to sleep. Oliver pondered what would happen the next day and what they would find in this wonderful place.