True Heroes - Chapter 3

The room was silent as Rose and Zach entered the small living area. It was similar to the other room, in that the walls were comprised of old, almost living wood. In it was a leather bound wooden bench, a wooden perching pole, probably for the owl’s enjoyment, as well as a cobblestone fireplace up against the back wall.

While it wasn’t unlivable, it was cramped and dusty, which didn’t quite sit well with Zach. Just where were they again?

As the pair sat down on the bench, Gabora flew in from the small window opposite the fireplace. He seemed to be quite tired, almost dropping onto the perch. “Ah, hello. I see you're both in good condition. To you, my lady, I am Gabora. Quite nice to meet you.”

Rose seemed more puzzled than anything. Though she had been told that the owl could talk, it was surprising that she didn’t get flustered or frightened to actually see an animal speaking in proper english.

After a moment’s thought, she gave him a small smile, and said, “It’s nice to meet you to. I’m glad to be able to see you again. It was you who followed us when the monster attacked, right?”

Gabora seemed glad to get a bit of courtesy, taking a happier tone as he continued. “Yes, yes, that was me, though, as i’ve said, I did it with good intentions. Anyways, you're probably wondering about all this “monsters and talking animals” nonsense, correct?”

That seemed a little too direct, coming from the spying, cryptic, not-telling owl he had seen thus far. “Where were you just now?”

Gabora took a more nervous tone. “Ah, yes. I’ve been forced to keep watch since the attack. It’s been quite tiring. There is a lot I need to tell you, and I can’t spare time for chit-chat, so the fewer interruptions I can get, the more time I have to tell you what you need to know, alright!?”

The bird was almost shouting by the time he had finished. If he felt about as bad as he sounded, It seemed that he had as bad a day as they had. And from the sounds of it, despite what had occurred, the monster was still active, which couldn’t be helping things. It probably wasn’t fair to treat the bird that had most likely saved their lives like a threat or an enemy.

Zach took a deep breath, relaxed his posture, and gave the owl a trusting glance. “Alright, Mr.Owl. You have my attention.”

Gabora let out a relieved sigh. “Alright, before we start, you must know. What you're about to hear is to stay between us. I can’t risk word of monsters and magic reaching the public, and it could only spell trouble for you and those you love if word were to get out about your involvement in magical affairs. Do you understand?”

They both gave a nod, and Zach motioned for the owl to begin. Seeing this, Gabora cleared his throat, readjusted himself, and started his.story.

“Thousands of years ago, on a world lightyears away from this one, there existed life similar to yours. The beings of that world were still developing at the time, being guided by a being only known as Origin. Origin helped the life of the world, and gave the place a name, Anima. Origin acted as a guardian, seeing to it that life could prosper. At the peak of the world’s climb to greatness, The first humans was created. To commemorate the occasion, Origin gave the first 2 humans, who were brothers, the gift of the elements, and the ability to control them. Magic was born. The brothers, who were called Sialus and Malum, grew attached to different parts of their gift. Sialus grew attached to the creative side, becoming adept with Light, Air, Earth, and many others. Malum, however, sought after raw power, and didn’t see the potential in what his brother was doing. He became angry with Origin, asking him repeatedly for the power he desired. When it was not given, Malum took some of what Sialus had taken, but instead of using it, he altered it, trying to use the power for harm. After many, many years, Malum created the first Shadow, which became the opposite to Sialus’s Light. He became efficient with his power, and eventually started using it to harm others. But while Malum was training in his shadowy arts, years went by. Humans had spread throughout the world, and thanks to Origin, The humans advanced quicker than any other the galaxy had ever known. You might compare them to how people live now, just with some magic. In the meantime, Sialus had begun teaching others to use his craft. He had trained 5 students in his magics. These pupils had been hand-picked due to their extraordinary skill or uniqueness to be given the gift of magic by Origin himself, at Sialus’s suggestion. Everything was well, and the students had progressed at good pace, mastering their individual magic types. But then, Malum struck. He started an all-out war against Sialus, attempting to kill him in an effort to gain control over the world with his shadow magic. Malum and his followers waged against Sialus and the people, until finally, In one magic fueled struggle, Anima met it’s end. The event was so huge, not even Origin could contain the two as they fought with everything they had. Malum had put all his strength into his worst technique, which not even I know the implications of. Sialus, realizing their impending doom, asked his students to make a sacrifice to try and save their world and others like it from Malum’s wrath, as Malum would never be sated by a single world. They had trust in Sailus, and agreed to help. Thus, he used his magic to put his students into the form of a focus housing 5 jewels, one for each of the students he had trained. He then used the focus to combat Malum’s final attack, and in a blast bigger than anything humanity has dealt with on this planet, both magicians were blasted to opposite ends of the galaxy. Sailus was shot over many lightyears, and his momentum couldn’t stopped, as he was in space, so he was adrift, focus in hand, for many years. Malum probably suffered a similar fate, though I have no intel on that matter.”

“So what does this have to do with us?” Zach was starting to lose patience. They needed to know how this affected them, not a history lesson. It was nice to learn, but now was not the time.
“If you’d give me a moment, i’d tell you.” The Owl gave him a small frown, before continuing on with his tale.

“Anyway’s, Sialus was carried through space for many years, being kept alive only thanks to his magic and his drive to make sure Malum would hurt no more. He eventually crash landed on the planet we currently reside on, weakened from his journey, but not dead. Sadly, his momentous crash had shook the planet, causing a great explosion, which killed many of the species living on earth at the time. Sialus saw this, and because he hadn’t the strength to return to space, and he felt guilt for the death he had caused, He decided to try to start anew on this planet, acting as a gaurdian similar to how Origin had been a guardian to him and his people. He lived on earth, essentially alone, for yet more of his long life. He had tried to undo the magic keeping his students in the jewels that resided in the focus, but only succeeded in giving them a consciousness within the gems, and the ability to communicate telepathically with him. This is what kept him sane while he was on Earth for all that time, or at least I assume so. At the end of his life, after gathering all the magical energy he could muster, he unleashed his final magical burst. His burst gave life to the earth that was similar to that he had known back on Anima. He poured his heart and soul into it. In the end, he managed to create what he sought, though these new humans were much, much weaker than the humans he had lived with. Along with this, he stored his magic ability within the earth, to be given to those of magical potential should the earth be threatened. He knew that Malum could be alive, and that he might endanger Earth by following Sialus’s magic trail. Thus, he said farewell to his students within their jewels, stored them within the temple he had constructed, put them in a magic stasis so they could sleep, and died. He left behind his Focus, his Temple, the Jewels, and his pet owl, who he had created as a companion. He left his owl in stasis as well, so he might be of help when Malum came again. As you can see, I was that owl, and the Temple of Sialus resides within these woods, with the same jewels of legend. That is my tale. Do you understand why I have told you this?”

Zach took a deep breath, and straightened himself in the chair. “So you're saying Malum is back? I still don't quite understand what this has to do with us, but that's bad news, if he’s as strong as you say he is.”

Gabora seemed surprised. “You…. You believe me?”

Rose had been silent the whole time. But now, she gave Gabora a good look. “With what we have done today, I think we’d be crazy to not believe you. But Zach’s right. Why are you telling us this?”

Gabora sighed, flew over to the window, and stared out. After a minute, he looked back at them, a glint in his eye. “You are both part of the group of 5 that was chosen to fight Malum when he finally came within range of earth. You have the same magic energy lying latent within you that Sialus had when he came to earth. The monster that was after you was the first of many creatures that Malum will most likely send to earth in the coming months.”

The trio sat in silence for a few minutes. The air seemed thicker. Zach couldn’t believe what he was hearing! He was supposed to take down that thing! They had barely escaped with their lives last time. How could they even fight something like that! Not even Gabora’s magic had damaged the monster, so how could they!

It was Rose who finally broke the quiet. “You mean….. We have to risk our lives and fight monsters sent by the king of evil to save our world? Sounds a bit like one of my stories….”

Gabora turned his head to face Rose. “Yes, It is a bit outlandish, and dangerous, but fear not! You have Sialus’s magic! You will learn to fight using extraordinary power, and you won’t do it alone. There are 5 of you total, though you two are the only ones i've met thus far. The others will probably turn up soon.”

Rose was clearly flustered. “Wow…. I… I’ll need some time to think on it…”

Gabora was shocked. In an exasperated tone, he replied. “You can’t be thinking of turning it down! The whole world is on the line! You just don’t understand. If you don’t do something, everything you care about is going to end!”

Zach had had enough. “Well what do you expect! You just told us to throw our lives away to go fight giant monsters who want to kill us! You can’t imagine how that must feel!”

Gabora gave him a look, dead in the eye, the way he had to him in the other room. “Oh I know exactly how that feels. I watched as my master threw his life away for this planet. He knew what was right, and he died so that you might have this chance to save yourselves! I…. just can’t say I saw this coming…”

Gabora’s time watching over the forest was taking its tole. He was clearly tired. He ruffled his feathers, gave them a glance, and faced the window. “Those monsters are after magical energy, or mana, as I call it. Malum is probably in the same shape Sialus was when he arrived, so he needs that energy. That’s why he’s sending these monsters. Because you have so much mana stored in you, The monster’s, or Shadow’s, as they are called, will always target you. I must go keep watch over this forest, but I can at least see why you might hesitate. I can hold the Shadow within these woods for 1 day. Tomorrow night, If you wish to learn magic and fight the beast, show yourselves at the edge of these woods near the river. I will meet you there.”

Gabora glided over to the door. “Just follow the path to the forest’s edge, and you will find your vehicle. I hope to see you soon. Until then, farewell.”

After Gabora had left them, Zach slowly got up, and walked over to the window. It seemed like an eternity since the owl had watched them in the forest, but only an afternoon had gone by. The sun was now falling over the horizon, and from the window, Zach could see Sollice, with all it’s lights and sounds, only a quick drive away. Though everything could change, he had his plans to consider. Gabora could wait for now.

Zach sighed as he looked down. They seemed to be within a large tree house, strung between the tallest tree’s that the forest housed. It probably belonged to Sialus himself, preserved with the forest. It seemed about as plausible as the rest of that day.

How had this happened. How could, with billions of people wandering throughout the world, he be chosen for such a task. He couldn’t just throw away his plans to go thwart some interstellar space villain! He had a life to live! But Gabora was right. The world was at stake. What choice did he have?

Rose, still sitting on the leather couch, couldn’t be happy. She wore a look of almost fear, almost excitement that just came out as discomfort. This had to be hard for her. She had come close to death thanks to Malum’s Shadow, and if what Gabora said was true, this would be the first of many.

It seemed odd that, although they had only talked twice now, that Zach felt he understood Rose. Not entirely, but enough to know what she must be feeling. Must be some sort of mana link, or better yet, maybe it was some destiny prophecy! Or some other impossible thing! Being bitter probably wasn’t what he should be feeling, given that he was just offered the chance to essentially become a superhero, but how else could a person feel, given his scenario.

Rose gave him a good look, and her eyes lit up a bit. She sat up a bit, and found the courage to speak.

“So, magic powers, huh?” She gave him a sly smile, as if that were the funniest joke in the world.

At this, the pair both just started laughing. That whole big speech about world ending monsters, and yet magic powers comes up first. Zach knew it was just an attempt to lighten his mood, but they both needed a good laugh, even if the joke wasn’t that funny. It was good to see Rose wasn’t sulking, even if it was just her way of coping with things.

“Well…. Im starved. Wanna go get some food in town?” It was apparent that she would need that whole day if she was gonna work through whether or not to fight, and they both needed a break.

Zach shrugged. “I would, but I really need to get to my new place. Maybe tomorrow?”

“Yeah. I think that might work.” Rose pulled out her phone, and started typing away. “Can I get your number? Just for planning?”

“Sure. Zachary Widrow at 216-9420”

Once she was done doing typing, she stood up, gave a little smile, and started walking towards the door.

“Hey, wait a sec.”

She stopped and glanced back. She probably just needed some time alone, but Zach had a feeling she wanted reassurance. “Look. I don’t know what’s going to happen, or if everything’s gonna be okay, but I do know that if we choose, we can put our fears to rest. It very well might not be worth it, and i’ll need every second of tomorrow to decide for myself, but don’t feel bad, because if we do decide to fight, we’ll have each other, right?”

The question seemed a little personal, but that was the kind of thing a person like Rose would need. Zach could just feel it. They had entered this chaos together, so it makes sense that they would make it out the same way.
Rose slowly turned, looked him in the eye, and gave a thumbs up with a genuine smile on her face.

“You got it”

As the pair descended through the tree house’s stairway, positioned around the trunk of the tree, Zach could feel some hope. He had made a true friend today. The rest of the world may be crumbling around him, but at least it wasn’t him alone. He had hope, and for now, it made him feel alright.

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Author's Notes: This chapter was especially time consuming to write. I essentially had to create the whole backstory to the entire universe of my story, which meant I had to do a lot of dialog from everyone's favorite owl, Gabora. This chapter was meant to establish the “hero” part of my story, showing off the magic side of the characters. Malum and Sialus are both named in latin, with Sialus, or Salus meaning Good or Safe, and Malum meaning Bad. Origin and the planet Anima just sounded like cool names, but they have deeper meaning that’s pretty obvious. I hope that the feeling of hope comes off well in Zach’s character, as that will be important later. Overall, I don’t love this chapter, but I know it’s necessary in order to get my universe rolling, so it had to be done.

Hope you enjoyed :D