《Disciple of the Dark Arts》Chapter 1: Formative Years
Advertisement
Damien was reborn in a tiny village. His eyes were a piercing silver with a spark of intellect deep within. His mother, Elian, adored him. He was one of the few elves with an abnormal hair color; He was graced with silken raven black hair instead of the standard brunette or golden shades typical for elves.
Unique colors of hair indicated a strong magic infinity. Cyan was an arcane affinity with deeper blues being a stronger affinity. Elves with purple hair were almost always master arcanist as infants. They were also so rare that they may as well not exist. The more extreme oddities were silver and red hair. Silver was a holy affinity, which indicated the natural ability to produce holy magic. This was something impossible for many races, the notable exception being the gnomes who very frequently held this ability. Elian thanked the gods her child didn't have red hair. Infernal affinity would make one... less than popular and would often lead to a shorter lifespan. There was no color for fae as all Elves had a rudimentary ability with far magic. All of this only made it stranger that his hair was black, and she wasn't sure if it was for better or worse.
Elian had not named her child, for his name was one provided by her god. Many children of those dedicated to a good would have their parent's deity provide the name. Young Damien happened to be one of those. This act deepens the bond between the faithful and their idols of worship.
As he grew, Elian noticed he was an extremely sharp child. He walked only a few months after birth, though this wasn't too rare for elves as they had an inborn grace and dexterity that came with their every movement. What was surprising is the fact he started to talk only a month later.
Advertisement
Damien found his new life extremely comfortable. After he “woke up,” he noticed he was in the body of a baby at least a few weeks old. His mind felt sharper than ever, gathering and retaining information better than he had before. His infantile body had coordination that he was unfamiliar with. He was still clumsy, he was a baby after all, but he felt that he would have greater command over his body than he ever did on Earth once he was older.
Damien was quite fond of his new mother. While the idea felt odd as he remembered another mother, his new mom's kindness and affection quickly endeared her to him.
As he grew into a young child, he noticed was that he had a few differences between him and the other townspeople. His hair was black and unlike the others. His mother explained to him why when he asked.
He would later learn that he was a half-elf. His mother would lovely ramble on about his absent father. She described him as a roguish High Human with brilliant silver eyes and sleek black hair that he frequently slicked back with thick gel. Damien wished to meet him, simply to see how much of his heritage he had taken from him.
Damien trekked around the village frequently. Every breath was far more invigorating than any on Earth. Damien wasn't sure if it was his elven body or the new ambient energies that constantly swirled around him.
Damien spent a lot of time enjoying his second chance at childhood. The village wasn't extremely large, with a dozen or so buildings spread in the nearby area. He soon became familiar with everyone in town.
He frequently played with the kids in the village Saria, Lance, My’til, and Kera. He tried not to spend too much time with them, he was still an adult mentally, but he did like to humor them and played many games with them.
Advertisement
'Elves are stupidly good at hide and seek.' Damien mentally complained. He chased after Lance who weaved around his hand everytime he thought he had the boy. It was like catching a fly with chopsticks, Lance moved more like willow than man. He couldn't even get close to Kera, Every time it thought about it she stopped being a child and became as fleeting as the wind, dashing out of sight. Realizing that he wouldn't catch either of them he searched for Saria instead. wasn’t sure what wizardry it was but he searched for hours, just for her to appear next to him when he finally gave up. “How in the world do you do that?” Damien asked in resignation.
“I use magic.” Saria gleefully responded. Damien almost made a snarky retort, before his brain reminded him magic was a part of his reality now.
“Can you teach me?” He asked hopefully. Despite having been in this world for about six years now, Damien had mostly ignored magic excluding watching his mother's magic. Saria looked at him with a puzzled look. The ability came so naturally to her she didn't quite know how to phrase it. A child's vocabulary didn't help either.
“You just feel it around you and step inside it,” Saria said as her brow scrunched up. This was not helpful he felt that he had an inkling of what she was talking about. He always felt this… the energy surrounding him, he tried to “go inside” it, he tried to do something anything with it, but the power was slippery, fleeting, constantly escaping his control. After struggling futility for several more minutes attempting to hide in plain sight at Saria's blatant amusement, he eventually gave up.
“Whatever, I don't need to use magic to win.” He proclaimed obstinately puffing his chest out. This evoked yet another giggle for Saria, who greatly enjoyed his theatrics.
As Damien went home for the day, he reflected on Saria's proficiency with magic. He was talentless in comparison. This world had magic, and he had no skill in it. He immediately rushed to Elian and asked her to teach him magic. He had seen her use some of it occasionally as she made small potions and such which she sold to the other villagers.
Elian's elation was evident he asked the question. Elian was not mage herself, but she knew a handful of basic spells and had okay raw shaping skills for fae magic. She promised Damien she would teach him, but she had some shopping to do and had to gather herbs for tomorrow. Damien was ecstatic to address this weakness and could hardly go to sleep. He was going to learn magic.
Advertisement
- In Serial250 Chapters
The Salamanders
Hadica was built around one of five Towers, an infinite structure filled with floors of monsters, magic, and treasures that the city plunders like clockwork. Most of the city, at least. Growing up in Westhill, Micah's family abstained from all of their Tower's bounties. He became an [Alchemist] at an age younger than most and just wanted to level in peace, but soon ran out of mundane ingredients to brew into potions. Ryan is a budding [Fighter] with the strange ability to mimic beasts, including monsters, but he doesn't understand it or even himself. After a Tower climb goes horribly wrong, their lives and the world around them begin to change as they try to figure out who they want to be. The Salamanders is a slow-paced story about characters growing up in and exploring a fantasy setting. It updates sporadically. Please mind the tags. Also, there is a Discord now! Click here.
8 374 - In Serial11 Chapters
The Harrowbird's Crown
(Formerly: Tales of a Harrowed House) Synopsis: This is the tale of an exiled royal family who, after their bloody reunion on the island of Providence, return to a war-torn homeland where once more, powerful forces pit sibling against sibling in a bid for the crown — and once more, the magical streets of Auctor echo their infamous motto: “Fire will Reign as Harrowbirds Soar!” From his humble beginnings as a shoemaker’s son, his year spent as a daringly brazen orphan caught between rivaling Houses and a mad ghost, and his fight for the crown after his return to Auctor, Corbyn faces a coming-of-age story unlike any before him as he discovers magic and birthright are two things he never knew he had. From the intimate narrative of a childhood that was never her own, her year spent struggling to find the person she is rather than the person her family needs her to be, the secrets she hides, and the truths she finds, Halle discovers herself on the fabled island of Providence as her House collapses around her, bids to enter a legendary school of magic in her homeland of Auctor, and fights for a crown she never knew she wanted. A high-action, character-focused story written with a poet’s styling, The Harrowbird’s Crown is a tale that will transport readers into the conflict and conquest of a royal family back on the rise. General Information: This story is more traditionally plotted. While the beginning may seem to start out slowly, when shit hits the fan: the action is constant, the mysteries are satisfying, and the character development is rewarding. Chapters are usually between 2.5-3.5 thousand words (though some, like the first and second chapters, can run up to 5k words). When it’s long it means that the chapter will just have that much content in it. There’s Action, Mystery, Fantasy, Comedy, and some Psychological undertakings. Romance hasn’t come up yet, but it may in future chapters. I try to have chapters out every Sunday at 7:00 CST Book One: The Ghost of Providence
8 115 - In Serial12 Chapters
The Mechanist
All of us die sooner or later. Most people become blank slates ready to begin a new but some lucky ones keep their memories. All of you have heard of the stories of the ones who were born with the gift of knowlege and prosper on the path to godhood...but what about the little men the ones who will never have their story told. This will be the story of one such man with death at his door with an offer for new life he cant refuse is all his story needs for it to begin.And his name is....
8 83 - In Serial10 Chapters
Claiming Worlds
Claiming Worlds is a series set in a universe teeming with life. At some point in the past some all knowing entity appears to have decided that seeding all habitable worlds with human life is a fantastic idea. This led to an enormous shortage of space for expansion, when the time of interstellar flight arrived for one of these worlds. But humanity always finds a way to thrive.. Fast-forward to the present: The Empire of Faron is the largest political entity in the known galaxy. Over the last two thousand years of its existence it has added more than three thousand systems to the realm of her majesty, the Empress. But how? You ask? Well, that's where this story begins: World Claimers. What are your options when faced with the want for expansion, but no habitable space? You take someone else's space and when you do it often enough and the colonized are about as advanced as ants compared to you, you turn it into a sport, a game. The galaxies most watched game: Making unwitting civilizations think that they wanted to join you from the beginning. And from the beginning is often not all that far from the truth....
8 128 - In Serial12 Chapters
From God to goblin
A lone immortal is chased from heaven when heaven's court changes hands. Evading his enemies, he flees into one of the few places even gods will never enter, a rip in the fabric of space and time. with his body destroyed, his soul persists through the whole endeavor only to be reborn as..... something a little different.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi everyone! As a first time writer, I'd love some constructive criticism as well as general comments about my work as a whole. This story is something I've been kind of thinking about for the better part of a few months and I actually got anxious enough to attempt to put it in writing. Releases may be sporadic as I'm currently in school, and chapter lengths will vary depending on how much I feel i need to write to get my point across. The tags are temporary and may change. I plan on using a cultivation/mana system as this will be somewhat of a crossover
8 107 - In Serial20 Chapters
Mianite: Septic
Understandably given the title 'portal' the crew from the old world is sent to another. An even older and familiar world. They meet the other world's heroes, and our heroes are welcome back to Mianite learning that their home has grown as much as them. The Dianites have a new leader, to Tom's dismay. Mianite has given new light to new creatures - good or bad -, and Ianite has worked hard to restore peace, justice, and balance.Well there is mostly balance.Two kingdoms run head to head. One leaning more to the traditional side, and the other wanting a change.When the New Kingdom of Aura takes the heroes in, they have no choice but to ally themselves with the Kingdom's leaders, Faith and Liberty. They meet Oracles and Elves and learn that their own simplistic home isn't so simple. They also learn that the other Kingdom may have a more sinister plan, and that they may have an operative on the inside.
8 196

