Not a Hero

Part 9: The Ocean

The Evil King Pristime had been defeated, and his plot to conquer the Earth had been foiled by a group of unlikely heroes. There was Aster Wrath, the bloody princess and daughter to the former overlord, Orkus Wrath. There was also Drodin, one of the last druids in the land of Visterra. The son of the former King Exemplus that was sent to Earth and was the prophesied hero of Visterra, Casey. Finally, another young man from earth who sought to make himself a hero because it was his dream, Oliver.
After the King had been defeated, the two children of Earth had a choice to make. To go back to live their lives on Earth or stay in the magical land of Visterra. Casey decided to return home to Earth, but Oliver chose to stay in Visterra.
During the few months after Pristime's defeat, Drodin and his brother Holt would return to the forest to attempt to rebuild the druids, reaching out to anyone willing to protect the natural balance of life. Aster would take Oliver back to the Overlord's castle to the south, hoping to build a life there and to return the dangerous Book of the Scapegrace to its rightful place.
Aster and Oliver lived in peace, using the power within the Book of the Prodigy to rejuvenate the barren land around the castle and grow plants and crops to eat. Aster also used the book to cool the magma in the volcano so that it wouldn't erupt. Soon enough, the once dry and ashen landscape became filled with lush forests and life.
The Book required Aster to perform good deeds, so she and Oliver would occasionally go up to the city of Asbaratus to assist in their rebuilding of the damage done during a jailbreak some time ago. Together, Aster and Oliver lived happily for some time until the day came when Aster approached him with the question.
"When will what?" asked Oliver.
"When will we be married?" responded Aster. "We've been together for quite some time, therefore I wondered when we were planning to get married. Unless you've been leading me on for all this time."
Oliver's heart sank, but he was able to explain himself. "Aster, I do love you more than anything in the world, but I think I'm too young to get married. I'm only eighteen years old."
"That is too young to marry on Earth? You certainly must be joking, right?"
Oliver was too scared to say anything.
Aster looked at him with a judgemental gaze. Under its pressure, he couldn't bear, and ran out of the room, saying, "I need some air!"
Aster chased after him into the throne room. She saw no one there and continued into a hallway leading to the courtyard. Little did she know that Oliver hid behind the door to that hallway, waiting for Aster to leave so he could sneak out.
Oliver gave a sigh of relief. He checked, and the Book of the Scapegrace was still safely bound by a sapling placed by their druid friends. Then, Oliver walked into the entryway of the castle to the green landscape surrounding the tower just outside, the place where he and Aster first met.
Oliver went inside the tower and climbed its steps to the large metal door that Aster broke down. He remembered being scared at that moment, but then hopeful when he saw the beautiful princess walk out. Oliver went through the door frame, into the room that Aster was trapped inside for twenty years, living off of the blood of monsters. The portal to the dangerous dimension still existed in the far off corner of the room. It looked like a standing mirror, but with a word can be transformed into a gateway. Oliver made his way over to the balcony where Aster dropped a bloody handkerchief on him and Drodin.
He looked over to see if he could spot Aster somewhere in the castle, but he couldn't. All of a sudden, he heard a loud screech and someone running out of the entrance to the throne room. Thinking it might have been Aster, Oliver leaned over but instead saw a figure wearing black sprinting out holding the Book of the Scapegrace in their hands.
Oliver shouted, "Stop!" but the thief continued to run into the forest with the book.
Oliver ran back down the tower, moving as fast as he could. He came out just in time to see a dark shape bolt into the woods and followed it with all the speed he could muster, but it was not enough. Oliver stopped to catch his breath. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper.
In the few months he lived in Visterra, Oliver did his best to learn magic without the help of a grimoire. Then he stopped trying after Aster informed him that magical abilities are something that you are born with. He couldn't use the book of the Scapegrace anymore and didn't want to. So Drodin and Aster introduced him to magic written on small pieces of paper, and he's used these scraps for magic ever since.
Oliver read from a scrap of paper, "Ven Podi!"
The scrap of paper burned away, and Oliver's legs felt lighter but stronger at the same time. With his legs magically altered, Oliver was like a gust of wind racing through the forest. As he ran, brush and branches were ruffled from Oliver's tailwind.
Once he spotted the thief, Oliver immediately tackled them down to the forest floor. He did his best to restrain them, but the thief kicked him off and managed to stand up. The hooded thief opened up the book and read from it, "Quietus." Light gathered in his hand, but then a crash came from the forest behind him. The thief looked up to see branches swinging towards him, but couldn't dodge in time. The arms of the walking tree grabbed hold of the thief and lifted him up in the air. The thief dropped the book on the grass, causing the spell to fizzle out then flailed his arms around to no avail. The tree trunk bent backwards and opened up its ravenous maw made of splinters. The next few seconds were so scary for Oliver that he covered his eyes and blocked out the memory of it entirely to save his sanity. After the tree was done with the thief, it reached over to Oliver. Just when Oliver thought he was about to be eaten, a familiar voice came to save him.
"No! Don't eat him!" yelled Drodin. "He's a friend!" The tree pulled its reaching branches back, and Drodin ran over to his friend from behind the walking tree. "Oliver, what happened? What's wrong?"
Oliver shook himself back from the horror he just witnessed. Then he explained to Drodin. "Drodin! There was a thief! He tried to take the book! Then...."
Drodin stopped Oliver. He wanted to spare him from that memory. "Okay, there was a thief, and he tried to take the book. Do you know why he tried to take it?"
"I.... I don't know."
"Well let's just bind it back up and take it back to the castle, alright?"
"Okay."
Drodin helped Oliver back on his feet, and the walking tree departed back to the western woods. It was at this moment that Oliver realized that he had something in his hand. It was a metal emblem depicting a wing wreathed in flames.
"What is that?" asked Drodin.
"I think I pulled this off the thief when I tried to tackle him."
"Keep it. Maybe it can help us find out why he tried to take the book."
Oliver pocketed the emblem and picked up the black book off the ground. Together, he and the druid walked back to the Overlord's castle. When Oliver walked into the throne room, he was expecting Aster waiting to punch him, but she was nowhere to be found. Oliver held the book, and Drodin bound it with another sapling. Then all they were left with was the emblem off of the thief's body.
"Nobody would just come and try to take the book if they knew what it was," said Drodin.
"Not just that. Nobody would even try since we warned everyone in Asbaratus that we were guarding it, and you know how scared they were of Aster after the first time she tried to help them," said Oliver.
"Yes, I remember it." Drodin sighed. "That poor cobbler."
"Anyway, that must mean that he came from outside Visterra."
"I don't know anything about what's outside of Visterra. The only person who I can think of who would know would be Aster's mother."
Oliver added, "I imagine that the port in Asbaratus must connect to another somewhere else right? Maybe they could help us out."
"Help us with what exactly?"
"Maybe they can help us track down where the thief came from, then we can stop any more from trying to take the book."
"That sounds like a plan."
"Then let's go!" shouted Oliver.
"Hold on! Shouldn't we go get Aster first, or at least tell her where we're going?"
Oliver knew he was too scared to see Aster right now, and she'd surely be angry at him. She definitely wouldn't let him leave before answering her question either. Oliver saw this as his only way out.
"We'll probably be fine without her. Besides, someone needs to stay and protect the book. Who better than someone that can scare an ogre? What about Holt? Is he okay with you leaving him with your recruits?"
"Holt is okay with it. He honestly feels bad about what he did, so he said he wouldn't rest until the druids are back to their former glory or something similar to that."
"Then to Asbaratus we go!"