Kaskia: A Hero's Awakening

Chapter 1

"What happened?!" Brittany yelled while checking Aiden for wounds, lifting his shirt to see bruising across his ribs and back.

"I'm sorry mommy! It's my fault..." Rina replied, tears rolling down her face. "I ran off and didn't watch where I was going, we got lost..." She continued, looking at the floor in front of her, not daring to meet her mother's gaze, fiddling her hands behind her back. "I'm really sorry mommy."

Seeing that Aiden was ok, except minor bruising, Brittany sighed and picked Rina up. "It's ok baby girl, you have to be careful and not go so far into the woods where you get lost. You're lucky you had Aiden and Ellie there." Brittany continued, hugging her daughter tightly. "Promise me that you'll be more careful."

"I promise mommy!" Rina said, hugging her mother tight, her little arms reaching around her. "You should have seen the way Aiden and Ellie fought off the boar! They were awesome!" she said enthusiastically, throwing her hands in the air and making a face as if she was eating. "Ellie was on its back biting it for so long, and Aiden attacked its legs. I can't believe how good they were! I want to be like them!"

"In time Rina." Erik said, patting Aiden on the back. "He has trained a lot to be as good as he is. If that's what you want, then you need to put in that training too. However, I think that you'll do better like your mother, with a bow and arrow. You know that's more fun and less scary, right?" He said, poking Rina in her belly, tickling her.

"I'm not scared anymore daddy!" Rina replied defiantly, pushing his hand away.

"She held her own too, dad. When I could barely stand, she took my dagger and stood in front of me, determined to keep me safe." Aiden said, smiling at his younger sister.

"Maybe we should teach her both ways, honey." Brittany offered. "Would you like that Rina?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Rina replied, beaming with joy. "Can we start now? Please!"

"No sweetie, it's dinner, then you two need to get some rest. You both had a long day." Brittany answered, kissing Rina on the cheek as she put her down.

"Aww, okay mommy."

They all sat down for dinner together, reliving their tale of the giant boar attack. Rina bounced with excitement whenever it came to her learning how to fight like Aiden. She imagined having a weapon just like he did, imitating slicing and stabbing an imaginary enemy over the dinner table. It took all her willpower to keep quiet about the fire. She had yet to talk with Aiden about it, but he wanted to keep that from them. With the way he threw himself at the boar to protect her, she trusted his judgment. She had no idea how it happened but knew that she was the source of the fire. She wanted to protect her brother from being hurt, she wished for the power to protect him, and somehow her wish was granted. After a while, their parents began talking about stuff that she lost interest in, they usually talked about the tools that her father made, or when the next time he was heading into town. All Rina could think of is how she summoned the fire, she knew that she did it, she felt it within her soul.

After dinner, Erik got the bath ready for Aiden. He got the water from the well behind the house, and lit the furnace below the tub, heating the water for Aiden to soak his wounds. "Thanks dad. I'll be okay." Aiden said, as he shut the door to the bathroom. Aiden winced from the pain as he eased himself into the tub, feeling the bruised ribs that he got thanks to the boar. He slid down, leaving only his face, from the nose up, above the water, staring at the ceiling. Aiden was lost in thought about how they were almost killed, despite how his parents played it off, he knew they almost died. Yet, against all odds, they lived. Rina somehow managed to use magic. (Of all things, she used magic!) He was unsure how to react about the situation. He did not know much about magic, only what his father had told him. That magic was a very rare trait, and a dangerous one to have. That there were two types of magic users, Wizards and Sorcerers. Sorcerers were Wizards, at some point in their life, who made sacrifices to gain power beyond that of a Wizard. He had said that not all magic users are bad, not all were good, and most probably don't know they have the abilities. (But... There are those who seek to abuse magic users for their own greed.)