The Forgotten One

The Start of a Long Quest

It took us a week to arrive at the Falls. There was a large waterfall that pooled into a freshwater lake. Coasting the lake was a small cabin with a bathroom, two rooms, a kitchen, and a living area. The forest surrounding the Falls was thick, so thick that no one knew this place existed. The grass area around the shore of the lake was large enough for our training. Yes, I decided to let Val train with me. Only because she wouldn't shut up about it the entire trip there.

Setting my belongings in my room, a simple room with a bed and a dresser, I stepped out in a simple black muscle shirt and faded blue shorts that stopped at the knees. Being barefoot seemed natural, so I didn't worry about sandals.

I stepped out of my room walked out of the cabin. Stretching my arms, I walked toward the shore of the lake to burn time. Val sure does take forever. Do all girls do this kind of thing?

After what felt like hours, Val finally came out of the cabin in skin tight grey joggers, a pink tank top, and her hair was down with a pink bandana tied around her forehead. Luckily, she also decided to go barefoot. She looked ready for training, but she might've overdid it a bit.

"You finally ready?" I huffed.

"Yeah," Val replied. "But you don't have to be a grump about it."

I grinned and cracked my knuckles, stifling a snort as I watched Val cringe at the noise. "I've got to get use to the Demon Sage Magic and to do that, I must train. I don't care if you want to help, as long as you stay out of my way. I'm not responsible for you're injuries."

"Wow, do you always open with that? You sound like you've rehearsed those lines before." She joked.

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes. "Just don't push it."

I took a deep breath and focused on seeing targets appear all around me. I want to be able to have more obstacles to practice on than just targets. "Summoning Magic: Training Court!" There was everything one needed for training: targets, dummies, a large weapons rack, and a sparring mat. This was going to be interesting.

I stepped in front of three targets, feeling the familiar sting of my eyes changing. I raised my crystal encased hand and watched as the talons grew from my fingertips. They caught on fire I focused on the target on the left. "Demon Sage's Flaming Claw Strike!" The talons streaked towards the target, but exploded before it struck home.

"Dammit!" I cursed. "Demon Sage's White Flare!" My palm glowed and the white fire shot from the mark, burning the target faster than sound.

This is going to be complicated.
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I plopped down on the ground, exhausted from using more Magic than what I was supposed to. The setting sun glistened off of the waterfall, making the water seem orange. Val sat beside me, out of breath as well. She'd worked hard too, working on her Water and Earth Magic. She said something about those two being her weakest points and it was good to see someone evaluating their own mistakes.

"That was some day, huh?" Val panted.

I nodded. "Yeah, you did good. Being that it was your first day training."

"Hey," she puffed her cheeks. "What's that suppose to mean? I'm just as good as you at this."

I chuckled and pointed at the fifty-three targets that were either smoldered to a crisp or had three needle-like talons jutting out from the front. Once Val saw this, her mouth stood gaping at the sight.