Tales of Astora: Legacy

Chapter 2: Attack

Chapter 2: Attack

"There was once a town that was famous for producing great mages and sorcerers. Even in this town, one family stood out for having a history of the best mages in the entire land, more than enough to gather attention from numerous kings and lords of different countries. Then one day, the next heir to the family was born. People expected so much from him even months before his birth. His parents were at that time the most powerful mages. Would he be a king? Or more than that? Perhaps a God of Magic? Whatever the case, prosperity would surely follow him and his family.

But none of that happened. The boy had no talent for magic. He could not even cast the simplest of spells. Soon the family and the town shunned him. But he did not give up. Instead of magic, perhaps he could use something else. Something that would bring him recognition, so that his parents would accept him. He departed from the town and travelled the world. Years after years, he searched. And one day he found it. Inside a dungeon far to the North, he found the golems. Machines that existed since ancient time. If he could not cast spell, then he could create golem to fight for him.

The once talentless boy in magic found himself a new goal. A few years later, he became famous for his creations, receiving countless invitations from kings to join their army. Happy more than ever, he decided to go back to his town, waiting for the price of his efforts: his parents' recognition. But he received none.

The father was angry when the boy showed up with his golems. He rejected the ideas of machines, thinking it was preposterous to use them while his magic could do much better. Then he hit him.

The golems, reacting to their master's injury, grabbed the boy's father and threw him to the ground. The villagers were terrified. They began to attack the golems. But they underestimated them. And so the golems destroyed the entire town, killing everyone else. There was nothing the boy could. He just stood there, watching the carnage with tears in his eyes. He could not stop the golems from killing his family. Or could he? Perhaps the golems simply acted according to their master's hidden desire....

The boy disappeared from the world that day. Some speculated that he continued his research in golems. Not just any kind of golem, a golem capable of human emotions, one that could be considered a living being. But for what? Perhaps to replace a now lost family."

- "Tales of the Artificer" by Arshe the Wanderer

* * *

BANG! A loud noise sounded from downstairs. "It sounded like someone just knocked our door down," Alastor thought out loud. He had jumped out of his bed and landed face-down on the floor. He was sweating and breathing heavily. Not too much surprise, what happened last night or rather what happened in his dream was quite terrifying and so real. All the years he sometimes thought that all those conversations, all those exchanges he had in the dream was just him being wacky. Even though it seemed so .... real, so authentic. But yesterday was completely different. For the first time in his life, he felt fear. And the pain he endured... even now it persisted. By instinct, Alastor wanted to check the gemstone on his chest. It did not change much in term of size but now it was glowing a dim light and he could clearly a small red glow in the center, although nobody would notice it with a mere glance. "Ascension.... Demon Lord... What the hell was that all about? " he thought to himself. Then he felt something lacking. Something was amiss.

Then he realized it. Alice. The boy freaked out when he didn't hear the annoying wake up from Alice as usual. She would usually shake him up while yelling his name, something accompanying with a few slaps in the face. Well it was not like he hated it, rather it soothed him that when he waked up, he would see a cheerful face, albeit an idiot one, of someone he cared about. He also noticed that he did not hear his mother's humming when she cooked breakfast. The house was totally noiseless.