Kiken Magic

Many years ago, the world was at peace, one world nation stretched across wide expanses of snow, forest, ocean, mountains and the whole world over... elements danced and intertwined like an elegant flame in the wind. Until one night when the rivers ran dry and the flowers wilted from the mere presence of the intense magical power. A large red doorway to a world of dark magic, opened and released thosands of demons, monsters and evil spirits, many cities were completely destroyed, billions were killed... the population was shaved down to the weakest people capable of working for the new overlords. People were given hard manual labor jobs, even the sick and the elderly. farmers, miners and sex slaves. Many die from exhaustion. The restrictions lightened around 20 years ago, just a year before I was born. My name is Helios, named after the sun god, I have magic energy, in fact i'm one of only 2000 in the world! This is my story, so lets start from the begining. I was born in the year 3426. My dad was unknown but my mom was a former slave, she had some strong magic, magic she passed down to me. I was raised on a plantation, almost never near my mom, but I loved her dearly. My jobs were mainly animal related but I had some in-house chores as well, I often had to scrub floors and fix problems with the furnace and industrial cooler. My friend Charlie's dad helped us learn to fix farm equipment and weed the fields, he was a farmer, forced into working from birth, he used to tell us stories about how the demons would whip and cattle brand him as a punishment for refusing to work or not meeting his quota. I left when I was 13, I moved to a place called newtopia, the restrictions were extremely light, but my mom couldn't come with me because she had to work off a debt to the plantation owner. I'll always remember her face that day, tears stained her face red and she wept like the stars had fallen from the sky, she was always stoic, as if she were a statue with a look etched into her face, but that day; tears flowed from her eyes like waterfalls and her voice rang out to the heavens, cries of pain and fear as she lost her only son. I wept too, of course, losing your mom isn't easy but i mustered the strength to push through and get a job, it didn't pay much, but it kept me fed. Eventually, I got a raise, enough to buy things that improved my quality of life. When I turned 17, the small neighborhood held a celebration for me, the air smelt of charcoal and fireworks. The oldest man in the town said his grandfather told him of a time this happened every fourth day in a special month or something. I left as swiftly as I arrived, my land lord gave me 2000 gyth as a gift for my birthday, enough to buy a house! But he left me with a message that chilled me to the bone "you have an aura. You have more magic than everyone in the next eight towns combined. Seek a mentor. Learn power techniques. Overthrow the demons... like you were born to do Helios." Then I left and I never saw him again. A year passed and I was on my feet. A house, a horse and a job. But the thought lingered in my mind could I really overthrow the demons? I decided to look for a mentor like my land lord said, I traveled for two or three days, but I made it to an underground mage dojo. Magic is illegal and anyone caught practicing it will be executed. The dojo was swarming with homeless people and strong mages alike, people searching for a purpose in magic and power. It was run down, melting faded wallpaper covered the walls, tiles were missing, holes in the walls were common place, and there was a stench of rat droppings and cat piss. This was just a guise to keep demons away from the dojo, they didnt clean so it would look abandoned, empty, like a soul devoid of purpose. I asked around for anyone who would train me. "Sir my name is-" "go away brat" they'd cut me off. I asked as many people as I could find, and just as I was about to give up, a man approached me. "your aura is strong... you'd be a good pupil," I turned immediately and asked him what he meant, he motioned for me to follow him. As we walked through the sullen place, he brought me to a large hole in a wall with a small hallway breachinng off of it, it was dark and went for what seemed like hours, we walked through cobwebs and fungus covered walls until we reached a well lighted room, much larger than it looked from the outside. "It's a pocket" he said as we entered. The room was covered in orange lantern light, mannequins sat at the far wall and sandbags hung from the ceiling by chains. There were scrolls strewn across a table, ancient writing scrawled across them. A book shelf was tucked in a corner with a chair. "welcome! sit, sit," A chair slid across the floor towards me and the man pushed me onto it. "your aura is strong," he said "I've been told this before," I replied. I needed answers, what was this aura I was being told about? How could I overtake the demons? The man looked at me and spoke. "you have an aura-" I cut him off "what the hell is an aura!" I yelled "sshh! Its magical power radiating from your body," He said. "So... I'm magical? Like- like some fuckin fairy?" I asked, a bit angry and still needing answers. "I'm going to train you to harness your magical energy and all four elements I can use." And so the journey began.