Written by Bethany

Rated G for everyone

Chapter 1

Having been raised in Otherworld, and living now in Demon world it was a concept entirely foreign to him. If there wasn’t a petty squabble happening between some minor Demon clans, the Lords of the Lands themselves were disputing for power. Yet peace was one thing he desired more than anything as well as the one thing that had always eluded him.

He had been born in a village in Otherworld, bordering Demon World, almost 800 years ago. His village was within sight of the mountains dividing the two, a beautiful view.

His birth was something of an oddity, mostly because when a mage came together with a human, the father was usually the mage and the mother was an unwilling human woman. This often resulted in tragedy for the result of such a blending as the offspring typically had to grow up alone. Just look at the Otherworld sorceress Jaal and the blue mage Bakura!

But when a female elemental mage had fallen in love with a Wind Mage from her village, it turned out quite differently. His mother Hannilda, descended from one of the mages Iomeloth had created, had gentle-looking, dark almond shaped eyes, fair skin and black hair. A lesser mage, with some power over the elements, she was a kind and loving person, who refused to use her powers for anything but protecting others. The villagers she safe-guarded didn’t fear her and knew that anyone who attacked them would be swiftly dealt with.

His father had been a Wind Mage. Yhaki, who had also been a Wind Mage, had been visiting Hannilda, when he had met Yumika, a local merchant’s daughter. A beautiful young woman, Yumika’s father had originally objected to any mating that involved his daughter’s offspring being less than human, and had attempted to marry her to a village boy. Neither Yhaki nor Yumika had been agreeable to this, however, and the merchant had relented in favor of his daughter’s happiness.

Yumika died giving birth to their son. Yhaki returned to a solitary life when she passed, having no heart to raise his son on his own thus leaving the merchant to raise the child. The merchant, named Onigu, named the boy Yuaki after his parents. Yuaki - who had his mother’s red hair and blue eyes, as well as his father’s pale coloring - was the pride and joy of his grandfather’s life. Yhaki maintained contact with his son, even though he was unable to raise him, and began to train his wind powers once the boy turned 14. With this training, he gradually became the most powerful village protector, second only to Hannilda.

It came as no surprise when the two fell in love, despite her being years older than him. Protection had become a dual task and it just made sense for them to be together.

With the full blessing of Yhaki and Onigu, the two had mated and lived together, childless but happy for many years.

During their fiftieth year Hannilda sensed that she was pregnant.

It was famous through the local region, what the carver had said to the proud father upon presenting the finished product. “Tell me Yuaki … what’s produced when one crosses a  Wind Mage and an Elemental Demon Mage.”

“To tell you the truth, old friend,” stated Yuaki “Neither Hannilda nor I could tell you. We’ve been asking ourselves that question.”

Nine months after that day, Hannilda went into labor, late one summer morning. Yhaki had come down from the Wind Demon’s home and had waited impatiently for the birth of his grandson. The morning had dawned bright and sunny but by the time her first contractions started, clouds had covered most of the sky and a gentle rain had begun to fall. The beautiful cradle lay ready next to her bed.

After eight hours of Yhaki and Yuaki pacing the room next to the birthing room, their impatience was rewarded. Hannilda had given Yuaki a son. He had two bright red streaks in his mat of black hair and serious, dark almond shaped eyes-Hannilda’s eyes. His skin was pale, inherited from the Wind Demon in Yuaki.

They had named their son Arashi, after Hannilda’s long dead father.

Five years flew by, only manifesting powers Wind powers on his fifth birthday. While he recalled always feeling slightly disappointed when he didn’t manifest any other powers, he was bolstered when he heard tales of mages who would have children and not stick around to raise any offspring. After hearing this, he considered his own family, his father who was still around, and who was training him. His mother, who loved him and doted on him. He had in his possession something many people coveted - a stable loving home.

That is, until he was 8 years old, when his mage powers manifested themselves, in one terrifying, bloody night.

792 years before Present Time

Then she went down to face him herself, falling into Torohiro’s trap.

He should’ve stayed where he was.

He landed and recovered with just enough timing to see his father get hit with a blast from the enemy mage. His invincible father who couldn’t die was lying on the ground, immobile. He couldn’t breathe … time stopped … then he heard his mother scream.

Hannilda, devastated by the death of her husband, lashed out without a single thought, calling on the element of fire and sending it, mixed with the element of air towards the foreign mage. She followed this directly with a volley of ice and a barrage of stones - the earth element.

It was all in vain. The barrier erected by her opponent held up. Hannilda, drained and exhausted, finally collapsed, powerless. The fire she used burned itself out on the barrier, which fell, revealing a smirking Torohiro. Strolling forward, he grabbed Hannilda by the hair.

Still, in her weakened state, she persisted in defiance.

“You killed my father out of spite because my mother loved him and not you. Why did you wait so long to come after me?? You’ve taken my mate from me. He’s my entire world!! May the gods condemn you to the darkest pit of Spirit World for what you’ve done, even if you are descended from the first Mages.”

“I waited to come after you because I wanted you to lose everything your father cost me. A family. I courted your mother for five years before your father,” he spat the word out. “Came along and ruined it.”

“I know the story.”

“I’m not going to kill you, Hannilda. I’m just going to take from you what your bloodline took from me.”

While this was happening, Arashi cowered against the base of the tower. His father lay dead; it was too late to save him. But it might not be too late to save his mother. His father had been training his wind powers up.

These were the thoughts of a desperate eight year old boy.

Lifting up his hand, he summoned the wind. Arashi, his powers ready, raced forward. To attract the mage’s attention, he screamed. “Let my mother go!!!!!”

The light wind barely ruffled Torohiro’s hair but he could sense a certain depth of power behind it. He glanced over at the boy and noted the defiant look in his eyes. Here he remembered what was said.

“So this is the little brat you and that Wind Mage had.”

“Arashi…” his mother’s voice was cracking with exhausting, but still panicked. “Run…” In an effort to distract Torohiro, she resorted to begging for her son’s life.

“Please … kill me instead of him … let him go, he’s done nothing to you.…”

“He’s part of your family. Part of what I’m trying to take away from you. He’ll die just like the mage you coupled with.”

“It wasn’t some random coupling …Yuaki is my mate,” Hannilda replied viciously. “And you will not hurt my son.” Twisting suddenly, she slipped free of his grasp. Drawing out the last bit of her strength, she sent it at Torohiro.

Torohiro, taking a step back, threw his barrier back up and deflected the energy with ease.

“I had hoped not to kill you, but you’re as annoying as your father. Otherworld is well rid of you.” He charged up one hand with pure power.

Arashi had watched this entire scene take place, with one thought on his head. His mother couldn’t die, that couldn’t be allowed to happen. Fury welled up inside him, in his very core. This man wouldn’t take the only family Arashi had left away from him, he wouldn’t allow this. The wrath dispersed itself within his body as power surging through his very veins.

It was an unfamiliar feeling, but it was powerful. He was unsure as to what, exactly had happened only that he now had the strength to get rid of this threat to his mother.

His father had taught him how to center his wind powers. He attempted this now, except with this new power coursing through his very veins. The power gathering felt familiar, almost like his wind power but slightly different. Clouds began to gather in the sky above him, but it was already dark out so it wasn’t noteworthy.

He pushed himself and his newfound powers a little more. Instead of a gentle wind as what usually manifested, a powerful gale swept through the three present. It sounded something similar to the death scream of a lesser Demon.

Hannilda suddenly looked up, understanding. The clouds that had gathered bulged and slowly dropped a tendril. It touched the ground about a mile away, ripping up dirt and grass as it danced in place, before streaking towards Torohiro, the source of Arashi’s fury.

The mage who was still standing over his exhausted mother.

Torohiro shot Arashi a look of pure malice and smirked. Before the tornado could barrel down on him, he managed to portal to safety.

Arashi realized what was about to happen a second before it did and screamed in terror, causing the tornado to intensify. That, on top of her depleted energy gave the elemental mage no chance to escape.

The tornado ripped Hannilda to pieces.

Arashi broke down sobbing, causing the twister to subside and disappear. The blonde mage had taken almost the entire village and his father. His mother was dead of his own hand.

He had gone from being part of a family unit to being utterly alone. He cried himself hoarse and to eventual sleep at the base of the tower.

When he woke up, his grandfather Yhaki was bending over him, gently tending to him. “Arashi, what happened here?” The young boy shook his head and buried his face in his grandfather’s shoulder.

Slowly the survivors from the village came back and told Yhaki what had happened, how Hannilda had attempted to protect the village from the foreign mage, how Arashi had tried to protect her, how a tornado had mysteriously appeared and ripped the elemental mage apart.

Yhaki looked down at the boy in his arms and understood. “Oh no … you manifested.” He rocked his grandson gently, trying to relax him. “It’s okay Arashi…”