Rejoin.

  In a small village in the countryside of the territory called Veil. Ava, the prettiest girl alive, and my childhood friend stands before me on the balcony of her father’s Inn. After a few peaceful seconds of her staring out into the sunset, she begins turning around slowly, to gaze at me, tilting her head with that smile that I always adored. “I love you, Dan…”

  Chapter 1: separated.

  Fire, smoke, ashes, and begging screams. Those sounds… they’re the only sounds that fill my ears as I sit in the rubble of my village, of my home. Then, a glint of shining steel catches my eyes, and with hazy eyes I look up at a daunting figure. Wielding a metal axe high above his head, looking down at me with a perverted glare, like he’s enjoying this; Enjoying my utter fear.

  “I love that look in your eyes kid.” He taunts. Nearly breaking into laughter.

  “why…” I mutter, although I already know why… because this is fun for him. And I hate it, I hate him, I hate it all.

  “why…” I repeated.

  “why”

  “why”

  “shut up ki-“

  “why, why, why!” I cut him off.

  “KID, SHUT UP.”

  Snap. Just then, I felt it, I didn’t care about this predicament anymore. The only thought that flew into my mind, wasn’t fear of death, it was… Ava. Ava, Ava, Ava… where is Ava? it felt as if time began to slow down as the wicked man before me swung his axe down.

  “Need… Ava…” I whisper beneath my breath, like a prayer. Then, without a thought in my mind, I roll to my left, narrowly dodging the giant axe that slams into the ground to where I just was.

  Grabbing a handful of dirt in my hand from the ground under me, I threw it into the man’s face.

  “What the hel-“ The dirt blinds him, dust particles going into his eyes.

  With a sudden burst of energy, I lunge up and towards him. As he’s stunned, I tackle him onto one of burning piles of wood, caused by him and his goons burning down villager houses.

  straddling his waist, I use his body as a shield from the cackling flames. Then, while letting out a fearful yell, that was laced with hidden anger, I delivered a punch to his face, followed by another, then another, until I’m punching him further into the burning fire. I continue to one sidely beat him, and his screams for forgiveness were tuned out of my mind as the fire envelops us into its comforting hug. It’s ironic really, him dying by the house he burnt, and the victim he tried to kill.

  Once his screams finally die out beneath me, I retract my burned hands from his burned and beaten face. From my once pale fingertips, all the way up to my shoulders, both my arms are covered in third degree burns, as well as the right side of my neck and jaw.

  Then after a few second of looking down at the nauseating deed I’ve done, I realized something, and that something was… IM SURROUNDED BY FIRE.

  With great haste I leaped off the man’s body, jumping out of the fire and began rolling around in the dirt beneath me. I continue rolling around like a fish out of water for a few minutes, even though I, myself, wasn’t on fire, only the bandit.

  The thing that snaps me out of my rolling, is a scream, from an oh so familiar voice. I felt my heart freeze in place and my voice of panicked yells get trapped in my throat… its Ava…

  Scrambling up and running towards the direction where the sound came from, I continuously pant out “wait for me…” over and over.

  Abruptly stopping in the middle of a 4-way intersection dirt path, I frantically glance my eyes all around the burnt surroundings of houses… and people. Trying to find a single trace of Ava,

  “Get away from me, you scum!” Ava voice screams from around the north path corner. Immediately drawing my attention.

  “Ava!” I yell while turning the corner, trying to tell her that I’m near, that I’m here to protect her from this nightmare… that I’m all she needs.

  Stopping just as I turn the corner, I stand a few dozen meters behind three burly men surrounding the center of my purpose.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “Stay away from her!” he yells while pointing a trembling finger at the men, his voice as ragged as his arms. What happened to him? Who did this… who hurt him?

  “Dan, what happened to you?! Tell me now!” I yell from the opposite side of the revolting flesh barricade. My hands tightening into fists, the nails digging into the flesh of my delicate palm.

  While trying to take step forwards to move past the men, one of them steps in front of me with a disgusting smirk on his face; the other two strafed towards Dan, laughing crudely at him. God, I want to tear them apart.

  “What happened to you? Boy.” A bearded man says mockingly.

  “yeah, you look fuuucckkedd up, in all kinds of ways.” The second one says with a cackle, a man with a scar expanding from his upper lip to his right ear. He gestures not only to Dans burnt arms, but also his odd, red colored eyes and the pure white chunk of hair in his bangs.

  “you look like a demon.” He adds, taking out a small but menacing dagger from his hip. the second man follows suit and pulls his bow off his shoulder.

  As my eyes gaze upon the bow that now aims at my precious Dan, I let out a sharp scream. “stay away from him you bastards!” I try to push past the Man that blocks my path, but he quickly shoves me back onto the ground.

  “Stay still, woman.” He says with a smug smirk.

  “you son of a bi-“ I try and get back up as I speak, but his foot finds my stomach and stomps me back down, pinning me down beneath his foot. Knocking the air out of me and stopping me from speaking.

  Not being able to speak properly due to the pressure I try and scratch his legs, but to no avail.

  Then the two men that stands before Dan moves in.

  The dagger wielding man lunges forwards and tries to slash Dan’s face while the other strings an arrow into his bow.

  Dan, even in his state, reacts quickly, dodging down from the dagger by a hair’s width. He then retaliates by sending a weak but satisfactory uppercut into the man’s chin, sending blood to splatter up and out of the man’s mouth.

  The man stumbles back, dropping his dagger and holding his bleeding mouth. But Dan gets no time to take a breath, the archer shoots an arrow towards Dan. The arrow sings through the air with a high-pitched scream. Hitting Dan directly in the right shoulder.

  Ava watches the arrow fly through the air for what feels like an eternity; and when it hits, she lets out a choked cry, watching Dan stumble back with blood dampening the shoulder of his semi-burnt shirt.

  “NOOOO!?’’ I scream, watching the reluctant fear stir into Dan’s eyes. oh no… my… my sweet boy…

  Step, step, step… tumble, crackle… SPLASH. Dan falls back into a bush behind him, tumbling down the small terrain before landing in the river that runs along through the village.

  Gazing at the spot my Dan just was, I stay utterly silent, beside the few uneven breaths I let out. That… that didn’t happen, it didn’t. I try and convince myself, but the dirt stained with Dan’s blood mocks me.

  Then, I let out a small maniacal laugh, tears leaking out the corners of my eyes and walking down my cheeks. He’s okay… He’s okay… He’s okay… I tell myself.

  “He’ll never die; I won’t allow it…” I mutter between my crazed laughter, glaring up at the man pinning me down with his foot…

  Snarling, the man digs hit foot deeper into Ava’s stomach.

  “sure, keep telling yourself that.” He snickers, glancing back at his two comrades.

  “Dan, Dan… DAN! GET OVER HERE NOW!” She screams.

  As she yells her pleads, the air begins to feel as if it’s thinning, the small puddle of Dan’s blood that stains the dirt begins to bubble like its boiling.

  The man that traps her beneath his foot glances around the area and at his friends in confusion and a hint of fear.

  “What the fuck...” He mutters beneath his breath, then he looks back down at Ava, but instead of meeting the eyes of a fearful and begging woman like he expected. She’s deafly quiet, just staring up at him with a deadly glare. When he looks closer into her eyes. He notices something strange in one of them… her right pupil has a subtle redness consuming it, like a droplet of blood spreading across the surface of water.

  Noticing the change, the man slowly releases some pressure from his foot in hesitation.

  Looking over his shoulder at his two friends, he breathes out. “guys… something doesn’t feel right-“ SHHKK, just as he finished his sentence something pierces through his forehead that’s in the shape of an arrow… but this wasn’t no ordinary arrow, it was pure dark red and bubbling like a hot liquid, even as it holds its arrow shape.

  The two men volt backwards in stunned terror, watching with horrified expressions as the Blood arrow liquefies and crawls down the man’s still standing body, like some type of living parasitic creature.

  The blood makes it to the ground and begins sliding towards the prone Ava.

  Thump! The body hits the ground, falling forwards in utter silence to the ground and landing with only a small thud on impact.

  Just as the men glance towards each other and were about to speak the rest of Dan’s blood zooms across the dirt and passed their feet. Every ounce of Dan’s spilled blood moves towards Ava, like a dog to its master.

  As Ava stumbles up onto her feet, the blood puddles beneath her and begins to slowly slink up her leg.

  “You filthy dogs…” she mumbles with utter disdain towards the men. Tears staining her cheeks.

  Then she reaches her hand outwards clenching her hand into a fist, like she’s grasping something.

  The blood, already knowing what she wants, goes up her body and down her slender arms. Moving into her closed fist, then to the men’s horror, the blood begins to extend outwards from her fist, forming a huge, long, and horrid bow. Sharp edges jutting out of the limbs of the bow and the entirety of the weapon made of a pure dark redness of Dan’s succulent blood.

  With tender fingers she draws the bow string, a blood arrow forming between her fingertips in the process, until finally, the bow is fully cocked back, and the arrow is formed, the head sharp as a razer blade and with two hook-like clamps on either side.

  “Dan,” she says his name with crazed possessiveness, almost lewdly. “show them my judgment.” She finishes calmly

  The men laced with utter fear steps back, completely baffled by the sight before them.

  “It’s... it’s a blood mage!” one of them shouts before turning to the other.

  “Run dammit!” he screams with terror. “we have to report this back to the boss-“

  KYUDO. Ava releases the heavy string, the initial fire alone causing a small shockwave to jut out from her, causing dirt and other debris to fly away. And the arrow itself moves faster than a bullet and does more damage than that of a bomb. The relatively small arrow completely erases the pitiful existence of the revolting bandits. As well as any wildlife and trees behind them, destroying a huge hole in the middle of the forest behind where they once stood. It resembles a window, letting the light from the shining sun leak through and reveal the beautiful blue sky from the other side.

  But the sight is short-lived for Ava, as the excessive amount of mana she consumed to make a bow that dense completely drained her of energy. So, she finds herself falling backwards and crashing back against the dirt ground, gazing up at the sky tiredly before the weight that falls upon her eyelids is too much to handle. Passing out in the middle of all the rubble.

  End of chapter 1.

  Disclaimer, this is my first novel and only a test chapter. I started it in my biology class around 4 days ago and the second I finished the chapter I decided to try and post it. So depending on the feedback, I'll either drop it or continue with the story.

  And feedback would be appreciated.

  (Ps. Dan isn't dead, he'll come back next chapter... Probably.)