Chapter Text
Chapter one: A hero is born!
Warnings: Violence, wounds, unhealthy behavior/relationships.
Game start!
Choose your Character
Mark
Markus
>William
You have chosen William!
The sun shone beams of light gently onto William’s face. Causing him to stir from his deep slumber. William let out a loud groan of annoyance and turned away from the window. He didn’t want to wake up, but then his mother called after him.
“William, honey. It’s time to wake up,” she said sternly yet gently.
“Five more minutes,” William mumbled.
“Come on, son, get up! It is an important day,” his father called out.
William let out another groan and then opened his eyes. William pulled the thin, moth-eaten blanket away from his body and then got out of bed. He let out a yawn and sat up. Then walked towards his mother and father's voices and found them in the kitchen.
William sat down at their only table. “Good morning...” he mumbled and then yawned once again.
“You look tired.... did you stay up late reading again?” his father asked.
“No,” William lied.
“I don’t know why you are so fascinated with those books; they are full of nonsense,” his mom said, and then placed a bowl down in front of William.
“Dragons exist.....along with heroes....one day,” William said and looked down at the offered food.
The bowl was filled with porridge. Extremely watery, almost a soup. He noticed that the portion of porridge was even smaller than the previous day. William was hungry and knew this would not be enough food, but he did not complain. He knew that his parents were doing their best.
“You will never see them. It’s better to focus on practical skills instead of fantasy, ” William’s father scoffed.
“Thank you for the food, Mom,” William said, ignoring his father's harsh words. Then he started to eat.
William's mom and dad joined him at the table, and they all ate together. Right as they were finished with their meager meal, there was a knock at the front door. Excitedly, William stood up from his seat and ran to the door. He opened it and revealed his best friends.
Mark and Markus. Identical twins. Both had charcoal black hair and honey brown eyes. Where the same height and weight. It was almost impossible for most people to tell them apart. But not William. He had no problem distinguishing between them.
“William!” They both greeted him at the same time. Voices full of excitement.
“Are you guys ready for the ceremony?” William asked.
“Yes!” Markus said.
“I wonder what classification I will get?” Mark said.
“Well... I know what I am getting. Farmer for sure,” William said, and let out a loud sigh. His parents had been classified as farmers. The same with his grandparents. It was in his blood. His fate.
“Don’t say that! Maybe you will be classified as a scholar! Since you read all the time,” Markus said. His voice was full of encouragement.
William would love to be classified as a scholar. Then he would be granted the privilege to leave the village. Be welcomed into the golden city with open arms. William would be allowed to study texts in libraries so massive that he couldn’t even imagine them. He fantasized about being a scholar all the time, but William knew his dream was not realistic.
“Speaking of.......” Mark said and reached into a bag he was carrying. Then pulled out a book and handed it over to William.
William looked at the cover. On it was a very large, ferocious dragon. “It has a hero, a healer, and an evil dragon!” Mark said. Smiling wildly.
“Thank you, Mark. I am sure that I will love it,” William said. He smiled widely.
He really appreciated that Mark frequently gifted him books. William’s family, as simple farmers, were simply too poor to afford any luxuries. While Mark and Markus’s parents were rich. They were the lord and lady who oversaw the land that covered the village. William wouldn’t have been able to read in the first place if Mark and Markus hadn't taught him.
“I got something for you as well!” Markus said and then started to frantically search through his own bag. Soon, he pulled out a muffin and handed it to William.
“It’s chocolate chip banana,” Markus said.
“What is a banana?” William asked and looked at the muffin with curiosity.
“A fruit from the southern islands, where in the world did you get that, brother?” Mark asked. Strangely, he sounded a little annoyed.
“I am not telling......come on, William, take a bite!” Markus said and looked at William with a lot of excitement and anticipation.
William brought the muffin to his mouth and took a bite. The banana flavor was slightly sweet and creamy, with a hint of tartness. The chocolate was sweet but also slightly bitter. Creating a wonderful combination.
“It’s delicious, thank you, Markus,” William said and started to ravenously eat the muffin.
“Ha! See that, brother? William likes my gift,” Markus said and smirked.
“.......he likes my gift as well,” Mark said. He sounded even more annoyed now.
“Yeah! They are great! Man, you guys spoil me,” William said.
He wasn't even sure why Mark and Markus were friends with him. Since they were in such different social classes, the closeness of their relationship was extremely unusual.
The twins had just seen William farming one day. Then ran over and introduced themselves. After that day, Mark and Markus started to follow William around. They acted like overly friendly dogs. Which William didn’t mind. He found them both very sweet and charming.
“Which do you like better?” Markus asked.
“Huh?” William said and ate the last bite of the muffin.
“Yeah, choose. Who do you like better?” Mark said.
“Don’t you mean which? We are talking about the gifts,” Markus said and punched Mark’s side.
“Right.....the gifts,” Mark said. Then both Mark and Markus stared down at William with an intense expression.
“Ummmmmmm’ William stammered.
This happened often. Mark and Markus were weirdly competitive about their friendship with William. Always trying to out gift each other. Or sneak William away to spend time with him alone. Only to always end up being found and then interrupted by the other brother. William didn’t understand why they acted this way, but he liked the attention.
Luckily, before William was forced to answer, they were interrupted. “Come on boy’s it is time to go. We don't want to be late for the ceremony,” William’s father said.
“Right....” William said and placed the book down.
“Yeah! Let's go!” Mark said, and suddenly grabbed William’s hand and interlaced their fingers.
The action made William’s stomach feel fluttery and his face very warm. The reaction happened often whenever Mark or Markus touched him. He didn’t understand why. William knew that he was supposed to feel that way about girls. Not his male best friends.
Mark forcefully pulled William away from his house, parents, and Markus. The two of them started to run towards the village's central square.
“Hey! No fair! Don’t steal him,” Markus called out and ran after them.
Soon they arrived at the village's central square. There was already a large crowd gathered. They surrounded a large wooden stage. On the stage was a group of children. They were all the same age.
William and Mark climbed onto the stage and joined them. The children were talking to each other. Voices full of excitement. Discussing their future and fates. In a couple of moments, Markus joined them on stage as well. He was panting heavily from running after them.
The sound of trumpets filled the air. William looked towards the noise and saw that a pearl white and gold carriage was approaching the village square. It was pulled by massive pure white horses.
The villagers parted ways. Creating a path so that the carriage could reach the stage. Once it did, the carriage stopped. Then a door opened and a person wearing a long-hooded cloak emerged.
The cloak was pitch black and almost blended into the figure's shadow. Whenever they moved, random white specks sparkled in the blackness. Creating an effect that the figure was cloaked by a starry night. They had the hood up, so their face was hidden. The mysterious character started to climb onto the stage.
“That must be the king's sage, wow’ Mark said, his voice full of awe.
The sage stood up on the stage and addressed the crowd. “Today, we look towards the fates for guidance. May today be the day the heroes reveal themselves. Let us say the prophecy together , ” they said. Then everyone present whispered the prophecy together. As a group prayer.
Feathers and scales. Dragon’s fire scorches. The angel falls. A hero rises. Only then will the demon king be defeated.
Once the prophecy was spoken, the sage gestured for the first child to approach them. A small girl walked up to them. Her whole body was trembling with excitement. The sage put a hand on top of the girl's head and spoke some mythic words.
A wall of text appeared in front of the girl. Announcing her name, classification, age, level, health, and mana. She was classified as a baker, was at level one, had a normal amount of health, and no mana. A very common but respectable result.
The crowd clapped. She left the stage and joined her parents in the crowd. Who congratulated her. She was now seen as a true member of their community. Given a future and purpose.
The next child approached the sage, and the ceremony was repeated. Over and over. Each child had a common result. Which was normal and expected. It had been almost a hundred years since anyone had presented with mana or a mythical title. The last one had been the current sage.
The role of the sage had been present for hundreds of years. Right before they died, a new one emerged. They went from village to village. Classifying children when they came of age. Searching for the prophesied heroes.
Every year, the demons became stronger, and attacks became more frequent, but still no heroes appeared. Some people had started to doubt whether the prophecy was real. Their whispers of doubt grew stronger with each passing generation.
Finally, it was Markus’s turn to be classified. He glanced at William and flashed him a smile. Then approached the sage. The sage placed a hand on Markus’s head and said the mythical words. Text appeared. What it said made everyone gasp.
Markus: Classification Hero
Offensive Magic
Age 14
Level 1
Health 30/30
Mana 20/20
The sage’s hand lifted off Markus’s head and started to tremble. “A hero.... truly a hero. At last,” they announced to the crowd.
“What? Me? A hero!” Markus said. His voice was full of disbelief.
Everyone started to cheer and clap. Celebrating. William couldn’t believe his own eyes. One of his friends was a hero. Just like a character from one of his books.
“Way to go, Markus!” William cheered along with the crowd.
“Yeah! Way to go, brother!” Mark also cheered.
William watched Nolan and Debbie; Markus’s and Mark’s parents rushed onto the stage and pulled Markus into a tight embrace.
“Our son.... a hero!” Debbie said. She was openly crying tears of joy.
“We are so proud of you, son!” Nolan said. His voice was full of praise.
The sage suddenly put a hand into their cloak. Which seemed to disappear into the darkness. They said some mythic words and then pulled their hand out. Revealing a sword.
“Hero, I present you with this legendary sword. May it help you with your quest to rid the land of evil,” the sage said and tried to hand the sword over to Markus.
For a moment, Markus hesitated. He looked towards William. At first, he looked incredibly nervous, but then he smiled and accepted the sword .
“ I promise to protect you all,” Markus said. Addressing the crowd, but still looking at William. A text box appeared above Markus.
Legendary sword equipped. Attacks do 20% more damage to dark magic users.
The crowd cheered even louder. It took a long time for everyone to calm down and for the ceremony to continue. People seemed disinterested now. They were mostly talking to each other instead of watching the stage.
“Next,” the sage ordered. They weren’t even looking at the children now. Their entire focus was on Markus. He had joined with his parents in the crowd. Markus was completely surrounded by people. Who gave him their congratulations and well-wishes.
Mark squeezed William’s hand and smiled at him. Then let go and approached the sage, who put their hand on Mark’s head. They said the mythic words and the text displayed. Everyone went completely silent.
Mark: Classification The future king
Dark Magic
Age 14
Level 1
Health 30/30
Mana 20/20
“No....that can’t be right.’ Mark said. His voice filled with confusion and fear.
“It must be a mistake. Try again.” Nolan ordered.
The sage repeated the mythic words, and the text was displayed once again. Only for it to show the same stats.
“But......only demons have dark magic, I am a human.....” Mark said. Even more confusion and fear entered his voice.
"Oh god, our Mark must have been snatched and replaced with a changeling,” Debbie said. Her voice was full of horror and grief.
Nolan looked towards the stage at Mark, who had physically paled. “Where did you take our son? Did you kill him, you bastard!” he screamed angrily.
“I am your son! I am human! ” Mark cried out in pure terror.
“Mark? Are you......” William said. His voice was full of confusion. Mark turned towards him.
“It’s me, William! I am not a....” Mark said. His voice, which was now full of desperation, was suddenly drowned out by the crowd.
"Kill it! Kill the demon! Imposter,” they screamed in rage.
“Yes, we must purge this monster. This filth. Before it grows stronger and becomes the demon king,” the sage said. This spun the crowd into action. They started to swarm towards the stage like a bunch of enraged bees.
“No! Wait! Please!” Mark cried out. He desperately looked towards his parents, brother, and then to William. His eyes were wide and full of fear. When the crowd started to climb onto the stage, he completely bolted. Villagers chased after him and soon disappeared.
William did not know what to do. So, he ran after them. He got a little lost, and a long time passed by. William thought he had lost them for good. But then he heard numerous people yelling and a scream of pain. William followed the sound and found the villagers crowded in a circle.
William tensed when he noticed that some of the villagers now held weapons. Mostly simple kitchen knives or farming equipment. Some of the weapons were covered in fresh ruby red blood.
“Dammit! It got away,” A villager said.
“We need to find it,” Another villager said.
“Split up and search! I won't let a demon disgrace my son's memory by wearing his skin,” Nolan commanded. William noticed that he was holding a fancy-looking dagger. Which was now covered in dripping blood. Debbie and Markus were talking close by to Nolan.
“But......he’s my brother,” Mark cried. He held the sword limply by his side. Fresh tears fell from his eyes.
“No, it's not, honey. It’s a monster, and you are a hero. It is your responsibility to kill it,” Debbie said softly and wiped away Marku’s tears.
Quietly, trying not to draw attention to himself. William snuck away from the villagers. If Mark was still......Mark, then William, knew where he would go. William walked towards the forest that surrounded the village. He found a hidden trail. Which went deep into the forest. William followed the trail until he heard the sound of rushing water.
Soon, among the dense foliage, a large waterfall emerged. Its coursing waters led down to a peaceful river. It was safe to swim in. William had a lot of good memories swimming in its calm waters.
Alongside the river were many wild raspberry bushes. Which were delicious to eat but also attracted a lot of wildlife. One time, William had even seen a unicorn. It unfortunately had fled when Mark and Markus appeared. So he never got the chance to pet it.
William ignored the river and raspberry bushes and moved towards the waterfall. He went closer until it looked like he had disappeared into its rushing waters. In reality, William had entered a cave, which was hidden right behind the waterfall.
The cave was Mark, Markus, and William’s secret spot. No one else in the village knew about it. They had discovered the cave one day entirely by accident.
The cave's floor was covered in soft green moss. Painted onto the cave's walls were ancient symbols and paintings William did not understand. Descending from the ceiling were many stalactites which strangely glowed. Illuminating the cave. William walked further into the cave.
“Mark? Are you here?” William called out.
“William......” a voice weakly called back to him.
William moved even further into the cave and found Mark. He was collapsed on the ground. His breathing was shallow. Numerous wounds were littered across his body. Fresh blood poured from the wounds, quickly creating a puddle beneath him.
“They....they all tried to kill me, my dad........and my mother and brother just watched,” Mark said. His voice was full of despair and pain.
“You aren’t really a demon, are you?” William said.
“No....” Mark said. His voice was getting even weaker.
“Then why do you have dark magic? Why does it say you are the future king?” William asked. He got closer to Mark and fell to his knees beside him.
“I don’t know,” Mark cried out.
Tears started to flow from his eyes. He looked so vulnerable and weak. Nothing about him seemed evil. Instead, he was so familiar. William realized that the person in front of him was his friend and not a demon in disguise.
“Oh god, Mark! There are so many wounds. You are bleeding! I don’t know how to help you,” William said. He looked helplessly at Mark’s wounds.
“It hurts William. It hurts so much,” Mark said. His voice kept getting weaker with every passing moment. His breathing became shallower and his eyes cloudy. William knew that if he didn’t do something soon, then Mark would die.
Suddenly, William felt something. Almost an instinct. A text box appeared above his head. Along with two options.
Available Spells
Minor heal: Costs 15 mana
Description: Can heal minor wounds. Slows effects such as bleeding or poisoning.
Major heal: Costs 25 mana
Description: Can heal major wounds. Stop effects such as bleeding or poisoning.
“Spells?” William said. His voice was full of confusion.
He reached up towards the text box and pressed the minor heal option. His entire body shivered, and he felt a strange sensation. William looked down and saw that Mark was now covered in a glowing green light. His wounds were closing. The bleeding was slowing. A text box appeared above William’s head.
William gained EXP!
“Oh my god? I...I think I healed you?” William said. His voice was full of disbelief. He didn’t understand how any of this was possible.
Mark didn’t respond. His eyes had closed. The green light faded from Mark’s body. The wounds had not fully closed. He was still bleeding.
“Mark?” William said. Again, Mark did not respond.
William realized the minor healing spell was not strong enough. He reached up and pressed the major heal option. Instead of healing Mark, an alert popped up.
Insufficient mana.
“What? No!” William cried out. He almost lost all hope, but then another alert appeared with two options.
Do you wish to activate the healer's special effect and consume HP instead of mana?
Yes
No
William looked down at Mark. He was no longer breathing. Complete panic consumed William. Quickly, without thinking about the potential consequences, he reached up and pressed the yes option. William then once again selected the major heal spell.
He saw a green glow surround Mark once again. This time, the glow was much brighter. William felt great relief as he watched Mark's wounds completely close. The bleeding stopped entirely. Mark’s chest started to rise in breath again.
William’s relief disappeared in an instant. Suddenly, he felt a blinding, agonizing pain. Every single cell in his body was screaming. William looked down and saw numerous cuts appear on his body. It was like he was being slashed by numerous invisible knives.
William let out a bloodcurdling scream. Which woke Mark up. He opened his eyes and looked towards William. Who was still screaming. “WILLIAM! What happened? ” he cried out.
“I... don’t know. I healed you, and then it hurt,” William continued to scream in pain. Text appeared in front of him.
William gained EXP! William has now progressed to level 2!
HP raised by 10
Mana raised by 10
Suddenly, the cuts stopped appearing on William’s body. His pain was still present but dulled. All the text disappeared.
“You...have magic?” Mark asked.
“I guess so?” William said. He still felt confused about the whole situation.
Mark looked down at himself. “My wounds are gone, and I feel good. Like weirdly good,” he said. His voice was full of surprise.
“I feel terrible,” William said. He felt incredibly weak. Like he hadn’t slept for days. The cuts on his body stung and were bleeding.
“Wait! I have magic! Maybe I can heal you!” Mark said. He then paused for a moment and then spoke. “Um, spell list? Please? Activate?” he said a little awkwardly. It worked, though. A spell list appeared.
Available Spells
Dragon flame: Costs 15 mana
Description: Summons a dark flame that attacks the target. Does 20 points of HP damage.
Vampire bite: Costs 15 mana
Drains target 20 points of HP and adds it to your own.
“Oh....they are all offensive. I can’t help you,” Mark said. He sounded incredibly disappointed.
“It’s okay, Mark, I will be fine,” William tried to reassure Mark.
Mark suddenly reached forward and wrapped his arms around William. He embraced him tightly. Too tightly, it was painful. “Thank you for saving my life and not turning on me like everyone else,” he said. His voice was soft and full of relief.
William returned the embrace. “Of course. You are my friend,” he said.
“Even though I have dark magic? We are still friends? Really?” Mark asked. He sounded so broken. William felt terrible for him.
“Yes, of course, we will always be friends,” William promised.
After a little while, Mark released the embrace and stood up. “I need to leave the village, if I return...they will kill me”
“You are leaving? Can’t you just... live in the cave?” William said. He didn’t want Mark to leave him. The idea of never seeing him again was devastating.
“And what survive off moss and raspberries?” Mark said.
“I can bring you food and supplies,” William offered.
“Your family barely has enough to survive....and Markus knows about this place, he might look for me here just like you did,” Mark said.
“Then....then......” William said. Trying to think of a solution.
“Please come with me, William,” Mark said and offered a hand out towards William.
“What! But where would we even go?” William said.
“I don’t know, but I can’t stay here, and I don’t want to lose you. William.....you mean a lot to me.” Mark said. His face suddenly turned very red.
“I can’t go with you, I am sorry,” William said. He cared deeply about Mark. But he couldn’t imagine leaving his parents behind. Along with Markus.
Mark was quiet for a couple of drawn-out moments. His face darkened, and he suddenly grabbed William’s hand. Pulling him up from the floor.
At first, William thought Mark was simply helping him up. But then Mark started to roughly drag him towards the cave entrance. Something felt very wrong.
“Wait....what are you doing?” William said.
“You....are all I have left; I need you to come with me,” Mark said. He sounded very desperate.
“What?!” William said and tried to resist being dragged.
“Please, William......” Mark begged and continued to drag William. Who continued to resist.
His attempts were very weak. William was still in pain. The numerous cuts all over his body bled even more from the rough movement. William had no energy to fight back.
“Mark! You are scaring me!” William cried out. Mark continued dragging William and ignoring his protests. William didn’t understand why Mark was acting this way. It was scary and very unlike his friend.
“Let William go!” a voice suddenly said from the front of the cave. Mark and William looked towards the voice to see Markus emerge from the waterfall. He looked very angry. His entire body was tense. Markus raised his sword and pointed it at Mark.