(Intro)
Long ago in a world ruled by creatures and humans of all sorts, destiny was slowly setting in its place. The world was young, but to many, it was an ancient wonder filled with countless mysteries. The world had been divided between angels and demons. Many have said the darkness was winning, having claimed many fallen angels; but there were few in the world who still clung to a small shred hope that one day the angels would descend from the heavens to purify all that has become unclean.


Snow had freshly fallen across the fields, it looked as though the clouds were falling upon the earth. Everything was cold, and food was becoming more scarce. An army of fearsome creatures had entered our village months ago, food was already hard to come by. Where these demons hail from, we’re not yet sure. They’ve come to take our supplies, and have made themselves too welcome. Even a stranger to our village could see that they have over stayed their welcome. This used to be such a beautiful place, filled with happy people. Now it looks like a place of misery and broken dreams.
Everyone is terrified of these monstrous beings, so nobody dares to mutter a word or complaint about them. We hope that they will soon move on, having drained us all of our food and drink. We’ve nothing left to lose but our lives.
I was on my way to the pond that was near by, I had high hopes of catching even the smallest sun fish to bring home; but it was more than likely that the pond had become only an empty memory.
The wind was becoming harsher, and I pulled the hood of my jacket over my ears blocking the icy sting. All the animals have moved on or become over hunted, fishing was about the only option we had left for food.
I broke free some of the ice over the pond and lowered my line into the water. I sat deep in thought, trying to forget about the wind and the snow. Moments passed and I finally had a tug on my line. I pulled the line out and to my surprise I had a decent sized fish on the other end. Much bigger than I had expected or hoped for. Excitement rushed through me knowing that this would be enough to feed my mother and myself for tonight. I didn’t want to be greedy and take more than what I needed from the pond, so I packed my line away, grabbed the fish, and was on my way home.
The smile from my face wouldn’t fade, or it was stuck that way from the cold. I found myself quickly day dreaming, mostly from hunger and coldness. Thinking of the hot meal I will soon have in my stomach, I didn’t watch where I was going. I bumped into something and was knocked onto the ground.
The monster was towering over me, and panic replaced the excitement. One of the demons from the village was staring me in the eyes.
“I’m sorry” I said quickly, hoping to not have angered him.
“I didn’t see where I was going” I kept explaining.
His gaze didn’t break away from me, and I felt tingly all over from fear.
“What’s this?”
He said in a thunderous voice as he picked my fish up off the ground.
“That’s dinner for me and my mother” I said doubtfully.
Right before my eyes, he bit the head off the fish and began to devour it.
I gasped and felt a sense of defeat in my heart, and then anger.
I walked up to the demon and shoved him from behind.
“THAT WAS MINE!”
I my voice belted out in anger and hate. He turned around and dropped the fish, probably shocked that someone had just said that to him, and shoved him.
Everyone from the village was standing at a far distance, not wanting to be a part of anything that was about to happen. Their fearful, yet curious eyes were set on me and the demon before me.
“I’d like to have it back please…. Or at least what’s left of it.”
The demon chuckled deeply and I could see bits of fish falling from his mouth.
“You dare talk to me that way?”
I my stomach was filled with butterflies.. No, bees.
“You and your kind have marched into our village and taken everything from us! We barely have enough left for ourselves! You do not pay us, you do not thank us, and you do not even respect us!”
I wasn’t sure where my words were coming from, but I was sure that today was the day I was going to die.
The demon had anger in his eyes and I could see it growing.
“You are not welcome in our village! You must leave!”
He was either growling or breathing very deeply, but it was loud. His sharp teeth were dripping with raw fish and the fresh blood from it, and I could see the murder in his eyes. He let out a loud yell from his powerful lungs and had is axe in hand.
I rolled out of the way just in time, but I heard the heavy blade hit the ground beside me. It was enough to make me yelp out loud. Adrenaline was going through my veins, and I jumped to my feet faster than I normally would have. Without thinking I jumped at the monster and tried to bring him to the ground. I had no luck in doing so. I pulled my pocket knife and barely put a scratch on his forearm.
I was shook to the ground when he thrashed his arms around and curled up ten feet from him.
“STOP!” I kept screaming “STOP!” “DON’T DO THIS!” “STOP!” “FREEZE!”
My eyes were shut and I was trembling all over, just waiting for the blade or his fists to smash down upon me and end it all.
You really do have your life flash before your eyes when you’re in a near death experience. “Don’t forget to wash the clothes” I thought. That was something my mother had reminded me to do this morning. Pointless now, and helpless, but it was the thought that crossed my mind as I was waiting to die.
Minutes must have passed but they felt like mere seconds. I slowly opened my eyes that I was squeezing shut, and saw the beastly man standing over me, frozen in an attacking stance with axe swung back.
I scrambled back further and onto my feet, not sure of what was going on.
The monster didn’t move, and I slowly but cautiously inched closer. I inspected him and he appeared to be frozen right where he stood. I tapped his shoulder and he didn’t move.
I relaxed fully and looked around to see everyone’s eyes wide and full of curiosity. All the other monsters had been stopped in their tracks as well. The village was in shock and confusion, and everyone slowly wandered around inspecting every demon who had been frozen. Minutes passed and cheers rang out, our village had been saved! These monsters were stopped somehow. But how could this be? What happened that made them just freeze as they were?
The village all gathered around the center of our small town, we began to discuss what had just happened.
“Magic!” someone said with an exited voice.
“The angels have answered our prayers! They’re finally coming!” A woman shouted.
“Maybe they got so cold they froze” a young boy said.
Nobody was sure what had happened exactly.
I felt a tug at my jacket and turned around to see an old grayed woman with a small hunch. She pointed a bony finger at me that motioned me to follow her. I silently agreed, even though I wasn’t sure why I did. When we got out of earshot from the villagers, she began to speak.
“Do you understand what has happened my dear boy?” She had a crackly voice.
“No, I don’t have the slightest idea” I said truthfully.
“It’s called raw magic” she said as we stopped in front of her house.
She motioned me to follow her in, and I hesitantly did.
“Raw magic? What’s that?” I questioned.
“When monsters, demons, beings of other worlds have come into ours, they have an aura around them. Some of these creatures have magical powers, and the energy is surrounding them. Sometimes the energy breaks free and needs something to latch onto. Some of the raw magic must have found you and when you yelled for everything to freeze, it did!”
She pulled a heavy book off a shelf and her weak arms dropped it to the table in her kitchen. Her house was dark, and smelled funny. She had odd things everywhere. Paintings, knick knacks, things in jars, everything seemed to be from far off places.
“Will the raw magic wear off?” I asked her.
“I’m not sure, it depends on how heavy the spell was” she said searching through her book.
“How do we figure out how strong the spell is?” I asked
“We need to do a test.” she put her finger to her chin while she was reading.
“AHA!”
She slid the book so the pages were facing me.
“Bring this bird to life”
“Um…how?” I was deeply confused.
“Just like you froze the demons. Go on, do it.”
I hesitated then thought real hard. “COME TO LIFE BIRD!”
There was silence and nothing happened.
“Try it again” she urged. “You have to want this to happen”
I closed my eyes and thought of the deep red color on the bird’s feathers. The flame colored feather that stuck out atop his red head.
There was a loud squawking that filled the room. I opened my eyes and there was the bird, coming right out of the book! Each squawk filled with flames that were spit into the air.
“Now send it back!” the old woman yelled.
Wide eyed, I quickly commanded the bird to go back into the book.
“Return to your pages!” my voice boomed. The squawking faded and the bird was within the pages again.
“WOW!” I gasped out in amazement. “Was that real!?”
The old woman was laughing.
“You’re like a magnet for magic! Anything you wish hard enough for, happens!”
I thought back to earlier when I caught that big fish in the pond. Maybe she was right.
There was screaming just outside, we heard yelling and panic. We both rushed to the window to see what was going on. Villagers were screaming and running around, and houses and buildings were set on fire.
“What’s going on?!” I yelled out loud.
The old woman had anger in her eyes. “More tyrants!”
The demons had been at war with many other creatures, they must have been found at this location. Our village was bad before, but now it faces destruction.
“You must go!” the woman said.
“Go? Go where?! I can’t fight them!”
“Go find someone who can help! You’ve got your magic to protect you! Only you could make the journey!” she pushed me to the door.
“Hurry! Sneak passed them if you can and run as fast as you can until you are out of sight!”
I was pushed out into the street and I could see men in metal armor riding on top of giant dragon like birds. It looked like hell on earth.
I saw people screaming, trying to hide, people being chased, their houses being raided, I knew I wouldn’t have enough magic in me to stop this mess, and even if I did I wouldn’t know how to use it.
I did just as the old woman told me, I snuck around the houses, and was careful so I wouldn’t be seen. I ran as fast as I could, passed the houses, passed the pond, and into the forest where I would hopefully be safe from destruction. I wasn’t sure where I was going, how I was going to get there, but I knew I had to do it fast.

~ pt. 2
The cold winter air was choking my breath, and nipping at my toes. I wish there was a way to keep warm. Just with that thought, an idea struck in my mind. Why can’t I practice my magic along the way? I can start by trying to warm myself up. I closed my eyes and wished hard and deep.
“I want to be warm!” I said out loud.
Nothing happened, I was still cold.
“Please! I want to be warm!”
Still nothing happened.
I sighed and began to continue along my way to nowhere. Each step seemed to be a little easier than the last one and I couldn’t figure out why. I soon had the coldness off my mind and I felt fine. Looking back, I saw my foot prints and that the snow had melted beneath them.
“Yes!” I thought out loud. “I did it!”
Making my way through the forest I noticed there seemed to be no life in it. There were no little animals running about, no birds chirping, it was all silent. It all seemed so eerie and I suddenly felt alone. I’ve never traveled this far from the village before, so I was unsure of how close the next one would be. It could take me days, months, a year? Days had passed and the silence of the forest was disturbing, but what I saw next disturbed me even more.
Peeking out from the trees were little green creatures. Their ears were pointed, and their faces were rugged and ugly. Their jaws were lined with teeth so sharp, it wouldn’t take but one nip and you’d lose a hand. They were little green men! They were dressed in furs and bone necklaces, and they had their weapons in hand as they were approaching me.
“Can you help me?” I called out.
They kept advancing towards me.
I took a few steps back and was suspended upside down in the air before I could realize that I had walked into a trap.
“Let’s eat heem!” one of them said out loud.
“Yes! We’ll cook heem up! He make a very nice dinner!”
They were talking back and forth.
Panic and dizziness raced through my mind, until I remembered that I had my magic. I concentrated and wished for the creatures to freeze. But nothing happened.
“FREEZE!” I yelled out loud with my hands extended towards them.
Nothing happened again.
They laughed and the leader of the ugly green men spoke up.
“Foolish human. Magic no work on goblins here.”
How could that be? I warmed myself with magic, how could it not work on them here?
“How is that possible?” I demanded.
They laughed again as if they were insane, mumbling in gibberish back and forth which somehow made sense to them.
They cut me down from the tree and I smacked the ground with a loud thud, they moved quickly and bound my hands while I was down, and they began to drag me away.
“Where are you taking me?!”
The goblin that was dragging me away only laughed.
I struggled all the way to their little village, it was an odd sight! Little green goblins running about everywhere! I’ve never seen such a thing in my entire life!
They were all circled around a statue of a goblin holding an axe above his head. It appeared as if they were worshiping it.
“What’s that?”
I asked the goblin dragging me.
“That be our master and he keep us safe!”
That statue must be the reason I can’t use my magic.
The goblins all stopped running about and when they saw me being dragged closer they cheered and shouted.
“FOODS! FOODS! FOODS!” they all said at once.
“I’m not food!” I yelled.
But that didn’t stop their chanting.
I have to think quick if I’m going to get out of this alive. I was more confident in myself since the incident at the village. I quickly started plotting my escape, searching around for anything I could grab with my hands bound. The goblin stopped dragging me, I surveyed the area and saw a rock which I wriggled over to and nabbed up. It was dull and wouldn’t do much good for cutting, but I had to try. I worked the rock to my fingers, held onto it tightly and began to wear away at the ropes.
“Faster!” I kept screaming in my mind.
The goblins were speaking in a language I did not know, and began to bow to the statue. The chanting silenced and I hid the rock in my fist.
“We feed you to master!”
The goblin dragging me said.
“What?!” How are they going to feed me to a statue?
They all watched as I was slowly brought before it. The statue was only 6 feet high, but it towered over these goblins. Another goblin approached me with his stone dagger held high. He began speaking to the crowd of green monsters and I kept working at my bound hands with the rock. I felt a small snap and was able to unwrap the rest of it.
“Yes!!” I thought out loud.
The one with the dagger was shouting to the crowd with excitement, and I realized that I was going to be sacrificed.
“HE IS GETTING AWAY!” one shouted as they noticed me slowly backing away.
The one with the dagger turned to me and I jumped back, bumping into the statue. It moved a little and an idea shot through my mind.
I gave the statue a forceful shove and it toppled over, crashing to the ground into a few pieces.
“HE BROKE MASTER!” one screamed.
“HE BROKE HIM!” “HE BROKE MASTER!!!”
Gasps filled the crowd and then were followed by angry faces.
There was a blue light escaping from within the broken pieces of the statue and it formed a giant oval right before me. Something pulled me to it, it was either panic or curiosity, but I somehow knew what it was for.
I jumped into the oval, not looking back at the angry, confused crowd. Everything was light blue inside, I felt safe. I kept walking forward, not sure where I was going. The blueness started to fade and was replaced by beautiful green grass, lush trees, singing birds, big soft clouds in the sky, and the first word that came to mind was “Peace”
There was a woman sitting on a bench carved from the finest rock I’ve ever seen. She was dressed in a flowing white dress and there was a soft kindness in her eyes.
I approached her, slowly, and respectfully.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
She looked up at me and gave me a soft smile.
“You’ve finally come”
“You were expecting me?” I wasn’t sure what she meant.
“We knew you were coming” she smiled.
I looked around at this wonderful place and then back at her.
“Did I die?”
She laughed silently to herself.
“No, you did not die. You don’t know who you are, or what you are. Do you?”
I gave her a confused expression.
“You are the gateway, between heaven and earth”
A light breeze began to blow passed and giant soft feather wings sprouted from her back and gracefully stretched out in the wind.
“You’re an angel! And this is heaven!”
She smiled and nodded.
“And you’re the only one who can be a part of both worlds, at one time. I’ve been keeping an eye on you through your short journey. You’re learning your magic quickly, that’s good.”
Half of me still thought I was dead, or dreaming.
“You have to come with me! To help my village!” the words rushed out of my mouth.
“I cannot leave” she said with a sad expression on her face.
“Why not?” I asked her.
“Because the demons are of plenty, we have lost many angels in our previous encounter, we will not win.”
it hurt to see such a beautiful face with a frown upon it.
“Save my village please” I begged.
“I cannot help you, you must help yourself. But I can give you something…” she walked over to the bench where she was sitting and from behind she pulled out a gorgeous shining sword with a silver handle encrusted in blue jewels.
“This sword is blessed, and the jewels are mined from the Caves of Sanction. It can pierce the heart of any demon or corrupt soul. Use it for good, and use it wisely.”
She handed me the sword. I expected it to be heavy from how it looked, but it was amazingly light.
“Are you sure this will defeat demons?” I asked with uncertainty.
“The foulest.” she responded.
“But how do I-”
I was cut off by a flash of light, and my ears were filled with her kind voice.
“I’ll be watching you”

The snow filled land was again before me and I was right outside my village. I ran as quickly as I could to see what was going on, switching into stealth mode when I approached the first building.
I peeked around the corner to see if anyone was near and what I saw had set me back just a little. More than half the buildings were charred rubble, and metal covered men were walking the streets.
“They must have taken over” I thought to myself.
I snuck around the back of the building and scrambled along until I reached the end of the buildings. Around the corner there was a giant dragon slumbered. I covered my mouth as I shrieked in terror. I began to walk away silently but was knocked to my feet when a giant eyelid opened and stared right at me.
I raised my hands at it “SLEEP!” I whispered loudly.
“SLEEP LONG! SLEEP GOOD!” and the eyelid began to look heavy and dropped back in it’s place.
Relief washed over me and I sat there for a minute until my heart could restart again. I peered through the window of the building I was behind and inside it was a fat man eating away at a table of food. The woman serving him looked tired and worn down, and I could tell they were taking every last crumb they could find, and leaving nothing for the villagers. Anger filled my body like it did the day the demon took the fish from me. And I marched into the middle of the street, sword in hand, with the angel’s words ringing in my ears. “You must help yourself”
“HEY! THERE’S A BOY THERE!” one of the metal covered men shouted out. I kept walking until I was in the center. More of the metal covered men came out of the remaining buildings and were moving towards me.
“WHO’S IN CHARGE HERE?” I demanded in a heavy voice.
They didn’t answer, they closed in on me and one pulled his sword.
I held mine to his face.
“WHO IS IN CHARGE?” I boomed.
One of the men tried to grab me and I quickly swung the sword at him, knocking him to the ground. A couple other’s stepped back but I was being persistant.
“Tell me! Who is in charge!?”
A man stepped out, it was the fat man I saw from the window who was eating.
“That would be me” he wiped his mouth off with a rag and tossed it back at the woman who had cooked him the meal.
“I demand that you leave my village and never come back!” I shouted.
He laughed and stepped down into the street.
“Why would I leave? I’ve only just got here.”
“Leave or I will destroy you where you stand.” I threatened.
“Boy, in my years I have seen many wars, I’ve won many wars. I don’t think something like you could stop me and my army.”
I narrowed my eyes in anger and threat, and walked towards him.
“Then let me show you.”
He pulled a whistle from his pocket and blew into it. The ground rumbled and 3 dragons flew up into the sky overhead.
“You’ll make a perfect snack for my pets” he chuckled.
The dragons landed near me and the ground shook from their weight. I raised my sword to them and in my mind I willed them to sleep. They staggered and slowly fell to the ground, drifting away into a deep sleep.
The fat man stood there wide eyed and angered.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!”
The metal covered men that had approached me had now backed away and I knew I didn’t have to worry about them.
The fat man pulled his sword and mine clashed against his. The jewels were glowing and my anger was at its peak. We fought sword to sword, each getting in a close swing to the other, but not close enough. The swords clanked together wildly and I didn’t know I could use a sword this well. The fat man manage to put a small scratch across my cheek but it wasn’t enough to do any serious damage, only draw a little blood. With all my strength I swung my sword as hard as I could, knocking his out of his hand and sending him backwards, onto the ground. He gasped and closed his eyes and it reminded me of how I felt with the demon standing over me holding an axe, ready to put me to my death.
I lowered my sword, held the jeweled handle to his face.
“Open your eyes you coward.” I hissed.
He was trembling but he opened his eyes. The jewels were glowing brightly and caught his gaze. He peered into them, and the light shined through his eyes, into his mind, into his soul.
“Leave. Do no harm to others. Only good.” I said slowly to him.
The jewels stopped glowing and I stepped back from him, leaving him lying there in the street, and secretly proud of myself.
The villagers, all dirty, scared, and wounded rushed out of their hiding places and cheered for me. I looked up to the sky and smiled in gratitude.