The Hathwell Chronicles: Avery's Song

Chapter One: The Castle Shall Crumble(1000 years ago)1

“Mother, Father?” I whispered into the darkness, where had they gone to? I crept through the open door and blew on my candle, illuminating it, fire breathing through me into the air. I felt my fingertips tingle as the heat coursed through my body from the open flame. 2

The next second there was a loud clamor, however it took me a moment to figure out where it had come from. I looked down. My candle was on the floor, the darkness came back as the pool of blood put out the flame, slowly trickling upon it causing the flame to turn blue and turning the pure white wax, a deep red. 3

I had found them. 4

They lay in their beds, blood seeping through the sheets as far as I could see. If they were dead, the castle would soon fall. Her armies would breach us soon enough. I walked blindly through the pools of blood to the window and pulled back the curtains as far as possible to give a view of a horrific scene below. She had begun a massacre.5

I spotted my mirror image among their troops, atop a horse that looked burned and dead she sat, sensing my gaze her eyes flickered towards the window. I didn’t flinch like she obviously intended me to do; I didn’t stand away or shut the curtains. I stood there in the open with not but a thin layer of glass between me and certain death. She knew automatically which room I was in by the thick layer of red on my gown. She smirked and signaled for a troop to get her something. I gasped audibly as he pulled an arrow from a dead man’s heart and gave it to her. She looked at the tip fresh with blood and took a deep breath.6

There’s nothing like the smell of death. 7

A Millennia Later(Earth)8

I’m not exactly sure why it was that I bought this notebook. I guess maybe I knew I wasn’t coming out of this on the better end. I guess my subconscious was doing the very thing I didn’t want to; admit that I needed someone to hear exactly how this whole thing started, because I knew, I knew it deep down this fight would kill me.9

I’m not sure why I decided that this stupid notebook was more important than the food or water I really needed. I’m not sure why at all, what the reason was that as I traveled past the school supply section of CVS I picked this notebook up.10

Maybe it was because this thing knew. Maybe, just maybe it knew I had a story to tell. Maybe it knew that I needed someone to know what was happening to me. That in some way writing this down would help me cope with the exceedingly, unprecedented amount of stress I’m dealing with. But I suppose stress it to be expected when you stumble across a world that shouldn’t exist and huntsman that enjoy trying to kill you. 11

I’m not sure there are enough pages for me to write this down.12

Just like every story mine has a beginning and middle, the end has yet to be decided by Fate; however I’m sure she’ll be kind. Actually I’m not at all sure what she’ll be, but saying she will makes me feel just a tiny bit better. 13

I suppose for all intensive purposes my beginning started a millennia ago and I’m currently living through the middle, hopefully my ending won’t come too soon. It was started in Valhalla, and those of you familiar with myths like I was, should know it as the Warrior’s Land. They mostly got the stories wrong though; the land isn’t wholly made up of fallen warriors, rather living magical people guarded by said warriors. To the North you have the Water gate, guarded by Athena Warrior of Wisdom, and to the South you have The Gate of Great Flame, guarded by Hades Warrior of Worlds, to the East you have Zeus Warrior of the Sky, and lastly to the West you have Ares the Warrior of Earth.14

However underground grows an evil to massive for four gate keeps to defeat and seal away. Deep from the pits of hell comes a shadow blacker than the world’s darkest night as it sucks away the magic from the land leaving it dry and dead. It’s true master was the Devil himself, but he cannot step upon land, thus he must hand the power off to someone he handpicks. 15

I was seventeen when I realized they had taken my sister as their own and begun to train her for her mission, seventeen and a half when she killed my parents and I fled unable to do anything letting Valhalla fall away into war and corruption.16

This was the last he had heard of me:17

Dearest Gabriel,18

If saying that I was sorry were to erase the pain this letter will undoubtedly cause you, I would say it a million more times. However I have a distinct inkling that as you read this amongst the ruins of Valhalla, our homeland, apologies and feelings won’t mean much anymore. 19

The castle is crumbling as I write this goodbye to you, I hope you find it soon enough to assuage your worry. Mother and Father are in their rooms, however if you don’t have the stomach to see that I suggest letting another guard take care of them and prepare their burials. Alas, that is not why I wrote this letter, all things considered you probably would have found them soon enough. You know as do I, that whether Valhalla shall survive is no longer my first and foremost worry, neither should it be yours. You need to leave, you need to get out. My dearest sister, if she’s anywhere in that monster, knows about us. It will spare no expense to get my blood, even if that should mean killing an angel to get it. I won’t give her the key to open the door and make the entire natural world apart of hell. 20

Do not worry, I shall be well hidden. I have millennia to wait before my return shall be possible, I shall say no more in case this letter should fall into the wrong eager hands.21

I shall see you again,22

Yours eternally,23

Avery
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