The Final Ashfield

Chapter 1: The Axis

10 Years earlier:

[The Axis] (Letters in brackets such as this indicate the setting/place)

The axis was a decently large place.

It had a forest of Ash trees(who´s wood never burned), a large supply of food in the form of magical animals, and its residents. 

A small family of 4. 1 adult, 3 children. 

The axis wasn't an ordinary place either. It stood in a dimensional crack, separated from the rest of the world.  The children inside had never met another human being before, other than their uncle. But these children were special. They didn't know it quite yet, but destiny had other plans in store for them. 

CLANK CLANK

The sounds of swords striking each other echoed through the meadow. 

The source of the sound? Twin brothers Jacender and Aleximus. 

The 2 boys, no older than 9, stood facing each other in a meadow of grass.

Sweat rolling off of Jacender's temple, he slowly inched forward. 

Aleximus did the same.

"HYAH!" Jacender lunged fiercely, bringing his wooden sword down. 

Aleximus swiftly side stepped, pivoting on his left foot to deliver a kick to Jace’s stomach. 

“Kuek!!”

he grunted and flew back.

But Aleximus didn't fall back. He ran forward, swinging his sword at Jace’s head diagonally. 

Jace ducked, but not in time to evade another kick.

This time to his face.

THUD!!

The swords fell and the match was concluded. 

“Ow…Did you have to hit me that hard...?” Jace held his face, which was burning red from the kick.

“Next time I’ll go for your face, Aleximus!”

Aleximus smirked and extended his hand to Jace.

“Sigh. It’s not my fault you don’t know how to dodge.” He responded, helping Jace stand. 

These 2 were very good friends. Rivals who wanted nothing more than to help each other grow.

They were in every sense of the word: Brothers. 

Footsteps approached them.

Jace turned his head to see who it was.

“Anna!!” he beamed with delight.

A girl just a bit younger than them stood there, holding a basket of what seemed like fruits. 

She looked to be shortly out of breath.

“Jeez…I told you guys to take it easy!!” She said, worryingly.

She walked up to Jacender and put her hand up in front of his face. 

It was covered in a few markings and foreign words.

“Runic Healing Wave.” 

A small pink wave of energy was emitted from her fingertips and pulsated on Jacender´s face.

The redness began to disappear and the swelling reduced.

Aleximus stood marveling at the magic.

When they found out that Anna could use magic, it was quite the shocking experience. They had never seen it before. It was like… a mythical energy out of legend. She always used it to heal their injuries during their sparring matches, so there would be no cause for concern for their Uncle Matsuda in case he figured out that they had been training behind his back. 

Their uncle himself had magic as well. Though it was different from Anna. It was embodied through the form of talismans used as a medium. 

¨I can't use magic.¨ Their uncle told them when they had asked about it. ¨Talismans are all I´m capable of. It gets the job done and it won't draw unnecessary attention.¨ he added, leaving it at that. He never spoke about magic to them again. Which is why the children were scared that he might forbid Anna to use it. So they kept it a secret between them.

“Thanks Anna, I can always count on you to fix me right up! Hehe.” Jacender grinned.

“No problem.” she smiled.

¨Hnng…¨she groaned. The sound of her heart beat pulsing from ear to ear. 

¨Are you okay?¨ Aleximus asked, putting his palm on her forehead. 

She swatted his hand away playfully. 

¨Mhmm. Just a headache. I´ll be fine¨ she murmured. 

¨You´ve been getting a lot of those recently. Maybe we should put training on hold. I don't want you to keep pushing yourself more than you need to.¨ Jacender worried.

¨I said I´m fine. Jeez, you guys are worrywarts.¨ She sat on the floor, looking at them deadpan. 

Aleximus picked up his sword and held it over his shoulder.

He shrugged at Jacender. 

Aleximus had broken a sweat against Jacender but wanted to test himself against a stronger opponent.

No offense to his brother, but he needed a challenge. 

“That was a good sparring match, dontcha think? I can tell we’re getting a lot better.” Jacender pointed out.

“Yeah. You’re getting much stronger. Learning how to use that stupidly comical physical power of yours is going well I see” Aleximus chimed. 

Though they were twins, Jace was born with superior strength and speed whereas Aleximus was born with smarts and stamina. 

But Jacender´s physical strength was beyond doubt, inhumane. He could lift heavy objects, crack vases with his bare hand, and grind small rocks to dust if he tried hard enough.

They both laughed at each other. 

Making fun of the other's skill was another fun way of motivation.

Sigh. Boys. Anna rolled her eyes and ate a banana from her fruit basket.

The boys started to goof around. Several times there it looked like they would fall off balance and hurt each other.  Anna watched them play, humming to herself. 

When they got tired, they collapsed next to her and sat.

Staring at the clouds in the distance, Jace spotted one with the shape of angel wings. They floated around slowly with the sun and moved down. 

It was getting late. 

Aleximus stared at the hill just beyond the sunset. Ambition blazing in his eyes, he spoke.

“One day…I’m gonna get on the other side of that hill. I know Uncle Matsuda doesn’t want us to, but… I know my curiosity won’t be satiated until I go.” 

"The people beyond there must be wonderful and amazing, huh?" he rambled. ¨All powerful and different. The food is probably great as well.¨

He stopped for a moment. 

“If I go… will you guys…come with me?” he asked them, turning to his sides to look at them.

“Snore…Zzzzz….zzzzz.”

Jacender and Anna had fallen fast asleep. Much too comfortable in the grass to listen to Aleximus ramble. 

He smiled softly and laid down next to his siblings.

“Yeah. Nevermind.” 

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A thunderous voice spoke. It crackled through the air around Aleximus and resonated throughout his mind.

“When sin releases, Lilith's spawn shall rise to the earth once again. Fueled with unbridled rage and seeking sweet vengeance upon the great paragons. 

The gates of heaven will fall and a man of golden brilliance shall descend from the sky and usher forth a time of change.

It shall be on this day that the false messiah reveals himself. A duel shall mark a vicious war and the doom of the 4 realms.

Those who were forsaken shall seek vengeance upon the newcomer and his apostles.

The Hammer of Babylon will once again taste the thrill of creation; and when air turns to fire, the child of the Ashfields shall finally sit atop the throne and fulfill his destiny.”

“AAHH!!!” Aleximus screamed and jumped out of bed, heart pounding, and breathing heavily.

“W-What…was that?” he said, holding his forehead to check for fever.

No…not a fever…was that…a dream?

“Aw wait, crap! What time is it?!” He looked around.

It was then that he realized he was no longer laying in the grass. 

He was home. Laying in his bed in the treehouse atop the giant Ash tree. 

He turned to his right. 

Jacender was asleep, snoring loudly.

Who…brought us here? Aleximus worried, getting out of bed and over to Jacender

“Jace…Oi…Jace!” he whispered, shaking him. 

Jacender wouldn´t budge. 

Aleximus’s mouth twitched in annoyance.

“Hey Jace…wake up will ya?!” he said, raising his arm.

Jacender’s eyes started to open, vision still fuzzy.

He couldn’t see too clearly.

A dark figure(Aleximus) stood above him menacingly with an arm raised.

Jacender thought it sought to do him harm.

So of course he had the appropriate reaction.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” he screamed, bearing no shame.

His frightened figure looked ghastly. 

¨WHAT THE F–¨

Aleximus quickly grabbed his mouth and stifled his scream.

“S-shut up, you idiot!” he hissed. 

Jacender shivered in relief that it was Aleximus and calmed down. 

“Listen to me. How did we get back home? Weren't we in the meadow?” Aleximus inquired. 

Jacender looked around as well. He too had started to realize that they had been moved. 

Knock Knock….

A man walked into the room. His hair and goatee were purple but light blue streaks of hair could be seen coming out of them. 

"Oh? You're awake!" He smiled. 

He was middle aged, dressed in a blue kimono embroidered with blue flax flowers in its layers. 

"Uncle Matsuda! Were you the one who brought us back home?" Jacender asked, running to him for a hug. 

Matsuda hugged him back, ruffling his hair. 

"Hello to you Jace!", he responded, "Why yes. I did bring you all home. After all, it's dangerous for you to be alone out there." He stood up straight.

"What do you mean?" Aleximus asked. Matsuda's eyes covered him with sad warmth. 

"Why don't you two come to the table? I've made dinner." 

? Did I say something? Aleximus asked himself. 

Jacender sighed and flicked Aleximus’s forehead.

"You did nothing, Aleximus. Uncle is just worried about us. So you stop worrying too…" 

"How did you…–" Aleximus started.

"–Cuz we're brothers, duh!!" Jacender interrupted him. 

Matsuda smiled at the two and stood up. 

The connections the boys shared gave him nostalgic feelings of a friend from his past. 

"Come on. It's a special occasion today!" he beamed, opening the door. 

"Special occasion??" The boys asked in unison. 

"Yes! After all, today is your sister's birthday!!!"

Birthday?

Aleximus suddenly remembered. 

"Oh yeah!! We even made her a present, didn't we Jace?" He exclaimed. 

I had forgotten about today. We've been so busy with our training. Good thing we made it beforehand!! he thought.

"Uncle–" Jacender began.

"–No worries. She's asleep in her room. As long as we move quietly and get the dining room table ready, we can still surprise her!" He whispered, excitedly to them both.

"Haaaaa!!" Jace released a sigh of relief. 

"You're the best, uncle Matsuda!! You're the best parent I could ever wish for!" 

Matsuda gave a sad smile.

"I'm glad to hear it, Jace. You have been nothing but the best children one could ever wish for as well." He said, walking out the door.

"Now get ready. We want perfection for little Anna."

The door closed and their uncle walked through.

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Jacender and Aleximus got changed and walked over to Anna's room. 

“Phew.” Aleximus sighed, holding his gift for Anna. 

It was a good thing that his uncle reminded him, or else he would have been frustrated with himself for forgetting 

Jacender knocked on the door. "Anna? Are you awake?" He asked.

CRASH….!!

¨What was that?!¨ Aleximus asked, running into the room.¨Hey!¨ Jacender exclaimed, worried that Aleximus´s behavior was improper. 

The room was empty. Sheets were sprawled all over the floor, drawers from the dresser were opened haphazardly, and blood stained the floor. 

Anna was nowhere to be found and the window near her bed had been opened. 

"?!?!?!?" The boy's ran towards the window in alarm, fearing the worst. 

Aleximus peered outside, squinting at a small figure at the trunk of the tree. 

"There!!" He yelled, pointing her out to Jacender. 

Anna was on the ground floor and walked through the dark forest, disappearing from sight. 

How did she get down there…? Aleximus pondered, wary. 

Never mind that!! I´ve gotta help her. That blood… she must be hurt!!

"We've gotta tell unc–" Jacender started but Aleximus wouldn't wait. He ran towards the door, flinging it open, and made a run for the outside.

Idiot!! Jace cursed him in his mind, running into the hallway. 

"ALEXIMUS!!!" He yelled.

But Aleximus wouldn't listen.

His sister was in trouble. He knew it. But from what? And why?

<Chapter 1> Fin