Threat of the Shadow Mage

FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS, ASPEN WOULD WALK HER PATH AND MEET UP with Tex earlier than usual so she wouldn’t be kept late. They began to date, if you will, and got to know one another better than they had in previous years. Tex would ask a question and Aspen would answer; Aspen would ask, Tex would answer; casual conversation was spoken here.

Auron didn’t suspect a thing, Aspen being efficient with her walk and punctual on her return home, but he was in for a surprise later in days that came.

“What do you fear the most?” Tex asked as he twiddled with a blade of fresh spring grass. “Hmm,” thought Aspen. “Death I guess. Or transformation into something I’m not.”

Tex stopped twiddling for a moment grasping the truth in her voice. “Transformation?” he asked pretending not to know.

Aspen looked at him, having been tracing her fingers along the laced edge of her skirt. “Yah. Into a Shadow Mage or some other form of darkness. I know that Father would hate to see such beauty be turned into pure evil.” Tex didn’t want to continue this conversation and got up. Aspen looked up at him, and watched as he began to walk away. “Tex?” she said with a hint of childish question in her voice. He stopped, but did not turn. “Tex, what’s wrong?” she asked getting to her knees and pushing herself up to walk over to him.

Ever so slightly, he turned his head in acknowledgment. Aspen reached him, and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as she used the other to hold his arm. “Did I upset you?” she asked.

Tex turned his head forward again. “No.”

“Well then what’s the matter?” Aspen sort of laughed.

Nothing came from his mouth, but his anger and frustration was apparent as he began to somewhat steam. Tex knew what was happening, but he knew that he had to hold it back if he didn’t want to have Aspen run off in fear.

He turned his head in the opposite direction to not reveal himself. “Tex?”

“You should go.”

Aspen was confused. “Go? Why?”

Tex snapped but managed to keep himself intact. “Why must you ask so many questions?” he shouted, and Aspen removed herself from him, stepping back. “I was just,”

“Go now! I don’t want to hurt you!”

Aspen took another couple steps back and then turned and ran back to the house.

Tex knew he did the right thing, but it was a bitter sweet victory. What he did was right in order to keep Aspen safe, but he also knew that he had unintentionally hinted that something was different about him.

Auron was in the back leaning against a silver tree when something caught his eye. It was Aspen running quickly with unexplained tears in her eyes. He pushed himself off the tree and trotted over to meet her. “Aspen? What’s wrong?” Aspen just shook her head, trying to say, but her sobs and tears choked her, so there were no words to say. Then she broke from his grip and ran inside. Auron watched until she got through the door, and then looked into the trees from where she came. Examining the spaces between carefully, he then saw a slight movement. After spotting it, he ran towards it in silence.

Tex had turned to look at Aspen, but she had already gone. He hung his head in realization that he had hurt her once again. As he began to turn, he heard something in the distance; a whisper in the brush. “Aspen?” he asked, curious as to who was out there. Then, as if he’d been blind, Auron literally came out of nowhere, pouncing on Tex, and knocking them both to the ground.

“What did you do to her?” Auron yelled.

Tex shook his head, shaking the drop off, but was shaken by the collar of his coat as Auron asked again. “Speak!”

“Alright already. Alright.” Tex put his hands up, submitting. However, before he could speak, Auron realized who it was that he had pounced on. “Tex?” He looked at him. “What are you doing here?” “Uh…I was visiting Aspen as she was walking her trail…” he said with a hint of question in his voice. “Visiting? What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“Huh,” Tex sighed, and then continued. “She was walking, I caught up with her, and we started talking. End of story.”

“There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“There’s nothing to tell. Look, we were talking, and then something snapped inside me, causing anger. I got up, she asked what’s wrong, and I told her I didn’t want to hurt her and that she should go, but then she ran off.” Auron turned his head, still keeping eye contact, and glared.

“What?”

Nothing.

Tex sighed again as he dropped his head.

“There’s something different about you, Tex.” Auron then said. Tex opened his eyes, but didn’t lift his head. “Don’t tell me you’ve turned to the whispers of the darkness, Tex.” Tex slowly looked at Auron. “Don’t tell me you’re,” before Auron could finish his sentence, Tex pushed him off with such a force, and he found himself standing ten yards back from where he was. He looked down and around before he looked ahead seeing Tex with two flame spells flickering in his palms at either side of him. “So…You have given yourself to the ways of the Shadow.” Tex was silent.

“So be it.” Auron said, whipping up some spells of his own.

Their spells collided, shot every which way, and the two of them started running at each other. As they reached each other, they locked fingers and began to press as hard as they could. Now at first, Tex was the stronger and Auron began to fall under his sheer strength, but then he started to make fire in his hands, and it burnt Tex’s hands. The flames licked his skin, but Tex resisted the pain, trying to overpower Auron. Soon it became too much for Tex, so he started to shout. “Ahhhh…ah!” Tex shouted as he forced himself off of Auron.

As Auron fired another shot, he stopped, and looked around. Tex had disappeared. There Auron stood in his defensive position, but with no opponent. He cleared his hands with a gentle shake, stood tall, and scanned the terrain. No one was in sight, but that didn’t mean that Auron let down his guard. He turned with his head still looking ahead, and then started to head home to see what he could do to comfort Aspen.

All was quiet in the forest abroad, but not near as much as the house was as Auron made his entrance. The silence was deafening, but as Auron made his way up the stairs, he could hear the soft sobs of his daughter crying into her pillow. He reached the door, hesitant to knock, but he knew he had to go in. A gentle knock followed by a slight creak of the door was heard, and Aspen looked at the door. Her eyes were blood shot, and black ran down either side of her face. “Hey,” Auron said softly. Aspen turned her head as she closed her eyes and sniffed. Auron came in and came to her bedside as he laid a gentle hand on her back.

“Aspen?”

She didn’t move.

“Aspen I’m sorry about Tex. He was trying to protect you though. There’s something about him you don’t know.”

At this Aspen stirred and rolled over to look at him. Auron nodded, and continued. “You see, he made a choice that wasn’t right for him, and it’s hurt him because of it.” Aspen propped herself on her elbows, listening intently. “He pushed you away…because he is now...a Shadow Mage.” Aspen was silent before she said, “What?” “Tex is a Shadow Mage now.”

“No, that can’t be,” she argued.

“I’m sorry, but I beg to differ. I went and confronted him after you came running home. No I didn’t know it was him until I reached him, but what I say is true. He confirmed it by using powers only Mages have, and there is no normal elf I know that can withstand fire as long as he did.” “What did you do?” she asked confused.

“We locked hands and tried to push the other down, but the resistance was too much. Instead of continuing to press my luck, I created fire, and it must have been two minutes before he somewhat shouted and pushed himself away from me.” He took her hand. “Aspen. I’m not all that great with words when it comes to things like this.” Aspen giggled, and he smiled. “Just promise me one thing.” She looked at him with caring eyes, and Auron wiped off the black before he finished. “Listen to what I say, and take it to heart. I don’t want to see you looking this way again. I say what I say because I want you safe.” Aspen sat up and wrapped her arms around him. “Please don’t go out unless I’m with you. Okay?” She closed her eyes and nodded.

Aspen loved the outdoors; she hated being cooped up inside. This was a lot to ask of her, but it was for the betterment of her life. Auron told her that lunch was in an hour, and took his leave. As he closed the door, Aspen sniffed and went over to the window. Miles and miles of lush green and tree stretched across the horizon, and today…today she would have to say good-bye until Tex had been taken care of.

Meanwhile, Tex knelt on the roof of his house thinking about what all he had done to his family…and Aspen. With his forehead in his hand he went through everything he’d done, and it was almost like a nightmare in broad daylight. All of what he saw was something he had done. With every scream he heard he flinched; with every tear he saw in someone’s eyes, he heaved. Thinking was torture, so he opened his eyes and slid his hand down over his mouth. It was almost like Tex had a double personality. There were times where he thought like himself before the incident, and other times he was in the mindset of a Shadow Mage, hungry for power and complete control. “What am I doing?” he would think as himself when it came, but when he was the blood thirsty, power hungry Mage, he would always think, “There’s no harm in what’s done. I need more, and need it now.” Tex shook his head and hopped down the way he did before he killed Sophie. Landing, he got up and started walking towards the front of the house. What was he doing? Why was his normal self coming in making the torture all the worse? Was it because being a Mage was something new, and it was something his body needed to adapt to? Or was it because it was slowly wearing off, allowing more memories to return to the present mind? He didn’t know. All he knew was that he wished he’d never gotten involved with dark magic and Kraizon. Now was not the time to focus on the past though. Now was the time to think about what he was going to do in the future.

Tex stormed into the family room where there were stacks of opened books he had been studying about what he was. Falling to his knees, he searched book by book until he found the one he was after. To the Shadow Mage’s Extent and Beyond was the name, and he skimmed through five pages before he came to the page his Mage mind desired. His eyes began to glow in the most sinister way, and he looked up off the page.

Hours passed before evening fell and Aspen had pulled herself together. Auron had sent her to bed a tad earlier than usual, but she didn’t fuss for she knew it was to help protect her. After she found sleep, she dreamed peacefully about being outside again; twirling in a long white gown in the green grass. Then she began to dream of her walk in the woods. That first day Tex caught her. She envisioned the kiss Tex gave her. It all seemed so perfect, and then she woke up. She sat up and pushed her hair up. That kiss would haunt her until she found a love of her own that wouldn’t hurt her. Then she turned and looked at her closed window.

A stream of moon light flowed through a hole in the tree planked shutter. She got up and pushed them open. A full moon hung in the royal blue sky and stars twinkled as planets shown their brightest. Aspen crossed her arms and leaned on the sill to just gaze up into the wondrous skies. There was a gentle breeze this evening, but then again there wasn’t a single night that went by that was so perfectly weathered.

Leaving the shutters open, Aspen crawled back in bed and found such a rest that nothing but rivers, hills, and mountains were seen. The sounds of nature took over, and Aspen found the sleep she’d never had.